30th June 2009
Windows 7 Upgrade Options
Windows 7 hits shelves this October and I’m sure there are a lot of you who are wondering what your options are for upgrading to the latest version of Windows. This article from CNET has you covered.
29th June 2009
Evernote Notebook Sharing
One of our favorite apps, Evernote, recently got a fun little enhancement. You can now share notes with individual people or with the whole world using Evernote. Check out this article from CNET to learn more.
26th June 2009
Twitter Informs and Misinforms
Yesterday after reports came out that Michael Jackson was rushed to the hospital, Twitter went into hyperdrive. According to the LA Times the volume of Jackson-related messages – up to 5,000 per minute at peak – put such a demand on the site that it slowed considerably. We also saw in past couple of weeks, and continues today, the use of Twitter to spread news about the disputed Iranian election. Be aware though that the tweets that you see on Twitter are not confirmed news reports that have been researched and verified. It can be an amazing place to find breaking news, but it can also be filled with just plain lies. In the article below they use the example of Jeff Goldblum’s death. Don’t worry Jeff is not dead. But according to a number on Tweets on Twitter he died in New Zealand. Get onto Twitter and find out for yourself and while you’re there follow @surgetech for some great tech articles, tips and fun pictures.
25th June 2009
…and you thought your iPhone was cool
This innovative guy made a few changes to his icons….
24th June 2009
Updates Via Email Spam
I’ve noticed in my spam folder a number of emails recently that tout that there is an update from Microsoft that you need to download. The one that I’ve seen a number of times says “Microsoft has released an update for Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express. This update is critical and provides you with the latest version of the Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express and offers the highest levels of stability and security.” This is NOT from Microsoft and you should not click on the link in the email. Microsoft does not distribute updates by email and you should only download updates via Microsoft’s Windows Update site. Here is an article with some more information.
Keep Cool – For Less
It’s going to a scorcher out there today so we thought it was only appropriate to show you some ways to stay cool this summer without going broke. Click on the link to read the article from Gizmodo.
23rd June 2009
Home Office Security
Everyday more and more Americans are taking advantage of the ability to work remotely in the home office. This article stresses that good home security leads to good productivity. Who doesn’t like to be more productive?
18th June 2009
How Do You Get Your News?
Leave a comment and tell us how you get your news? If you get it from the Internet, what sites to you tend to frequent? A recent Zogby survey says that more than half of us would choose the internet if we could choose one source for news.
17th June 2009
LinkedIn has become an indispensible networking tool for business professionals. Here is a great article about LinkedIn and how you can use it for different situations.
16th June 2009
Grants For Going Green
Here at surge technology services we are putting a big push on to make our company a little greener. Did you know there is grant money out there to help your company be more environmentally conscious? Here are ten tips for helping you find those grants.
15th June 2009
Tweeting The Revolution
First let me say that surge technology services is not going to take sides in the disputed election demonstrations that happened over the weekend in Iran, we’re computer geeks, not political pundits. I did though want to tell you about how Twitter played a major part in organizing and spreading the word about the demonstrations and how twitter can be used to track breaking news. I started to hear about the demonstrations on Saturday and turned to the cable news outlets to find out some more information. I was dismayed to find that neither CNN, Fox News nor MSNBC had anything on the subject. So I turned to Twitter. On Twitter.com, after you sign into your account, there is a search box on the right hand column. I typed in Iran election and started to see what was actually going on in the streets in real time. Students were sending tweets about demonstrations for the world to see. They were sending tweets to other students about meeting locations. They were sending pictures and video of the violence. Unlike reports from seasoned journalists, these were 140 character raw correspondences with misspellings from the scene. With Twitter, you can be a part of any breaking news event by tracking tweets from people who are close to the event.
Microblogging Search Engine
Google announced on their blog this weekend that it will soon have a service to search microblogging sites like Twitter. Are you thinking about going to a certain restaurant, but aren’t sure what to expect? You can use a search of Twitter to find out some more information. You might find tweets that say that this restaurant has terrible service or that the food is amazing. The search results are in real-time so you might even find tweets from people who are in the restaurant at the time of your search. The possibilities are endless. It sounds like now we are going to be able to parse through those tweets easier with the help of Google. Whether it’s a breaking news event or finding out what is the hottest restaurant in your city you can track it on twitter.
12th June 2009
Touch Book
Recently we’ve been focusing on netbooks and smaller computers and today we have one more to add to the list. This one is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Thanks to the guys at Mediasouce for hipping us to the Touch Book.
11th June 2009
Microsoft’s Free Anti-Virus Software
Microsoft is getting ready to unveil its new free Anti-Virus client, Morro, very soon. This has been anticipated for some time now. When it is available we’ll test it out and give you the low down. You can read more about Morro by clicking on the link below to see an article from the New York Times.
10th June 2009
Google Apps Adds Sync for Outlook
If your company is looking for an alternative to Microsoft Exchange for email, Google just made making the switch to their apps for business a little sweeter. Today they announced the availability of a plugin for Outlook that will sync all of your contacts, emails and calendar with your google apps account. You can read more about Google apps and the outlook plugin below. Call us today to talk about how we can get your business working more efficiently with a Google Apps account.
9th June 2009
10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know
This is a must read for anyone that uses Facebook. It covers a lot of very important topics to keep your privacy safe. Thanks Anand for finding this article.
8th June 2009
Cheap Netbook
If you’ve been thinking about getting a netbook, today might be your day. I don’t know much about this model, but for $170 it’s a steal.
Cheaper iPhone?
Is there a cut rate version of the iPhone on the horizon?
5th June 2009
Laptop Security
How much have you thought about the security of your laptop? If you haven’t put any thought into it, you might want to start. Here is an article that discusses some security practices as they apply to a mac, but the same actions can be taken on your PC.
Hat Trick Hats
With the Stanley Cup finals in full swing we thought you might enjoy an great article about the hats thrown on the ice for a hat trick. Ever wonder where those hats go? Click on the link below to find out.
4th June 2009
Opera Getting an Upgrade
One of our favorite web browsers, Opera, has a new version which has just moved into beta. It is trying to become more than just a stnadard browser. If you haven’t tried Opera yet, download it today and give it a spin. Learn more about the new version at the link below.
3rd June 2009
YouTube on the Big Screen
As many of you know who have been following me for a while I have a computer hooked up to my big screen TV to watch movies, hulu.com and videos off of Youtube.com. Today my video watching world got a little better. Google, the owner of YouTube, announced today the availability of YouTube XL. It is a feature designed to present videos better on big screens. Its interface does not include all of the silly user comments or the other junk that fills a regular YouTube screen. I tested it out this morning and it is very slick. If you have your computer or laptop hooked up to your TV you should check it out at the link below. If you have a big screen TV and are interested in hooking up a computer to it we can help. Give Scott a call at 278-7780 and you too can enjoy the joys of the internet in full screen glory.
Windows 7 Release Date
If you’ve been anxiously awaiting the announcement of the release date for Windows 7 well today is your day. Actually October 22nd is your day because this is when Windows 7 will be available to the masses.
1st June 2009
Best Free Software
Do you like free stuff? Who doesn’t? Lifehacker put together a great list of the best free software of 2009. You’d be surprised at how well you can deck out your computer with free software.
Google Wave – Collaborate Now
There has been a lot of talk recently about Google’s most recent offering – Wave. It will bring communication on the web into real time. Integrating email and chat into one client so you can collaborate in the here and now. Wave is still in its preview stage and is not available yet. It should be available later this year. Check out the article from tech crunch to learn more.