Chris Pirillo » wi-fi

iPads and Androids Can Get Along

Chris Pirillo — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 05:08:21 +0000

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Connecting an Android device (by way of hot spot) to an iPad is an excellent solution if you don’t want to use the built-in 3G connection. One caller to the live stream recently asked if I felt it would be faster to stop using his Android device, and simply connect to the Internet using the 3G provided on the iPad. There’s honestly no cut-and-dried answer to this.

Either solution will work, of course, and both will depend on how strong of a connection/signal you can find. When my Dad was deciding whether to get his new iPhone, he was also considering an Android device. He wasn’t sure what type of connection would be the best.

As long as you’re already paying for the service on the Android device, why not stick with that? When what you have is working, there’s nothing to fix or change. I think it’s an excellent option to have a mobile device that can be used as a hot spot.

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iPads and Androids Can Get Along

Are You a Ninja?

Chris Pirillo — Thu, 13 May 2010 06:49:48 +0000

Are You a Ninja?

According to research conducted at both Facebook and LinkedIn, an increasing number of people have job descriptions that include the word “ninja” in the title. Both sites have in-house researchers who look at all of the junk that is posted on their respective sites and then try to make sense of it. That is a job I definitely wouldn’t want to have.

According to the chief scientist for LinkedIn, “From 2002 to 2007, there was an increase in job titles using the word “ninja” to designate a position requiring a high level of skill. “Evangelist” and “guru” were other titles that rose during the same period, although guru has since dropped in popularity.” Perhaps someone who decides they are the newest social media god (or goddess) will now call themselves a “Social Media Ninja.” Ohhh I know! Maybe Gordon Ramsay is a Kitchen Ninja!”

Are you a ninja?

You don’t have to be a ninja to grab the latest software and apps we’ve been able to find for you.

Are You a Ninja?

T-Mobile webConnect Will Throttle You

Chris Pirillo — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 05:47:45 +0000

T-Mobile webConnect Will Throttle You

The webConnect USB Laptop Stick provides fast, easy wireless Internet access for your laptop by automatically finding the best T-Mobile network connection (3G, HotSpot/Wi-Fi, or EDGE). The service will now no longer charge you an arm and a leg to connect to the Internet. Instead of charging you an overage fee when you pass the 5GB per month cap, you’ll instead have your service throttled. Exact details about how that information will be throttled has not yet been fully disclosed. In the meantime, the 200MB webConnect plan will drop overage fees from $.20/MB to $.10/MB.

The 5GB plan starts at $40, while a 200MB contract is listed at $25 per month. I’m not sure that this is enough of a “plan” to convince me to run off to sign a two year contract. What about you?

There is no overage fees or caps on the amount of software you can get from us! Check back daily to see what’s new.

T-Mobile webConnect Will Throttle You

Keep Your Gmail Safe

Chris Pirillo — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:27:29 +0000

Keep Your Gmail Safe

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During the Gnomedex conference this past summer, we held an open mic session. Anyone in the audience could get up on stage and share their favorite website, tips, trick and resources. In this short video clip, we were all reminded of how simple it is to secure our Gmail when viewing it from a public location (such as a conference or an Internet cafe).

When you are logged in to your Gmail account, go up to the top of the page and click on Settings. The fifth header down on the page is Browser connection. Next to this, click the little button that says to Always use https. This will ensure that no matter where you are at, you are logging in to your email securely.

Thanks for the tip!

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Keep Your Gmail Safe

What Type of Music Helps You be More Productive?

Chris Pirillo — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:39:46 +0000

What Type of Music Helps You be More Productive?

I am like many of you out there… I cannot work unless there is music playing in the background. My assistant Kat is the same way. If she’s at her computer (which is always!), there is music playing. She swears she cannot concentrate unless she has music pumping through her speakers or headphones. It apparently makes her more productive than if she has silence or a different type of noise in her immediate area. Thinking about it, I guess I’m the same way. I do my best writing when there is music to fit my mood at that moment playing.

That’s the key for me… my mood. I don’t listen to any one particular style of music all the time. I like a pretty wide variety of stuff. Some call me “eclectic” in my tastes, and that’s fine with me. I like what I like… and I don’t expect you to listen to it if you don’t. However, I do encourage you to always broaden your musical horizons by listening to something completely different than your normal playlist every once in awhile. Pandora is great for that!

What type of music are you addicted to? Do you work better when you are rocking out, or do you need complete quiet in order to concentrate?

Don’t forget to stop by our software center to see what great new deals we’ve found today!

What Type of Music Helps You be More Productive?

School Bus Wi-Fi Tames Rowdy Students

Chris Pirillo — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 03:31:07 +0000

School Bus Wi-Fi Tames Rowdy Students

Students in Vail, Arizona tend to sit on a school bus for a few hours per day. The Vail District, with 18 schools and 10,000 students, is sprawled across 425 square miles of subdivision, mesquite and mountain ridges southeast of Tucson. As bus number 92 rolls down the road, the teenagers aboard tend to get quite restless. They throw things, they climb things and they hit things… or each other.

School administrators are technology leaders. In 2005, it launched Empire High School as a digital school, with the district issuing students laptops instead of textbooks/ There are more than 100 built-in wireless access points offering a powerful Internet signal in every classroom – and even on the football field. It comes as no surprise, then, that the district has now adopted wireless Internet access on select school buses. The administrators were hoping to turn the buses into rolling study halls, so to speak. So far, it seems to be working.

Behavior problems on bus 92 have all but disappeared. During a ride-along, a reported noted teens proofreading homework assignments, emailing them to instructors, and reviewing for tests. One girl was able to email her mother, to remind her of an appointment later in the day. District officials have been delighted to see the amount of homework getting done, morning and evening, as the driver picks up and drops off students along the highway that climbs from Vail through the Santa Rita mountains to Sonoita. The drive takes about 70 minutes each way.

The kids also use the connections to play online games and check their email or social networks. However, the school doesn’t have a problem with that, as long as nothing illegal is being done! The kids are behaving, and they are actually seeing improved homework turn-in rates, along with better grades, among the students on that bus.

The router cost $200, and came with a $60 a month Internet service contract. I’m sure that the bus driver feels it is money very well spent, not to mention the kids, the parents, and the school administrators! Internet buses may soon be hauling children to school in many other districts, particularly those with long bus routes. The company marketing the router, Autonet Mobile, says it has sold them to schools or districts in Florida, Missouri and Washington, D.C.

Maybe your school will be next!

School Bus Wi-Fi Tames Rowdy Students

Don’t Believe Everything You Read

Chris Pirillo — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:22:13 +0000

Don’t Believe Everything You Read

I had to chuckle a little while ago when someone in our live chat room stated that Google’s new operating system will be 100% invulnerable to malware attacks. That’s an awful hefty claim for Google to make, if they in fact did. The truth is that nothing is impossible in this day and age of malware. Criminals, hackers and malware writers will indeed figure out a way to get inside of whatever Google comes up with. Sadly, it’s par for the course. It’s rumors like these that make people who don’t know any better think that they don’t need any type of security software.

I hate rumors and speculation. I’m a hard facts type of guy. Show me proof, or don’t tell me at all. I know, not everyone is like that. And that’s ok, I suppose. However, it’s imperative that you do your research, and find out the truth of the matter in anything you want to believe. It’s ok to have “faith”, yes. It’s not ok to blindly ASSume something is right and correct and real. Sometimes, that can get you in to trouble.

One of the reasons I love our community so much is that as Geeks, we take the time to back up what we say with facts and resources. Have you taken the time to read what it is they are trying to say?

Over in our Downloads Center, you’ll find new software and apps every day that may be vital to your existence! For instance, today we are featuring a piece of freeware that allows you, the parent, to control what sites are allowed on your family’s computers. Safety and security – for free!

Don’t Believe Everything You Read

Wireless Internet is Everywhere

Chris Pirillo — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 08:26:03 +0000

Wireless Internet is Everywhere

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During a discussion about Broadband and people near Seattle having trouble with Comcast, Rikai from our chat room brought up an interesting question. “What are your thoughts on the rumors of the 700Mhz spectrum potentially being used for Hi-Speed Wireless connections?”

I’m sure you’ve all heard the news lately about how Starbucks is now offering free WiFi to their customers. I’m not going to comment on their coffee… but who would turn down some free Internet service? Make sure you use https:// when doing things from open Wi-Fi like checking your email. This makes you much more secure.

Wireless Internet is just everywhere. You can’t walk more than 20 feet in an urban area without finding an open connection. The problem with a lot of Tel-Co’s is that they want you to experience their version of a wireless Internet. That’s crazy. It’s the Internet, right? For now… we don’t have much choice other than to stick with just one provider. Some people don’t have access to faster Broadband… yet. Internet is essential these days. One of these days… mark my words… the world of the Internet is going to be blown wide open, as far as choices.

Just imagine if Wireless Internet truly was available everywhere, much like Television. Throw up a TV antenna… you have tv. Throw up an Internet antenna… you get the picture. Someday, it will happen.

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Wireless Internet is Everywhere