Internet Radio – Whistle While You Work

We frequently tell customers that high-speed Internet service allows access to countless new and exciting ways to use the family or office computer. Internet radio streaming is one such example.

The major satellite radio providers, Sirius and XM, offer many of their news, entertainment and music channels via the Internet, allowing subscribers to "stream" the programming to a computer. Typically, this programming is accessed by navigating to a web page and entering account information (user name and password). Once account credentials are validated, a new web page appears that allows you to select the desired "channel." Interactive playback controls – pause, play and volume buttons – are embedded in the web page, allowing the user to control the audio that plays through the computer speaker system.

New subscribers to Sirius and XM can get standard FM quality Internet service for $12.95 per month. The premium service, which offers better (near CD quality) sound, is $15.94 per month. Existing customers who listen to Sirius and XM via a portable radio device can add Internet service for another $2.99 per month.

But satellite radio companies are not your only choice for Internet radio. There are a bunch of options and some are even free. One popular service is Pandora.com. Pandora.com offers two levels of service:

• Pandora (standard): Offers FM quality audio and, as you would expect, includes a some advertisements to subsidize the cost.
  
  
• Pandora One (premium): Requires annual subscription fee of $36 per year. In return, subscribers are shielded from ads and entitled to better sound – Pandora One streams at 192 kilobytes per second, which approaches true CD quality. In addition, the premium service comes with a special Pandora music player software which does not require an open Web page.

Another unique feature of both Pandora and Pandora One is something called the “Music Genome Project” – software "intelligence" that allows Pandora.com to actually learn what kind of music you like. When you set up your Pandora “radio station,” you are asked to identify your favorite artist or song. Pandora then begins to select songs that match the musical “genetic” qualities the artist and song. As the subscriber you have the option to vote “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” for each song Pandora plays. So, over time, your station plays the stuff that agrees with your unique taste. Pandora allows you to create multiple stations to reflect different genres of music.

One disadvantage of Pandora is that it presently offers only music programming. If you’re looking for other types of programming (news, talk, sports, comedy, etc.), you’ll have to consider another provider like Sirius or XM.

Is Premium Service Worth the Extra Money?

As noted, most services offer various levels of service. In most cases, the biggest difference between plans is sound quality. When browsing customer reviews related to the various Internet Radio services, be prepared to encounter widely varying opinions about the overall quality of the audio. For example, when we searched a few blogs to see what Pandora.com subscribers thought about the sound quality of the free version, we found lots of people who raved about the “excellent” quality of the sound and just as many who thought it was “miserable.” Go figure.

It’s important to determine how you plan to listen to Internet radio programming. Will you have the volume turned up, playing through high-quality speakers or headphones for critical listening? If so, you may find some benefit to the premium level of service. On the other hand, if the programming will be played at a relatively low volume level (as background music for example) through average to low quality speakers, the standard plan may suite your needs.

The bottom line is this: don’t rely upon someone else’s ears to make your decision. “Good sound” is about as subjective as “good food.” If in doubt, start with the entry-level plan. You can always upgrade later.

Piping Internet Radio through a Stereo System

If you visit the Computer Homecare service center in Portage, don’t be surprised to hear Pandora playing through the ceiling speakers in the reception area. We do this by connecting an inexpensive cable between the computer’s “audio out” port and an input on our stereo amplifier. The cable (mini stereo headphone jack to stereo RCA) costs less than $15 and is available at most consumer electronics stores.

Once you have your computer set up as an audio source for your stereo system, any sound that originates from the computer will play through your big stereo speakers, including music from ITunes, MusicMatch, or Windows Media Player.

If your computer is not near your stereo system, you can also make the computer-to-stereo connection wirelessly. However, this requires additional, specialized hardware offered by third party companies like Apple, Linksys, Bose, etc.

Web Browser Wars – Which One is Best?

Firefox, Internet Explorer, Netscape, Safari, Google Chrome…. These are all examples of Web Browsers – computer programs that allow you to navigate the Web and view Web-based content on your computer display. Ask several Computer geeks which one is best and you’re likely to get just as many answers. However, rarely will you get the correct answer which is this: The best Web browser is the one you find to be the easiest to use. Too often, novice computer users get talked into switching to a different Web browser because they hear that it is “better” or “more secure.”

All of the Web browsers available today are potentially vulnerable to security threats. Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet. That said, good, common sense browsing habits and close attention to software updates will dramatically limit any risks associated with a Web browser. All browser providers routinely release security updates to patch known vulnerabilities.

It’s important to understand that installing an alternative Web browsers (that is any browser except Microsoft Internet Explorer) can potentially change default Windows settings – this is not necessarily a bad thing if you like the changes or you can work around them. However, if you subscribe to the KIS (“Keep it Simple) theory and do not have the gumption to learn new ways of doing old things, we recommend keeping Internet Explorer.

We do not necessarily feel that Microsoft Internet Explorer is better. Our recommendation is simply based upon the fact that IE is an integral part of the Windows operating system. Therefore, critical security updates are automatically delivered and installed via the Windows Update process – so most novice computer users find it easy to keep their browser software patched and current.

On the other hand, if you are adventurous and like to try new things, knock yourself out – you may find that another browser has some cool features you cannot live without! Just make sure you track and install the latest critical updates for your browser.

Apple Announces New 3Gs iPhone, Drops Price on Older 3G

Apple’s new 3Gs iPhone doesn’t look much different than the standard 3G but it promises more speed, some cool new applications, an improved camera with video capability, and more storage capacity on the higher end model. At the same time Apple has lowered the price on the standard 3G model to make the appliance more attractive to customers who don’t need all of the new bells and whistles.

According to Apple, the 3Gs model loads applications, web pages and images up to two times faster than the previous iPhone. New standard applications for the 3Gs include:

• Voice Control for voice-activated dialing and music selection
• A graphical compass that works in conjunction with the GPS and Google Maps feature, and
• An enhanced text messaging utility that allows you to attach photos and/or videos.

The iPhone camera has been improved as well. Image resolution increases from 2 to 3 megapixels. The camera also allows you to record and edit web-quality video.

Apple offers two 3Gs models – one with 16 GB of storage capacity ($199) and the other with 32GB ($299). The older 3G model will only be offered in an 8 GB configuration but the price has been cut in half. You can pick up the 8GB 3G for only $99.

Before you get too excited about purchasing a new 3G or 3Gs iPhone, it’s important to recognize that the pricing quoted here is for “qualified customers.” ATT is the only carrier authorized by Apple to provide iPhone wireless service. To qualify for the list pricing, customers must either activate a new ATT wireless account with a 2-year service agreement or be eligible for an equipment upgrade within their current ATT wireless plan. If you are ineligible for the advertised pricing, you can still upgrade but the cost of the iPhone will be significantly higher. Contact ATT or visit www.apple.com/iphone for more information.

The 3Gs will ship with the new 3.0 operating system. At some point, the 3G will include 3.0 as well. If you already own an iPhone, the operating system upgrade will be available for free on June 17. iPod Touch customers will also be able to 3.0 but Apple will assess a nominal charge (reportedly $10). Apple plans to distribute the software update via the iTunes synchronization process.

Frequently Asked Question – what is Facebook?

Facebook is a free social networking website that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. Users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves.

The website's name refers to the paper facebooks depicting members of a campus community that some US colleges and preparatory schools give to incoming students, faculty, and staff as a way to get to know other people on campus.

Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook with fellow computer science major students and his roommates Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes while he was a student at Harvard University. Website membership was initially limited to Harvard students, but was expanded to other colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and Stanford University. It later expanded further to include any university student, then high school students, and, finally, to anyone aged 13 and over. The website currently has more than 200 million active users worldwide.

Facebook has met with some controversy over the past few years. It has been blocked intermittently in several countries including Syria and Iran, although Iran later unblocked Facebook in 2009. It has also been banned at many places of work to discourage employees from wasting time using the service. Privacy has also been an issue, and it has been compromised several times. Facebook is also facing several lawsuits from a number of Zuckerberg's former classmates, who claim that Facebook had stolen their source code and other intellectual property.

Facebook is also now the largest social networking site, overtaking MySpace. A February 2009, Compete.com blog entry ranked Facebook as the most used social network, followed by MySpace.

Source: Wikipedia contributors, "Facebook," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Facebook&oldid=295055987 (accessed June 7, 2009).

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Published by Computer Homecare and Small Business Solutions
phone: 269.327.1574 • e-mail: appointments@computerhomecare.net • website: www.computerhomecare.net