Recycle Your Tech!

In honor of Earth Day, I'd like to encourage everyone to recycle their electronics. As far as I've observed, most homes and businesses have a small to large stockpile of old electronics that they're holding on to (mine is no exception). As computers get replaced throughout the years, older ones get put in the closet (or attic, or basement, or garage, etc). Maybe another family member could use it. Maybe you'll find another use for it. Maybe there's some important data on it that requires the whole computer intact, along with all the accessories! Sorry, but no. Computers are so inexpensive these days that your family members don't want that 7 year old machine, and there's rarely a good way to repurpose an old, energy-inefficient computer. For a long while in the 90's and early 00's the prevailing impulse was "I'll donate it to a school!" Unfortunately, schools discovered that it was more of a burden and expense to have a hodgepodge of computers they had to support than it was to just buy brand new ones.

But what do you do with old computers, monitors, and other electronics? Well, the first answer is: don't throw it in the garbage! Electronics contain an incredible amount of reusable components, as well as elements that could be harmful to the environment if simply dumped. As an alternative to the trash bin, here's what I tell all my clients:

Take it to eAsset Solutions.

I don't think I've ever buzz marketed a local business on this blog before, but this one is worth mentioning because I've been very impressed by the work that they do. eAsset takes in all kinds of electronics and either reuses or recycles them. They have a "no landfill" policy, so everything that comes into their shop goes back out again to get reused somehow. Even if something is completely broken, they'll strip it down to its components and gather platters of parts to sell to other responsible vendors.

The environmental aspect of what eAsset Solutions does is great, but there's another advantage to taking your old equipment there: data destruction. Every hard drive that comes in the door is assessed. If it's in good shape with no bad "sectors" (tiny sections of hard drive platters), the drive is thoroughly wiped and resold. If however, the drive is no good or you're just not comfortable with it being reused, the drive is destroyed in a number of ways. They have a device akin to a giant single hole punch, which drives a rod straight through the platters, destroying them. They also have my favorite device, the hard drive shredder! Just imagine your little office shredder, but about 10 times bigger with steel teeth the size of Tic Tac boxes. Hard drives go in, tiny fragments of metal come out.

If you have old electronics lying around, take them to eAssest Solutions. Drop offs are free, and they charge small amounts for some of the more thorough data destruction processes like the hard drive shredding. Also, if you know of a small business that needs to recycle a large amount of computers, eAsset will come pick the equipment up and take care of everything.

It should be noted that some big box stores will take recycling too. The reason I'm recommending eAsset Solutions is because I've toured their facilities and I have more confidence in their practices. That's why I exclusively go to their facilities even though they're 17 miles away from me. I do not have any financial arrangement with them, I just like them.

What Why How: Podcasts

Welcome to a new segment here on the 3TG Blog! In What Why How I'll be explaining various tech topics that my readers might not be familiar with yet.

Podcasts are episodic audio programs delivered over the internet. It's sort of like radio, reimagined for the internet. "Podcast" is a portmanteau of "iPod" and "broadcast," since iPods were the main way podcasts were listened to at first. Podcasts have been around for over 10 years, starting mostly with technology shows, usually covering news in the tech world. Since that time, the popularity of podcasts has risen steadily, particularly once celebrities started using the medium. In the last couple years the popularity of podcasts has exploded (relatively), mainly due to a podcast called Serial, which captured listener's attention with the "true crime" investigation of a 1999 murder case. It saw coverage in the mainstream press, and even a parody on SNL.

There are podcasts devoted to all sorts of subjects. Technology, comedy, a specific TV show, news, politics, any number of special interest topics. The formats vary wildly. There are tons of interview podcasts like Nerdist, comedy podcasts like Judge John Hodgman (my favorite of all podcasts, in case you were wondering), and special interest shows like Planet Money (which covers financial topics in an accessible way). In general, podcasts are fairly informal in tone and lightly edited. There are exceptions like Planet Money, This American Life, and Serial, but those require more preparation and post production. For the most part, there's a cliche in podcasting of "two people with a microphone."

How do I listen?

My own podcast library, mostly in order of how much I like the shows.

Listening to podcasts is pretty easy. In the beginning, the most popular method was iTunes, which has an entire podcast section. You can download and listen to shows right there on your computer. These days most people tend to listen to podcasts on their phones because it lets them listen to content while on a commute, doing chores, or working out.  I estimate that I listen to at least 15 hours of podcasts a week, just while driving, cooking, washing the dishes, and doing the laundry. [I couldn't get in all that listening if I didn't have my favorite headphones. This bluetooth LG model is my favorite.] iPhone and Android users can find free podcast apps, but I'd like to put in my vote for what I consider the best podcast app out there: Pocket Casts. It handles podcasts beautifully, with a great user interface and tons of options for different ways to listen and organize your various shows. It can also sync between your devices so you can switch from your phone to your tablet and keep listening. It even has a web component so you can listen to your shows from any computer. When you install Pocket Casts, you just press the + button at the top to add a feed. You can then see a list of recommended shows, browse by genre or podcast network, or search for a show that someone told you about. You can see my screenshot of Pocket Casts on the right. The little numbers indicate how many new episodes I have waiting for me. 

How do they work?

On a technological level, podcasts use an internet standard called RSS, which enables the automatic delivery of content. Your podcast app (or "podcatcher") checks these RSS feeds to find out whether a new episode has been posted.

On a financial level, podcasts have various methods of supporting themselves and their creators. The most common method is advertising, where the show might take a quick break to run an ad. The second most common way is donations, which might take the form of Kickstarter, donations to a podcast network, or through a site like Patreon, which allows listeners to donate a small (or large) amount of money for each episode that's released. The last method is...well...they don't make any money. A lot of podcasts are released just for fun, or with the hopes of growing an audience that might one day gain the show advertisers or donations.

How are they made?

One of the appeals of podcasting is how easy it is to make one. All you need is the following:

• a computer (any computer - this doesn't take a lot of power)
• a microphone (could be the built in webcam mic - which isn't very good - or a cheap one bought from Amazon)
• audio editing software (start out with the free Audacity)
• a host for your files (Soundcloud offers free hosting to start)

I would recommend spending some money on the mic, so for $40 all in, you can have a podcast that all your friends and family can download. You can even add your podcast to iTunes where anyone can see it. Here's a great article on how to start a podcast.

Why listen to podcasts?

When I first started listening to podcasts, I had two reasons. The main reason was to keep up with all the technology news. The second was to have something to listen to while I drove around the area visiting my clients. I still have those reasons, but now I love podcasts as a way to be entertained or to learn new things. I'm a person who dislikes financial topics, but I love how Planet Money presents topics to me in a way I understand. Podcasts bring me stories, people talking about what they're passionate about, news on the topics I'm interested in, and a welcome distraction from daily household chores.

Google Apps vs Office 365 (vs neither)

When running a small business, you can get more done with cloud services. Sometimes you can get by with makeshift setups, combining free or cheap services with programs you already have, but sometimes these services just aren't able to keep up with you and your business, especially if you add other employees.

Using one of the following services can be a nice solution for non-business users too, as it gives the ability to synchronize your email, contacts, and calendar with all of your devices. Give 3TG a call if you have any questions.

Google Apps

Pros: lightweight, inexpensive, entirely cloud-based
Cons: less powerful, doesn't work well with Microsoft products

There are few companies as dedicated to cloud computing as Google, whose services and data exist entirely in the cloud. They do have products that work on desktops, but they usually rely on an internet connection for data and/or processing.

If you're starting from scratch and don't mind using your browser for everything, I usually recommend Google Apps. It's easy to use, has a full suite of products, and has good prices for data storage. You'll have email processing, document creation, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. Best of all is the price: Google Apps costs $5/month for each user (or $50/year if you pay in advance). The service works on all major desktop and mobile device platforms, and in every major browser.

Microsoft Office 365

Pros: powerful, best for existing Office users
Cons: expensive, doesn't play nicely with Google

The business world has used Microsoft Office for a couple decades now. That means there are a lot of people who are very comfortable with how Office and its programs (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc) work. For those people I recommend Office 365 Business Premium. It includes email handling, the entire desktop suite of Office programs to install on up to 5 computers, 5 phones, and 5 tablets per user, and also includes the web versions of their desktop programs. You also get a generous amount of storage space at 1TB, which is over 3x more than Google Apps offers.

There are two main levels of Office 365: Business and Business Premium. Business is $8.25/month and just includes the applications. You have to provide your own email handling, either through a web host or other service. Often, that service is Google or Google Apps. It's common for people to use Microsoft for their applications and Google Apps for their email handling, and Google provides a tool for this process, but it doesn't work nearly as well as the connection Microsoft uses for the Office 365 Business Premium service. That service, though is $12.50/month, which is quite a lot more than the $50 you pay for Google Apps. But letting Microsoft handle your email for you will make for a much more pleasant experience than trying to combine services.

Office 365 will work on Windows and Mac, and has mobile apps for all the major platforms.

Neither (DIY)

Pros: cheaper (sometimes)
Cons: fewer capabilities, potential compatibility issues

What if you already have a fairly recent version of Office (say, 2007 or later), and you do all your business through an email address you already have, whether it's through your ISP, a web host, or a regular GMail/Yahoo/AOL account? Well, then you're pretty much set.  You can get email on your phone and on your computer. But often there are problems with this solution. In some setups, you won't be able to synchronize the email you've read, and have to check it in both places. In most cases, you won't be able to sync the contact and calendar entries between your computer and mobile device(s). These are the most common reasons that I recommend upgrading to Google Apps or Office 365, but if you're just not ready for the monthly or yearly commitment, there's still a solution through a tool called gsyncit. This is primarily intended for GMail users, but it can also sync contacts and calendars with Yahoo and AOL accounts, and it only costs $20. Still, eventually it's just easier to use Google Apps or Office 365 and get a more seamless experience.

The other consideration to make is how recent your version of Office is. Office 365 might seem pricey, but you always get the most recent version of the software, and often you'll spend the same amount on a new standalone copy of Office (if you can find it) as you would for more than two years of Office 365, which can be installed on five computers. Or you could ditch Office altogether and use Google Apps, which has most of the features that most users need.

If you need assistance setting up any of these services for your small business, give 3TG a call. I'd be happy to talk about moving you off of old servers or away from aging Office installations.

The History of Universal Remotes (and Which One is the Best)

It's a cliché at this point. The image of a coffee table littered in remotes. The spouse who's tired of needing to press five buttons on three remote controls. The in-law who just wants to watch TV but is only getting "Video 4" on the TV!

What follows is a background on universal remotes, and after that a description of my favorite remote on the market: the Harmony Smart Remote. If you'd like to skip to that, just scroll to the heading of "the best universal remote ever."

The TV remote control has been around for over 60 years, but it wasn't until the 80's that a universal remote was released in order to corral the growing number of remote controls needed for the average TV. Once the 90's came around and we had more and more devices in "home theaters," the product category started to grow. Now we needed to control tape decks, VCRs, CD players, DVD players, receivers, TVs, etc. I recall a drawer in my house growing up that had at least 7 remote controls in it.

There have been many attempts to create the perfect universal remote, but the most common types are inexpensive ones that you need to program yourself. This Sony, for example, will come with a booklet that provides you with some codes you need to enter in order to control different devices in your system. It also has a learning function to directly teach the remote in case those codes don't work. These remotes are very inexpensive, but setup can be tedious, and creating macros to turn all your components on/off can be maddening.

In the late 90's Philips tried to create a line of remotes that consumers could configure themselves. They created the Philips Pronto, which was an almost entirely touch-screen phone. It was configured using an application on your computer that let you drag and drop buttons to various screens on the device, and make your remote look exactly like you wanted it. The problem was that while this gave you an extreme level of control, it took far longer to program than the simplest universal remotes. These remotes also cost almost $400 (because this was a touchscreen device in 1999). Philips released several more models in their Pronto line, but eventually shut it down due to lack of interest.

Because the universal remote market consisted of cheap remotes expensive consumer models, it's no surprise that a company called Harmony was able to take the biggest market share. They released remotes that, while not cheap, were affordable, attractive, and designed to be used by anyone. The killer feature was a help menu that let you tell the remote directly if something went wrong. I would guide you through the steps and get you back on track. Over the years, Harmony has been the king of the universal remote market. But I wasn't a big fan of their early remotes because they just didn't work well, and I had to resort to that help screen too many times. But things got better when they were bought by Logitech, and some of their recent remotes have been stellar, including my favorite (more on that in a moment).

Discrete codes

In my opinion, the biggest problems with home theater devices is the haphazard inclusion of "discrete codes." When discrete codes are used, you can tell a TV to "turn on" or "turn off" or "set to video 7." But without discrete codes, the best you can do is say "tv toggle power" or "tv change to next input." The result is that the remote has no way of knowing what state the TV is in, and has no reliable way to get it into a state it can start with. In recent years manufacturers have gotten better about including discrete codes with their TVs and receivers, so it's been possible to configure remote controls in a way that guarantees reliable operation.

Screen or no screen?

I've had two models of Pronto remote controls, both with a giant touch screen and small number of buttons. After using those, personally, I prefer remotes that don't have screens. I much prefer to be able to operate a remote without having to look at it. I want to be able to feel the buttons so that when I want to pause a movie and I'm sitting in a dark room, I don't have to look for the part of the screen where the pause button is. Not having a screen also means better battery life and fewer points of failure.

The best universal remote ever

In my opinion, the best universal remote I've ever used is the Logitech Harmony Smart Control. There's so much to like about this little guy. It's very thin and compact, so your fingers don't have to travel far. It uses RF technology, which means that it talks to a little hub that can sit with your components behind cabinet doors or in another room and it doesn't need line of sight to work. The setup is done using a smartphone or tablet, and it's much better than Harmony remote setup used to be. If your components are fairly current, setting up "activities" on the Harmony should result in completely reliable, single-button operation. Press the picture of a TV at the top of your remote, and the TV, receiver, and cable box all turn on and tune to the correct inputs. When you have a friend, family member, or babysitter come over, you just tell them to press the TV button and it turns on. Easy!

Many of these features have been distilled from extremely expensive remotes, down into this tiny little wonder. Using RF (radio frequencies) alone used to add a hundred onto the price. But this one packs every feature I can imagine wanting, and puts it into a $99 price tag. That still may seem like a lot for a remote control, but it's the primary way you interact with your TV. Why not make that experience as easy as possible?

The Harmony Smart Control works with almost any component you can think of, including any of the media streaming devices on the market (except for the Chromecast, which is entirely controlled with your phone).

I'll admit, setting up these remotes could be easier, and you might find that you still need to call 3TG for support in setting it up (almost always done in an hour), but the result will be a remote that's a pleasure to use and works every time.