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Archive for December, 2009

What’s the deal with T9?

It uses the same system used now to spell out words, such as 1-800-GEE-KSQUA converting to 1-800-433-5778, or in the days of telephone operators where PennsylvniA 6-5000 became 726-5000. As you type in single numbers that standard for one of 3 or 4 letters, it cross references that with a dictionary of words to find out what word you may be typing. It is not flawless, because there are a number of words that are spelled by the same four numbers (for example, 5646 spells both “join” and “logo”), however most systems will present the most common word, and then offer you a chance to pick other options. However the benefit is that instead of using non-T9 text messaging systems where you would have to hit the 5 key three times to move from “j” to “k” to “l”, you can just hit the 5 key once and it figures out from context which letter it should be.

Geek Squad 2MM: Connecting Your GPS in Your Car

Another thing to keep in mind when setting up your GPS is to make sure it has a direct signal to a satellite. We recommend setting it up while you’re outside, not while you’re inside (e.g. in your garage).

Geek Squad Agents Become Free WiFi Hotspots this Holiday Season

With WiFi hotspots popping up in all kinds of places, Geek Squad returned to the lab for a “next-gen” holiday gift. Now “Secret Agent Santas” will take WiFi technology to the next level, releasing WiFi hotspots from the electrical outlet through the use of high-speed USB modems and battery-powered routers.

Beginning today, select Agents in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco will become “Secret Agent Santas,” providing free Internet access wherever they are. “Secret Agent Santas” will help people stay connected on the final leg of this holiday season on trains, in parks and at a multitude of other locations. WiFi’d Agents will be easily recognizable by their non-uniform holiday headgear – a light-up red and white Santa hat with LEDs around the brim.

Civilians are encouraged to take advantage of the free internet service and speak with the Agents about any technology problems or questions they might have. Select Geekmobile® vehicles in Atlanta and San Francisco also will be set up to provide service.

“Free WiFi has made staying connected easier and increased the usefulness of laptops, smartphones and other hand-held devices,” said Geek Squad Agent Ismael Matos. “By creating these roving hotspots, we’re providing an even greater level of service. Need WiFi on an ‘L’ train in Chicago? We can help. Want us to park six Geekmobiles at an Atlanta football game so you can tailgate and stay connected? We can do that too.

“To serve the greatest number of people, these hotspots will not be password protected,” continued Matos. “We recommend that civilians not conduct any particularly sensitive work as a result. Check sports scores but not bank accounts.”

WiFi’d Agents are a gift that keeps on giving; rolling out this holiday season, the service will continue indefinitely. Keep an eye out for specially marked Geek Squad Agents and open hotspots named “Geek Squad.” And if you have any WiFi location requests, please visit Geek Squad Intelligence (http://www.geeksquad.com/intelligence/) and leave us a comment.

Geek Squad 2MM: How to Extend the Life of a Laptop Battery

What’s the deal with “WWW”?

Before the big Internet boom, there were a number of different ways to transmit information from Internet sites, and one of the youngest of them was the World Wide Web, at the time a series of links to text documents that spread out much like a spider’s web. Back then you would need to specify that you were looking for information via the Web, and the www was required. Once the first graphical Web browser (NCSA Mosaic) appeared in 1993, the Web boomed and became the most common platform for the Internet.

Technically, most web addresses still use www, so for example to get to the Geek Squad home page you can use www.geeksquad.com. Most browsers like Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox will automatically add the “www” if you only type in the geeksquad.com name, so it is not necessary to type.

Geek Squad 2MM: Defining Different Router Options

Before you click on that link…

Language was shortened long ago for ease of Instant Messaging. So when text messaging became popular, people were already armed with ‘c u l8r’, ‘IDK’, and ‘BRT’ (or “see you later”, “I don’t know”, and “be right there” for proponents of the Queen’s English). This computer lingo comes in handy now that social networking sites, like Twitter, are designed for short and succinct updates.

But what if you wanted to Twitter a link to my epic blog about using secure passwords? As you may know, Twitter updates are capped at 140 characters. The full address of my post is:

http://www.geeksquad.com/intelligence/blog/use-halibut-to-protect-your-identity/#more-474.

Not only is that hard to type, but it weighs in at 89 characters. This only leaves you 51 characters for the remainder of your tweet. When it comes to Twitter updates, space is at a premium. 

Enter the URL shortening services. After TinyURL.com was launched in 2002, there have been numerous other sites with a similar spin, such as snipurl.com, is.gd, and bit.ly. By using their services, the large unwieldy URL above is rendered as http://tinyurl.com/yjclqts . Much easier on the thumbs, and it gives you more space to write glowing praise about the link in question.

The problem is, as with anything on the Internet, you find people with malicious intent looking to use URL shorteners to their advantage. Firewalls, anti-virus software, anti-spyware software, and phishing scanners are great, but if you click a link that goes directly to a malicious site, often there isn’t anything security software can do about it. You may think you’re following a friend’s link to a story about the release of Windows 7, and end up at a site with adult content or a site with the intent to infect your computer with a virus.

Some of the shortening services have instituted a preview system; for example, if you were to enter http://preview.tinyurl.com/yjclqts, the tinyurl site will tell you what the link points to. But for those sites that don’t have a preview system, or if you don’t want to retype all of them, there are a few ways to make sure you don’t end up someplace you’d rather not be.

There are add-ons, which are programs you can download for Firefox and Internet Explorer, which check the shortening site and report back to you the expanded URL, and then giving you the option of clicking on it or not. Longurl.org is a website that you can go to where you can copy and paste the shortened URL, and it will report back the full link.

 So while sometimes your friends may just be trying to hit you with the most viral Internet prank of all time, other times you may find something far worse than Rick Astley on the other end of that link.

If you’re looking for some of these add-ons, go to http://snipurl.com/sikhj for Firefox or http://bit.ly/3RD3sP for Internet Explorer.

This Holiday Season, Geek Squad Provides Round-the-Clock Support

Civilians, rejoice! This holiday season, there’s no need to change out of those embarrassing holiday flannels to track down fixes to holiday tech headaches. Geek Squad’s professionally trained taskforce of more than 20,000 Agents has been preparing all year long to provide support in more places than ever before – from their living rooms to yours.

IN YOUR LIVING ROOM ONLINE
Geek Squad Agents have always been available in Best Buy stores nationwide, and roamed the country in their Geekmobiles®, helping customers in home 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Now Geek Squad Online Support offers another convenient way for civilians to receive reliable technology support, with more Agents than ever before available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Geek Squad Online Support has become the road to affordable, quality service at speeds that could get any Geekmobile driver ticketed. And with this holiday, Geek Squad has customized its service experience by giving civilians the opportunity to choose which virtual Agent they want. So before you throw your gear on the Yule log, log onto Support.Geeksquad.com to access genuine Geek Squad Agents for immediate holiday headache relief and a free initial consultation.

“This is the year when civilians everywhere can feel confident about freeing a gadget from its packaging and setting it up themselves,” said Cory Wiebusch, Geek Squad online support agent. “Whether you’re programming a gaming console to stream to the living room plasma TV, or transferring music from one MP3 player to another, Geek Squad is here for you, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year – and now in the comfort of your own holiday jammies!”

IN YOUR LIVING ROOM ON TV
While Geek Squad Agents may not know the best color scheme for your living room, the task force does know a thing or two about integrating technology into your home. That’s why this holiday season, Geek Squad will also bring its favorite home tech tips to TV via the nationally syndicated home improvement television show, “HouseSmarts™.” Beginning Dec. 12, homeowners will be able to receive tips and trends first hand, as Agents interact with host, and home improvement expert, Lou Manfredini during the 30-minute instructional show. Civilians can visit HouseSmartstv.com to find out where and when they can catch the show in their local market.

IN YOUR LIVING ROOM 24/7
For years, Geek Squad has offered gratis advice and tools via GeekSquad.com to aid people with their holiday tech challenges. From instructional videos for troubleshooting problems, to the “Fix or Replace Calculator” for deciding what to do with your gear, Geek Squad Agents provide free solutions to relieve holiday technostress online, all the time.

About Geek Squad:
If all you want for Christmas is to make the most of your technology, Geek Squad is there for you: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. For help with all your technology needs, call 1.800.GEEK SQUAD to set up an onsite consultation. Access Geek Squad Agents remotely or find a location near you at www.geeksquad.com, or visit the Geek Squad Precinct at Best Buy to speak with an Agent directly.