Be in the Know

Understanding how a computer operates and being informed on peripherals helps the consumer make wise choices when it is time to make that expensive purchase. In my 11 years as a computer teacher I have had to make many large purchases for my school and I am always amazed at how much technology changes just over the course of a few years. What was hot last year is not going to be the same this year. The consumer really has to know what her needs are in order to make a wise decision.

The benefits of being prepared for computer disaster are numerous. Unfortunately there are those with evil intent in our society and abroad who wish to compromise the safety and security of the Internet. One must be aware of these situation and be proactive. Not only can the Internet be a threat but hardware and software are not foolproof and can fail at any moment. Backing up is always a wise move.

I have always been very proactive when it comes to my precious photos. Walgreens has proven to be an easy and safe choice to store my pics. I found out the hard way that by backing them on CD proved to fail me when it was time to retrieve. Software upgrades make the old versions obsolete rendering the CD’s useless. Talk about disappointment, I have years of digital photos I will never be able to retrieve and I am a big photo buff. When there is a family function requiring photos, I pride myself in being able to produce bits of the past to share.


Navigating the dangerous web takes knowledge and skill. For years I believed Norton’s antivirus was written by those that created the viruses. It seemed those who used it suffered the most attacks, me include. My 50 Mac’s at school never fell prey to those attacks hence when the home PC got so fouled up it couldn’t run, an eMac found it’s way into our home. I am happy to report we are still safe both at school and home.