Introduction:

A common situation I have observed with some retirees and older people who have left the workforce is that they leave their computer skills at the office door. Here, they severely reduce their use of the computer because they associate it with their work life.

This situation can be dangerous when it comes to using the computer for personal use because it can be easy to fall out of practice with the various computing and IT skills.that will come in handy over the life that you spend in this new “free” situation.

Computer activities in this new situation

The computer as a communications tool

If you are deciding to reduce your computing activity after your retirement, it would be a good idea to keep those skills associated with Internet-based communication such as email or Skype alive. This would be important where you have relatives or friends who are located a long distance apart or you consider a move to the country or a nice outer-urban area as part of your retirement plans.

For example, a good practice would be to check email once a day and reply to messages or compose and send messages at least a few times over the week. Similarly using Skype or a similar service at least weekly, if not fortnightly, would work well in saving international or other long-distance telephone costs while being able to see whom you are talking to. Think of situations like seeing and hearing your excited new grandson or granddaughter on your computer or TV screen or celebrating a birthday “across the wire”.

In some cases, the Social Web can be a valuable communications tool through creation and management of online photo albums and online diaries where applicable. As well, most of the Social Web platforms like Facebook have integrated instant-messaging functions so you can use this as an adjunct to email and / or Skype.

The Web as a research and shopping tool

The Web can be used as part of your business, shopping and travel life, whether to find the best prices for particular goods and services or simply to know more about a particular item of interest.

For example, you could use Google as a starting point for research on a topic or item. On the other hand, you could visit online merchants to buy goods or organise services like travel. You can even use this online method of shopping as an adjunct to visiting your local or favourite shops.

Using office applications at home or as part of your hobbies and interests

The office applications like Microsoft Office or Apple iLife can be used beyond the office door. Here, they can come in handy for your personal lifestyle efforts.

For example, a word processor can cone in handy in writing something like a memoir or other “magnum opus”; or documenting that special trip you had done. Similarly a spreadsheet can come in handy for having information in an organised form, for example managing a guest list for that special party. Even that dreaded Microsoft PowerPoint application could be used for creating “title slides” that are to be part of screen-shows or home-video projects.

The computer as a multimedia tool

A common task you will end up doing is to store and manage music, photos and video on your computer. This will be more so as you use your digital camera and / or smartphone to take photos and videos of family events and your travel. Similarly, you may “dump” your CD collection to your computer’s hard drive so you can play it over your home network or create “mixtapes” on to USB thumbdrives or memory cards for the car.

Here, you can still use your computer and associated programs to organise, edit and curate you digital media so you have it how you want it. This can be done using a mix of the popular tools like iTunes, Windows Live Photo Gallery, iPhoto, Audacity or Picasa.

The goal is to engage in the other non-work activities like family, hobbies and travel first but use the computer as a supporting tool for these activities.

Choosing the equipment

Toshiba Satellite L730 full-function ultraportable

If you don’t have computer equipment to use at home after your retirement, you may be in a position to buy new equipment for this period in your life.

When you choose the equipment, you could offer to buy out your company-supplied computer from your previous employer for use at home if you can do so. A possible advantage of this may be that your employer can turn this asset of theirs in to cash that they can use towards a newer more up-to-date computer.

On the other hand, you could buy a decent consumer laptop or all-in-one / low-profile desktop with consumer-priced software. You may also want to consider a “2-in-1” computer which can be a laptop or a tablet. This is important as an more of these “fold-over” convertible or detachable-keyboard computers are appearing at a lesser price premium compared to a traditional “clamshell” laptop. As well, the advantage here may be to “free up” the iPad that one is normally using to watch video content personally or simply have one device for all of your computing activities. This can help you start afresh on new equipment that you fully own. Have a look through the Product Reviews, especially the laptop reviews so you can get a fair idea of what you want to purchase.

Acer Iconia Tab A500 tablet computer

In some cases, if you just want to work with email and Web browsing, you may find that you could get by with just a tablet computer like an iPad, an ASUS Transformer Prime or an Acer Iconia Tab. These can even just work as a secondary computer that you use around the house. Even if you do have a 2-in-1 computer, you may find that a tablet may come in handy as a “spare” secondary computing device for children when they play games for example.

HP Photosmart 7510 multifunction inkjet printer

Similarly, a network-capable consumer inkjet multifunction printer could suit your needs as a hard-copy device. Here, I have reviewed many of these printers on this site, but would recommend those units that use separate ink cartridges for each colour and can print on both sides of the paper if you value a machine that isn’t costly to run.

It is also worth reading my article about equipping the “family house” for broadband as extra guidance on this topic. This has guidance regarding the right broadband plans to choose, especially when you want to take advantage of packages that integrate this service along with telephony and/or multi-channel pay TV.

Seeking assistance from others

You may need to seek assistance with newer computing situations or find that you have trouble remembering a particular procedure that you have started to fall out of practice on. Here, there are many avenues to benefit from this assistance.

Firstly, there will be younger relatives and friends who would be able to help you with these skills and / or keep your equipment in proper shape. Similarly, if you do maintain contact with your former employer and they have an on-site or contract IT team, this team may also help you with these skills or your equipment.

As well, there are plenty of computer-skills courses offered by community organisations like U3A in Australia that are targeted at retirees and similar people. The best place to ask about this is through your local council who will put you in the loop with these organisations.

This is especially if you have to face newer computing environments and practices or simply find it hard to keep certain skills alive within the context of your new life.

Conclusion

The main essence of this article is that those computing skills you acquire through your working life are still valid even as you leave the office for good. Here, they can be used to augment your communications with relatives and friends or sustain your hobbies and interests that you have more time to nurture.

Update – 31 January 2017: I have added to this article a mention about the recent crop of convertible or detachable “2-in-1” laptop computers that can become a tablet with them being at a very low price premium compared to standard laptops.

Article

Editorial: Thin laptops are the new mainstream, but what about battery life? — Engadget

My Comments

Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook – suits air travel very well

You expect that you use a laptop, especially an Ultrabook through most of the day on a mixture of tasks ranging from basic data entry / content creation through playing audio and video content to even playing games. Often these tasks require you to be online all the time, thus causing you to use the built-in Wi-Fi network adaptor or a wireless-broadband adaptor whether built-in or plugged in to the machine’s USB port or ExpressCard slot. Here, you expect the battery to last around 6-10 hours on this activity mix with you just plugging the laptop in to its charger and having it on charge for up to 8 hours while you eat and sleep.

This is compared to you having to make sure that you have the charger in your laptop bag when you are out for the day and looking for power outlets all the time after a significant amount of battery-only activity.

A common reality with the battery life on a laptop is that this factor can be easily assessed, measured and reviewed on new machines where the battery would be performing at its best. But as the battery pack ages as you use the machine, the runtime will typical deplete through the repeated charge and discharge cycles. Similarly, the kind of usage a customer throws at a laptop or similar device may not be typical of what a manufacturer or reviewer would observe due to the mixed nature of this use, the laptop’s configuration which may be different from what was assessed with, and the peripherals connected to the machine.

The article talked of the idea of a laptop having the horsepower of a “thin-and-light” like an Ultrabook or the Toshiba Portege R830, but as thick as a regular “standard” laptop. But this extra thickness is taken up with a larger high-capacity battery pack that facilitates a longer runtime. It is a practice that has been tried before with some portable-computer implementations including the Apple iPad.

As well, Sony have implemented this concept with their add-on external-battery-packs that are available for their VAIO S Series and VAIO Z Series that I have reviewed. From the various comments and images that I have come across regarding these accessory batteries and their use with the VAIO laptops, the laptops don’t become obnoxiously weighty or thick when the battery packs are installed.

Nowadays the issue of battery life in the ultra-slim laptops is becoming more important as Intel releases the Ivy Bridge processor range which provides integrated graphics for these computers that can yield high performance for most video and gaming needs. Of course, it may not satisfy the needs of competitive LAN-party gamers or high-end video-editing / graphics needs.

Here, intense graphics-rich activity on these computers, such as a marathon session of Civilization V on the long-haul flight or a long run of video editing and transcoding for that “on-the-road” vidcast may put a strain on the Ultrabook’s battery. If the concept of a laptop equipped with the abilities of a “thin-and-light” but using a high-capacity battery; or a “thin-and-light” working with a high-capacity add-on battery pack was followed through, you could then provide for more room with the battery even after this kind of activity takes place.

Of course, I would still ensure that there is the ability to run these computers on external power as a way of not compromising battery runtime when you are using the computer at your “base”, whether it be your office, hotel room or car.

It is then still worth factoring in long-run battery life in laptop’s design, whether as part of the computer itself or as an optional accessory, especially for those of us who may consider working online and away from power for significant periods.

A major change has been happening for the average desktop computer system. Here this class of computer isn’t just the large box that sat under the screen or the large tower that sat beside the desk. In some ways, these desktop computers are now being welcomed back in to the main living areas of the house rather than being shut out to the den.

System types

There are two major directions that are being made available for this class of computer.

All-in-ones

This style integrates the computer circuitry, the screen and all of the secondary storage in one box about the size of a small flatscreen TV. The keyboard and mouse appear as separate devices that connect to this unit. An example of this style is the Sony VAIO J Series “all-in-one” that I have recently reviewed.

The style was inspired initially by the Apple Macintosh being the most popular of this form factor, but was augmented initially by the “transportable” computers that appeared at various times through the 1980s. Compaq also tried to bring this style in to being in the mid 1990s but with little success.

Some all-in-one variants where the computer circuitry, keyboard and secondary storage may appear but this style has been and could be targeted at the “retro 80s” market. This is because most of the computers that were popular in the early days of hobby and home computing that existed through the late 70s to the late 80s like the Commodore 64, the Apple IIe or the Sinclair ZX computers were based on that design layout even though, in a lot of the early designs, the secondary storage was outside of the system.

Most of these machines now have a touchscreen built in to them so as to make them appeal as interactive terminals. But HP have raised the stakes in this form factor by develop the Z1 which was a high-powered 27” workstation that implements a modular design so that it can be upgraded or repaired more easily.

Low-profile system units

Another direction for the desktop computer is for a traditional “three-piece” system to be equipped with a low-profile system unit. In earlier times a low-profile system unit was a box about the size of a typical video recorder or hi-fi CD player released through the late 80s and was very unreliable due to intense heat build-up.

Now these are units that appear in different sizes ranging from a small book to a loaf of bread to an ordinary two-slice toaster and some may be mistaken for a typical consumer network-attached-storage unit. This may include “pizza-box” designs that are so slim that you don’t know they are there; and the highly-powerful heavy-duty servers that are as big as the classic desktop computer designs.

Common features

The common features with these newer desktop-computer designs include a thermal design that relies less on a constantly-running fan to keep the system cool. In some cases, any system cooling fans that are used in these computers may operate in an “on-demand” manner where they come on if the system is running hot. This then leads to a reduced noise output from these computers compared to the traditional desktop computer.

Similarly, some of these computers will even use an outboard power supply that looks like the kind that would come with a laptop computer. Of course these would be designed to work without the use of a cooling fan.

Depending on the configuration, you may have new-design desktop computers that may suit average desktop computing tasks whereas you may have highly-compact systems like the HP Z1 that can perform heavy multimedia, graphics or intense gaming tasks.

On the other hand, most of these systems may not be as adaptable to newer needs as a classic desktop system. This may be due to a lot of the systems being built around integrated rather than standards-driven modular architecture.

Choosing the right form factor for your needs

If you want to place value on a touchscreen on a desktop setup, you could go for a large-screen all-in-one that has this feature. Similarly, the all-in-one can come in handy for a brand-new computer system where you are starting from scratch.

On the other hand, if you have a display type, size or arrangement in mind, you could value a low-profile desktop units. This same situation can come in handy if you have a screen, keyboard and mouse that is still in good order. In some cases, you could easily hide the system unit behind the screen or a peripheral if you don’t like the look of it.

It is also worth knowing that some of the larger low-profile desktop units may have room for expansion with the ability to add one or two expansion cards such as installing a discrete graphics card or upgrade secondary storage to your needs.

The traditional “tower-style” desktop is still a sure bet if you place your emphasis on expandability, ultra performance or a system that has to suit your computing needs exactly. Here, these should be purchased from a quality independent computer store who can build them “to order” or have one or more systems available “off the peg” at a cost-effective price to start from.

Conclusion

At least this the improvements in the new desktop-computer designs have allowed for the desktop computer system to be considered as a system option for most computing tasks in environments where aesthetics or noise issues do matter.

Article

DirecTV to offer broadband to the boonies, teams up with ViaSat and Hughes Satellite providers — Engadget

My Comments

Another effort is taking place in bringing real broadband to rural USA. This time, DirecTV, who are one of two major digital satellite TV players in that market are working with ViaSat and Hughes satellite-broadband providers to sell their services as a bundled retail package. This is in addition to teeing up with the main telcos in the US to provide multiple-pipe triple-play communications services to that market.

The Hughes satellite broadband partnership capitalises on pre-existing business partnerships that Hughes Satellite had with DirecTV, by extending this to broadband Internet service.

One of the main problems at the moment is acineving a price parity to what most wireline broadband service providers would charge for providing this service. This includes the bandwidth allowable through the satellite setup as well as equivalent quotas that match most Internet use.

Another problem that will also affect DirecTV’s satellite-broadband bundling efforts is whether there will be more than one satellite dish needed to provide both the pay-TV service as well as the broadband service. This can be of concern when it comes to the aesthetics and cost of these installations and whether people will buy a bundled satellite-TV / satellite-Internet package or not. Here, I would like to see these setups proven to work using one dish and multiple antennas.

Similarly, an “SMATV” setup which services multiple TV and Internet subscribers in a multi-tenancy location such as a ski resort should also be assessed so that proper Internet bandwidth and DirecTV multi-channel reception can occur in these locations.

Articles

Samsung to sell world first 55-inch OLED TV

Panasonic, Sony purportedly entering into OLED TV team-up, torrid love affair | Engadget

My Comments

If you have a Samsung or HTC smartphone, you will most likely be using a phone that is equipped with an OLED display. Similarly you may have seen this technology in use with some upmarket car stereos.

These displays work on a self-illuminating method in a similar vein to the legacy cathode-ray-tube screens, the fluorescent displays used on most consumer-electronics equipment and the plasma display screens used in some larger flatscreen TVs. This is compared to the common LCD display technology used in most display applications that requires a backlight for the display to work.

They are known to offer an advantage of improved contrast as well as improved power efficiency for portable devices. The monochrome variants have been used effectively as a low-power equivalent to the previously-mentioned fluorescent displays, thus providing the same display look on battery-operated equipment.

Sony had previously launched an OLED-based TV in the form of the XEL-1 but this set used a screen that was eqivalent in size to most desktop computer monitors yet was very expensive compared to its peers. Now Panasonic, Samsung and Sony are taking this further by implementing OLED display technology in larger TVs that are fit for group-viewing in lounge rooms or family rooms.

Panasonic and Sony are pooling technical know-how to allow the creation of the large-area OLED displays necessary for the creation of these sets at prices affordable for most people.

What I see about this is it could be an effort in creating a large vivid high-contrast self-illuminating display that doesn’t consume lots of energy and is affordable for most users.

Articles

thinkbroadband :: Work and live in rural UK? Get your applications in to receive superfast broadband

DEFRA press release

Rural Community Broadband Fund page – Department of Culture, Media And Sport

My Comments

There has been further action taken at high-level government to make sure that rural communities in the UK are able to benefit from real broadband.

Infact DEFRA, the government department who are responsible for farming and forestry issues there are offering funds to provide Internet service beyond what the Broadband Delivery UK program are currently offering.

It is part of the second release of funds from the Rural Community Broadband Fund and is encompassing the hill farmers who are less likely to get real broadband. But this effort was part of newer financial incentives that were to target the rural community by the Farming Minister, Jim Paice.

There has been the issue of what technology to use, with the idea of implementing a fixed-wireless technology like “white-space” wireless broadband. But the European Union prefer to run with a fibre-rich wired technology if they have a hand in next-generation broadband setups and consider fixed-wireless as a “basic broadband service” alongside ADSL2. The question that was raised is whether a high-speed fixed-wireless link can be an answer for some rural areas where it is cost-prohibitive to roll out fibre-optic broadband.

Personally, I see this as another step, and one taken by a rural-affairs government department, to assure rural Britain of having access to decent-bandwidth real broadband Internet.

Dell Vostro 3550 business laptop

Any of you who regularly follow HomeNetworkig01.info regularly will come across reviews for desktop / laptop computers and peripherals that are pitched at business users. Examples of these include the HP ProBook 4520, the Dell Vostro 3550 and the Toshiba Tecra R850 laptops as well as most of the laser printers.

But you may think that this equipment, especially the desktop and laptop computers is to be pushed well away from small-business operators and home / SOHO users, only intended for large corporations.

Where to get these computers

Think again! The big-box computer retailers like Best Buy, Harvey Norman and JB HiFi could make you think that your shop, community organisation or other small business effort is only fit for the consumer desktops. You may get a reprieve with larger office-equipment chains like Staples, Office Depot or Officeworks offering business-grade printers and some business-grade computer equipment.

If you do engage an IT contractor or solution-provider who may provide the computing needs for your business, such as a point-of-sale system for your shop or a server for your small office or medical practice; you are in luck. Typically most of these operators are likely to sell business-grade desktops or laptops on an as-needed basis. They won’t have an inventory of such equipment on hand unless they operate a shopfront because of the storage requirements for the unsold equipment.

On the other hand, an independent computer dealer or a chain of specialist computer stores, especially those that are located near the central-business-district (downtown) area in a large city or other major business zone, may sell these computers.

But you will also have a greater chance in looking for these computers online. This may range from computer brands that operate an online store or  direct-sales platform like HP and Dell; to online stores the deal in both business and consumer computer equipment. Infact Dell can get your business machine “how you want it” by allowing you to vary the specifications to your needs or budget; or simply allow you to order a configuration “off the shelf”.

A trend that is starting to surface over the last few years is the creation of computers that tick the boxes for personal computing and business computing requirements. They will bave some of the looks and features associated with a consumer-grade computer yet have the manageability and security features associated with a business computer. This has come about due to:

• the arrival of the “bring your own device” practice adopted by an increasing number of workplaces; along with
• computer manufacturers answering the reality of the “work-home” laptop that has to “look the part” at home, including the home being the office for a business which may or may not have a storefront of some sort;
• computer manufacturers catering to  the Silicon-Valley / Northern-California workplace culture that replicates a common room in a university’s student-union or student residential facilities, something  underscored by the startups based in that area, and being different to what’s expected in New York or Chicago; and
• stiff competition from Apple with their MacBook products.

Features of interest with business computers

Security features

Toshiba Tecra R850 business laptop

One key differentiator for business computer equipment, especially laptops, is security features that are pitched at protecting sensitive corporate data. There may be less of a perceived need for these features for most small business, community organisation or small-office / home-office users.

But some of these users and their small organisations may be handling highly-sensitive data through their working life. This may range from an arts-and-antiques valuer who has details of the location and value of arts and antiques collections; through a lawyer, doctor or similar professional handling material that is confidential between them and their client or patient; to independent designers working on a unique significant design.

One common and obvious example is the provision of a fingerprint scanner which uses your fingerprint as the key to your system. This can be tied in with your operating system’s login process and / or it can work with a password vault for your online services. Infact some of use could use the fingerprint sensor and the supplied password vault software for doing something like logging in to Webmail services or our Social Web presence.

Another example is a “Trusted Platform Module” which provides a secure computing environment for use with some security software. This will be used in an operating-system-native manner with the “BitLocker” disk-volume encryption functionality available since Windows 7 Ultimate. In Windows 8, this function would be taken further via the creation of a “virtual smartcard” for its password-vault function. Windows 10 makes use of this to facilitate local login credentials attestation and permits “secure-system” verification before access to resources. Other third-party endpoint-security tools can make use of this feature to verify the integrity of their functionality and in some cases, TPM can be used as an extra authentication factor for Web services.

Manageability features

Computers targeted at the business end of the market will also have hardware and software that provides for central manageability. This includes software that propagates policy-definition files to the system or reports system data to “dashboard” software that is part of business-system management tools.

Such features and tools are typically focused at larger businesses with many computers managed by an in-house IT team. But they can be relevant if your business deals with an IT contractor or value-added reseller and you have them provide support for your desktop computer. These people may use the remote troubleshooting or software-delivery aspects of these features to help you diagnose your system from their office.

Sturdy construction and long service life

Toshiba Portege R830 ultraportable business notebook

Most business-grade computers offer some level of increased durability compared to consumer-grade systems due to them being expected to be depended on for one’s business life.

These kind of features may range from a sturdy physical build to active setups that protect the hard disk if the machine is dropped. Similarly, it may be easier to obtain replacement parts for these computers should the computer hardware need repair work done on it.

I have even recommended low-end business laptops that don’t have all of the manageability and security features but have the sturdy build as an option to consider when buying a laptop for secondary or tertiary-level students.

Disadvantages

Limited finishes and styling

With a few exceptions, most business computer equipment has been finished in a conservative grey or silver finish to make it look the part in a corporate office in New York or Chicago. This has been emphasised more so with any of the IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad / ThinkCenter line of computer equipment which has been favoured by many business users.

Reduced multimedia capabiltiy

In a lot of cases, business computer systems didn’t have much emphasis on audio or video performance. This was assumed that business computing was to he looking at Excel spreadsheets, entering data or preparing and showing PowerPoint presentations with simple charts. Activities like audio and video playback or graphic editing, let alone game playing was out of the question as far as this user class was concerned. It is although some of these laptop computers that move between the office and home are pressed in to service as DVD players or games machines to while away long flights or placate young children on long road-trips.

But newer business-grade computers will typically come with the new integrated graphics and audio chipsets that are as capable as most average consumer equipment. This wouldn’t hit the mark with advanced photo/video editing or intense gaming and you would need to use a multimedia computer for these tasks.

As far as software goes, in most cases, you will only have what comes with the operating system for multimedia and games. In the case of Windows, this will typically be something like Windows Media Player and the usual casual games.

If your work-home laptop is purchased on a “build-to-order” basis, you may be able to ask about having advanced media players or access to games portals thrown in to the equation. In some cases, you may have this functionality thrown in to a pre-built configuration especially if you are just buying one desktop or laptop computer. But you can gain this functionality with software that you can buy “off the peg”.

Small-business product ranges

Some computer manufacturers have created a separate product range for computers that are focused towards small-business and community-organisation users. Initially these users were served by most of the computer manufacturers through the low-tier of the business product range and this is something that the rest of the computer industry do at the moment.

The examples highlighted here are the HP Pro and the Dell Vostro model names where computers with these model names have a feature set that is focused towards this user class. These computers will look very similar to a mainstream consumer product although they will have an aesthetic nature associated with business use. The operating systems that these computers will come with will be the Pro variants of the current Windows operating system while some manufacturers may offer an option to have the computer supplied with another “open-frame” operating system like Linux.

There will be the heavy-duty construction and security features associated with the business-class computers such as a TPM module and / or a fingerprint reader perhaps offered as an option, but cut back on enterprise-specific manageability features. If they do maintain any sort of management feature, they will offer it more as a simple-to-use package appealing to something that the business owner can handle themselves.

When should I consider the business computer option

I would consider purchasing the business-grade computer for office or mobile use if the computer is expected to be your primary work computer that you rely on, you are handling highly-confidential or risky data or, in the case of a laptop, find that it could suffer heavy use that puts it at increased risk of damage.

This article, originally published in December 2012, has been updated in January 2016 to reflect newer trends concerning business computers and in May 2017 to call out the HP Pro (HP ProBook) and Dell Vostro product ranges being focused towards small-business / community-organisation users.