Text Box: Carst Consulting Newsletter

Text Box: Arranging the wires for your computer setup can be a major problem.   We need to be careful how we deal with them.  We need to have these wires under control because they are necessary to provide power to and control of all the devices we use. Let’s talk about the power cords first as they are the most critical in the effort to control the situation. Obviously, every person and every computer’s requirements will be different.

Text Box: What kind of wires are these?  Let me see? MMM!

Text Box: What are all these wires anyway?

Text Box: Volume 1, Issue 6, May 23, 2005

Text Box: Can I connect to this unknown network?

Text Box: A friend was visiting her mother recently and had taken her laptop with her to work on a project in which she was involved.  She called me and asked if she would be safe in connecting to this unknown network.  I would normally advise against it. While I don’t believe that it is dangerous to connect to an unknown network if you do not have an adequate firewall and I had configured her computer.  I knew that her firewall was as impenetrable as I could make it.  It would be no more dangerous than connecting at the Starbucks. But, piggybacking to the Internet on someone else’s dime is unadvisable.  However, someone that has not secured their wireless network doesn’t plan to steal data from your computer in a neighborhood setting. Pharming, the spoofing of a benign Internet access IS becoming a problem near some public access points.

Text Box: To remove your name from our mailing list, please click here. Questions or comments? E-mail us at david.carstensen@carstconsulting.com

Text Box: Are surge protectors enough to protect our computers?

Text Box: If you have a question, comment or criticism; we want to hear from you.  As long as you tell us what you want to hear about we can keep addressing your concerns.  Is it the safety of using you local wireless access point at the Starbucks or what does a search engine really do,  These subjects and others will be talked about here.

Text Box: Carst Consulting Need your feedback

Text Box: Here is a keyboard shortcut when using Windows. To display the desktop without closing programs <Windows + D> minimizes all windows.  Repeating this reopens them.

Text Box: Newsletter Spotlight Text Box:  

Text Box: Types of power cords

Text Box: Continue reading this article below.

Pro Series AC Power Replacement Cable, Black, 12 feetText Box: What are all these wires anyway? (Continued)

Regular (No transformer)

 

This grounded three prong cord is used for high power devices such as computers, laser printers, high speed scanners.  It is thicker than most of the other cords.

 

Brick (Transformer in line)

 

Laptops, portable printers and portable scanners use a transformer that lowers the voltage from the electrical outlet (110 volts) to less than 5 volts which is what these devices use.  The brick or transformer is inline to allow the heat generated by the use of the device to dissipate.   Without the need for internal cooling fans these devices can be made smaller and lighter.

Power head (Transformer at electrical outlet)

 

These are used by devices that do not use as much power, such as inkjet printers, zip drives, modems, broadband modems, etc.  This is the one that makes us angry because they cover more than one outlet on our power strips.