Archive for October, 2010

It’s Geeksgiving time again! At Geek Housecalls, we’re giving away a whole slew of free service plus an Apple iPad!

Thursday, October 28th, 2010
Geek Housecalls is giving away an Apple iPad as well as Geek Housecalls gift certificates.

Geek Housecalls is giving away an Apple iPad as well as gift certificates for Geek Housecalls in-home computer service.

The Contest:

During November and December of 2010, Geek Housecalls is choosing one lucky customer per week to receive a free hour of in-home service in the form of a Geek Housecalls gift certificate.  Further, all customers who use Geek Housecalls during November and December are automatically entered into a drawing for our grand prize, an Apple iPad !

How to Enter:

Customers who use Geek Housecalls during November or December of 2010 are automatically entered into the weekly gift certificate drawings as well as the grand prize Apple iPad drawing.

No purchase is required to enter the drawings.  Residents of  Geek Housecalls’ service area may enter by sending their

  • name
  • shipping address
  • birthdate
  • email address
  • phone number

on a 3×5 postcard addressed to:

Geek Housecalls 2010 Sweepstakes
7 Cypress Dr
Burlington, MA 01803

Contestants must be 18 years or older by November 1, 2010 to be eligible to win prizes. Only one entry is allowed per person/household.

The Fine Print

Geek Housecalls is giving away eight Geek Housecalls one-hour in-home service gift certificates valued at $150 each. Geek Housecalls will hold a drawing each Friday in November and December and choose one gift certificate winner at random from all eligible entrants.

Eligible entrants are those who use Geek Housecalls during the period from November 1, 2010 through the Thursday preceding the Friday drawing, or who sent a mail-in entry that is received at the address stated above by the close of business on the Thursday preceding the Friday drawing.

In addition, during January 2011, Geek Housecalls will pick one winner at random from all eligible entries received during November and December of 2010 for our grand prize, an Apple iPad.

The contest is closed to new entries after December 31, 2010. Mail-in entries received after 12/31/2010 are not eligible for prize drawings.

Winners will be announced on www.geekablog.com, the official blog of Geek Housecalls and on The Official Geek Housecalls Facebook Page.

All decisions and results are final. No prize substitutions are permitted. Winners are responsible for any taxes. Odds of winning vary depending on the number of entries received.

Drawing Status  Updates:

  • Updated 11/8/2010 – Congratulations to Linda Moran of Lexington, MA.  Linda’s name was drawn on 11/5/2010 as the winner of a one-hour gift certificate for Geek Housecalls in-home computer service.

Thinking About a Cheap Upgrade to Microsoft Word or Excel 2010? Beware of Hidden Trial Software!

Monday, October 25th, 2010

trial-versionIf you’re thinking about using the Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student Edition as a way to inexpensively upgrade Microsoft Word, Excel, or Powerpoint from an older version, here’s something you should be aware of:

Microsoft Office 2010 Home & Student edition includes a trial version of Outlook 2010 on it.  If you use outlook on your computer and perform the “express install” of your new Office 2010, your current version of Outlook will be replaced by the trial version of Outlook 2010.  Needless to say, once the trial expires, you’ll be unable to get your email, manage your calendar, or perform any of the other Outlook functions you’re used to.

To avoid this scenario, choose “custom installation” at the point where it’s offered during the installation wizard, and at the screen that shows what software will be installed, click the box next to Outlook 2010 (trial version) and choose the red X, for not available.  This will cause the installer to skip the installation of the Outlook trial and leave your original version of Outlook intact!

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ghc-logo-341w-x-482hThis article was written by Andy Trask, Head Geek at Geek Housecalls, the New England area’s original traveling computer geeks, on the web at www.geekhousecalls.com. Geek Housecalls specializes in “anything computer” and, since 2001, has become the trusted in-home computer and technology support provider for over 15,000 families and small business computer users in eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and southern New Hampshire. For help with your computers, gadgets, or network at home or at the office, click here to contact Geek Housecalls via the web, or call toll free:

1-877-4PC-GEEK             (1-877-472-4335)

 

Hackers Take Over Electronic Voting Machines, Steal Secret Ballot Data, Change Votes… Play University Fight Song?

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

Hold on to your Democracy! A team of hackers led by University of Michigan Assistant Professor of Electronics & Computer Science, J. Alex Halderman, successfully hacked into DC’s electronic voting system after just 36 hours at which point they lifted secret data (who voted for whom), changed votes, and in a humorous show of techno-bravado in an otherwise serious-as-death exercise, caused the voting machines to play the U-M fight song after each vote was cast!

Will networked and electronic voting systems ever be secure enough to trust this core function of our democracy to? Certainly not right now!

Not shaking in your boots yet? Check out the whole story here.