Category Archives: Rural Tech

A Warning and a Screaming Good Deal

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First, a warning: there is a nasty piece of ransomware that lately been attacking unsuspecting computers. It’s the Cryptolocker virus. It attacks your system by encrypting it and then holding your hard drive for ransom. If you get hit with this, there is not a lot you can do to recover the drive. Some sources online suggest that paying the ransom is the only way to get it back. I say no way!

Prevention is your best ally. There are three things you should always do to keep yourself safe online:

  • Make sure you backup your system to a drive not on your computer. A backup service, such as Mozy, can put your backups on autopilot. Backing up to an external hard drive works quite well, too. Both of these are reasonably priced and really beat the loss of all your data. With a backup in place, you can replace your hard drive with a new one, reload your operating system, and restore your data without too much expense, certainly less than paying a ransom.
  • Download the free version of MalwareBytes and have it run scans frequently. This program finds Trojans and other malware on your system and eliminates them before they have a chance to do their evil deeds. Add this program in addition to your anti-virus.
  • Encrypt your system yourself. This protects you from all kinds of nasty things besides just Cryptolocker. Just remember that if you lose your password to unlock your encrypted drive, there is no way to recover it. Make sure you write it down and keep it, and copies of it, available.

Now, here’s the best deal I’ve found in a long time: Republic Wireless has the best prices on cell phone coverage I’ve ever seen. It starts at $10 a month for unlimited calls, text, and data. (I know!) If you want 3G or 4G, the plans are a bit more, as much as $40. (Again, an “I know!” with exclamation points!)

There are, of course restrictions and stipulations. You definitely need to have broadband at home. You have to use their one phone, Motorola’s Moto X, which costs $299 but is a good Android phone. Over the course of two years, which is how you should always price cell plans, you would only pay $240. That’s amazing! That’s what many people pay for just two months of service.

What makes this possible is the software that Republic Wireless has pioneered. It essentially pushes everything, including your calls, through the internet, if it’s available. If it isn’t, then calls, texts, and data go to cell service seamlessly. This plan isn’t for everyone, but for those who have good access to wi-fi, there’s nothing wrong with saving some green.

 

We Have a Winner!

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A short while ago, I started a contest on new ideas for sustainable entrepreneurship with the award of a book, ECOpreneuring.  I received a great reply from Stephanie at You Grow Food Aquaponics (www.yougrowfood.ca). So, she has won a copy of John Ivanko and Lisa Kivirist’s book, ECOpreneuring – Putting Purpose and the Planet before Profit. (It’s one of my favorites.) Congratulations!

Here’s what she said:

We are just in the construction phase of our new aquaponics business: You Grow Food Aquaponics (www.yougrowfood.ca).  We are four professional people who are living in the rural community of Hope BC Canada.  Hope produces no food commercially for local markets, creating a food desert.  We love where we live and we want to eat where we live too!  Aquaponics is the `How` of what we do, and food security and community  development form the `Why`of what we do.  Through tours and education we will connect kids and the community with their food sources.  We aim to be open-sourced and support and encourage others in aquaponic startups.  Most importantly, we want to provide local restaurants and local families with year round, nutritious, locally produced food!

Rudy and Stephanie in front of one of the greenhouses.

So, of course, I had to go see what their aquaponics farm was all about. (Any excuse for a roadtrip…)

Stephanie Hooker and Rudy Kehler took time from their busy schedules to show me how their process worked and what they wanted to accomplish as farmers. Their operation is small but is quickly growing as their proof-of-concept is realized.

They started with a small greenhouse and a 4 by 4 foot tank, topped with a bed of basil. That worked great. Then came two larger greenhouses with fish tanks, one large pump, and trays and trays of little plants. There are a few more tanks to add, but it’s looking extremely promising that soon there will be greens and fish year-round in the town of Hope. Their goal is to provide fresh, local food in a place where food is brought in from other places.

To see how You Grow Food Aquaponics is growing, go to their Facebook Page and Like them, or visit their web page. Oh, and Stephanie, your book is on it’s way.

She’s Geeky!

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I’m freshly back from the She’s Geeky Unconference. What’s an “unconference” you may ask? It’s where the conference participants who are professionals or experts in various fields create an agenda of subjects they’d like to explore and then they explore them. At “She’s Geeky”, we had women in all aspects of STEM: science, technology, engineering, and math. Because of our northwest location, most of us were in high tech, so we talked about a lot of computational fun.

One session discussed how to incorporate computers into clothing using Arduino or Lilypad with conductive thread and LED lights. Another was dedicated to working with teams of men when you’re the only women.  We talked about hacker spaces, coding group meetups, why tech t-shirts never come in women’s sizes, game developers and how to become one, awesome programs for creating websites, how to bring creativity to coding, running online classes, and breaking the glass ceiling in STEM.

As I run through my notes from each day’s sessions, I’ll share the collected wisdom with you. Stay tuned!

Staying Safe and More Cost Cutting

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(For my Grange participants in yesterday’s talks…)

Yesterday, I held a couple of talks at my local Grange. They were on “Cutting Costs Online” and “Staying Safe Online”. Here are some of the resources I discussed and how to connect to them:

Cell phones:

Internet:

Television:

Security Resources

There you go! If you’d like me to present some talks to your group on online safety or how to cut costs or market your business, I’d be glad to do so. Just contact me at geek1@geekingthecountry.com.

 

Cutting Costs on Home Entertainment

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(This is for Jeff…)

Here’s the deal: Cable and satellite TV are becoming too expensive. Prices are going up and that monthly charge is becoming a rediculously huge chunk of the bills. When my TV bill was increased a while ago, I realized that it was twice my electric bill and four times my phone bill. That’s entirely too much for something that is not necessary, unlike heat, food, or rent.

Now that video rental stores around the country have closed and rural movie theaters are being forced by the industry to either upgrade to digital equipment (a $60,000 requirement) or close, home entertainment is becoming more popular. For rural folks, the traditional satellite or cable televisions systems are disproportionately expensive, especially after those teaser rates have expired. And you’re stuck with a two year contract.

If you have broadband internet, however, you have new ways to get your daily dose of movies, TV shows, and other fun video entertainment. You can stream them. There are a number of devices that will capture online channels and play them on your television. Many, if not most of these channels are free and there aren’t any contracts.

Here’s what I did: I lowered my satellite TV subscription to the lowest level, just local channels and basic cable. Then I purchased a Roku box from Amazon. (The Roku 2XS. I wouldn’t go any cheaper than that one.) I plugged it into my television, signed onto the Roku program, and I suddenly had access to 500 channels. I decided to pay for Netflix ($8) and Hulu ($7.99) but everything else was free. Most content is also free of commercials, which is a welcome relief. Eventually, I may eliminate the satellite altogether as more content is streamed online.

Other devices also stream online content, including Apple TV and almost all blue ray players. They don’t have as many channels as the Roku does, however. Also, there are some disadvantages to streaming TV online, namely, the channels are not the same as what is on cable. If you must watch a certain show as soon as it’s broadcast, say, sports, for instance, you may not be able to do that. The flip side is that certain shows are only available online.

Now, go save yourself some money!

Cutting Costs on Cell Phone Coverage

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(This is for Tim…)

Here’s the deal: the Big Four cell phone companies no longer are the only game in town. There are many new companies offering cell phone service at a half to a third of the cost, with plans that are better tailored to how you use your phone. And, they don’t require contracts!

Here’s a quick list of some good ones: Virgin Mobile, Consumer Cellular, Boost Mobile, and the ultimate in low-cost smartphone cellular access, Republic Wireless. (That $19 a month price for unlimited access is not a typo!)

Here’s what you do: get some copies of your wireless phone bill so that you know what your usage is. Go to the web sites of each of these companies and see which of their plans might suit you best. Check to see if their coverage map includes your area. Then see how much you will save.

The best time to change your cell phone company is once you are no longer under a contract and you’ve found that it is time to buy a new phone. Most of these companies will want you to purchase a phone that is compatible with their system. Even if that costs a bit upfront, you’ll be saving so much over the course of the next two years, it will be entirely worth it. Your cell phone number is portable, which means that you can keep your number no matter what company you choose.

Currently, I’m using Virgin Mobile and I have an HTC EVO 3D smartphone. The phone cost me $239 to purchase and I pay $35 a month for unlimited text, data (web), and 300 minutes of talk time. This fits me to a tee. I am also quite impressed with the level of customer service at VM. It’s SO much better than I’ve experienced with any of the big companies.

Now, go save yourself some money!

Tech Focus on Farming

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Nine years ago, the first Focus on Farming in Snohomish County was held in a cold building on the county fairgrounds. I believe there were 10 people in attendance. This year, on November 15th, it was held in the Comcast Arena Conference Center and there were over 600 attendees. In less than a decade, small farming has become an important force in this county, and both politicians and businesses have taken notice.

For the first time since World War II, small farms are growing in number. The growth in farmers markets and organic grocers reflects this trend. More businesses are serving the needs of farmers, including those in the high-tech sector. I’ve previously talked about companies such as Farmigo, whose program manages CSA business models end-to-end, but there is now so much more out there.

AgSquared demonstrated their new farm management software, showing some really innovative tools. They incorporate Google Maps in order to measure the square footage of your cultivatable land and to give you a ton of information about it. They add crop management and forecasting tools, in addition to comprehensive reporting options. All this is priced very reasonably, at $60 per year, with the first year at only $36. Their future components will include livestock management and a CSA planner.

There are now so many ways for small farmers to reach their customers online. In addition to Facebook and Twitter, there are a number of low-cost, easily configurable web site options, including Intuit, Go Daddy, Word Press, and many others. Many incorporate blog options and ways to connect to social media.

There are online financial management software packages, from Mint (which is free) to Quickbooks Online (which requires a monthly charge). None of these options require that you install software on your system, so they can be used by a number of devices, including computers, tablets, and smart phones.

How do you decide what to use? You consult your two planning tools: your business plan and your marketing plan. The information you glean from going through the process of developing these plans will really guide you to the proper tools you can use to grow your business and connect with your customers. You’ll want to put your efforts towards the tools that your customers access most.

In my next few postings, I’m going to talk about cutting costs for access to broadband and wireless systems. There are now new ways to access the internet in most places and you don’t have to go through the big, expensive companies. (Unfortunately, a full third of the country still doesn’t have access to wired broadband. That’s slowly changing…very slowly.)

Windows 8

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(I wrote this on October 26th, when Windows 8 came out, and didn’t punch the right button to get it posted properly. Oops!)

Today was the unveiling of Windows 8 unto the world. SQUEEE!!! (That’s “geek” for “I’m very excited”.) I’ve been playing with it on my Dell 6220 all day today. The first thing I noticed was the blinding speed at which everything happens. (It helps that I have a solid state drive rather than a SATA hard drive.) The system boots up almost immediately and all my programs work so much faster than before.

Since I already have a Microsoft account, I was able to add my Netflix, Hulu, emails, games, and music services right onto it, just by clicking a tile and signing in. I set up my stock market ticker, played way too many games,  watched a movie (okay, just part of one), calculated pi, right clicked on everything just to see what it would do, and toured around the Windows store to see what’s there. So far, I’m digging it!

Windows 8 is the first operating system that really brings apps into the realm of business computing. The Windows 8 Pro has both the apps start screen and the desktop which lets you use all the programs you are currently running at your office, (even Office). The combination keeps your current work running while introducing more cloud services that businesses can use to create greater efficiencies in their processes.

The prevailing complaint I’ve heard is that Windows apps aren’t as extensive as either Apple or Android. I think that app development will happen quite quickly, however, with so many people adopting this new operating system. It can’t happen fast enough. The only other griping I’ve heard is from those technologists who are deeply invested in the current OS. They have to change the way they are used to finding and starting programs. Once they do, things are fairly the same.

With Windows 8, tablets and touchscreens will become much more prevalent. Desktops are becoming a smaller share of the market but laptops, now that they have greater storage capacities, are here to stay for awhile. Apps are great for doing a lot of things, but for business, you still need some programs on your machine to do certain types of work. A tablet just won’t cut it. While Apple, and to a lesser extent Google, has introduced consumers to apps, Windows 8 covers both programs and apps for the first time, for the majority of business users. It will be interesting to see how the competition will heat up among these platforms.

Smartphones are a completely different animal. Google’s Android, with its lower prices ($200 for an HTC EVO compared to $600 for an iPhone) is really dominating the market. It has a lot of apps and is easy to use. Windows phone, priced in the same range as the iPhone, is going to have a difficult time gaining ground until apps for it are a great deal more extensive. However, Microsoft is good at taking new technology and turning it into the prevailing platform on the majority of computing devices.

This horse race is on…

Geek Girls

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Having just attended the 2012 Geek Girls Con, I can say, without reservation, I am one. I get excited about science fictiony things, I play with tech toys, and I understand the significance of the number 42. I tweet. I skype. I blog. Yep, I’ve got it bad, that geek thing.

Geek culture, in many ways, doesn’t include much of a feminine perspective. Many women feel invisible within the ranks of nerdness and want to expand their voices in that world. To that end, the Geek Girl Con was created last year by a hard-working group of volunteers. The first one, last summer, completely sold out. This year, there were over 6,000 attendees, and it seems that it’s going to continue to grow next year.

I really enjoyed it. The panels, which talked about everything from creating comics to being a geek parent, were informative, hilarious, and engaging. My favorite one was about the Kickstarter experience. For those who don’t know, Kickstarter.com is a way to fund projects or businesses using a crowdsourcing model. It also is a method to gain new customers at the same time. Let me give you an example:

The Little Brown Farm on Whidbey Island started a kickstarter to raise $21,000 for new cheese-making equipment and to enhance their ability to teach cheese processing on the farm. The process is innovative: describe your project, create some levels for sponsorship, tell everyone that you have a “kickstarter” and that they can receive some great premiums for sponsering you, set a time limit, and wait to see if they sponsor you and you meet your goal. If you do, only then do the sponsors get charged. Once they are, you have to fulfill the requirements of the sponsorship. The Little Brown Farm used their classes, exisiting cheese stock, and notecards as premiums, which they then sent out after they met their goal. They raised over $22,000 altogether, introduced their products to some new customers, and didn’t have to pay back a loan. How cool is that?

This online tool works really well for small farmers, especially if they get the community involved. I’ve also seen small town theaters create projects to update their projectors to digital. All first-run movies are being sent to theaters in digital format, only, starting next year and small, historic theaters are disproportionately impacted by this. They must make the change or show only old films which are still available on film stock. A Kickstarter may be a viable way to help theaters make this change without going into serious debt.

(See my previous post, An Open Letter to Hollywood, on the difficulty we, in rural communities, have in trying to see a movie. It’s a bad business model when you make it difficult for your customers to give you money, no?)

But I digress. The Geek Girl Con was excellent fun and I would recommend it to any nerdette or nerdette supporter. (Yes, boys are welcome.)

And now, an obligatory and purely gratuitous picture of Chewbacca, who showed up at the con. Enjoy!