Back to School – 5 Tips to Protect Your Kids Online

WTAM 1100 – Geek Squad – August 8th, 2011

As students return to school this month, they’re finding that more of their homework time is spent online. Many schools have taken to putting up homework assignment calendars online, as well as creating shared document areas on their websites to collect homework electronically. As a parent, you might be asking yourself how you can help protect your kids while they use the Internet as part of their back to school routines.

I had a chance to speak to Bill Wills of the Wills and Snyder show on Cleveland’s WTAM 1100 News Radio about 5 tips to protect your kids online that may help.

Geeking Out at E3 2011

Loud. Bright. In your face. This year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, was another huge show for the gaming industry to show off their upcoming videogame releases, and they pulled out all the stops to get you to pay attention to their giant booth displays.

I had a chance to walk through the chaos this year thanks to the Best Buy On team, and wow, was I glad I got to go and see the spectacle. I was there to provide a Geek Squad Agent (and regular geek) perspective on everything we saw, as well as roaming shutterbug for the team. You can see some of the photos I took on the Best Buy On E3 Flickr page.

Personally, I came away looking forward to more gaming titles that I expected, including Battlefield 3 and Batman: Arkham City. Now I have to go clear some time on my calendar and start saving up for when they get released later this year.

Is Social Media Over?

“Social media is over,” said James Franco at a recent nonprofit benefit. The actor and write received much attention for live tweets sent out during his co-hosting duties at the Oscars. However, after just a few months of being on Twitter, he’s said that he’s looking to spend less time on the service.

Is Franco right? Will social media be another online fad to be eventually forgotten like our Geocities home pages and AOL chat rooms? With over 600 million Facebook members and 155 million tweets posted every day, it’s not hard to look at the statistics and balk at James Franco’s prediction. However, as a Geek Squad Agent who helps the public with their technology every day, I see a more fundamental proof that social media is here to stay: the simple human need to share our experiences. Continue reading “Is Social Media Over?”

Geek Speak: Understanding the Lingo in Electronics Stores

“Unless you are a student of the circulars – Best Buy, Electronics Expo, Sixth Avenue Electronics – good luck deciphering the hieroglyphics. It takes more than a GED to understand the definition of an LED.

What does it mean if a phone has 3Gs? Feel free to laugh at our ignorance, but do not start giggling. By our math, that would require 4Gs.

HDMI? HDM why?”

I had a chance to speak with NorthJersey.com about 3LAs – Three-Letter Acronyms – and other tech jargon you’ll find in electronics stores.