I am sure there are many teachers out there who love this technology. Sure, if you’re comparing this to a chalkboard it’s fantastic but then again I could compare fireworks to a chalkboard and it would be fantastic too. It’s a matter of how well something teaches and helps educators teach, but also if it is the best tool for the job and at the best price. That right there is the most important element in this article, price.

After finding out some raw numbers of how many smart boards have been installed in the state of West Virginia, and gotten a general impression both from people at the show who knew what they were talking about who shall remain nameless, and information cleaned off of the Internet, I’ve determined the following to be accurate and true:

1. Average cost of a SMART Board to be installed in a classroom including the cost of the basic hardware, installation on-site, and the basic accessories really needed is between $7-8000. Per classroom. This does not, by the way include any software licenses for the school, teacher, et cetera. Amazing.

2 the software tools available for educators and administrators to manage, create lessons, insert multimedia, and so on would be great if the year was 1996.

3. The technology is poorly made, prone to break, and the calibration and touch sensing compared to other solutions is simply horrible.

4. The tools the educators are given are rudimentary at best, broken at worst in the case of video file formats for example.

When governments make decisions like this it really shows who they care about, themselves.

Your thoughts/

Don’t believe it? Below is a link to a PDF image of a page from their website’s careers section, looking for Geek Squad Agents. Maybe they call them agents because it makes the naive kids that constitute the bulk of their “squads” feel like James Bond, and that’s better than being paid a real wage or actually knowing anything besides “Computers are k00l.”

GeekSquad Agent Job Requirement (PDF) 

Need the Cliff’s Notes version? Here’s the heart of it, the Job Requirements:

Seriously? Yup. That means pretty much anyone who is of voting age, currently drawing breath, has used a Windows PC for more than a month (which can take a year’s worth of troubleshooting to actually achieve) and is not living as a practicing member of the Amish, is qualified for the job. Wow.

Whether it’s a small home networking job or a multi-room, home media server setup with multiple HD TV’s connected to a household full of Macs and PC’s, we treat every client like they’re our only one. We use our years of experience in high-end render farm installations, training mjor CG artists from ILM, Pixar and others, and conference management, PR and marketing to give you a level of services, support and personal learning experiences that you simply can’t get from a corporate big box retailer. Ever.

This is America, and you’re free to choose. You should be armed with the knowledge to choose wisely though, and that’s a big part of what we do. Last but not least, remember that signs don’t always tell the truth……

Let Us Help You Out. Free.

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Click/Tap here for full image

Mac users are (and will be for the foreseeable future) protected from most viruses and their sort of malware by the sheer properties of the UNIX environment, which is the core of what makes up Mac OS X. The new Mac Trojan, called Flashback uses a Java browser and/or Flash exploit, and is being way overblown by some, but the facts are you could be infected. From the tubes:

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The Flashback virus first showed up last year as a classic Trojan, looking like an update to Adobe Flash that, when executed, would infect the system. Flashback returned in March as less of a Trojan and more of a drive-by threat. Rather than relying on users to download the malware onto their Macs, the Flashback exploit infects vulnerable systems when a user visits a compromised Website.

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Security experts and analysts have said that the threat to Mac users is high because many of them bought into the idea that their Apple systems are essentially invulnerable to attacks, and thus many have not secured the Macs as well as they could have. Mac users have to understand that their systems are open to threats, according to Forrester analysts David Johnson.

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“Of course, the Mac is vulnerable,” Johnson wrote in an April 6 blog post. “Every Internet-connected device is vulnerable.”

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Well duh.

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Here’s how you can easily check if you have been “infected” by the Flashback trojan. If you can’t do this, feel free to fill out our Flashback Trojan Support Request Form and we will arrange a time to log into your machine and take care of it for you.

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Flashback Trojan Support Request Form

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[id="2671" title="Flashback Trojan Support Request Form_copy_copy" language="ontact-form-7"]

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Java Patch Fixes Most Flashback Trojan Infections

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Note: Click the image for the Apple page on this update. This update is proven to remove most variants of the Flashback Trojan, but not all. If you want to be sure, follow the instructions below or go here to contact us and we can help you for free.

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Manually Checking for the Flashback Trojan

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Launch Terminal (Go to /Applications/Utilities/) then copy/paste the following command:

defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment 

If you see a message like “The domain/default pair of (/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info, LSEnvironment) does not exist” then proceed to the next command to make sure:

defaults read ~/.MacOSX/environment DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES 

If you see a message similar to “The domain/default pair of (/Users/joe/.MacOSX/environment, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES) does not exist” then your Mac is NOT infected.

 If you see something different in the Terminal

 If the defaults read commands show actual values rather than the “does not exist” response, you may have the trojan, though this does seem to be very rare. In the event you run into a Mac with the problem follow the guide on f-secure to remove the Flashback trojan, it’s just a matter of copying and pasting a few commands into the Terminal.

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Keeping your system up to date is just part of making sure you’re running well, safely, and things are as they should be. If you want to take some extra security precautions and preventative measures, we’d be glass to schedule a time to remotely assist you, no matter where you may be,

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The Price is Limited, the Quality is Not.

Our sister site WholeApple Media covers a bunch of stuff for the Apple user, whether that’s Mac or iDevice, or both. We’re posting this to let you all know about them too, and it never hurts to give another shout out to some good products.

Made of what we assume to be an ABS plastic, the shell is not paper thin, and though it adds some weight to the iPad overall, it’s built to last. The inside front has a nice white (or black for the black version, thee are only two colors) felt type material to protect the screen, and the hinge allows you to fold the case over flat to hold, and also folds into an angled position. This is held solid by the small plastic piece that acts as the “clip” to close the case for complete protection, and the design for the most part works very well.

If you’re a purist and want only the thinnest case solution with the minimum weight addition to the iPad, then I would suggest looking elsewhere. If, on the other hand, you want a stylish, total protection solution that affords you some variation in the respect that you can stand the iPad up at a nice angle, lay it flat, or hold it fairly comfortably, then the Limited Luxury iPad case with stand may just be for you.

Works for iPad 3, but it’s Not Intended To. New iPad Cases on the Way!

I actually tested the case with my new iPad 3, as my iPad 2 was being used for other purposes. The case does fit fine with the new iPad, but it seems at first as if it is just barely holding the iPad in place. I think this is more due to the way the case tries to fit onto the back of the iPad as unobtrusively possible when it comes to overlapping the front, and I haven’t had it fall out yet or even seem like it’s going to.it does look like it might come out of the case when you look at it, but like I said, it hasn’t been a problem and I have used it full-time for over a week now.

Cleaning wise, the plastic is easy to wipe down, but I am a little concerned about the felt that is glued to the inside if the front. The material looks as if it might get dirty from finger oils over time, and I haven’t yet figured out how I would clean it should the need arise.

Overall it’s a stylish, unique case solution, and in basic black or white, will match your iPad nicely. It’s a bit on the heavier side, but it’s not designed like some backs and smart cover solutions for lightness. It’s made to protect, look nice, and function as an angled stand. The main angle works well and is very solid, and you can also angle it in other degrees by using the “ribs” on the inside of the front cover. They aren’t as solid as the main angled position, but if you’re watching a movie vs typing for example, these ribs work fine to prop the iPad up in five different degrees of slope.

We give it four out five Apples and if a total protection / stand solution is what you’re looking for you might be fine limiting your choice to the Limited Luxury iPad case with stand. They have other options which we hope to check out of you soon, but from what we’ve seen from this case, quality is not an afterthought, it’s part of the luxury.

Limited Luxury iPad case with built in stand – get a deal right here.

http://goo.gl/4PuDc

While we don’t have time to rewrite every article, we do want to make sure that we tell you the most accurate info. So the vendor responded to the story and this is what they had to say:

1.    You mentioned that the case was tested with iPad 3, but it is really not designed for that version. The iPad 3 version of this case will be coming out in 3 weeks.

2.    Regarding the concern over the felt, the iPad 3 is thicker, so the iPad 2 case may come in contact with the iPad 3 screen, however not sure that it will come in contact with the screen of the iPad 2. I’ll check carefully when I get home and let you know if it is making contact. And most of the cases out there come in contact with the screen so they have a snug fit for added protection.

3.    The case is actually made of a high tension, high strength Carbon Fiber which is durable, anti-aging, and antibiotic.

Thanks to Limited Luxury for clarifying these matters for us. We hope to check out the iPad 3 cases soon.

In order to access your Mac (or allow us for support or training purposes!) you simply need to enable the VNC Server in Mac OS X. Instead of reinvent the wheel, I will let the good folks at http://www.dssw.co.uk have their due and point you to their brief but excellent guide which can be found here.

Here is the YouTube video, click the link to get the full writeup with screen shots.

I love Amazon, great prices, but sometimes very misleading "Specials." Beware.

I love me some Amazon, really, Funny thing is, we actually have relationships with many wholesalers and other online distributors that allow us to get good deals, but we more often than not find the best deals on Amazon. We definitely pass those deals on to you, if you happen to be one of our valued customers, of course.
We pride ourselves on the fact that we can make a good living providing top-tier installations, services, design deliverables and support/training packages, I don’t try to pad our profit into gear as many companies do. This ensures that we will look for the best deal for you, and we don’t have to worry about competing on the price of items. In fact, there many times we send direct links to products for customers to buy direct, and we have no problem showing our invoices at any time.

When it comes to buying equipment however, we do charge a 10% sourcing fee, and this she is earned by us sharing our knowledge so that you can get the best equipment that you need, and motivates us even more to find the best price for you., It’s something we love to do actually keeping up with prices and new tech/toys is a hobby bordering on an obsession. So when it comes to buying that new HDTV for your home or business, are you going to take a blind shot in the dark, or think you know all you need to know in order to make the right choice? Unless you’re like us and enjoy reading the manuals in your spare time, chances are you won’t find the best fit for you when it comes to buying an HDTV or any other technology related items for that matter.

As you can see in the image above, Amazon sent us an e-mail advertising a special on LED HDTV sets. One thing we knew right away just by looking at this advertisement, was that this was an old TV that they were selling. How could we tell? Because no new TVs made in the last 2 years at least in the larger formats and mid to higher and sets are 120 Hz. This is a big deal, because the amount of hertz that a TV is capable of running at greatly dictates its picture quality with fast-moving images, sports, movies and pretty much any other content you care to watch. New HDTV’s are a minimum of 240 Hz, and plasmas go as high as 600 Hz. This is definitely important for standard HDD television watching, but it becomes critically important for things like 3-D HDTV.

We are working on some resources to help you decide the best TV for you, but those projects take time, and we’ve been extremely busy with some new clients lately that have put the focus our services and taken away a little from this site. We are committed to balancing that out soon, but one thing you can always do is call us anytime for free phone consultation. We’ll be glad to spend a little time with you listening to and evaluating your needs, and whether this is for your home, theater room, business or anything else, will try to at the very least point you in some good directions with some free advice.

In the spirit of that statement, here’s a tip on buying a 3-D television. If there’s any way you can fit it into your location in both size and weight, we highly recommend getting larger screen you can possibly afford, and for 3-D, we believe the plasma is superior to all other LCD models for a variety of reasons. It’s not just with 3-D HDTV either, with plasma blacks look blacker, motion is amazingly smooth, and generally features on the television are little more comprehensive than most LCD TVs. There are some great LED-based 3-D HDTV’s out there, don’t get us wrong. If you simply must have a lighter set and can’t accommodate the extra weight a plasma brings with it, then we do have some great recommendations for LED HD sets too, But we really love us some large format plasma TVs around these parts.

 Last but not least for this post anyway, don’t be put off by things you might’ve heard about plasma sets like image burn in, lifespan, or other “problems” you may have heard about from others. Without exception, all of these issues have been addressed and resolved for the most part over the last 5 to 10 years, and plasmas last as long if not longer than their LCD counterparts. Image burn and also is barely a blip on the worry radar is all new plasma sets have dimmers, screensavers and other failsafes to ensure that image burn in does not occur.

Once again we will strive to get some more information up for all visitors to our site. We do suggest though that if your local to the Charleston West Virginia area that you give us a call. We’ll be glad to talk with you about any of your digital needs, were always glad to help out a neighbor!

Call us now at 304-873-MAC 1 and let ApplePROwv be your digital concierge.

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While in almost every way a Mac is superior to most Windows laptops, there are two issues you really need to take into consideration. 

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First is that Apple, in its’ quest to at least seem to remain price competitive with PC’s (they are not, and that’s ok, quality costs) in the eyes of consumers, actually cripples their machines right out of the gate. Seriously? Yup, in their infinite (ok not quite) wisdom, they ship almost every Mac configuration with too little RAM, and a hard drive that I seriously would only use as a backup. TO add insult to injury in this regard, costs for extra RAM, and that spiffy new SSD you were looking at are still extremely high cost options if you choose Build to Order from Apple, MacMall, etc. 

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So what to do? If you are the type of computer user that constantly needs their hand held, are prone to accidents, and (especially for this discussion) live near an Apple Retail Store, it might be worth it for you to pa the extra money Apple charges, buy the extra AppleCare, and have your personal love-in with Apple support anytime you want. They are awesome at support generally, and for some it’s not a bad deal. 

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For most people who are even semi-savvy with their tech, AppleCare is usually not worth it. At ApplePROwv, we do 72 hour burn-ins on all our new Macs and PC’s, and, barring an act of God or a direct lightning strike, your new Mac or PC will run for years without any serious issues. Things like hard drive failures and other hardware and services are not always under warranty anyway, so that “peace of mind” you’re paying for is really not as all-inclusive as you might think. 

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Let us work with you on obtaining the best gear at the best price, doing upgrades that are smart and maximize the price/performance of your tech, and we’ll support, train, and help you with your technology needs moving forward in ways you’ve never experienced before. 

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We can upgrade your Mac, PC’s and more with top quality components for far less than Apple or the other vendors, and we will give you white glove service, timely turnaround, our safe data and no-spy guarantee, and all around service that we expect ourselves. Which is nothing short of the best. Period.

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ApplePRO Digital Concierge Premium Services

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We call ourselves “Digital Concierge Professionals.” What is a concierge? Webster’s defines it as such: 

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Hey all. Wanted to fill you in on a little deal our favorite e-tailer Amazon has right now on the Kingston SSDNow V100 256GB SATA II 3GB/s for only $349 after $85 Instant Rebate. This is an awesome deal, and let me tell you, once you have used a laptop or desktop with an SSD instead of a hard drive, it will be like going from broadband back to dial-up when you have to use a PC or Mac without one..

We can install the drive, clone over your data, do a fresh OS install, and all sorts of things to help get you upgraded, backed up safely, and running faster than ever. Give  us a Call at 304-873-MAC1 (6221) or fill out our Support Request Form Today!

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[amazon_enhanced asin="B004BDORNI" / sc_id="sc1"]

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Click for a larger view. Left two thirds are instrucitons for logging on with Windows laptops. the right one third. Mac. The “Apple Tax” really isn’t that bad after all methinks.