Like everyone in our mountain community, I have been evacuated from my home, with the prospect of losing it forever. This is a frightening and stressful situation for all of us, and we must come together to help one another get through it.

I would be remiss if I did not offer the aid of my services as well, and so all of my services will be free to evacuees and those who have lost their houses to wildland fire through the end of 2021. Because of COVID-19, I will not be offering any in-person consultations, but I will be doing pick-ups for any service that requires me to have physical access to your hardware.

Thank you, and stay safe.

~Ryan Porter

As local shelter-in-place restrictions are eased, I am now beginning to offer pick up of computers for repair in my workshop again. In-home services remain on hold, so feel free to make use of my remote support options if you have any problems!

Many people are frightened and panicked by the spread of COVID-19 in Santa Cruz County. Technical frustrations can take a heavy toll on your stress levels, especially for people working remotely at this time.

I am offering a 66.6% discount on my remote consultation services and discontinuing house calls until further notice. And don't forget, chat and phone consultations are free up to 30 minutes, so feel free to give me a call or send a message if you need advice! I also offer remote control sessions, where I can remotely service your computer and solve problems without you taking a step away from your desk. This is a secure and easy way to keep your work machine functional when the gremlins strike!

Does your computer tend to suddenly turn itself off without warning? Has it been running sluggishly lately? You may be the victim of overheating.

Computer systems of all types, from smartphones to desktops, require to be kept within a specific temperature range to function properly. Your CPU (central processing unit, the “brain” of your computer) will generally idle between 84 and 106 degrees, spiking to over 140 degrees when under heavy load. When your machine senses that it’s getting too hot, it’ll shut itself down to protect itself from damage.

On April 18th, 2019, systems running Windows 7 began to receive notifications for the end of life for that venerable operating system. The successor to the generally despised Windows Vista, 7 has been supported for ten years, which in technology is a very long time. Like all great software it was beloved by many, but the time has come to let it die in peace.

Those of you still using Windows 7 are likely annoyed by these prompts to upgrade, and may be wondering why it’s important to do so. Among many other reasons, the most crucial is the lack of security updates going forward. I’ve written elsewhere about the implications of this (https://www.techno-literate.com/2019/03/21/time-to-leave-windows-7-behind/), but in short, your data and Internet usage will be at risk if you continue to use Windows 7 after the end of 2019.

If you’re still using a computer that you purchased with Windows 7 preinstalled, you may find your Windows 10 experience to be sluggish. Very old computers from the last decade are definitely not powerful enough for modern software, so you may need to consider purchasing a new system. Here’s some basic information that you’ll need to know as you shop.

Have you ever accidentally deleted a folder on your computer? I know I have! Keeping backups of your data can protect you from these kinds of silly blunders, as well as ransomware, hard drive crashes, or anything else the universe throws at you. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of supremacy that comes after successfully restoring data from a backup and knowing that you can’t be stopped!