I spend PCs – two of them. One at home and one at work. I occupy a digital camera, a MiniDV video camera, a library of software and more accessories for these things and others than I want to utilize the site detailing here. I have a portable DVD player and one that is not portable, more telephones than I could ever possibly use, a plethora of electronic gizmos and drives. The last time I tried to take inventory, I owned almost two hundred separate software programs and utilities of one kind or another. Suffice it to say that I am a dedicated consumer of computers and computer-linkable electronic products and software. I read the usual consumer publications, including the highly regarded “Consumer Reports” in my efforts to understand original technology and to serve inform me about developments that may impact either my usage or my purchasing decisions. Of course, I always consult with a number of websites, including our very own AC. There are reviews and articles about home, consumer-oriented electronics and software everywhere – from the Sunday newspapers to the weekly news magazines; from television infomercials to the vast and ever-increasing knowledge (and some not-quite-so-knowledgeable) base of the Wickepedia. Everything taken into account, including my own available time and often little attention span, I have come to rely on PC World as one of my most trusted and consistently useful sources of monthly information about the technical issues that matter to me. Once a month I get a nice dose of news I can really use!
Each issue has a ‘masthead’ (Front Page) article. My newest edition’s cover screams out “HOW TO FIX the 12 Biggest PC Disasters,” followed, beginning on page 78, by a twelve page article about that – covering, indeed, many things that have happened and will happen again to most computer users at one time or another. My only predicament is that these magazines contain SO much useful information that I don’t want to throw them out, fearing that I will need to look something up in one of them later – and, I frequently do – but the appearance of my home office pays the price in storing high piles of these magazines. Their product reviews, ubiquitous to the world of electronics, are written by professionals – but written for consumers. I can actually understand most of what they say about a product I might be interested in. The current issue, for example, offers reviews and ratings of Net Radio, Cable TV Boxes, GPS Cell Phones, Laptop Computers, MP3 players, External Hard Drives, Camcorders as well as their own list of the Top 100 Products of The Year. And still, there is distinguished more. An entire piece called “Here’s How” details tips in areas as wide ranging as Windows OSs, Assorted Hardware and Digital Photo work and editing.
I read each issue in three stages. 1) I browse though the entire issue looking out for products and articles that seem especially timely and relevant to me right now but scan the entire issue; 2) I go back and read the articles that interest me the most, and finally 3) I read the entire philosophize, from hide to cover – skipping only some of the advertising as much of it is repetitive and offers little if any useful information about the product. I know it’s there for income purposes and to try to accept my attention. I make a deliberate effort to not let it finish it’s goal with me.
No matter what your lifestyle or preferences, if they include electronics, computers, cameras, communications equipment of any type or software, you will find at least a dozen sections in each and every issue that will inform you and enrich your notion – even about things you already know something about. With thousands of periodical publications on the market, dozens of them dedicated to technology in one build or another, PC World holds a original place, from my point of view, in presenting technical information in a user-accessible method to we ‘real’ consumers. I wouldn’t want to be without it. Every time I put it down, I have learned something(s) new … and so will you!
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Filed under Consumer Reports by on Feb 1st, 2012. 
Sleeping together (co-sleeping) is the norm for many families all over the world; but is it a fine idea or a potentially lethal habit?
Only 150 years ago in the United States, young children slept with their parents or other relatives. Most families could not afford separate sleeping arrangements. Sharing a bed with a relative was a reliable way to make certain the baby was kept warm.
As society prospered and bottle feeding became popular, co-sleeping and breast-feeding were regarded as “third world practices”, a sign of poverty.
But for the last several decades a return to natural child birth, breast-feeding and co-sleeping has become popular. Surveys show that at least 50% of American parents routinely sleep with their infants either part or all of the night.
But is sleeping with your infant a good idea or even a potentially fatal habit?
Some of the reasons families choose to co-sleep:
- Everyone – father, mother and infant get more sleep – babies descend asleep more easily.
- Breast-feeding is more “natural” and more convenient.
- Parents who are separated from their babies during the day can acquire their closeness.
Supporters of co-sleeping believe that a parent’s bed is just where an infant belongs. All mammals sleep with their offspring.
In Japan, where the nurturing aspects of family life are emphasized, co-sleeping is the norm.
Parents do not sleep alone. Most people do not like sleeping alone – why would a baby?
Although co-sleeping is widespread in many non-western cultures, factors such as alcohol, and drug use, obesity, and differences in bedding and mattresses may myth for lower risks of infant death compared to the U.S.
In spite of the pros of co-sleeping, The U.S. Consumer Describe Safety Commission (CPCS) recommends against sleeping with a baby under two years. According to the CPCS, al least 515 deaths were linked to infants and toddlers sleeping in adult beds from 1990-1997. More than 75% of these deaths were infants under 3 months old.
In Manatee County in Florida, a explore of child autopsy reports from 2000-2006, 26 children died from co-sleeping.
Most of the children were 2 months or younger. The families had cribs or bassinets. They just didn’t use them.
Florida’s Child Abuse Death Review Committee believes the total number of children who die from co-sleeping if properly classified would be huge.
Parents often resolve to sleep with their infants to be more attentive to their needs but many parents exhausted from caring for their newborn simply descend asleep with the baby in their arms.
Parents worn out and frustrated from non-stop crying bring the baby into their bed.
CPSC identifies the hazards of babies sleeping in an adult bed:
- Suffocation from an adult rolling over on top of them.
- Suffocation when the infant gets trapped or wedged between the mattress, headboard or wall.
- Suffocation from being face down on the mattress, soft pillow or quilts.
- Strangulation in a headboard or footboard when the infant’s body slips through and the head is trapped.
If you do chose to share your bed with your infant:
- Don’t sleep with your baby if have been drinking alcohol, using drugs, or medications.
- Don’t sleep with your baby if you are a gargantuan or obese person or an especially sound sleeper.
- Remove all pillows and blankets during the early months. Dress yourselves warmly for sleep.
- Do not allow pets or children to sleep with the baby.
- Always state the baby on his/her back to sleep.
- Make sure the bed’s headboard and footboard don’t have openings that could trap the baby’s head.
- Make sure the mattress fits snugly and is firm.
- Don’t place an infant in an adult bed alone.
- Don’t use pillows, comforters, or other plush items on the bed.
- Don’t place the bed near draperies or blinds where the infant could be strangled by the cords.
Baby equipment manufacturers are developing products to acquire co-sleeping safer but the old tried and true solution is to have the baby sleep next to you in his/her bear crib or bassinet where he/she can be close and honorable.
Sources:
- St. Petersburg Times 1-6-08
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Celebrity Baby Blog
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Filed under Consumer Reports by on Feb 3rd, 2012.
Owning a home is a goal in most everyone’s life. Once you purchase a house, you become the king or queen of your castle! Not only can you decorate and landscape it the way you settle, but you’re not subject to a landlord’s rules and regulations anymore.
Right, owning a home means that you’ll choose on the expenses of a mortgage payment, property taxes, and maintenance and upkeep. But in the long run, your home will be an investment that will increase in value. Instead of pouring your hard-earned money into leasing a house, you’ll instead be investing your money into your own home.
The most important thing that any homeowner can do to protect their investment, is to perform regular maintenance and upkeep on their house. Every year, positive
tasks need to be performed. These tasks will not only benefit protect your home, but they will also prolong the life of your home’s systems.
The following checklist covers most of the major tasks. They’re broken down season-by-season so you can easily see what needs to be done, and when.
Winter
1. Check the batteries in your smoke alarms. Check the batteries in carbon your monoxide alarms too. Replace worn out batteries and test the alarms to make clear they work properly.
2. Take your fire extinguishers to a certified inspector to make distinct they are charged up properly and are ready for use.
3. Behold the filters in your heating system and clean or replace them as needed.
4. Check the faucets in your kitchen, bathrooms, basement, et cetera, for leaks and other problems that need attention. Repair and/or replace faucets as needed.
5. Clean the lint out of your clothes dryer vent, if needed.
6. Check the gaskets around your refrigerator and freezer units to ensure they are airtight. A friendly test is to crack the refrigerator door and place a one dollar bill on the seal. Then, close the door. If you can slide the bill out, then the seal is not airtight. Try this test on your freezer doors too, and replace the seals, as needed.
7. Use a vacuum cleaner that has a brush attachment to clean the coils on the
back of your refrigerator, if applicable. Don’t forget the freezer too!
Spring
1. Remove the storm windows. Clean them before you store them away so they’ll be ready for expend next fall.
2. Spring rains not only bring flowers, but they also bring leaky basements. View your basement or crawl space for water and dampness, and repair as needed.
3. Put the screens in the exterior doors and in the windows of your house.
4. Check the door locks, latches, hinges, and other hardware on your interior and exterior doors and windows. Replace or repair as needed. Lubricate the hinges and bewitching parts to sustain them operating smoothly.
5. Earn ready for grass cutting season! Replace the spark plug in your lawn mower and/or garden tractor.
6. Replace the fuel filters, air filters, et cetera, in the same lawn equipment.
7. Don’t forget to change the oil and to lubricate all of the attractive parts of your lawn equipment.
8. Check all the belts, fuel lines, et cetera, in your lawn equipment and replace
as needed.
9. Invent positive the blades on your lawn mower and/or garden tractor are free from pain. Sharpen or replace as principal.
10. Open the air vents in your attic to allow for air ventilation.
Summer
1. Prepare your air conditioning system for use this season. Smart or replace the filters.
2. Is your septic tank system (if applicable) in honorable working order? Check to see if it needs pumped out. Schedule an appointment with a professional, if necessary.
3. Inspect your concrete or blacktop driveway, sidewalks, patios, porches, et cetera. Repair any for holes, cracks, or other afflict you find.
4. Check the eaves around your home’s roof, chimneys, caps, et cetera. Make sure
there are no hornet, wasp, or other flying insect nests. Also, repair any damaged eaves.
5. Is your TV reception fuzzy or snowy? Check your antenna or satellite dish and make sure they are in good repair. Also, carefully clean your satellite dish with a mild solution of household bleach and tap water. This will remove tree sap, moss, dirt, and other contaminants.
6. Inspect the decks, steps, open porches, and other wooden structures around your house. Make any repairs as necessary.
7. If it’s been 2 years since you last did it, clean and apply a quality weatherproofing product to your decks, steps, and other wooden structures. This will help to protect and retain the wood.
Fall
1. Check the weather-stripping around your exterior doors and windows. If there are gaps or worn spots, replace the stripping as needed.
2. Inspect the caulking around the exterior windows and doors of your house. Fix as necessary to keep drafts, as well as insects, out of your home.
3. Check your exterior roof vents to make sure they’re clean and operating properly.
4. Carefully check the roof of your house. Check any chimney caps too, and make certain they’re in site. Trim back any tree branches that are touching your roof. Branches can damage shingles, as well as other roofing material.
5. Either clean out, or hire a professional chimney sweep to clean the inside of your chimney and your fireplace.
6. Do you have uninvited guests in your home? Inspect the attic and the basement for signs of birds, chipmunk, squirrels, bats, and the like. Procure and seal any entrance holes.
7. Schedule an appointment to have your heating system inspected, cleaned, and lubricated so it will work efficiently.
8. Use a vacuum cleaner to clean out the forced air registers and ductwork in your house.
9. Use a pressure washer to clean off the outside of your house and garage. Periodically removing tree sap, accumulated dirt, and debris will make the siding on your house last longer.
10. Select leaves, tree branches, and other debris from roofs, gutters, and downspouts. Make sure your gutters are in good shape; repair or replace as necessary.
11. Take the window and door screens out of their frames and clean them. Inspect the screens for tears and holes and repair them before you store them.
12. Drain the water from any outdoor faucets and garden hoses. Store the hoses inside if you live in a cold winter climate.
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Filed under Whole House Well Water Filters by on Feb 4th, 2012.
It is almost fall, and winter will be upon us in no time. Along with the return of these seasons comes the return of cold weather and the need to heat our homes. Spending a few minutes now checking and replacing your furnace filter can reap multiple benefits come the winter months.
A dirty filter on your furnace can lead to poorer indoor air quality and decreased efficiency during heating operations. Replacing the filter is an easy job, and should take no time at all to do. At most, you may need a screwdriver to help pry off the access panel. Other than that, no tools will likely be required. Follow the steps below to check and clean or replace your filter:
- Turn off power to the furnace. For extra safety, you should always turn off the power to whatever appliance you are working on. Your best bet is to do this at the circuit box.
- Locate the filter. For most furnaces this will likely be slack an access panel on the furnace itself. Some installers may have installed the filter in a cut-out near the return air. If the state around your filter is dirty, a quick cleaning will help you avoid putting dirt back into the furnace system.
- Remove the access panel and slide the filter out. The panel will usually pop out or slide off in one direction. If it has not been removed in a while, it may be stuck.
- Check the filter by holding it up to the light. If you can easily discover through it, then you probably do not need to change the filter. If it looks dirty, or you cannot see through it at all, it is time to either clean or replace the filter.
- If you have a reusable plastic or wire frame filter, you can clean it according to the manufacturer’s directions. This is usually done by rinsing the filter with water, a hose in the backyard or driveway works best, then completely drying it. Once complete, reinstall the filter and the access panel.
- If you have a fiberglass mesh filter (usually in a cardboard frame), it is not reusable. Take brand of the filter size printed on the cardboard and purchase a replacement at a local hardware or discount store. Filters can often be bought in money-saving multipacks. Slide the new filter back in and replace the access panel.
- Finally, restore power to the furnace and enjoy another season of warming power.
To ensure best performance, you should check your filter every year as summer turns to fall and once a month during the heating season. Now you know that this is something that you can easily do for yourself.
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Filed under Whole House Replacement Water Filters by on Feb 5th, 2012.