Andy Taylor1 CommentUncategorized

Alienware ALX – Tech Support

I’ve been testing out the Alienware for a month now and have not had any real major problems with it… It really is an awesome system and it’s been working great for me. If I had the money, I would buy this big monster machine.
So speaking of BIG… my feet… LOL… by accident knocked into the power cord under the table that the Alienware is sitting on and shut down the system completely. Well, when I went to go start it back up, nothing happened. I shut down the computer and unplug everything from the back, boot it back up… Nothing.
So I’m thinking, “Great, I few more days with the Alienware… and I busted it!!” So, the next thing I do is call the “tech expert” – Andy. He tells me to do the same thing. Unplug, Plug. Still Nothing. The next thing he says is to look for the “CMOSS” jumper on the board. Well, hell if I can find it. I look and look. Can’t see anything that says “CMOSS”. He tells me to power if off and wait.
After that, I decide to call Alienware ALX tech support and PRAY I don’t get anybody from that “place”… you know the one. Thankfully, I don’t. The tech support gentleman walked me through finding the “jumper” to re-set the motherboard. That literally took about 30 minutes. (definitely need some glasses). After finally finding it, he told me how to re-set it. I did that. We plugged the power cord back in, booted the system and then he walked me through the BIOS set up and – viola!!, the computer came back up and is now running beautifully again.
I was on the phone with Alienware ALX tech support for 45 minutes. The tech support gentleman (Antonio from Costa Rica) that helped me was so patient and helpful. So, I’m not only a fan of the Alienware ALX, I am also a fan of their tech support. I asked Antonio if they had a “feedback” form to fill out about the tech support call. He told me to send it to feedback@alienware.com and I would be able to send my feedback for the tech support call.
So, the moral of this story… if you have BIG feet, watch where you’re stretching them!! LOL. But if you do happen to stretch them to far, hopefully, you’ll get the same great help I did!!
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Andy Taylor2 CommentsPhotoshop

Photoshop for Photographers and the Brown Potato

I always love going to these Photoshop seminars… Not for the freebies but to see what exciting things they are going to teach about Photoshop and to bring it back and learn it!

A couple of days before the class I kept thinking… I’m not a photographer, am I actually going to learn anything from this class? Ben Willmore totally “WOWED” me today! I went into the class expecting to gain some BUT not as much as I did.

I was so excited and wowed by the seminar today that I actually joined the NAPP!! Everytime we go, I say I’m going to join and never do and the number one reason… don’t have the money… but this time I thought… I’ll just make it up because it is totally worth the $99 to join. In reality, I only paid $29. They gave me a “free” DVD of my choice. I picked the one I would most likely get the most use from, Adobe Photoshop CS3 & Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 – Creative Integration. A $69.99 Value! With the $99, not only did I get the free DVD, BUT I also got a year’s subscription to Photoshop User, access to NAPP’s members-only online community, discounts on just about everything, and Photoshop Tech Support!! Wow! What an extra-ordinary value for only $99 for 1 year! If I could’ve joined for two years, I would have. With the two year subscription, you received a free DVD AND a free book of your choice, PLUS all of the above.

What I learned the most out of the class today was how to take a “background” image out of a photograph in a couple of simple steps. If I would have known how to do it the way Ben Willmore showed it today, I could have saved myself “hours” of time. Ben also taught me how to bring out the “colors” in a photograph in a variety of different ways.

The hour and a half drive too and from Phoenix for the Kelby Training class was well worth it!! Even the “brown” Potato I got at Wendy’s for dinner. Well, okay, now I’m pushing it. THAT was not worth it! Hey, aren’t Potato’s supposed to be “white” on the inside? I know you’re all answering “yes” to my question. Sooo… How come my potato was BROWN inside? Can you answer THAT one?!! AND the second potato was not that much different from the first one I sent back… That’s right TWO brown potatoes. Where do they get their potatoes from? I was afraid to ask them… But hey, if I get sick tonight, can I sue Wendy’s (j/k)… I’ll definitely know why though!!

All in all it was a great road trip and a relaxed “break” from the daily routine and I came back with more knowledge than I had before…

Next road trip… Anyone?

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Andy TaylorLeave a commentTechtalkRadio

Photoshop for Photographers – Kelby Training

The entire crew, Slick, Carol and myself hit the road thusrday morning (02.28.2008) and were in Phoenix for the Kelby training, Photoshop for Photographers Workshop hosted by Photoshop Guru, Ben Willmore. To read our entire experience, please visit the website page at http://www.techtalkradio.com/events/kelbytour0208.htm Be sure to check out Carol’s Blog and her story of the brown potato as well. Photos and Videos also on the Website from the Event!
Andy
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Andy TaylorLeave a commentUncategorized

Tech Tuesday – What Was That!

On todays episode of Tech Tuesday, we had Jim Barry from the Consumer Electronics Association stop by and show off some very cool products from CEA members. The Digital Answer Man tour takes Jim through 72 cities in about 52 weeks, thats a travel schedule! On this mornings episode he featured a couple of products that I have received quite a few emails about. The first was a Watch that could store about 200 songs or MP3 audio files, depending on the size of the file of course. The neat trick about this watch was that it can be easily paired to a bluetooth set of headphones and play the files in stereo. I tried these on and was amazed at the quality of the sound of these comfortable headphones.

For those that want to take a look, the product was the Gold Lantern BlueX Bluetooth Watch which can be found at http://www.goldlantern.com I am thinking about putting together a segment where we take this technology out on the road and give you a chance to come out and try it out and give us your thoughts. Let me know if you would like to give it a listen! The picture on the right displays a Mens fashion watch, a womens model is also available.

The other product was a handheld High Definition video camera that fit in the palm of the hand. It was amazing at this years Consumer Electronics Show that had Panasonic with the largest plasma TV at 150″ and the ultra small HD camera on the same stage! While the camera doesn’t shoot at 1080p but instead 1080i, still high definition, the Panasonic HDC-SD9 records directly to SD Memory cards and features a 3CCD system for great video!

While it might not be too technical, the 3D film industry has been on a upswing lately with concert films such as Hannah Montana and U2. The technology has come a long way since the first 3D film shot in color Bwana Devil came out in 1952. One year later, Hondo starring the legendary John Wayne was released. Hondo was originally filmed in 3D and now Tucsonans get the opportunity to see it on the big screen at the Fox Theater. One of my favorite Directors John Landis (Animal House, Blues Brothers) is slated to be among other film industry icons at the screening on Saturday March 1st at 7pm. The director of Desperation , Mick Garris, is also slated to be on hand. I talked with Mick recently who told me he enjoyed Tucson so much when he was filming Desperation in downtown tucson that he makes it a regular vacation spot. It’s a rare opportunity to see this classic on the big screen!

While John Landis has a regular trademark “See You Next Wednesday” in his films, I’ll see you next Tuesday for Tech Tuesday.

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