TekThing 67: Best Time To Buy A Laptop? Doxie Scanner Rocks, Encrypted Storage, CamelCamelCamel, OpenStreetMaps
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Best Time Of Year To Buy A Laptop???
Bill wants to know if April is still the best time of year to buy a new laptop... we talk when to buy, when sales aren't sales, price tracking tools like CamelCamelCamel.com and InvisibleHand, factory outlets for refurbished gear and more!
Digitize A Mountain Of Paper Files
Matt writes, "I want to digitize a mountain of paper files so that I can organize and search them from my desktop, but I'm not sure where to begin. Do you have some recommendations on scanners and software that are built for this purpose? I'm also looking for a method to securely store some of the more sensitive files such as financial records. If I only have to do this project once, I might as well do it right. Shannon's got an encrypted drive howto, uses the DoxieOne for scanning all her receipts, and talk about the troubles with multi-page scanners in the video!
User System Survey!!!
Thanks to everybody that’s sent in their system specs to ask@tekthing.com... we talk about some of the surprises Patrick found in the video. (Keep sending in info on your CPU, GPU, Memory, etc in, it’s giving us me a good feel for what you’re into!!!
OpenStreetMap
Greg caught the review of Garmin's Drive 60 LMT and various GPS apps and says "What you missed or did not know about is the OpenStreetMap crowd sourced data. The map covers the world. There are two sites that create Garmin files for devices that support the Garmin format. I have the same or more cell coverage issues in Arizona that Patrick mentioned. I found Maps.ME or Maps with Me. I can run this app on an old device that no longer has a sim card. They allow you to download states or countries at you need them. This app would rock for Snubs trip to Japan."
Overseas Maps & Travel Routers
Speaking of Maps.me, it's great for the US, but Shannon found it's got some problems overseas. So does downloading offline google maps for Tokyo and Kyoto. Find out what she's going to use instead, and the WiFi travel router she's got to access the Ethernet in her hotel rooms from her cell phone!
More Secure Than Google Drive???
Andy writes in, "Is Google Drive a safe place for sensitive data or do you prefer another backup provider? I want it to automatically upload new changes, so not sure if i want to first zip my data with a password, as it will always have to upload the new zip file every time (bandwidth usage)." Good question! Shannon talks encrypting and sending files to GDrive over Linux and Windows (using GPG4Win)... and why you might want a company like SpiderOak that offers online storage w/ a Zero Knowledge. Do Something Analog!
Do Something Analog!
Once in awhile... put down the phone, step away from the screen, close the laptop... and do something analog, like Fix Something Yourself !!!