H.I.T.S. 8-14-11
If you read last week’s column, you may remember me writing about an article I’d read about virus problems with cell phones. In particular, it was about Android-based phones like the one I use every day.
That was fresh in my mind when I began reading a UK magazine about high-tech stuff that Doren had been kind enough to give me. Lo and behold, here was an article with the link to the website to buy the protection software.
Via my phone, I went directly to http://usa.kaspersky.com/ and purchased a digital download. Ten seconds later, a box popped up saying I had to alter my settings as normally, the phone will not allow any third party programs to be installed. There was a link to my settings and I merely clicked on the “allow it to install” box. In about another 10 seconds, it was installed.
When I clicked on my phone, to open the program, it requested the code that was sent to my home email. I entered it on the little box on the phone and everything was okay.
For about $15, you get a year’s worth of protection. A little icon pops up on your phone’s home screen so you know it’s there. You also have options like a call block list for people you don’t want to talk to and even an option of wiping out all the data on your phone if its lost or stolen.
Even with all the data currently on my phone, a scan to check for any malware only took a couple of minutes. Personally, I feel that it’s well worth the money for peace of mind. As we stated last week, it’s available not only for all Android-based phones, but also for Blackberry and iPhone 4.
I got an interesting text from the mom of one of my students last week. She’s a very nice lady called Dawn Walker and she asked me if I’d like to be a guest on a radio show on local station WMBS on a program about kids and music. I remarked about it to Mrs. Schulze and her reply was, “DO IT!”
I asked Dawn a few questions via text and told her I’d be delighted. A day or so later, she sent me a very professional outline of the upcoming show via Facebook. This all shows just how handy mobile devices and computers are for me in my daily life.
A few guitar students graciously let me change their times around. I scurried home to drop off my guitar and drove to the WMBS station (http://www.wmbs590.com/) on South Mt. Vernon Avenue. I walked in and sat down and waited for my spot at 6:30 p.m.
The show was being piped into the room where I was waiting and Dawn and another lady were talking about various subjects. A few minutes later, the sound engineer popped out and told me I was up, so in I went.
It was a great experience in that Dawn asked me very well-thought out and intelligent questions about how I started out teaching guitar and even what kind of guitar (either acoustic or electric) a child should start on. A few other questions and the 15-minute segment just flew by.
Before I knew it, it was time to go. I thanked her (and the engineer) profusely for inviting me and toddled off home, feeling very happy with the results. I’d like to say thanks once again to Dawn. It was a blast – especially because I’ve been listening to that station since I first came here in 1978.
Finally, I’m still waiting to see if they iron out the bugs on the new Apple operating system, LION, so I can buy it via a digital download. Previous system upgrades have sometimes disrupted the various music-based programs I use to teach guitar on a daily basis, so I’m waiting for Doren to give the all-clear signal before I take the plunge.
Have a great week and until next time, happy surfing.