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How to setup an e-mail distribution list

March 6th, 2010, 3:41 am by Ed Schwartz, NOCCC

Stump the PC Club is a free tech-advice column written by members of the North Orange County Computer Club, which has been in existence since 1976. Visit the club’s site at noccc.org. And don’t forget to stop by the Gadgetress’ home for the PC Club, at ocregister.com/link/pcclub, to find out how to ask a question and read past answers.

QUESTION: I have Microsoft Outlook as my e-mail program and I have a large list of contacts. I would like to group my contacts into subgroups.  For example, I have a group of about 30 high school classmates that I would like in one group. Such grouping would make it far simpler for me to enter into the “To” box when sending an e-mail to them.  I have similar contacts that I would like to put into subgroups.  I would still wish to keep the entire single list so I can send an individual e‑mail.

PC CLUB: Group e-mail lists are a very handy feature and quite easy to implement. The term that’s used to describe this type of list in Outlook is a Distribution List. In Outlook Express it is simply called a Group. In the new Windows Live Mail program it is called a Category and in Windows Vista’s e-mail program, Windows Mail, it is called a Contact Group. Microsoft has changed the name with each version of it software, how rude is that? Read the rest of this entry »

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Verizon says FiOS now available to 1.2 million in SoCal

March 5th, 2010, 4:18 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

If it feels like Verizon has been taking its sweet old time to offer its fast and comprehensive FiOS TV service in Orange County, here’s a bit of an update. The company offered a progress report for Southern California.

Approximately $682 million of Verizon’s $1.2 billion investment in California last year went to wired services like FiOS TV and Internet. That helped add another 166,000 households and expanded FiOS’ reach to 1.15 million premises in 85 cities in Southern California.

Broken down further, FiOS is available to 1 million single-family homes, 90,000 apartments and condos, and 46,000 businesses in SoCal.

FiOS has been hotly anticipated by many ever since it launched in Orange County in May 2007. It offered residents an alternative to the local cable service and promised faster Internet speeds — up to 50 mbps — and more TV channels. FiOS currently offers the most HD channels in Orange County, at nearly 140.

I’m waiting to hear back from Verizon about whether the FiOS service has expanded to any new Orange County cities, but last I heard a few months ago, Verizon continues to focus on existing neighborhoods instead of new territories. There’s a greater chance you can order FiOS in Orange County if you live in cities: Brea, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Stanton and Westminster. But keep in mind, not even everyone in those cities can order the service.

The wired investment budget also went toward its non-FiOS Internet service, or DSL Internet that Verizon calls High Speed Internet because of its speeds up to 7.1 mbps. Huntington Beach was one of 15 cities — and the only one in Orange County — that received the extra Internet attention.

The company also mentions a whole bunch of discounts it’s offering mostly to new customers, including a free wireless router for new FiOS triple-play customers, a $20 monthly discount for ordering online and committing to 24 months, and $150 cash cards for new customers who order High Speed Internet along with another Verizon service. Read the press release HERE.

Recent Verizon FiOS news:

Posted in: Internet • Video & TV • • • • • • • | 17 Comments »

Apple iPad now available on April 3

March 5th, 2010, 10:07 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

If you haven’t heard, Apple’s iPad computer goes on sale April 3. The innovative touch-screen computer was supposed to debut this month. But you know how things are in the tech world, right? Besides, Apple missed March by just 3 days. The company starts taking preorders on March 12.

Praised and panned, the iPad is Apple’s first touch-screen computer aimed at people who read eBooks, watch online videos and want something smaller than a traditional laptop. Past stories about the iPad:

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Time Warner’s ‘free’ HD commercial is misleading, says agency

March 5th, 2010, 7:25 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

Noted: Time Warner Cable likes to tout its “free” HD to make itself look more affordable than the competition. But free isn’t true, as some readers like to note.

The Better Business Bureau doesn’t think so either. After a competitor’s complaint to the Council of Better Business Bureau, Time Warner Cable said it would “revise its advertising to curtail use of the word ‘free,’” reports Multichannel News.

AT&T complained about the misleading ads that are used to promote cable service. The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus looked at the issue and said that the issue is Time Warner’s “free HD” was part of a temporarily discounted price that eventually went up so free HD should no longer be considered free. The agency recommended that Time Warner discontinue such advertising.

The misleading Time Warner ad showed a U-verse TV customer named Ed who rejected Time Warner’s “free HDTV” and instead says “Sure, U-verse hits me up with an HD surcharge every month but, no big deal, I’ve found ways to make extra cash…” The ad ends with “Don’t Be Ed …Don’t Accept HD Surcharges” or “Don’t Accept Less. Get Digital Cable with Free HD.”

Time Warner offers dozens of HD channels at no extra cost as part of different levels of standard cable service. It has one special tier of HD-only channels for about $5 a month, which customers can order separately. AT&T charges $10 per month for HD channels.

Readers have complained about the “free HD” campaign as well since technically, customers still need to order a minimal cable service and equipment to get the “free” HD channels. Time Warner’s not the only one using the marketing gimmick. Cox and other cable providers also tout free HD.

Readers: What do you think? Did the “free HD” campaign win you over? LEAVE A COMMENT

Read the full story at Multichannel News: Time Warner Cable To Change ‘Free HD’ Claim After AT&T Complaint

Recent Time Warner news:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • | 26 Comments »

Most TV viewers pay $70/month or more for service

March 4th, 2010, 2:45 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

Now that 2009 numbers are in, how much did the average person pay for TV service?

A lot! At least $70 a month!

Scanning public documents, I set up a handy chart for consumers to see how much money TV services are collecting from subscribers each month.

Please note that some of these prices may include Internet and phone service (cable and Internet providers) while others only include TV service (satellite providers).

Also, these numbers are what the companies call the average monthly revenue per subscriber. I like to think of this as the monthly bill, but technically, the numbers can also include business customers and other fees, which skews what the monthly bills really are. Here are the results, in no particular order:
TV service 2008 2009 change
Dish Network $69.27 $70.04 1.1%
DirecTV $83.90 $85.48 1.9%
Time Warner Cable $92.44 $97.83 5.8%
Verizon FiOS $133.00 $140.00 5.3%
AT&T U-verse $61.75* n/a*
Comcast $111.05 $118.20 6.4%
Cox** n/a n/a
Source: All numbers are based on public annual reports from the companies.
* AT&T’s 2008 figure includes cheaper DSL service. The company did not release the price for 2009.
** Cox is a private company and does not release its numbers.

With more fee disputes between TV networks and the TV services, prices aren’t expected to go down any time soon. One analyst estimates cable TV customers pay $100 a month. Plus, we heard from Time Warner this week that Internet has replaced the cable TV as the company’s core product so Internet prices may go up too (read: “Time Warner toys with raising Internet prices.”)

But some have hinted at expanding plans and offering some lower-priced packages. Perhaps when online TV services like TV Everywhere from Time Warner and Comcast become available, a wider variety of lower-priced options for paying customers will open up.
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Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • | 42 Comments »

Entire March Madness coverage is free for Time Warner users

March 4th, 2010, 7:39 am by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

College basketball fans who want to catch the finals this month can watch the entire March Madness tournament for free beginning March 8 — if they happen to be local Time Warner Cable customers.

The CBS College Sports Network is typically $6/month as part of the sports tier, but Time Warner is waiving the fee between March 8 to April 5, coinciding with the final March Madness game. This is a freebie to digital cable customers only.

The channel is 261.

If you just want to tune in for the big games, the opening round games are March 19 to 21, the Sweet Sixteen games are March 25 to 26, Elite Eight are March 27 to 28, the Final Four games are on April 3 and the championship is on April 5.

The same deal may be available from other TV providers. I’ll post them below after I confirm.

More free previews:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • | 1 Comment »

Time Warner teams up with Orange County Supes

March 3rd, 2010, 5:29 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

Missed the last Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting? Time Warner Cable’s now offers scintillating coverage on demand for Southern California customers.

Okay, so Time Warner’s new on-demand feature may sound like a snooze fest, but there’s a bunch of other videos of area city meetings and interviews with California politicians. It’s mostly Los Angeles-based content, but there’s also U.S. public service announcements from celebs such as Rosario Dawson and rappers Cypress Hill, plus tax tips from the IRS.

As part of the My Government launch, Time Warner said it set up an office in Sacramento to produce more interviews with state lawmakers.

Called My Government On Demand, the new feature is available on channel 1018 or find it by going to “Local” from Channel 1. The service is available to Time Warner’s 2 million digital cable customers in Southern California.

More on Time Warner:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • | 2 Comments »

TiVo releases big new DVR… ho hum

March 3rd, 2010, 2:14 pm by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

Noted: Pioneering DVR company TiVo has updated its devices but many in the industry are saying Ho Hum.

The new TiVo Premiere adds a wider-screen menu to fit HDTVs better and also offers shortcuts and a powerful search function that hunts down videos on YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand or Blockbuster On Demand. And there’s a nifty remote with a QWERTY keyboard inside.

But other then that, there aren’t too many changes from the last upgrade. Technologizer laments the lack of video-on-demand, access to online TV site Hulu.com, and a TiVo that works with all TV services, including satellite.

While over at Zatz Not Funny, Dave Zatz writes, “The TiVo Premiere isn’t the home run I was hoping for. In it’s current form, and for potential upgraders, the Premiere basically offers the same core features of a TiVo Series 3 or HD.”

Two versions are available beginning April: the TiVo Premiere, with 320 gigabytes for $299.99; and the $499.99 TiVo Premiere XL,  with 1 terabyte, a backlit remote and THX-certified audio and video technology. As before, the box supports cable TV and Verizon FiOS users, but not satellite TV or AT&T U-verse.

Other key features: It supports E-SATA technology to users can add an external hard drive if they run out of storage space. It also uses the faster Wireless N Wi-Fi connection.

As more consumers ponder about cutting down their monthly TV bill by looking for cheap TV viewing online, TiVo won’t help much with that. Besides the upfront cost, there’s a monthly $12.95 fee for service even if you opt for basic broadcast TV service. If you want regular cable channels, you’ll need a limited cable TV subscription and a CableCARD. Plus you’ll still need broadband Internet, which can be another $30 to $50 a month. Netflix, Amazon and Blockbuster also charge for online rentals.

Read more about the new boxes and see more photos at TiVo’s site: TiVo Premiere, press release, official video

More reviews:

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