The Computer Next Door

AnswerTips - At Your Service

Even though we make a concerted effort not to speak in tech jargon, every now and then we end up using some technical term that someone out there may not know.  So, to help you out, we've added a great feature to this blog to make it easy to get definitions.

The feature is called AnswerTips, and it allows you to simply double-click on any word you see, and then see a pop-up definition. It is provided courtesy of Answers.com, and is available for any blog or Website.

One major site using AnswerTips is The New York Times. I accidentally stumbled on the pop-up definition feature while reading an article recently on the Times' Website.  You'll notice that on the Times' site, sometimes you'll get a general definition, othertimes the pop-up may include political references - very useful if you ask me. (Note: The Times uses it only in their articles).

We think this is a great example of technology in the user' interest - and we're happy to have AnswerTips working for us on our blog. We hope it helps someone out there!

The Authors of This Weblog

This site is co-authored by Meryl Enerson and Linda Schleider, long-time friends and colleagues who have worked together and played together for over 30 years.

Meryl lives in East Chatham, New York where she runs a digital media consultancy, Enervision Media. She discusses consumer technologies on the Sally Jessy Raphael radio talk show.

Linda lives and works in New York City and runs a video production company, Immediate Media.

The World is Changing

There was a time when keeping up with the Jones’ meant buying the latest car, clothes or boat.  Today it’s computers, hi-definition television, digital cameras, TiVo, PDAs , smart phones and iPods.  So keeping up with the guy next door now means trying to keep up with all the latest technical trends (whether you buy them or not).

But here’s the problem as we see it: most people we know are overwhelmed by technology. (Dazed and confused might be more like it).  And we’re not just talking about our older friends, family, or neighbors.

If you’re technically savvy, working in a high-tech job, or born after 1980, of course this doesn’t apply to you.

But if you’re not, you know what we mean.

Have you ever sat down at your computer with a new piece of software and weren’t sure where to get started? Or looked at the rows of digital cameras in the electronics store and felt overwhelmed?  Or weren’t sure even who to ask about how to hook up your home-based network?

Read on…

This is not a  blog for  “Dummies” per se (we would NEVER use that term for you!) just a resource for the under served.  Which is, by our reckoning, about 85% of the American public.

And who are we, you may ask?

We’re Meryl and Linda. Long-time friends and colleagues, who have known each other for 30 years, and had long-standing careers in television (Linda) and software and digital media (Meryl). As much as we've learned over the years, we still can get confused. Sad but true. Not every piece of hardware is user friendly. And not every piece of software comes with good documentation.

So, we’re going to share Stories (of technology encounters), propose  Strategies (for getting where you need to go) and offer up Resources (where to go for help) in the hopes that you will do the same and let us know what worked for you.

Here’s to conquering the Digital Divide!