Apple is at it again!  They have come out with a new mobile product line.  Mostly good revisions, with one terrible omission.

Here are the new Apple products and what’s changed:

• iPod shuffle – You can use the VoiceOver buton to hear the song title’s that’s being played.  At $49, it can hold 2GB with a silver, blue, green, orange, or pink color choice.
• iPod touch – This is now essentially just like the iPhone 4 without the calling feature.  It now has the Retina Display, Facetime Video conferencing, front-facing camera, and an amazing 960 x 640 pixel resolution.  It sells for $229 for the 8GB model, $299 for the 32GB model, and $399 for the 64GB one.
• iPod nano – This now is half the weight and size than the previous model, and you have touch controls on this like the iPod touch.  FM radio is built-in and the size is easy to work out to.   The one big omission is the camera / video removal of this model.  That’s a bummer since the previous model was a great way to take quick pics and videos on the fly since it’s so small.  The new model lists at $149 for 8GB and $179 for 16GB. 
• Apple TV – No more storing like the old one.  This is all about streaming content on its palm-sized device.   You may rent TV shows for $1; $3 – $5 for movie rentals, priced according to new release and standard or high-definition resolution.  The box itself is only $99.

All of the new products are worth checking out since they have considerable improvements, but the iPod touch is probably the most notable since it piggy-backs on the iPhone technology without needing an AT&T contract.  Basically, you can use it like an iPhone without the heavy phone costs.  The Apple technical support for all the devices are solid, and the Apple support website is also very helpful.

Setting up 2 monitors on your Windows 7 computer is a great way to be super productive.  And it looks cool too!  Although your video card comes with its own software for the video card setup, you can go an easier route through the native Windows 7 software.

Here’s how to set up 2 monitors in Windows 7:

1. Install a video card that has 2 video inputs (a.k.a dual-head video), including: VGA, DVI, HDMI, DP
2. Right-click your desktop and select Screen Resolution
3. Left-click and drag where monitor 1 and 2 should be positioned.
4. Under Resolution, 1280 x 1024 is recommended, but you can tweak it as is comfortable for you.
5. Orientation should be Landscape or Portrait based on the style monitor you have.
6. Under Multiple displays, choose Extend these display so both monitors will act like one.

That’s it!  The computer setup is pretty straight-forward, and Windows 7 computer repair experts need not apply.  Please note that if you have a high-end video graphics card, you can still go through the steps above to set it up for dual-video viewing, but you should go through the manufacturer’s software to take advantage of any advanced video features it comes with.

Setting up Gmail on your iPhone is seamless if you set it up the right way, of course.   

Here’s an easy how-to computer guide for setting up Gmail on your iPhone:

1. Go to your Gmail account and make sure you’ve enabled IMAP.
2. On your iPhone, go to Settings
3. Go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars
4. Add Account
5. Tap Gmail
6. Input your full Gmail address and password
7. Tap Next and Save

The same steps may be used to set up Gmail on your iPad or iPod touch.  The tech expert level on this is easy so you can definitely perform this email setup yourself.

Buying stuff online is great, but sometimes they are only needed as a one-time use, such as books, party supplies, office rentals, etc.  Instead of paying for the full ownership, you can get discounted rates to rent stuff at SnapGoods. 

SnapGoods is like ZipCar, but for stuff.  Instead of cars, real people post their stuff online along with the availability of when you may rent it for.  The great part about it is that the users on SnapGoods are chock-full of current computer users in NYC.  You can pick up and drop off most of the items or other ones that are too far can be shipped.  Cool items that have been borrowed are: the iPad, GPS, Roomba cleaner, and camera.

Other notable goods borrowing sites are: NeighborGoods and ShareSomeSugar.    NeighborGoods offers a pretty wide variety of stuff whereas ShareSomeSugar seems based more on Home Depot appliances and tools.  SnapGoods looks like the most established and easiest to navigate of the three sites. 

These sites are great ways to save some dough.  Keep in mind some tips when borrowing online:

1. You shouldn’t have to leave more than half of the cost of the item for deposit
2. If you’re paying for half of the total cost of the product, you might as well buy it.  The depreciation + total usage overall will be more valuable in the long-run.
3. Stay way from those with bad reviews.
4. It’s more practical to borrow from someone locally instead of shipping/receiving.

Overall, the computer support experience is straight-forward.  Tech experts are not needed here for borrowing or lending.

There are some cool inventions that haven’t been brought to market yet.  These concepts, such as the transparent toaster, are usually sold overseas in test markets first before coming to the US.  The transparent toaster’s design is a beautiful glass design where you can see your bread toasting before your eyes.  No more fires or burnt toast.  You can monitor exactly how you want your bread to be toasted.  This type of functional design is one of those, “Yeah, I should have thought of that” designs that Inventables has plenty to have you Oooh and Aaaah about.

Invetables is a website that showcases all of the slick designs that combine form and function in a flawless finish.  No, I’m not contracted by them to write this piece of you’re wondering.  I just think their site is really cool.  The downer is that lots of these inventions are not out yet although you might find knock-offs from other sites.  However, you will be able to contact most of the vendors of the products on this site to ask questions, maybe get samples, and see how you can further get the product.  You can find anything from computer support gadgets, to velvet cups and electronic cooler / heaters.

Of course the tech support with this stuff is either hit or miss, meaning they’ll either work or not.  Nonetheless, this is a cool site to check out for the latest inventions.

If you receive an e-mail from Newegg or Amazon, double-check it first.  There are spoofed purchase confirmation emails being sent out from these online retailers with attached invoices.  The email will be sent to your email address, but if you check the fine print in the email, you’ll notice the customer email address within the Newegg or Amazon email body is not yours.  The invoice attachment is most likely malicous so don’t open it to avoid being infected with a virus. 

Currently, this spoofed email is under the radar of all of the antivirus sofware out there.  This means that antivirus software nor antispam cannot block these emails.  Even the new Postini antispam service by Google doesn’t block this! 

So, what do you do if you receive these spoofed emails?

1. Delete the e-mail from your inbox and deleted items.
2. Change your email password.
3. Make sure your antivirus software is updated.  Eventually it will receive the ability to block this type of email with future updates.
4. Make sure your antivirus has built-in antispam protection.  If not, Cloudmark Desktop is a good solution for protecting individual computers while Postini is fantastic for company antispam protection.

iTunes is great for syncing songs, movies, games, and apps.   But, what if you want to sync or copy over other files?  Or if you want to copy files from your PC to your iPhone or iPad?

iPad File Explorer lets you copy files from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to your PC, or vice versa.  It’s a free demo, or you can pay $15 to bypass the annoying ads.  The cool factor here is that it allows you to use more of the PC hierarchy of folders to transfer files back and forth.  You don’t have to deal with the elusive iPhone or iPad folder structure.  So, this program makes more sense of the folder listing by using more of a Windows Explorer look. 

You should get iPad File Explorer if you:

• get frustrated with iTunes convoluted rules for syncing; or
• you’d prefer to have a clear view of the folders and files you’d like to transfer back and forth with your PC; or
• you want to have a good file backup of your iPhone, iPad, iPod, or iTouch

The software setup is easy for the iPad File Explorer and their tech support help is stellar if you pay the $15 fee.

The Kindle was big before the iPad stole our hearts.  The new breed of Kindles are coming out this week, including the Wi-Fi and 3G kindles.  Sounds like someone is stealing a page from Apple’s playbook here.  The Wi-Fi model is going for a mere $139 while the 3G model tops out at $189. 

Apparently, there is still a big Kindle following.  Both models are sold out, and new orders will ship only on September 17th. 

Here’s a few reasons why the Kindle is expected to be a good deal:

• 20% faster page turns
• 15% lighter at 8.7 ounces
• 2x more storage at 4GB, equaling 3,500 books

At  $139 for these faster Kindles, it’s a good value.  Also, the tech support is easy in regard to the computer setup for it.  By the way, did you know that you can use Gmail and go on the Internet with the Kindle?  Okay, so it’s not the same wow factor you get from the iPad, and you really shouldn’t push the Kindle past its happy book-reading specialty, but it’s possible.  If you’re a bookworm and want to free yourself from the paperbacks, go for it.  But, if e-mail and Internet browsing is also your thing, plunk down for the iPad for a more versatile tablet.

In a world of rigid science, New York Computer Help is looking to rock the world with its entertaining computer repair animation.  Computers and technicians sometimes may be portrayed as, well, boring.  My main purpose behind the animation is to breathe new energy, life, and most importantly, calm, within the computer users out there. 

All computer issues don’t have to be life-shattering.  Many folks do a complete 180 and think their worlds are ending or get extremely depressed when a computer virus or loss of data occurs.  Or if their computers crash or cannot access the Internet.  Clients will come into our office crying while dropping off their crashed computer.  This type of emotion is similar to that of a baby.  An baby or infant will also do a 180 and freak out if he or she is hungry, tired, or has a dirty diaper.  That’s why we used babies in the computer repair animation.  This is to showcase the type of early emotions computer users have when their computers go belly-up.   

We take it a step further by showing it’s not necessary to get upset or cry when your computer is dead.  If there’s a computer problem, we can fix it.  So, don’t cry or get upset!  We become part-psychologist, part-technician when supporting computer users throughout the process.  This computer repair animation is trying to get the point across to computer users that they don’t need consoling or treatment.  Don’t worry, we’ll fix it.

If you are a Time Warner subscriber who uses Road Runner for your Internet service, then you can also receive free anti-virus software.  Time Warner is offering a special valued-added computer service for current subscribers by offering free CA (a.k.a. Computer Associates) Internet Security Suite 2010 software.  This software is regularly priced at $70.

How do you install the antivirus software?  All you have to do is click on the below link and enter your Road Runner e-mail address:  CA Internet Security Suite 2010 free software download

Here’s what comes with the CA Internet Security Suite:

• antivirus protection
• antispyware protection
• firewall security
• antispam protection
• parental controls
• daily alerts of potential security risks

If you have Time Warner’s Road Runner Internet service, you should definitely think of installing this antivirus software, especially if you currently don’t have security software or need a new one.  If you’re not familiar with the CA antivirus software suite, it’s similar to the Norton security suite software, but with less headaches and freezing.  Please make sure to remove your current antivirus software first if you plan to install this one.  You never want to have more than one antivirus software on your computer unless you like under-performing while your computer is 20x slower!