2011's Top Tips from Data Doctors

Note: This week’s column is a compilation of some of our favorite tips from 2011

This question was answered on December 30, 2011. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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2011 could easily be called the ‘Year of the Tablet’ as more companies jumped into the fray (many with little success) and many of my advice columns addressed this highly desirable tech device.

Fresh off our trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in January, we addressed the question ‘Do any new tablets compare to the iPad? ( http://goo.gl/nO9q8 ) and after the launch of the iPad 2 in March we addressed the ‘Which Tablet PC should I buy & when’ ( http://goo.gl/G5WWV ).

Motorola’s Xoom got a lot of praise during CES and once we had a chance to play with it, we shared our thoughts on the ‘iPad 2 vs XOOM’ ( http://goo.gl/WEvky ).

Since so many folks were first time owners of expensive mobile devices, we shared our ‘Tips for tracking your laptop, smartphone or tablet PC’ ( http://goo.gl/R2psR ) so you knew what to do if your device got lost or stolen.

Since the iPad continued to be the dominate tablet platform, we shared our ‘Tips for new iPad users’ ( http://goo.gl/3zZgy ) with our recommendations on security, accessories and apps

As the vacation travel season approached we addressed the ‘iPad vs Kindle vs Nook Color’ question for those that love to read ( http://goo.gl/wE85v ) and with many new tablet owners contemplated travelling lighter, we shared our ‘Travel Tips for Leaving the Laptop Behind’ ( http://goo.gl/Sy5OE ).

For first time vacationers abroad, we offered up our ‘High Tech International Travel Tips’ ( http://goo.gl/bNt4M ) to share some of our experiences in traveling with electronics.

As the Back-to-School season rolled up, many students were trying to convince their parents that they could use an iPad for college, which prompted our advice on ‘iPad vs Laptop for College Students’ ( http://goo.gl/umqpz ).

If you’ve ever heard strange noises coming from your computer, you would be wise to read our advice on ‘Computer Noises You Shouldn’t Ignore!’ ( http://goo.gl/5oP4U ) and if you are still using the same password for all of your online accounts, our ‘Data Breach Protection Tips’ ( http://goo.gl/Kpbax ) and ‘Perfect Password Tips’ ( http://goo.gl/8uFhG ) might help you change that dangerous habit!

Social Media continued to be a hot topic in 2011, so we shared ‘Our Favorite Social Media Tools’ ( http://goo.gl/OgFHG ), our ‘5 Facebook for Business Starter Tips’ ( http://goo.gl/HL2Ho ), discussed ‘Using LinkedIn to Find a Job’ ( http://goo.gl/BnMch ) and when Facebook completely overhauled their interface we answered the question of the day: ‘Can I go back to the old Facebook? ( http://goo.gl/7rFmZ )

As more folks started seeing those funny looking square puzzle-like images popping up all over, we wrote ‘How to use & create QR codes’ ( http://goo.gl/mGl9d ) and with online reviews becoming a huge part of how we make purchasing decisions, we shared our ‘Tips for evaluating online reviews’ ( http://goo.gl/ODlyZ ).

In the smartphone world, Google’s Android became the most popular platform so we provided guidance on ‘Extending Android Smartphone Battery Life’ ( http://goo.gl/vFQVf ) and for those without an unlimited data plan, we gave our ‘Tips for using less data while mobile’ ( http://goo.gl/12CNr ).

With the uber-popular iPhone 4S becoming available on three different networks, the natural question arose - ‘iPhone 4S: Which Network Should I Use?’ ( http://goo.gl/WFI7E ) and for all smartphone owners we chimed in on ‘Can my Smartphone get a Virus’ ( http://goo.gl/lmO71 ).

In 2011, Remote computer support became both commonplace and a clever scam, so we addressed both in ‘Is Remote Computer Repair Safe?’ ( http://goo.gl/ECMk4 ), addressed a common threat with our ‘Tips for Sidestepping Fake Security Pop-Ups’ ( http://goo.gl/L7sRR ) and shared our ‘Lessons from the LulzSec Hack’ ( http://goo.gl/D1tgy ).

2012 will be filled with a plethora of new technology, new threats and new complications, so keep those tech questions coming by posting them on our Facebook page: http://facebook.com/datadoctors !

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Posted by Ken Colburn of Data Doctors on December 30, 2011

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