Jim Conger, helping you with technology.

I have a degree in Electrical Engineering but I have worked in computer support, system administration, and software development for the last decades. I'm not an expert, but rather a generalist. "Generalist" was even my job title for a while. My first home computer connection was dial up to a system on the Internet. My first home Internet connection was dial up PPP but I was an early user of Roadrunner cable Internet. My first web browser was NCSA Mosaic on SunOS.

I was using the Internet before it was commercial, worked at one of the companies that predates the commercial Internet but helped start commercial Internet, and I've seen most of the technology people struggle with today as the technology was created.

I need to write about technology to help clients, friends, and family. I often help people personally but I both want a more permanent repository of information and something that can reach more people than personal visits.

Recent articles

Porting phone numbers

Thanks to the FCC rules to foster competition, you can change providers and keep your number. Read More »

What's an account? What's an email address?

Your email address is an account, but most other accounts you have use your email address as a user name. Confusing! Read More »

Threats are not personal

Many people think their data is safe because the are not important enough to be targeted. Read More »

Smartphones: more than just a phone number

The phone number and phone calls are usually the least important feature of a modern smartphone. Read More »

Signing In Is Frustrating

Have you reached the point where you have trouble every time you sign into anything? There is a way out. Read More »

Password manager or vault

You need to be using a tool to manage your passwords (passphrases). Read More »

Passphrase, Not Password

Everything asks for a password, but you should use a passphrase. Read More »

A new laptop for college and stabilizing the grad's online existence

Send them off with what they need, start them off right. Read More »

The Last Mile

All Internet Service Providers use standard technologies, only the Last Mile of the connection to your house varies. Read More »

The Last 100 Feet

Like the Last Mile that connects your home to the Internet, the Last 100 Feet connects your device to your router. Read More »

Copy, paste, cut, undo -- keyboard short cuts

You many have missed the fact that there are keyboard shortcuts and they can save a lot of time. Read More »

Church of Instantaneous and Perpetual Updates

If you use any modern systems, you have to also believe in updates. Read More »

iPhone and iCloud vs Android and Google

There are two major phone and tablet ecosystems, Apple and Google, and they accomplish similar things but with different costs. Read More »

Two Factor Authentication or 2FA

Why do I need to enter more than my password? Read More »