PCs: The Missing Manual

Many of my friends and family in New York asked me what they were going to do for help with their computers once I moved to North Carolina. The first answer I gave was that I wasn't going to have a phone or access to e-mail in the new apartment, so they'd have to make the 9-hour drive to NC if they needed my help with their computers.

Oddly, they didn't believe that story. So, I gave it some serious thought and came up with two answers.

1. I could find some kind of free software for remote assistance so that I could access their computer over the Internet. Obvious security implications aside, the most frequent requests for help that I get are when a computer won't boot or it can't access the Internet, so that made answer number one useless.
2. I could send them to Best Buy and have them pay for the help of the Geek Squad. The two problems with this answer:

• I dislike recommending a service I've never personally used. Unfortunately, computer technicians are like auto mechanics - you have to trust what they tell you, yet some are more honest than others.
  
• If they were willing to pay $50 or more for help, they probably wouldn't have called me in the first place.
  

Today, I found answer number three. O'Reilly has come out with a new book in their Missing Manual series called PCs: The Missing Manual. Although I'm breaking my rule about recommending a book I haven't read, I've read more than 30 O'Reilly books and never been disappointed. Here's the short description from their web site:

PCs: The Missing Manual delivers everything you need to know about PCs, both inside and out, and how to keep them running smoothly and working how you want. From hooking everything up to configuring today's must-have digital media devices; from burning CDs and DVDs to setting up blogs and webcams; and from networking several computers to accessing TV and radio online, there's something for everyone.

I've used the Missing Manual series in some of the intro to computers courses I've taught and received very positive feedback. I expect this book will perform equally well for novices. The list price is only $25 - you should be able to find it for $15 to $20. If you read it, comment on it below!

How to eBay those Unwanted Christmas Gifts ...

... and other items you might have laying around the house.

Three months ago, I started working for ChannelAdvisor. Our clients are online merchants who sell through a variety of marketplaces, including eBay. In order for me to get to know the industry and our clients, I decided to put a few items up for auction.

My first auction was for an old IBM keyboard. It was one of those extra-sturdy metal types with the TrackPoint mouse built-in. I have to say that I enjoyed that keyboard for many years and hated the thought of giving it up, but it was a PS/2 in the age of USB. The first few days of the 7-day auction were fairly slow. I checked in on the listing once or twice a day to see that the price had been bid up a few dollars at a time. By the fifth day of the auction, I was beginning to question if the $20 I might get for it was worth all the trouble. Then, on the sixth day, I was surprised to see the price jump to $50.

Later that day - having checked on it another two dozen times, I realized not only how people can become eBay addicts, but also how the free market is supposed to work. I had a product that was essentially useless for my needs. Other people needed what I had, enough to pay good money for it. The auction ended at $122 - enough for me to buy a new, wireless USB keyboard.

Here are a few tips I've learned along the way while selling a few other items:

1. Take a look around for items that you really don't use. Is it worth saving that old TV collecting dust in the attic or can the cash you make on eBay defray the cost of the new flat-screen you're been wanting?
2. Spend a week or more checking out what similar items are going for on eBay.
3. Time your listing. If you have 1 of 10 trinkets ever made, don't list yours the same week as another seller. You also want your listings to end while the most people are watching, so resist the temptation to post at 3:00 a.m.
   
4. Re-use packing materials you have around the house.
5. Use the US Postal Service. They're cheap, reliable, accessible, and offer free eBay-branded priority mail boxes. Send your shipments via priority mail. Your buyers are usually willing to pay for the faster service and it gives you peace-of-mind with free delivery confirmation.
   
6. For more tips, read Scot Wingo's eBay Strategies .

On a separate but related topic, I recently decided to dispose of my Grand Marquis. I got a lot of great use out of the car, but with 171,000 miles, she was starting to show her age. My first thought was to use it for a trade-in, but I'm holding off on a new car for a little bit. Figuring that I wouldn't get much for the car and trying to avoid the hassles of selling, I decided to look into making it a donation. Unfortunately (or fortunately as you'll soon see), the IRS recently changed the car donation rules. Now, if you donate a car and the charity sells it at auction, they send you a receipt for the selling price and that is the only amount you can claim as a deduction. So, the best I could hope to gain was 30% of the selling price sometime when I actually file my taxes next year.

Then it hit me. eBay has a motors section. I figured, "what the heck - I've got nothing to lose." Well, right now, the auction is over $2,000 with another day to go, so it appears that eBay has done it again!

Got an eBay story - comment below!

Welcome

Hello Friends, Family, and Visitors!

For those of you who don't know me, my hope is that this will be a brief introduction to who I am and what I do. For my friends and family, this will be an update on what I've been up to since moving to North Carolina. Your comments and thoughts are welcome.

I'll begin with a short autobiography. I grew up in North Lynbrook, a small suburban town on Long Island, just outside of New York City. I attended public school in Malverne, followed by high school at Friends Academy. I completed my BBA in Management at Adelphi University where I met my wife, Christine.

I have been active in the IT industry since 1994, including positions at IBM, Adelphi, and Hofstra University. I am currently working for ChannelAdvisor, an online merchant software and services company, as their Technical Support & Implementation Manager. See my full resume for the details.

Christine and I are currently renting a two bedroom apartment in Cary, NC. All we have for the spare bedroom is an air mattress, but you're welcome to it if you want to visit. We've started looking around at homes in the area and we hope to find something by summer. I know many of you are interested in the Raleigh area, so I'll post interesting info as I come across it!

So far, I've only experienced the tail-end of summer down here, but I have yet to complain about the heat. The great part about the weather is that we actually had (still having?) a long autumn. The coldest it's been during the day was around 40 and that was only a day or two this week.

Forget everything you've heard about not being able to find good NY-style food down south (apologies to Uncle Jim). It is harder to find a good deli or an Italian pork store, but the food can be found. I can't say the same is true for rural areas, but I had a reuben the other day that the Carnegie Deli couldn't beat. Between Harris Teeter and Whole Foods, we have found most of the items that you can get a pork store. I have not yet found NY-quality pizza or bagels, but I have it on good authority from fellow New Yorkers that they do exist down here. On a side note, if you don't already have them, get a bread machine and pizza stone. Best pizza I've ever had came out of my own oven.

Well, that's all I have for now. Please feel free to post comments here for all to see or send me an e-mail. I hope that this post finds you well and enjoying the Christmas season!