About Brandon Humphries

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  I have a netbook that can't stream Netflix or higher resolution YouTube videos without stuttering.

  0 0 Theres nothing to do. If your gonna go netbook, try to get one that says on the box that it supports HD video, or that has Nvidia Tegra graphics. Best bet is to go to a store where one is on display and actually try to play some HD youtube and log into netflix and try it. That way you'll know for sure. Brandon Humphries answered in Geek Week 10 months ago Answer, comment & read 3 more answers »

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  What's everyone's backup schema?

  0 0 I used to use Backblaze, and wireless Time Machne backups to a time capsule, in addition to manual monthly clones using Super Duper to a cheap portable HD. But I have moved everything important to the cloud (mostly google docs, picasa and sugarsync, and rdio for my music) and I don't even use a full computer anymore, so backup isn't much of an issue. It's a gamble if a given service goes down, sure, but I don't have much that i'm worried about loosing these days, now that my music collection is available to stream. Brandon Humphries answered in Geek Week 10 months ago Answer, comment & read 8 more answers »

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  So, I'm thinking about buying a Tablet...

  1 0 You might give the HP Webos Tablet a shot, The reviews so far have been that they have a lot of potential, and I think with some software updates they might give the iPad a run for it's money. Or you could, god forbid, get an iPad. (I know, now im just trolling, sorry). Brandon Humphries answered in Geek Week 10 months ago Answer, comment & read 5 more answers »

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  What's the best and safest way to share an open wifi signal without trampling my bandwidth and LAN security?

  1 0 Not easily with non dual band Airport. Netgear routers have Guest Wifi, and you can allot X ammount of bandwidth. The newer Dual Band Airport's can do it too My company bought a netgear for 50 bucks, it works quite well. Here's an article on how to set up an airport for guest access http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/create_guest_wifi_network It has directions for securing a non-dual band Airport, but its a real pain. I'd just pick up a cheap netgear, or if you have money, upgrade your Airport. Brandon Humphries answered in Geek Week 10 months ago Answer, comment & read 4 more answers »

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  How can I get a better wireless signal from a building across the street?

  0 0 The best you can do is an external antenna, but your probably going to be dropping your connection left and right. You could try buying a cheap wireless router and putting it closer to your house, but i don't think your companies IT department will like it. Brandon Humphries answered in Geek Week 10 months ago Answer, comment & read 3 more answers »

• Comment on Brandon Humphries's answer…

  0 0 It damn well is practical when you've had 4 drives in 3 years fail. Besides, no where did I say using a certain manufacturer was a replacement for comprehensive backup. I myself use time machine, super duper to a raid 1, and carbonite. If I ever need to replace my raid array it for damn sure won't be from seagate. Brandon Humphries commented about 1 year ago

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  Best portable hard drive?

  1 1 I've never had a Western Digital drive fail on me in the 15 years ive been using them. Lacie seem nice but i've never bought one (usually too expensive for what you get) Just my experience though. I'd stay away from Seagate. Brandon Humphries answered in Geek Week about 1 year ago Answer, comment & read 8 more answers »

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  Upgrading my computer

  0 0 Back everything important up. Wipe the HD and reinstall windows, either from a retail Windows DVD or from the restore discs that came with your computer. If you use the restore discs, be sure to run PCDecrapifier to remove all the trial junk that they probably put on there. Now your machine will be just like it was out of the factory and can restore all your data from your backups. It amazes me how many people don't even try this and just assume they need a new one. Also and HD replacement might be in order. They have so many moving parts they are often the first to go. Good news is they are often (not always) an easy and cheap replacement when it comes to Windows based notebooks and desktops. Not only will you get a speed boost but possibly even some more storage space. Brandon Humphries answered in Geek Week about 1 year ago Answer, comment & read 4 more answers »

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  NAS file security

  0 0 I don't know of whole-drive-encryption that can be added to existing NAS setups (unless your using a home-made solution like FreeNAS). Time Capsule certainly doesn't do that. I would try creating an encrypted disk image either on your mac or using TrueCrypt (TrueCrypt is cross platform compatible) and store all my data in there. Not the most elegant, seamless, set-it-and-forget-it solution, but it's all you can really do without buying new hardware. Brandon Humphries answered in Geek Week about 1 year ago Answer, comment & read 3 more answers »

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  Can I burn a backup copy of my Snow Leopard Install DVD?

  1 0 Nope, should be good. Apple's not a dick about their OS like Microsoft. Probably cuz their bread and butter is the hardware, so they don't mind taking a slight piracy hit on the software if it makes the experience easier. Brandon Humphries answered in Geek Week about 1 year ago Answer, comment & read 4 more answers »

• See all of my 1 Question , 18 Answers and 3 Comments