OnCall Computer Services
3962 Centennial Dr S7L 5L1 Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Do You Have Troubles Seeing Your Screen? If you do, you're not alone. For some, it's headaches after using screens all day. For others, it's eye strain. And for some still, that text is just too darn small. There are some ways to help you through these challenges. The first is to identify the problems. ... Like Staring At a Lightbulb... A big one is that our screens can be very bright. They are backlit, and it can be just like staring at a lightbulb. You can recognize this by looking at someone who is staring at their phone or laptop in the evenings, their face glowing from the light coming from the screen. Not only that, but they are typically set to peak brightness right out of the box. So the first thing is to turn your brightness down, particularly in darker environments and in the evenings. This can be done easily on phones and laptops (some even have sensors to do it for you). On your computer monitor, you may need to use the little buttons to reduce the brightness if you're working at night, and raise it in the mornings. Try it for a week. The Text is Too Tough to Make Out Another common issue is small text on the screens. As screens have become higher and higher quality, their ability to fit more and more stuff on them has increased as well. While it may be crisp text, it doesn't help if it's tiny. All modern devices (mobile and computer) have a few options to help us. For example, browsers can zoom and operating systems can scale. These can be changed quickly to help find a more comfortable setup, where everything at the screen can increase in size and scale properly. For those who have more challenges, there are also adjustments to contrast that can be made and built in tools like "Magnifier" which can be used to make the screen larger. We have worked with the CNIB and many of their clients in the past for those with sight problems. If you would like to go through some of the options to help make your computer or phone easier to see and use, give us a call.

Do You Have Troubles Seeing Your Screen? If you do, you're not alone. For some, it's headaches after using screens all day. For others, it's eye strain. And for some still, that text is just too darn small. There are some ways to help you through these challenges. The first is to identify the problems. ... Like Staring At a Lightbulb... A big one is that our screens can be very bright. They are backlit, and it can be just like staring at a lightbulb. You can recognize this by looking at someone who is staring at their phone or laptop in the evenings, their face glowing from the light coming from the screen. Not only that, but they are typically set to peak brightness right out of the box. So the first thing is to turn your brightness down, particularly in darker environments and in the evenings. This can be done easily on phones and laptops (some even have sensors to do it for you). On your computer monitor, you may need to use the little buttons to reduce the brightness if you're working at night, and raise it in the mornings. Try it for a week. The Text is Too Tough to Make Out Another common issue is small text on the screens. As screens have become higher and higher quality, their ability to fit more and more stuff on them has increased as well. While it may be crisp text, it doesn't help if it's tiny. All modern devices (mobile and computer) have a few options to help us. For example, browsers can zoom and operating systems can scale. These can be changed quickly to help find a more comfortable setup, where everything at the screen can increase in size and scale properly. For those who have more challenges, there are also adjustments to contrast that can be made and built in tools like "Magnifier" which can be used to make the screen larger. We have worked with the CNIB and many of their clients in the past for those with sight problems. If you would like to go through some of the options to help make your computer or phone easier to see and use, give us a call.

Ad Blocking - Should You Use It? Advertising is a way of life online. All of the free services that you enjoy (Facebook, YouTube, most news websites) are not produced by the kindness of their hearts... they are paying the bills thanks to advertising revenue! Now this can happen in a couple of ways:...Continue reading

Ad Blocking - Should You Use It? Advertising is a way of life online. All of the free services that you enjoy (Facebook, YouTube, most news websites) are not produced by the kindness of their hearts... they are paying the bills thanks to advertising revenue! Now this can happen in a couple of ways:...Continue reading

When Making Passwords, Longer is Best We've talked about passwords a lot over the years, and especially the importance of making good ones. If we can have you remember two things above all else...... Never ever use the same password twice (or parts of the password) Longer is better! If you can aim for 3-4 random words and toss in a couple of numbers / punctuation in there, it will take thousands of years to crack. If on the other hand, you use the name of the street you grew up on.... it can be cracked in seconds! This chart below can help you see how a longer password is better over a super complicated shorter one. We are happy to help you make better passwords, help store them securely so you don't need to remember them, and have them accessible to you when you need them.

Virtual Reality Almost Ready For Mainstream We've been seeing virtual reality in popular culture (and malls) for decades. Now it might really be ready for mainstream. Up until recently, you've needed a powerful (and expensive) computer, with a wire attached to the VR headset. It's certainly only been for those who are very dedicated. Last October, that all changed with the Oculus Quest 2.... The Oculus Quest 2 feels a lot like the Nintendo Wii, in that it's an accessible and inexpensive way to try something new in a big way. Gone are the bulky headsets, wired to an expensive gaming computer. The Quest 2 is all wireless, and it starts at just $399. Games on the Quest 2 include the popular "Beat Saber," National Geographic in Antarctica, and a growing number of VR apps focused on fitness. I can tell you that the boxing simulator "The Thrill of the Fight" ($12), will have you sitting down to catch your breath between rounds, and leave you with sore arms the next morning! There is a growing number of videos filmed in 360, which has been nice to "travel the world" or listen to a recorded concert during this past pandemic year. We've been having a blast at the office with the headset for the past few months. As always, let us know if you have any questions.

When Making Passwords, Longer is Best We've talked about passwords a lot over the years, and especially the importance of making good ones. If we can have you remember two things above all else...... Never ever use the same password twice (or parts of the password) Longer is better! If you can aim for 3-4 random words and toss in a couple of numbers / punctuation in there, it will take thousands of years to crack. If on the other hand, you use the name of the street you grew up on.... it can be cracked in seconds! This chart below can help you see how a longer password is better over a super complicated shorter one. We are happy to help you make better passwords, help store them securely so you don't need to remember them, and have them accessible to you when you need them.

Virtual Reality Almost Ready For Mainstream We've been seeing virtual reality in popular culture (and malls) for decades. Now it might really be ready for mainstream. Up until recently, you've needed a powerful (and expensive) computer, with a wire attached to the VR headset. It's certainly only been for those who are very dedicated. Last October, that all changed with the Oculus Quest 2.... The Oculus Quest 2 feels a lot like the Nintendo Wii, in that it's an accessible and inexpensive way to try something new in a big way. Gone are the bulky headsets, wired to an expensive gaming computer. The Quest 2 is all wireless, and it starts at just $399. Games on the Quest 2 include the popular "Beat Saber," National Geographic in Antarctica, and a growing number of VR apps focused on fitness. I can tell you that the boxing simulator "The Thrill of the Fight" ($12), will have you sitting down to catch your breath between rounds, and leave you with sore arms the next morning! There is a growing number of videos filmed in 360, which has been nice to "travel the world" or listen to a recorded concert during this past pandemic year. We've been having a blast at the office with the headset for the past few months. As always, let us know if you have any questions.

Upgrade Your Chat Apps For Privacy More and more people are putting a priority on privacy and their personal information these days, thinking more and more about how companies may be using their information along the way. Here's a little rundown of some popular apps:... Poor: SMS / Text Messaging - Not terribly secure. Can be taken over by a SIM swap. Facebook Messenger - Feature-rich, and you can encrypt individual conversations, but encryption on all chats will take years. Facebook has a pretty bad reputation for privacy. OK: iMessage - Supports encryption by default, BUT if the person you're sending to does not have iMessage, it will not be encrypted as it will be sent by SMS. Better: Signal - For folks into privacy and security, this is the gold standard and touted by Edward Snowden. It has grown in popularity in these past few years. WhatsApp - Very popular app that actually uses the same encryption technology as Signal. The fact that it is owned by Facebook gives some people pause about using it.

In 2 minutes, Dustin from OnCall Computer Services explains how to create a good password. For years, we've been told that passwords need to be overly complicated, made of completely random characters and punctuation. These would often be nearly impossible to remember, and difficult to type in. This resulted in people making the shortest passwords possible. The easiest way we can make a password more secure is to make them longer, and a great way to do that is by choosing a... few random words (not a sentence) to string together. For example: photo glass apricot chicken stand lettuce mattress corn runner stop Pick 3 words to put in a row and now you have a longer password, that is much easier to recall and type in. Some websites or accounts may still have their own requirements to have numbers, punctuation or capitol letters. Consider adding a piece of punctuation between each word, capitalizing the first letter of the second word, or adding a number or two to the end. What is key here is the length of the password, and the fact that it is unique. The fact that it's easier for you to understand is just a bonus. Also check out our video on "Why You Always Need to Use a Good and Unique Password"

In 2 minutes, Dustin from OnCall Computer Services explains why it is so important to use a good and unique password for each and every service. Website and company hacks happen all of the time, and when they do, hackers often steal personal information including your e-mail address and the password for that site / service. While the website that was hacked will send you an e-mail, and tell you that you need to change your password on their service... what about all of the ot...her websites and services you have used that same password on? Hackers sell this stolen information on the black market, and scammers will buy your e-mail and password (and sometimes more!), not to log into the website was hacked, but to see if that same password works on any number of other websites and services. Online banking sites, retail sites, and any other sites out there. They don't try to log in one-by-one by hand... it's all automated. When a login works, maybe there is other personal information on there (addresses, credit cards etc) for the taking. It's a common misconception that many hacks are looking to specifically target you. Instead, it's actually about whatever is easiest. If there are 10 cars parked on the block, and one has doors that are unlocked, that's the one the thief will target. So be sure to always use a good and unique password each and every time.