By Richard Macias, Richard M. Sherwin, Susan Davis, Bob Plunkett and Erick Royer

1. The most common question of all: “How do I connect my new IPad, Tablet or Smart Phone, to my Wi-Fi”?

Turn on your new device. Go to the <

span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Settings icon. Look for the Wireless setting. Click on Wireless. Look for listed Networks. If you recognize your Network name, click it on. If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) has provided a password or code, type it into the blank space. (Some modems/routers have no security so you won’t be asked for a Password.) If you’re asked for a Password but don’t have one, look on the bottom of your modem/router for a barcode. The numbers on the barcode will usually be the Password. If doesn’t work or you can’t find a barcode, call your ISP.

2. “How do I set up my home’s Wi-Fi and make sure it’s secure?”

Setting up your modem/router’s Wi-Fi may be as simple as popping the provided CD or Flash Drive into an open USB port on your computer. Follow the instructions until you see Wireless Security. Most devices give you the option of choosing WEP or WPA passwords for your wireless security. WEP’s are 13 random characters long; WPA’s use 8 personalized characters. Choose a password and you’re done. Please note, WEP’s are less secure than a WPAs. However, some devices (very few) do not have the option to connect to WPA.

3. “My new TV and Blu-ray players are Internet enabled but they are in my living room where there is no modem/router. How can I get those devices hooked up?”

Most of the new Internet enabled TVs, Blu-ray players or Internet set top box players like Roku, Boxee and Logitech Revue have very strong Wi-Fi adapters built-in and an easy-to-connect Wi-Fi setup. But, once again, make sure you know your Wi-Fi password before running set up. If your wireless modem/router’s signal is too weak to reach the device it needs to reach, you have a couple of options. You will have to increase your modem/router’s power by purchasing a wireless range extender to accommodate the distance.

4. “I understand that there’s a new, easier way to connect all my devices called a Home Powerline Adapter (PNA) that in many be better and more reliable than Wi-Fi. How do I set up a Home Powerline Adapter?”

And many manufacturers sell affordable, easy to install, Home Powerline Home products. Setting one up is as easy as opening the box.

Plug the PNA into a wall outlet. (Do not use a power strip or surge protector.) Then connect the other Power Adaptor to your modem/router cable using the cable that’s provided in the box. Next, connect the Powerline receiver to the device you need to have a wireless connection.

5. “I purchased an Android Smart Phone or Tablet and can’t find all the free “Apps.” The device says I must register with Google or have a Google account to do this. How do I register with Google?”

To register with Google, first you must create a Google e-mail account (G-mail). Visit www.gmail.com, click on Create A New Account, fill out the required demographic information, create a user name and password. Then, on your Android device, find an application labeled Marketplace (on newer Smart Phones and Tablets the App is called PlayStore. (This is the app that lets you view apps available for download.) You will see an assortment of different apps.

6. “My Android device and my PC won’t play my videos or my animations with something called Java. How do I download Java?”

Unfortunately Androids don’t support Java but you may consider using Dalvik which will allow you to identify and download a program that acts like Java.

7. ”I just purchased a large flat screen TV and a home component stereo system. The directions say no HDMI cable included. What is HDMI and why are the prices for these HDMI cables so expensive?”

HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface and, basically, this means you will receive high definition audio and video on one cable. These cables tend to be very expensive at retail stores for various reason but may be found online. While name brands like Belkin and Monster can cost up to $50 or more, there are plenty of terrific cable for less than $10 for a ten foot cable. For most home uses, the least expensive cable you can buy will suffice.

8. “I got a new TV that says I can use a CableCard instead of a Cable Box. I also purchased, for another room, a new TiVo, which requires a CableCard. What’s a CableCard and should I use that instead of a service provider’s cable box”?

CableCards save you space (no set top box), give you much better picture quality, usually cost less. However, if you love pay-per-view or on-demand programming, a CableCard will not work. In addition, because there are so many cable operators, some CableCards (especially with Cablevision and Cox Cable) hardly ever work, so your only way to get Cable TV is through a cable box.

9. “Can I buy a cable box on my own and still have a contract with a cable company”?

Well the short answer is No. Legal boxes are not available for purchase and the ones provided by your cable service must be turned in after a contract has ended. The Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission have been working on the consumer option for years and there are several experimental projects in place, but nothing nationally available yet.

10. “A copy of Microsoft Office came with my new PC. My friends and business associates say that when I send them a Word or PowerPoint or Excel document they can’t read it. What I am doing wrong?”

Unfortunately, Microsoft Office versions released after 2003 are incompatibile with previous versions. But you can simply save a document in a different format, which would be compatible. To do this click on Save, enter the your desired file name, then below the File Name field is Save Type As field, and select Rich Text Format (.rtf) or Word or Office 2003-2007. Another option is to tell your friends and business associates to download a free “Microsoft Office compatibility pack,” which can be found with a quick Google search. Have them install it and they should be able to read any Office version you send them.

11. “When I’m printing a long document I want to print the last page first, so it comes out in the right order, but my printer prints the first page first, so it comes out backwards. Can I fix this?”

This is an easy one. Go to your control panel and click on Printer And Faxes. Look for the printer you wish to adjust, and right click on the icon/name. A dialogue box will appear. Select Properties. In the properties menu look for a heading that reads Printer Options, then simply click on reverse order.

12. “I saw my friends add a mouse and an extra SD card and Flash Drive to their Android Tablet to give them more music, videos, digital pictures and other content. I can’t find the spot on my IPad to do this and I am running out of internal memory. I would also like to add a regular keyboard to my Droid as I use it now more than my PC.”

Unfortunately, none of the Apple portable devices have expansion slots, nor do they use a traditional cursor, so you won’t be able to setup a mouse. However, you may still pair a Bluetooth keyboard to the an Apple unit for faster typing. Logitech makes several recharging and light weight add–on keyboards for Apple products.

13. “My cordless phone’s readout often says that it can’t find the base but the base is right in front of it. What can be wrong?”

Try resetting the phone and the base by disconnecting the power from the base and then take out the battery from the phone. You may need new batteries. You can also try cleaning the contact points between base and phone.

14. “I have a portable HD radio but it seems to have just FM stations. How do I receive HD stations?”

Try tuning to a favorite station and wait a few seconds. One to 3 other stations should appear on the tuner. In the NY metro area, if you tune to 101.1, in a few seconds you will get an oldies station, an all-news station and a mixed music station. However, all car and portable HD stations suffer greatly from losing the signal and usually revert to the basic FM stations they came with until the signal improves.

15. “My digital camera often takes pictures that seem too dark, like the flash is not working. What can I do?”

There are several options to correct pictures that seem too dark. If you selected Automatic on your setting button, you may have to manually turn on your flash. If you are an experienced user, decrease the shutter speed, which allows the camera to record light for a longer period of time. The more light that is emitted into the camera, the brighter the results will be. Same is true if one increases the camera’s aperture (or lowers the f-stop). Increasing the aperture causes the camera’s lens to open wider, allowing more light into the camera before the shutter closes.

16. “My Skype settings on my Mac (or PC) keep dialing or receiving even when I exit the program. How do I stop this?”

You probably have Skype open in your task bar even though it would seem you’ve closed the program. To fix this issue go to Tools, then Options, then click on Advanced and uncheck “Keep Skype In Taskbar When Signed In.”

17. “My stereo seems to have an extra bass effect even when I lower the volume. Is there something wrong with my audio equipment?”

Probably not. Most audio receivers have a built-in Bass equalizer. You may also have a Bass+ option turned on or your subwoofer may have its own independent volume control.

18. “Can I connect my Internet radio to my stereo?”

If you have a Squeezebox by Logitech, or Tivoli Radio or even a high end Sonos Internet radio, there will either be a headphone output jack or, depending on the model, a standard red and white RCA output jack or an optical audio output jack. Simply plug a cable in to your radio jack and your stereo. If you haven’t purchased one of these Internet radios, and you still want Internet radio and its 1000s of genres and other content, you can plug your laptop from its headphone jack out into your stereo. The use the laptop to find and choose from one of the 50,000 Internet radio stations available including your home town or favorite out of town radio stations.

19. I still have tons of family and old time VHS tapes and LPs. Is there a way to convert the content to CD or DVD.

You should consider purchasing a converter kit. Several companies make these easy to use transfer systems that will convert VHS to DVD or LP’s to CD. If you don’t feel comfortable with handling those family video and audio content, several national drug store and camera chains will do this but for a hefty price.

20. I can’t make sense of the technical and customer support people for my computer, TV, or mobile phone. Is there anything I can do to… or with the manufacturer to get better service.

Calling for support can be a grueling task but with any technical support it is always a good idea to start with the following. Write down the names, emails, employee number and extensions of the people whom you’ve spoken. If they refuse or are unable to give the information to you ask for a supervisor or a Level Two person then call or email the sales group at that company and complain. Recently Verizon, Dell, HP, Samsung and many other famous manufacturers and service providers have added live online interactive support personnel who can address issues better and faster than telephone support people. They can also get access to your computer or even TV to diagnose the fix problem or explain in (hopefully) plain English what’s wrong.

In addition, if you are Hispanic or more comfortable with communicating in Spanish, and the company has Spanish as an available option try that. Most of the people on the Spanish support lines are bi-lingual When being transferred ask the representative to wait on the line with you till you are connected. If it is a computer issue and your Internet is up and running ask them to remote access your PC, most large companies have this readily available.

21. I have a Blu-ray Player, Nintendo WII and Sony PlayStation connected to my TV. How do I figure out where the products are on my TV. I have many inputs, but never seem to find the right one. Is there a problem with one or more of these devices?

A: Make sure the device you want to watch is turned on. If your TV installer or service provider, set up your new TV and cable box and didn’t leave you a printed form which tells you which products were connected to which input, then look on your remote for the word: Source or Video Out or Input and hit that button and then scroll with the up and down buttons on your remote and the right device should be on the screen.

22. How can I use the company’s computer privately?

The best way to hunt for a new job is when you already have one. But it’s also the toughest way to do it. Employers like to monitor their workers so it’s hard to job search in private. Unless you know a few tricks.

EMAIL: Use web-based email like gmail, yahoo, hotmail or AOL Mail. The major providers encrypt webmail so it can’t be intercepted on the corporate network.

SMARTPHONE: As long as you are connected over your cellular data connection (and not the company Wi-Fi), you can surf the web and send private email without detection.

ANONYMIZERS: These pay services (anonymizer.com costs $70) will create a VPN or secure tunnel that hides all your web traffic from the corporate network. These are handy tools if you need secure access to the Internet in unsecured locations like Wi-Fi cafes or public computers. They create a cloak around all IP addresses and data sent on the computer. However, at work an anonymizer may not hide your activity from a desktop monitoring program that grabs screen-shots, and many corporate IT departments forbid them and seek them out for removal from corporate machines.