Hello, Everyone! My name is Luigi Oppido, owner/operator of Pleasure Point Computers and the new host of the super-special tech column here in Growing Up in Santa Cruz! Every month we’re going to open up this section to questions that you have about your technology, your computer, your phone, and anything that has an on switch! We will discuss it! You can reach me by email at [email protected] for any of your tech questions!

What kind of things are coming up in the new year that will help you with school? What are some of the pitfalls that you can fall into when being online for school? Millions of people every day are trying new programs and doing new things in these unprecedented times. Let’s help you learn that new tech and excel with all these new devices! New technology doesn’t have to be scary and that’s what I’m here for. I have an extensive 25-year background in tech and I’ve owned my own computer repair shop for more than nine years running. With a background in computer securities and failure analysis, my experience and your questions will help get the most out of your machine. I’m excited to be a part of this incredible publication!

Let’s try a quick restart tip!
We’ll take a step to allow your machine to actually restart instead of going into what’s called an advanced hibernation state. Your programs are expecting a shut down and without it you might get system instability.

On a Mac, go up to the Apple on the top left of your screen, click on it and click on ‘restart’ like you’re going to restart the machine. A new dialogue box will appear in the center of your screen. In the dialog box, it asks you (with a check box) if you want to re-open windows. You do not! Make sure this check box is unchecked.

On a PC, go into your power settings and uncheck ‘fast start-up’ to allow the advanced hibernation state to be turned off, allowing your machine to properly restart.

Another thing people don’t ever do is to check for updates. We are always on our machines using our machines and not maintaining our machines. These machines need maintenance and by maintenance I mean updates. On a Mac, go to the Apple and then click on the App Store for system updates. It will also be under your System

Preferences. On a PC, at the start menu click on the Settings card and then go to Update and Security and click on the ‘check for updates’ button. 

Look forward to more each month. We will answer questions like: Why has my wireless printer stopped printing? Why is my Internet so slow when my friend’s Internet is 10 times faster? Why is my machine so much slower than when I bought it? Why do certain websites load and other times, they don’t? Has my password changed? Did someone hack my account? How can I tell if I’ve been hacked? Do people even get hacked anymore?

These questions and more are just some of the things that we’re going to be talking about here in the Computer Man segment. So get yourself grounded, fire up that Teslacoil and let’s get those electrons flowing! Try me with your best tech questions! Let’s get together and make your technology work for YOU! Email [email protected].

 Visit Luigi Oppido at 1824 Soquel Ave. STE-B, call him (831) 464-2220, email [email protected] or visit his website at PleasurePointComputers.com Listen to the Computer Man Show! Every Tuesday night from 6 to 7 PM on 90.7 FM KSQD, and KSQD.org