Benton Technology, Inc.

A Simple Fix for the iPhone 4 Reception issue?

2010-06-30T21:22:00.000-04:00

The folks at MacRumors have published an interesting fix to the signal reception issue that has plagued the new iPhone 4 since launch.

According to a message posted by one of their forum members, the reception issue could be potentially fixed by merely taking the SIM card out of the tray, re-seating it and then reinserting it.
Surprisingly, quite a few users have responded claiming to have seen significant improvement in signal reception by using this fix. However, it also needs to be noted that an equal number of users do not seem to have observed any change.

According to one blogger, the root cause for the reception issue may lie with the way the SIM Card is aligned on the SIM tray. He writes:

"The metal part of the sim card is not centered and is contacting the sim tray. The sim tray is steel and the sim tray is contacting the outer antenna band. Once you touch the phone, this could be causing a sim issue. If when you touch the antenna line on the lower left it changes the state of frequency, power or what ever, it might actually be messing with the sim card. The metal on the sim is connected to the sim tray, the sim tray is connected to the antenae and the antenae is connected to your hand when you touch the phone. Take a look at your sim card and see if the metal is just off center enough to touch the tray."

MacRumors points out that users who tried to isolate the SIM from the tray with the help of an electrical tape or by cutting the SIM on the opposite side have reported mixed results. Considering that nearly half of the users who have tested this fix did not notice any change, we may have to stay skeptical for the moment.

I will be interested to see if this fix works for you as I don't see any harm in trying it out. Try this on your iPhone 4 and let us know if you notice any significant improvement in your signal reception.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad!

Five Essential Apps to Protect Your PC

2010-06-26T00:48:00.001-04:00

Protecting yourself from the criminals of the Internet shouldn't cost you a fortune. In fact, it doesn't have to cost you anything.

Firewalls and antivirus programs can't do all the work of safe computing — small, targeted utility apps that encrypt your files, keep your passwords safe, and clean up your PC add to your protection.

I have five of these small security apps that I wouldn't want to do without. Chances are you could use them, too; if not now, then someday.

What's even better — they're free.

LOCK YOUR SENSITIVE DATA IN A HIDDEN VAULT
First up is TrueCrypt, a free download that gives you on-the-fly disk encryption. It works on all current versions of Windows plus Mac OS X and Linux systems.

We all have files that need to be kept private — financial spreadsheets containing credit-card and bank-account numbers, confidential business plans, lists of clients, or maybe just something very personal.

Forget about the encryption tools included with Windows, which are designed to be as simple to use as possible. For example, if you encrypt a folder through Windows, that folder is completely accessible when you're signed in and completely inaccessible when someone else is signed in to that PC with a different user account. You're never consciously saying, "Now I need access to my private information" or "Now I can lock that information away again." Your data is vulnerable every time you get up for a cup of coffee.

Windows encryption works for an IT department that wants to protect naive users, but not for someone who understands what encryption is and why it's necessary.

That's why you're better off with TrueCrypt, a free, open-source program that lets you create encrypted vaults. To someone without the password, a vault is a file filled with meaningless gobbledygook. But open it with TrueCrypt, and it becomes a virtual drive you can read from and write to, as you would any hard drive partition.

TrueCrypt vaults can use AES, Serpent, or Twofish encryption — three of the better encryption standards available for public use. If you use a strong password, no one else is going to get into that vault.

Even if someone used identity theft or extortion to get your password, TrueCrypt still offers protection. For instance, you can hide one vault inside another in such a way that, even with the outer vault open, the inner one is invisible. The outer vault could contain data you'd plausibly want to protect but which a thief wouldn't find useful; the real secrets would be in the inner vault.

ORGANIZE YOUR PASSWORDS IN A SAFE PLACE
No, not on an index card taped under your desk!

Here are two pieces of advice about passwords you probably already know: the best password is a long, random string of numbers and letters; you shouldn't use the same password for more than one purpose.

Great! Oh, but now you have to memorize dozens of long, random strings of numbers and letters.

The simple alternative is Password Safe, an open-source password manager. Among the dozens of password managers available, this app is flexible, secure, and easy to use.

You can store all your passwords in its Twofish-encrypted data file, along with sign-in names, URLs, and whatever other information you choose to include. You can group entries into categories (business, memberships, retail, or whatever) for easy organization, and you can easily search the entire database if you don't remember which category you put windowssecrets.com into.

You can also cut a bit of time and indecision trying to think up those strong, totally random passwords that you won't remember anyway. Just click Password Safe's Generate button and let it create one for you. If it conflicts with a site's password policy, click the Password Policy tab to control the length and contents of the generated password. You can also set a reminder for the expiration date of a password.

When it's time to sign in to a Web site, you simply double-click an entry to copy the password into the clipboard. You can also copy the sign-in name to the clipboard or have Password Safe automatically enter it and the password into a site's sign-in fields.

Just don't forget your Password Safe password! Lose that, and you could lose everything.

COMPRESS FILES & FOLDERS WITH REAL SECURITY
The ubiquitous .zip compression format comes with password protection that's every bit as secure as the locked door on a house without walls. Only a fool needs a key to get in.

That's unfortunate, since e-mailing a secure, compressed archive makes an extremely convenient way to pass on sensitive information to those you trust.

Luckily, most current commercial .zip compression programs include an option to use AES encryption. It's very secure, and it works across all higher-quality compression apps.

Unfortunately, the most common .zip program of all — Microsoft Windows — doesn't support AES encryption. Even with the password, you can't open a truly secure .zip file with Windows' built-in tools.

Does that mean you have to pay WinZip, WinAce, or one of their commercial competitors to create or extract secure .zip files?

Thanks to 7-Zip, yet another open-source program, the answer is no. It offers many of the features found in commercial programs such as WinZip, including compatible AES encryption.

It also means you can send secure, archived files to anyone; they can open your files simply by installing 7-Zip at no cost. (You'll also have to tell them the password, of course.)

7-Zip also supports less-common compression standards such as TAR and RAR, integrates with Windows Explorer, and can compress and e-mail files.

My only complaint: It has the ugliest user interface I've encountered since moving from DOS.

PORTABLE SCANNER WORKS WHEN YOUR A/V APP FAILS
If you suspect that your PC is infected, you have good reason to worry that your resident antivirus program has been compromised, too. Malware, especially rootkits, often blocks security programs from updating and working properly. They may also block access to security sites where you can download more-specialized security programs.

You can get around this with the SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner. This utility, one of the better anti-malware scanners, is free for personal use. (Professional IT users need to pay a license fee.)

SUPERAntiSpyware.com also offers its Free Edition, which makes an excellent supplement to whatever resident antivirus program you keep running in the background. But SUPERAntiSpyware Portable is better if you think you've got a really nasty infection — or if you're helping a friend with an infected machine.

As the name implies, the Portable Scanner doesn't need to be installed before use. The app's simple, clean main menu, borrowed from their commercial product, displays plenty of options that aren't supported (or even relevant) in the portable edition (see Figure 3). The only control you have to bother with is "Scan your Computer." If it finds anything, it will ask you what you want done with the miscreant.

If you think you've got a really bad infection, go to another computer, download the SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner, and put it on a flash drive. Then boot the suspect computer into Windows' Safe Mode. Next, plug in the flash drive and launch the scanner. The program is updated regularly, so to ensure you have the latest definitions, download the scanner just before you need to use it.

Portable Scanner should find and eliminate the malware.

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, GET A REGISTRY REPORT
If SUPERAntiSpyware doesn't find and destroy the culprit, you may need an expert opinion. But before you pack up your PC and hand over your credit card to the local PC mechanic, try getting free expert help using TrendMicro's HijackThis — a powerful little utility that's been a mainstay for PC diagnosticians for years.

Warning: All PC users should employ this app with caution. The information is not easily interpreted, and using the app incorrectly could delete critical system files.

This simple freebie scans your Windows Registry and file system. It then generates a somewhat obtuse snapshot report of your system settings and what's running. It doesn't decide what's malicious and what's legitimate.

What do you do with that report? Nonexpert PC users should post it to one of the many online forums frequented by knowledgeable good Samaritans who, hopefully, can help you with your problem. More-expert users can press the AnalyzeThis button for an online analysis by TrendMicro.

One button on this app, Fix checked, should be used with extreme caution. It lets you selectively remove specific items in your system, giving you a way to eliminate bad actors on a very granular level. But it's a one-way street; if you remove a critical Windows or apps system component, you can't undo the damage. Back up your machine before proceeding.

Free utility suite bundles over 100 tools

2010-06-03T07:42:00.001-04:00

A popular Windows utility maker offers its suite of apps as a single download with a new application launcher that makes picking and running a utility quick and easy. The suite covers everything from an application-crash reporter to a Windows updates viewer — and over a 100 other titles in between. And, did I mention...IT'S FREE!??!?!!

MAKE A PORTABLE TROUBLESHOOTING KIT
Software publisher Nirsoft is well known for its diverse selection of Windows utilities. I like the company's tools because they're small, well designed, useful, and free! (I may have mentioned this before!)

Downloading and managing a bunch of small utilities can be a chore, but Nirsoft has packaged many of its most-useful apps into a single, 7.6MB download called NirLauncher. To make selecting and running the apps as simple as possible, the company includes the NirLauncher app, which lists all the utilities in the suite and gives brief descriptions of what each does.

The launcher works on all Windows versions from Win 2000 on, though some of the individual utilities may have more-restrictive system requirements. Buttons at the top of the launcher display specific categories of utilities such as Network Monitoring Tools, Password Recovery Utilities, and Web Browser Tools.

These categories correspond roughly to the ones on Nirsoft's Web site, so if you've downloaded a Nirsoft app in the past, it should be easy to find what you're looking for in the launcher's lists.

As the Nirsoft site notes, you can load the collection onto a handy USB drive and run any of the apps without actually installing them into Windows — ideal for your portable troubleshooting and Windows-management toolkit. I especially like this approach because I can quickly run through a bunch of tools to see which is most suitable to the task at hand.

I'll highlight a few themes that will be particularly useful to Perimeter Scan readers.

It's worth mentioning that Nirsoft is not the only prolific utility producer on the Web. Microsoft's Sysinternals Suite is a single, 12MB download of troubleshooting apps. The two suites have some overlap, but more tools are always better when you are trying to solve a Windows problem.

PICK THE RIGHT SPECIALIZED PASSWORD RECOVERY APP
I've often mentioned boot CDs for recovering Windows system passwords. These are by no means the only passwords you will find on a Windows system, and you need different tools for recovering different types of passwords.

The typical PC user runs a number of programs — Web browsers and IM clients, for example — that save passwords. I use this handy sign-in feature as part of my personal anti-phishing strategy. If I get prompted with empty username and password fields when signing into a site I know I remembered in my browser, I immediately become suspicious.

But that rarely happens. So over time, relying on the application to automatically enter my sign-in information, I forget that all-important user name and password.

This is where some of the NirLauncher's utilities save the day. Not only might you one day need these utilities to find a lost password, but you should run them now just to see what you have stored. NirSoft has tools that will reveal saved passwords in IE, Firefox, Opera, and Chrome.

If a program stores sensitive information in Windows's Local Security Authority (LSA) — its so-called secure area — you can use NirLauncher's LSASecretsDump and LSASecretsView tools to see what's there. (I've seen some Bluetooth hardware vendors use the LSA.)

There are more password tools for specific programs such as PCAnywhere, Outlook PST files, and Virtual Network Computing clients.

Once again, the utility suite approach lets me run each of these tools in rapid succession. On some of my personal systems, especially ones that the kids use, I am often surprised what I can recover.

NEW TRICKS FOR EASIER NETWORK MONITORING
I've discussed the network sniffers in Perimeter Scan, listing Wireshark as my top choice. However, that app is overkill for many simple jobs, such as sniffing passwords. And it's difficult to use if you're not well acquainted with networking and Wireshark. More-specialized network tools that get straight to the answer (without installing a lot of other pieces) can save time and effort.

One particular NirSoft tool, SniffPass, can do a trick that even Wireshark can't. SniffPass watches for passwords going by in cleartext on several network protocols. Just leave it running in the background and check from time to time to see whether it caught anything. If it does, consider switching to an encrypted version of that protocol.

You can also use SniffPass to verify that the Web sites you visit always send passwords over the more-secure Internet protocol, HTTPS.

Another useful tool, SocketSniff, pulls out network information in a different way — it works on sockets rather than packets. So it omits all the packet-header stuff and saves network text in much-more readable formats. If you're troubleshooting network problems, you might want the individual packets. But if you just want to see the contents, the information gleaned by SocketSniff is more to the point.

SocketSniff also has one trick that regular sniffers don't have. It can monitor traffic on Windows' internal loopback interface. Windows programs sometimes communicate through network protocols, even when they are all running on the same machine. Because that internal traffic never touches the network card, most sniffers can't see it.

Other useful NirLauncher apps include NetResView, which lets you explore the local Windows network; and CurrPorts, which tells you which networking ports each Windows process is talking through. Very handy.

Explore them all, and I'm sure you'll develop your own favorites...and, uhhh, in case I haven't said it lately, they're FREE!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad!

Concerned About Facebook Privacy?

2010-05-18T08:48:00.000-04:00

Yes? Then check this out!!!

http://www.reclaimprivacy.org/

Or, you can get one of these:

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad!

Microsoft Upgrade Aims to Make Hotmail "Cool" Again

2010-05-18T08:42:00.000-04:00

AGAIN??? Was it ever "cool?" Eric

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Microsoft Corp. is trying to make Hotmail cool again.

The free Web mail service soon will be switching to a new approach that Microsoft hopes will give Hotmail an edge over rival offerings from Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc.

The upgrade, expected to be available in July or August, will automatically sort incoming messages into different categories devoted to users' key contacts and Internet social networks. It will also provide previews of incoming photos, videos and other material without having to open an attachment or click on a link.

Other tools are being added to make it less cumbersome to send photos, videos, documents and other attachments to e-mail recipients. Another tweak is supposed to make is easier to sync Hotmail on mobile phones.

It's all part of the most extensive overhaul to Hotmail since Microsoft bought the service 12 years ago, said Chris Jones, a Microsoft executive who is overseeing the renovations.

"Our service wasn't doing the best job that it could," Jones said during a Monday preview of the makeover.

The new features are supposed to enable people to spend less time managing their inboxes and more time enjoying and digesting what's in the messages.

Microsoft is hoping the added convenience will help overcome the perception that Hotmail was growing stale as Google and Yahoo added more bells and whistles to their free Web mail services.

Even as it made relatively few changes, Hotmail remained the world's most used service with 360 million users, according to statistics complied by comScore Inc. Yahoo ranks second globally with about 284 million users followed by Google's Gmail at 173 million users.

Now Microsoft thinks it might have shot of supplanting Yahoo as the top Web mail service in the U.S. (Yahoo's e-mail service has 95 million U.S. users compared to 47 million for Hotmail and 43 million for Gmail, according to comScore).

Hotmail's most significant changes will provide new ways to look at photos and videos sent through e-mail. Microsoft expects this feature to be particularly popular because it says 55 percent of Hotmail's storage is consumed by photos sent as attachments.

The new technology will detect when an e-mail contains a photo attachment and automatically display a thumbnail of the image (or images) at the top of the message. Hotmail will provide similar previews when it detects links to photo-sharing sites Flickr and SmugMug or to video-sharing sites YouTube and Hulu.

Other changes are designed to make it easier to send photos, video and other Web content. A new insert bar will allow users to send up to 10 gigabytes - about 200 photos each containing 50 megabytes - by uploading them to Microsoft's free online storage service Skydrive, where they can only be viewed by the recipients of the e-mail.

Videos and other Internet material can be found through a new panel that will connect Hotmail to Microsoft's Internet search engine, Bing. The videos and other Bing-generated content can then be inserted into an e-mail with a mouse click. The e-mail recipient will then be able to see the video or other material without having to click through a Web link.

As it spruces up Hotmail, Microsoft also will try to make it more secure. Embracing a change recently made by Gmail, Microsoft is adding a so-called "secure sockets layer" (denoted by "https" before a Web address) that encrypts e-mail to make it less vulnerable to computer hackers.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad!

How To Stay Anonymous Online

2010-05-15T14:10:00.000-04:00

If you want to stay inconspicuous while online, here are some products, services, and best practices to put to use.

Some might say that the Internet was built on anonymity. Without it, the Internet might not have become what it is today—a place where free speech reigns supreme (maybe to a fault). However, as social networks prevail—and über-companies like Google do all they can to market to you more effectively—your privacy on the Web comes into question. The good news is that you can take back control of what others see and know of you online. Here's how.

CHECK YOUR STEALTH

Put your PC through an Internet anonymity test to see just how stealthy it really is. Whenever you connect to Web sites, you're basically telling them your IP address—if nothing else. Based on that information alone, sites can tell a lot about you, such as your general location. If you want to get an idea about what you're telling the Web, check out sites like What the Internet Knows About You and Stay Invisible.

The key to keeping all of your data from hanging out is a good firewall. Don't rely on the firewall in your broadband router alone. For true security, you should couple it with a good software firewall and load it on every PC you use. I recommend the free firewall from 'ZoneAlarm' or the free firewall in the 'Comodo Internet Security 4.0.' Once you've got the firewall installed, use 'ShieldsUP!' to check for open, or vulnerable, ports on your system. 'ShieldsUP!' won't tell anything if you have a router-based firewall in place, but it's good info if you're brave enough to hook a computer directly to a broadband modem.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad!

The Grand Canyon State!

2010-05-15T02:26:00.000-04:00

What do YOU think of the new AZ immigration law??

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad!

Nonprofit organizations...

2010-05-15T02:22:00.000-04:00

Interesting, eh??

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad!

Is 'defragging' your hard drive as important as it once was?

2010-05-13T10:45:00.000-04:00

Today's hard drives are 10+ times faster than the drives of old — is defragging really still worth the bother?

There's much more to defragging than simply improving hard drive performance.

Before we dive in, let's run through a 60-second defragging refresher.

Windows normally stores the files on a hard drive in a series of blocks. When a drive is new or well-ordered, each file's blocks can be written to the drive more or less sequentially. But over time, holes open in that orderly sequence as files are changed or deleted; they are then filled with bits of data from other files. Eventually, a file's blocks may end up scattered all over the disk.

When a file's blocks aren't contiguous, the drive heads have to seek out the blocks, physically navigating to each block's location. Each seek adds to the time it takes to read or retrieve the entire file.

Defragging corrects this by moving data blocks back to contiguous, sequential series — the system can again access the files smoothly and quickly, with little or no extra head seeks.

The seek times of today's hard drives are over 10 times faster than those we used in the 'old' days. So the benefit of reducing seek times is an order of magnitude less. You probably won't notice any difference accessing a given file, whether the drive is defragged or not.

But the aggregate seek times still matter. We now use our drives far more intensely than we used to. (My first hard drive held 20 megabytes of data; nowadays, I take individual photos larger than that.) So the total number of seeks our hard drives perform today has increased by an order of magnitude.

Speed aside, there other benefits from defragging. For example, it improves your odds of recovering a deleted file, folder, or partition; it reduces overall wear and tear on the drive heads; and it helps minimize noise and heat during normal operations.

Initial disk defragmentation can take hours. But after that, it takes just a couple of minutes if you run the process every day. Because you can run defragging as an unattended process in all current versions of Windows — no third-party tools needed — one might ask: why would you not defrag?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad!

Photoshop???

2010-03-03T08:19:00.002-05:00

What's all the hub-bub, bub??

Mike Huckabee

2010-02-21T16:16:00.000-05:00

...people stand in line...to see the boy king...

2009-07-16T21:41:00.000-04:00

KING TUT!!

* Sent from my Palm® Treo Pro - please forgive spelling &/or punctuation errors!

July Special

2009-07-14T15:16:00.001-04:00

Check out our BLOG at BentonTech! Post an entry to our BLOG during the month of July and get 10% off any service invoice in July! WHAT A DEAL!

Visit our BLOG here: http://bentontechnology.blogspot.com/

Enjoy your summer!!

Now THIS is what I'm talking about!

2009-05-28T08:49:00.001-04:00

Talk about securing your computer!! J

Uhhhhhhh, right.

2009-05-27T08:23:00.002-04:00

Have you ever felt like this is the case? This used to happen to me ALL OF THE TIME!!!

“Where do you want to go eat?”

“I don’t care.”

“How about X?”

“NO.”

“How about Y?”

“NO.”

“How about Z?”

“NO.”

“How about ABC?”

“NO! Anyplace but there.”

“How about Q?”

“NO!”

DOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! J

“Press any key…NO, NO, NO, not that one!!”

"She's Got Legs...."

2009-05-21T23:08:00.000-04:00

"....and knows how to use them."

:-)

Sonny....

2009-05-13T20:53:00.000-04:00

...he led such a wild life...and came to such a tragic end. Will this one be different????

Eric

* Sent from my Palm® Treo Pro - please forgive spelling &/or punctuation errors!

Obama's Budget Plan Sweeps Away Reagan Ideas

2009-02-27T01:41:00.004-05:00

From the New York Times:

BUSINESS / ECONOMY
February 27, 2009
Economic Scene: Obama's Budget Plan Sweeps Away Reagan Ideas
By DAVID LEONHARDT
The budget proposals seek to reverse the rapid increase in economic inequality over the last 30 years.

OK, I'm STILL not voting for him in 2012 (maybe?), but it's nice to see some follow-through from a politician in this proposed budget (from his campaign promises - Barack Obama may be the "second coming" in the eyes of many folks, but he is a politician, after all! One of the things I like about him is that he is not an EXPERIENCED politician...at least not to the level of some other politicians we all know).

I am VERY concerned about the estimated swelling of the national debt to $1.75 trillion as a result of this budget and the recent "stimulus" bills (can anyone say "bailout?"). I am somewhat relieved though to hear an Obama promise (his words, not mine!) to cut spending by $2 trillion. Yeah, maybe with a line-item veto! OINK-OINK. I know President Obama's policies haven't given us the entire $1.75 trillion deficit...but I don't know when all of this bailout business is going to end. Do you? I think someone said it best on one of the news talk shows (and no, Deb, not Fox News!) that Mr. Bush didn't get the economy where it is today all by himself. The Democratic-controlled Congress had a lot to do with it too.

Admittedly, Obama's team is attempting to fix something that's broken - unprecedented government spending may work...it has worked before (when some of you were alive and others of us weren't even a thought!).

I'm posting this because you know I am a Republican through-and-through but am open-minded enough to support and openly discuss something that I think can work. I'm also posting this because there are certain people I know that think I am going to be critical of anything the Obama administration proposes...these same people forget that I am open-minded and can play fairly in the sandbox!!

I wish I could forward my recent letter to the editor to you...in which I discuss how proud I am to live in a country in which someone with Mr. Obama background and heritage can even be elected to the highest office in the land...but that's another story! I pray that my kids (and your grandkids!) won't still be paying this off when they are thinking about retirement.

Sorry this is kind of sketchy...the NYT limits one to 1500 characters when forwarding stories and I've had to be brief...and it doesn't help that it's 12:11 AM and I should be in bed).

ERIC

-----------------------------------------------------
* PLEASE NOTE: the postings and other items associated with the BentonTech blog represent the thoughts, opinions, rantings, and sometimes inappropriate thoughts and crazy ideas of the author(s). We do not intend to offend ANYONE. We would love to hear your opinion about our blog. PLEASE SHARE!

Blue Weimaraner

2009-02-10T22:00:00.001-05:00

What's all the hub-bub, bub??

__________________
Eric P. Ahlbrand
765.401.0131

* Sent from my Palm® Treo Pro - please forgive spelling &/or punctuation errors!

"Hyper-miling?"

2009-01-11T10:25:00.000-05:00

What do you know about it??

__________________
Eric P. Ahlbrand
765.401.0131

* Sent from my iPhone...please forgive spelling &/or punctuation errors!

Samsung Epix....

2008-12-31T01:52:00.001-05:00

.....is it the AT&T "Treo killer" as many have speculated???? I hope
not!!

OK, OK...

2008-11-13T23:22:00.001-05:00

…who DOESN’T think the mere idea of this is cool??

OTTERBOX!

2008-10-22T23:42:00.002-04:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Benton Technology, Inc. has partnered with OtterBox to bring you the BEST in protection for your Treo, iPhone, laptop, and other electronic devices! First, let me share who/what an OtterBox is and then I’ll share with you why it’s so cool!

About Otterbox
(source: www.otterbox.com)

“It all began around the concept of a ‘box.’

“Mastermind and CEO Curt Richardson, with his 25 years experience in tooling and molding wanted to build a company that was distinct and structured upon innovation and evolution. In 1996, OtterBox was born.

“Our cases are dedicated to all the klutzy, spontaneous, chaotic, graceless individuals who have broken a device or valuable due to their active lifestyle. Like our customers, we've been there too! From the beginning, we have protected valuables through innovation. This "innovative spirit" has allowed evolution in our product lines to safeguard the hottest technologies such as iPods, Smartphones, PDAs, Tablet PCs, laptops and other devices. We take the idea of a protective case to the next level so customers can find the ideal solution for any work environment or adventure!

“Ok, rewind a bit to the name origination, we know you're wondering. On a drive to Denver, Curt and his wife Nancy were brainstorming company names. The name needed to be exciting and something people wouldn't forget. They wanted "box" to be in the name, but also wanted to incorporate "water" because the original OtterBox case line is waterproof (oceanic tidbit: an Otter's fur has a waterproof quality). Because of their fun, playful disposition, "Otter" was the perfect fit! Well, the name stuck and we have to admit our logo is pretty darn cute too!

“OtterBox is located in one of the greatest cities in America and no, we're not completely biased, see Money Magazine's 2006 rating for Best Places to Live. Yes, Fort Collins, Colorado is ranked #1. With easy access to the mountains for biking, hiking, running, camping, skiing, snowboarding and other activities, many of us use our cases every day. We also serve as excellent "guinea pigs" for new product testing.

“We're a fun, hard working, creative bunch that enjoy a good laugh and a good beer, especially come Friday. We have in-house sales, customer service, engineering, public relations, marketing, web design, graphics and even our own warehouse.

“At OtterBox, it's not one person changing the world of cases, it's a team!”

-----------------

Now, why is this partnership so cool?? Because you can get a discount on your purchase of any OtterBox product by visiting the Benton Technology, Inc. website at www.bentontechnology.com and scrolling to the bottom of the home page. Once you’re there, click on the OtterBox banner ad and that will take you to the OtterBox website where you can see all of the cool stuff and place your order. IT’S THAT SIMPLE! J

CHEERS, AYE!!

P.S. You can also click on the OtterBox ad on this BLOG and go from there! E.A.

Today, Out My Window, by Elaine Flynn

2008-10-20T02:22:00.001-04:00

Elaine Flynn has a new website: www.todayoutmywindow.com. Check it out!!

Eric

Ultra-Mobile PCs? I'm back on that kick again...

2008-10-20T02:14:00.002-04:00

…because I think I can cut the costs of my cell phone plan WAY back by adopting a UMPC again. I am leaning toward the Sony VAIO UX490 (I found a company in China selling them for about a quarter of the cost here in the US). It includes an AT&T SIM card for the ultimate in portability…but only the EDGE network and not 3G. The SIM card doesn’t support voice plans, only data…however, if I use Skype on it (or another VOIP service) I can dramatically cut back my calling plan on AT&T. I don’t like to talk on the phone anyway (because of my hearing loss…and the fact that my hearing aids render just about every conversation on every mobile device I’ve tried as GOBBLE-DEE-GOOK) and the calls I ABSOLUTELY HAVE to make I can make on Skype…it has Bluetooth built-in so my BT headset and hands-free device will work.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?????

Eric

Boswell Happy Seniors

2008-10-11T08:52:00.001-04:00

The Boswell Happy Seniors, Inc. have a new website! Check it out here:

http://www.boswellhappyseniors.org

Keep an eye on it because it'll change A LOT over the next several
weeks!

Otterbox...

2008-10-04T02:54:00.002-04:00

…they have ‘em for just about every device. Protection personified. I’m thinking about getting one for my iPhone…

Stay tuned for a list of “must-have” electronics and gadgets!

Eric

Just wondered....

2008-10-02T13:31:00.000-04:00

....what a picture of the blog looks like ON the blog! Confused???

Amen

2008-09-22T22:36:00.001-04:00

Yeah, me too!

2008-09-22T22:35:00.001-04:00

Need I say more?

2008-09-22T22:33:00.001-04:00

The Cubs are headed to the playoffs, but will they win 100 games
before they get there???

Google's 'droid

2008-09-22T22:30:00.001-04:00

Google's Android

2008-09-22T22:29:00.001-04:00

According to Engadget (www.engadget.com) the G1 is going to be "outed"
tomorrow! Stay tuned!!

__________________
Eric

Sarah Palin for VP!

2008-08-31T23:30:00.001-04:00

Go John McCain! Great pick as #2!

Treo Pro (850)...OK, we like it, now WHEN??!??!?!?!??!!!?!?!!??!?

2008-08-15T13:35:00.001-04:00

It now looks like the Treo 850 will be called the “Treo Pro.” Hurry up, Palm!!

Wootin'

2008-07-09T11:34:00.001-04:00

Have you heard of ‘Woot?’ The ‘one day, one deal’ place? http://www.woot.com/

There’s also:

‘Wine Woot!’ http://wine.woot.com/

‘Shirt Woot!’ http://shirt.woot.com/

‘Sellout Woot!’ http://sellout.woot.com/

AND MORE.

Too cool.

What is Woot and who's behind it?

Woot.com is an online store and community that focuses on selling cool stuff cheap…you can read more at the site.

Advice: buy early…stuff doesn’t last long on this site!

Eric

Da Cubs

2008-07-02T21:26:00.001-04:00

The Chicago Cubs are hanging on to first place in their division in spite of some injuries to key players. Consensus is that once they get healthy they’ll continue their hold on first and perhaps even extend their lead. After all, it’s important to win the division, breeze through the playoffs, and win the World Series for the first time in YEARS…but MOST important is finishing ahead of the Cardinals!! LET’S HOPE!!

Eric

Let there be fire...

2008-06-21T22:07:00.000-04:00

AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Eric

* Sent from my Treo 750

Treo 850 Rumors?

2008-06-05T11:37:00.001-04:00

It looks more & more like the rumors are true. If so, I'll own the new Treo 850 within days of its release. The 850 will be a phone that will work on either AT&T or T-Mobile networks.....so sad the Sprint and Verizon (and most global/overseas) folks will have to continue to be left behind with mediocre wireless technology.

Some Palm Treo 850 features:

- GPS-enabled
- 300%+ more storage capacity
- Built-in WIFI (first Treo to have it)
- More

Stay-tuned for my review once it's out!

Eric

* Sent from my Treo 750 running WM6...please ignore spelling &/or punctuation errors!

Finally....a John Deere

2008-05-01T23:13:00.001-04:00

Few people can appreciate how happy I am to finally own a John Deere. Yeah, it's a little small, but I can dream of one day owning a larger member of the Long Green Line.

Eric

Fire

2008-04-27T01:40:00.001-04:00

Thought we'd get to have a fire tonight in the new firepit...but it was "too cold!"

:-)

Maybe tomorrow...

Royal Star Magnolia

2008-04-20T21:23:00.001-04:00

Today, I embarrassed myself and I've decided I have to have one.

See.....I'm tired

2008-04-18T00:19:00.000-04:00

Riley's good for something, after all!

Lilli's day

2008-04-18T00:16:00.000-04:00

I had a LONG day today. Lots of running, and Riley ate my bone, and Rocky came over and stole my squeeky ball, and I went for a ride in my Daddy's truck, and I chased rabbits, and I chased some birds, I saw a coyote, 2 cats came over for a visit, and Riley ate some of my food, and Jaz scratched my butt with her claw, and I lost the piece sign on my collar, then I found it again, then I lost it again, and I drank some water and stepped in the bowl because Jaz popped me in the butt again, and, and, and, and, and, ..... then I fell asleep.

TOMORROW: more of the same.

Dan Patch Days Volunteers in Oxford, IN!

2008-04-17T11:22:00.004-04:00

The Oxford Lions Club is looking for volunteers for the upcoming Dan Patch Days festival in September. Visit the Oxford Lions website at http://www.oxfordlions.com for more information.

------------------------------------------------------
* PLEASE NOTE: the postings and other items associated with the BentonTech blog represent the thoughts, opinions, rantings, and sometimes inappropriate thoughts and crazy ideas of the author(s). We do not intend to offend ANYONE. We would love to hear your opinion about our blog. PLEASE SHARE!

TEST POST

2008-04-17T11:17:00.001-04:00

Test message from Treo – did it post??

Stupid Email Subject Lines (just plain dumb)

2008-04-17T02:02:00.003-04:00

How do we get on these lists? Who buys this crap? More importantly, how do we get off of these lists???

Some of the DUMBEST email subject lines I've received lately (and I'll try to keep it somewhat clean!):

- "Whip out your howitzer tonight!" (I'm in favor of our right to bear arms, and I'm not sure how I feel about citizens owning assualt rifles, but a Howitzer?? What former 'Iron Curtain' nation is selling THESE on eBay???).

- "Can we talk?" (Sure, we can talk...so why are you emailing me, Mr. Spammer? Call me so I can tell you what I really think of you!).

- "She said she couldn't believe how H-U-G-E I had gotten." (Uh, order a salad, dude).

Send us your favorites and we'll post them and you'll remain nameless - which is another way of saying we'll take the credit!

--------------------------------------------------------------
* PLEASE NOTE: the postings and other items associated with the BentonTech blog represent the thoughts, opinions, rantings, and sometimes inappropriate thoughts and crazy ideas of the author(s). We do not intend to offend ANYONE. We would love to hear your opinion about our blog. PLEASE SHARE!

Important Questions

2008-04-17T01:57:00.001-04:00

I get the same questions everyday…

Q: Who will I vote for in the Presidential election in November?
A: Look at the bumper on my truck!

Q: How can I make money with my website?
A: It’s a trade secret unless you’re a paying customer!

Honestly…what do you think? Email us!

---------------------------------------------------------------------
* PLEASE NOTE: the postings and other items associated with the BentonTech blog represent the thoughts, opinions, rantings, and sometimes inappropriate thoughts and crazy ideas of the author(s). We do not intend to offend ANYONE. We would love to hear your opinion about our blog. PLEASE SHARE!

Welcome to the BentonTech Blog!

2008-04-15T23:30:00.003-04:00

Welcome to our BLOG!

We hope you will find it interesting. We won't guarantee it will always be related to technology...it may be related to local events, businesses, people, or even politics and religion! EEGADS!

Seriously though, thanks for stopping by! Come back soon for more!

Eric & Ben

Benton Technology, Inc.

A Simple Fix for the iPhone 4 Reception issue?

Five Essential Apps to Protect Your PC

Free utility suite bundles over 100 tools

Concerned About Facebook Privacy?

Microsoft Upgrade Aims to Make Hotmail "Cool" Again

How To Stay Anonymous Online

The Grand Canyon State!

Nonprofit organizations...

Is 'defragging' your hard drive as important as it once was?

Photoshop???

Mike Huckabee

...people stand in line...to see the boy king...

July Special

Check out our BLOG at BentonTech! Post an entry to our BLOG during the month of July and get 10% off any service invoice in July! WHAT A DEAL! Visit our BLOG here: http://bentontechnology.blogspot.com/ Enjoy your summer!!

Now THIS is what I'm talking about!

Uhhhhhhh, right.

"She's Got Legs...."

Sonny....

Obama's Budget Plan Sweeps Away Reagan Ideas

Blue Weimaraner

"Hyper-miling?"

Samsung Epix....

OK, OK...

OTTERBOX!

Today, Out My Window, by Elaine Flynn

Ultra-Mobile PCs? I'm back on that kick again...

Boswell Happy Seniors

Otterbox...

Just wondered....

Amen

Yeah, me too!

Need I say more?

Google's 'droid

Google's Android

Sarah Palin for VP!

Treo Pro (850)...OK, we like it, now WHEN??!??!?!?!??!!!?!?!!??!?

Wootin'

Da Cubs

Let there be fire...

Treo 850 Rumors?

Finally....a John Deere

Fire

Royal Star Magnolia

See.....I'm tired

Lilli's day

Dan Patch Days Volunteers in Oxford, IN!

TEST POST

Stupid Email Subject Lines (just plain dumb)

Important Questions

Welcome to the BentonTech Blog!

Check out our BLOG at BentonTech! Post an entry to our BLOG during the month of July and get 10% off any service invoice in July! WHAT A DEAL!

Visit our BLOG here: http://bentontechnology.blogspot.com/

Enjoy your summer!!