May 28, 2009 2:19 pm US/Eastern
Finding Free Tech Help Online
(WBZ)
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A reporter holds the Apple iPhone 3G at the Apple Store, Fifth Avenue, in midtown Manhattan July 11, 2008 in New York City.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Even if you're not the type that has to have the latest gadget, it's virtually impossible to avoid technology. For many, it can seem like you need to be a software engineer just to program your cell phone.
Tracy Repchuk wanted to set up her phone to get a different ring tone for different callers. "We couldn't get it working at all," she said. Instead of wading through pages of fine print in the instruction manual, Tracy turned to her computer for help. "I went to Google and I check out the first few searches that appear and I ended up at a site called
Fixya.com", she said. The site helped her troubleshoot her problem in a matter of minutes.
Joe Brown of Wired Magazine says there are all kinds of help available online. "People are getting a lot more tech in their lives," he said. "They getting a lot of new gadgets and they don't necessarily know how to use it."
Answers.com has a moderator to help eliminate duplicate questions. Inquiries run the gamut. "For example, how do I get my iPhone to sync with my Google calendar," Brown said. "Employees can research the question or other users who have had the same problem can give you the answer themselves," he added.
Techimo.com has several forums for PC users. For troubleshooting Macs you can try
cnet's MacFixIt forums and
Apple. "Apple for example hosts a discussion board on its site and those forums are going to have some of the best users on them," Brown said. iPhone users can turn to
theiphoneblog.com and for those with Blackberry's there's
Crackberry.com.
As with any internet search, it's important to consider the source. "I would go with trusted sources first, try to find the employee answers if you can," Brown said. If you are relying on advice from users, it's not a bad idea to confirm with a couple of different sources so you don't end up with a technical nightmare.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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