Is it time for it to upgrade your LCD computer monitor? Guess what? It’s not as simple a process as you may think. That’s because not all LCD monitors are the same. Some respond quicker. Others do a better job reproducing colors. And, of course, some are simply pricier than are others. For anyone who is considering a new LCD monitor, you’ll want to take a look at your computing habits. Do you generally use your computer for creating reports, searching the Web and sending e-mail messages? Or do you use it watch movies and TV shows? Perhaps you use it for making art. All of this matters when you’re in search of the best LCD monitor to suit your needs.

What matters

The Lifehacker Web site recently took a close look at the various monitors currently available. The lesson from this site? Monitors are definately not created equal. Some, for instance, feature lightning-fast screen response times. These monitors are favored by hardcore gamers who want their video screens to move as fast as their thumbs. Others do a incredible job of reproducing colors and boast clear viewing angles. These monitors might work better for graphic designers and other visual artists, according to Lifehacker.

Monitor types

You’ll find three main varieties of LCD monitors today: TN, IPS and VA. The Coding Horror blog recently sorted out these three types. According to the blog, written by Jeff Atwood, TN monitors are usually the most inexpensive. Additionally they boast the most responsive screen times, making them favorites among gamers. However these models also provide weaker color reproduction and less impressive viewing angles. The IPS monitor doesn’t have as responsive of a screen. But it does easily top TN monitors in color reproduction and viewing angle, making it great for graphic designers and other visual artists. These monitors, though, are usually the most costly available.

Option

A solid middle-ground choice for many might be VA or vertical-alignment monitors. As Coding Horror says, these monitors feature good color reproduction and viewing angle capabilities. Also they are more affordable than are IPS monitors. The downside? Colors shift when you look into these monitors at an angle. And the response time for these monitors is only average.

You protect your smart phone with a passcode that you must enter before it comes to life. But just how much protection does this passcode actually offer? The disturbing answer? Not quite enough, according to a recently available story by the tech Web site Lifehacker. The report details several passcode exploits that hackers have used recently to compromise smart phones. Fortunately, the story does something a lot more comforting, too. It tells users how to best protect the data on their smartphones.

Passcode attacks

The Lifehacker story details the newest passcode exploits that have made it possible for hackers to compromise Apple’s iPhone and the Galaxy Samsung smart phones. The Apple exploit, enabled criminals to gain access to the iPhone phone app. Hackers didn’t gain total access to phones. But they made it possible to use the app to make phone calls, view pictures and look at or edit users’ contact lists. The exploit focusing on Galaxy smart phones operated in a different way. Hackers were able to flash the phone’s home screen for merely a second. This presented them enough time to launch apps or start downloading an app that awarded them full control over the phone.

Not foolproof

As these exploits show, using a lock-screen passcode is no guarantee that hackers won’t be able to break into your phone. As the Lifehacker story says, passcodes today are little more effective at keeping out hackers than are standard passwords. Which means that you need to take the extra steps if you wish to secure your phone from cyber criminals.

Protection

As with all things tech, it is possible to do something so it will be more challenging for a hacker to break into your smart phone. First, use a strong password, one containing letters, numbers and symbols, for your lock-screen passcode. Next, make sure you encrypt your phone’s data. Finally, Lifehacker recommends utilizing services such as Apple’s Find My iPhone or the independent app Prey. These apps help you track your smart phone and erase its data if you lose it or somebody takes it.

Does your work require you to stare at a computer screen for hours at a stretch? If so, eyestrain may become a serious problem. A current story by the everon small-business blog says that workers connected to their computers can face a host of problems, from watery eyes to headaches, increased sensitivity to light and difficulty focusing. The good news? Avoiding eyestrain is actually quite easy, even if you have to stare at the monitor for eight hours. The everon blog offered some simple techniques for reducing the negative effects of eyestrain.

20/20/20 Rule

What’s the key to avoiding eyestrain? Employees merely need to follow the 20/20/20 rule. Every 20 minutes, employees need to turn away from their computer screens for 20 seconds. They should take a look at an object or image that stands at least 20 feet away. This surprisingly simple exercise will help keep eyestrain at bay. And it can make employees more efficient. And, best of all, everon found several worthy apps which can remind employees of when it’s time to take an eye break.

Workrave

Workrave received high marks from everon. This app will send a message onto employees’ computer screens telling them when it’s time to take a short eye break. The program will also suggest specific exercises for workers. A more advanced app is EyeLeo. This app will blank employee computer screens when it’s time for their short breaks. Then an animated leopard will guide employees through quick eye exercises.

The Coffee Break App

There’s also the Coffee Break app, though it’s limited to Apple. This app will steadily darken your screen as a reminder your break is coming up. When the break arrives, your screen will be totally dark, and it’s time for you to step away from the computer. Of course, not even Coffee Break can make you give your eyes a rest. That’s up to you. Here’s hoping you don’t skip those important eye breaks.

This has turned into a tablet world. And why not? Consumers can use these nifty and highly portable devices to watch movies, surf the Web, listen to online radio and send and receive e-mail messages while on the go. It’s little wonder that tablet sales have eclipsed the sales numbers of traditional laptop computers. But that doesn’t mean that tablets are perfect. Many users have lamented that these devices falter when it comes to sharing screens with other people. But this, too, is beginning to change, thanks to several high-end screen-sharing apps for iOS now available. Miguel Leiva-Gomez, a writer with the smallbiz technology Web site, took a look at three of the best. Start using these apps and you’ll soon be sharing screens with ease, even on a tablet.

Join.me

The join.me app comes in free and “pro” versions. To use this app on the iOS operating system, you’ll need to spend about $20 a month for the “pro” version. But as Leiva-Gomez writes, the investment is worth it. The software allows users to share all their screens with co-workers, and it does it without a steep learning curve. It’s exceedingly simple to use. The program also comes with other bonus features, including instant chat capabilities, Internet calling and file sharing.

Air Sketch

Leiva-Gomez says that this app will turn your tablet into a whiteboard with such features as multiple pages. Users can use images from their own libraries as the background of their whiteboard and they can make use of one of five different drawing tools. Users can also use Air Sketch to open PDFs. The application displays everything in real time, creating an environment well suited to collaboration.

Conference Pad

Though it’s a relatively simple app, that doesn’t suggest that Conference Pad isn’t also a strong one. Leiva-Gomez writes that that this app is especially promising in the case of zooming in on documents and PDFs. As he writes, users can perform this without giving up any image quality. The application also is an intuitive one, made to be easy for new users to master.

Are you lamenting the announced death of Google Reader? If so, you’re not alone. Google recently announced that it is shutting down its RSS reader on July 1. The reason behind Google’s decision seems sensible: Reader was losing users. It was not an expanding service. Even so, the death of Reader presents some interesting questions, for both consumers and Google. The main one? What’s to keep Google and others from discontinuing other cloud-based services? The answer? Absolutely nothing.

The impermanence of the cloud

The realm of the cloud is an ever-changing one. Companies add new services. They also pull those that aren’t performing well. That’s what happened with Google Reader. It’s an issue that Farhad Manjoo, a writer with Slate, says that consumers should expect to see more often. Nothing that resides in the cloud is guaranteed eternal life, Manjoo writes. Google promoted Reader as though it was going to be an enduring part of the company. But that obviously isn’t the case. So be warned, Manjoo writes, there’s no guarantee that your other favorite cloud software will live forever, either.

The pitfall with the cloud

This can be considered a downside to the cloud. In the days when software came on discs and we downloaded it to our computers, there was more permanence. Sure, companies would close shop and manufacturers would discontinue software. But you still had access to software, even when the companies behind it terminated it. Since of course, it was saved on your computer and you still had the discs. This isn’t the situation with the cloud. When something is yanked from the cloud, it’s gone.

A bleaker future for Google?

The death of Reader isn’t just sad news for fans of the RSS service. It’s also a challenge for Google, as the Economist magazine argues in a recent story. No one can expect Google to continue funding under-performing products. But, how will consumers react the next time Google unveils a cloud-based product? Will they flock to it? Or will they hesitate, wondering when Google might kill it off? The demise of Reader might seem like a small matter to a company as powerful as Google. Yet the RSS service’s end might post some tricky challenges for Google in the future.