We have Star Choice television from Canada which we get from Shaw Direct and for more information you can access their web site at: www.shawdirect.ca

We also have local cable. Prior to Star Choice we had always been very professionally looked after by Ajijic Electronics S.A. de C.V. Ajijic Electronics is located at Las Flores #2-A in Ajijic and the telephone # is 766-1117 and 766-3371. The emails are: satelites2002@prodigy.net.mx or ajijicelectronics@yahoo.com
(more…)

We are very lucky here now in Ajijic, Lake Chalapa. We have several internet servers to choose from.

I would like to tell you about is Infinitum which is available from Telmex.

They have three packages to choose from depending on the speed you require and your budget.
(more…)

The world is a scary place financially at the moment which is affecting Europe, Asia and, of course the United States.

Surprisingly enough as we watched the Dow Jones Index plummet 512 points yesterday we still find the economies in both Canada and Mexico are growing and even flourishing in many parts.

Real Estate is booming in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada and we are lucky enough to be busy here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala even though it not the “busy season”.
(more…)

It is March 31st and I finally have a new “rooter” (router) and my wireless is working throughout my house. All is right with the world.

This was not accomplished easily, however, and, as promised, here is the second and, hopefully, last installment of my trials and tribulations with our Internet Server.

I have been calling regularly on a daily basis to our server always getting a different person, always asked for different information and always given a different excuse as to why I had no wireless service in our house. The last excuse being they did not have any “rooters” and did not know when they would have one available.

Yesterday I managed to get through to a person who will remain nameless but who assured me they were going to swap for a “rooter” with another client and I would have it yesterday afternoon.

When this “swapped rooter” did not materialize, as you can imagine, I was less than amused. When I called this morning I got the old story that there were no “rooters” available. I counted to ten and jumped in my car and drove directly to our Internet Servers offices and demanded to speak to the person who had promised me a “rooter” yesterday.
(more…)

I have been without my wireless connection for ten days now and I still will not have the problem solved until sometime next week.

The problem started on a Wednesday evening and I did not think too much of it at first as, here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala, we do lose connection from tome to time for no apparent reason.

When on Thursday I still had no connection I began the normal regimen to try and connect. First I made sure my cable TV was working It was. Then I proceeded with unplugging the modem and routers and plugging them back in after a suitable waiting period for approx. 5 min. I then did the mandatory rebooting of the computer. Still nothing.

I then tried all online repair options. None of which worked.
(more…)

Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook Page was hacked into January 26th, 2011 which again begs the question “How is Facebook able to protect its members privacy?

The post read “Let the hacking begin: If Facebook needs money instead of going to the banks why doesn’t Facebook let its users invest in Facebook in a social way? Why not transform Facebook into a ‘social business’ the way the Nobel Price winner Muhammud Yonus described it?

The post received 1803 likes before it was removed.

We all use Facebook. Well maybe not all of us but certainly a great many of us.

Facebook is a wonderful way to stay in touch with friends and family that we are far away from here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala. Pictures and videos can be shared and you can let people know what you are doing and how you are.

There are many other uses for Facebook such as promoting businesses and products, keeping up on people’s birthdays and advertising your events.

Blogs can be shared and there are many other applications.

There has always been a privacy question and there are privacy setting options from which you can choose but the fact remains that the number one head honcho of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, had his Facebook Page hacked into so what protection do the rest of us have?

I can’t imagine a day without checking my “friends” on Facebook but I am very careful about any posts I make. I remember my mother saying “Don’t every put anything in writing that you would not wanted printed on the front page of the newspaper”.

The use of “newspaper” may be a little dated but the message stands the test of time.

I keep my posts very generic and if I want to send anything more personal I use the private message app.

There are many instances where people have posted something on Facebook that was injurious in some way and they have lost jobs or been expelled from school and various other consequences have been reported.

If we continue to use Facebook as it was intended as a social networking tool we all will continue to have a very good experience.

Tell your children not to post indiscriminately and follow my mother’s very sage advice.

Also make sure all pictures and videos are family friendly, as it were, so nothing can come back to bite them, so to speak.

My daughter originally set me up with a Facebook Page so that she could send me pictures and videos while she was working in London, England. I do enjoy all the photographs my nieces and nephews have posted on Facebook as they travel the world and now that our son and his girlfriend is in Thailand I can get a wonderful sense of where they are and how incredibly beautiful Phuket, Thailand really is.

Log in daily and enjoy building your social network but keep your private business private.

This is a term that most of us are not familiar with unless we have our own very successful web site. This is a method whereby your web site stands out and has increased awareness and hits and rises to the top of the list when Googled.

Many young people try to design their own websites but realize it may not be quite as easy as they originally thought and older people may not know where to start building a website to promote their particular business or service.

I want to tell you about our website designer who is now living and working in Phuket, Thailand. The company is called Phuket Website Design and is run by CC Design Studio.

This exciting young company specializes in the following services:

Ecommerce Design
Flash Websites
Website Development
Online Reputation Management
Logo and Print Design
Brochure and Business Cards
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Content Management Systems

FREE Domain
FREE Hosting for 1 year

Web site: Phuket Website Design

Email address: info@websitedesignpluket.com

Phones: 08 277-7949 or 08 277-7876
(more…)

Star Choice now Shaw Direct is available here.  It is Canadian programming in English with the 3 major networks and Fox.  Various programming packages are available now including HBO Canada.

Sky is a Mexican company with channels in English and movies in English with Spanish subtitles.

MVS Communications has joined with the EchoStar Corporation to offer new low cost satellite TV in Mexico.

This service to be know as Dish Mexico will deliver a wide variety of audio and video channels in al all digital format via an EchoStar provided high powered direct broadcast satellite.

The basic package includes children’s programming from Disney, Jetix, Nick, Discovery Kids and cartoon network; general entertainment from Universal, Sony, Warner, 52MX, E! Entertainment TV and Scifi;  educational channel from Discovery, Animal  Planet, The History Channel and Infinite; sports from ESPN and ESPN2 and Fox Sports; music channels from MTV and Exa TV and movie channels from TNT, The Film Zone,. MC, Multipremier and Cine Latino.  In addition Dish offers movie packages with no commercial breaks.

The basic service includes 25 Spanish an English language channels for $139.00 pesos per month.

There is also our local cable provider which is Telecable. Telecable also offers internet and phone services.  A complete list of their channels, services and prices are available at their outlet just before Maskaras Clinic on the carretera.  Their phone # is 765-4550.

You will also see Direct TV sign up kiosks along the carretera.

A very knowledgeable person to talk to in Ajijic is Michael Merriman at Satellite Services of Ajijic at 766-1117. He would be a good source as to what would be the best choice for you in your particular area.

There are many benefits to living in Ajijic, Lake Chapala, Mexico. One of my favorites is becoming more familiar with the internet and all it has to offer.

It was not too long ago that all I could do was send and receive emails and do a letter. I very much wanted to learn more and I am happy to say I accomplished that goal.

Facebook.com is one of my favorite sites and I have reconnected with many friends and get in touch with them and family through shared pictures and updates. Everyday I log in to find out who is doing what to whom. It was a particularly useful site when my daughter was in London, England in 2007 and again earlier this year. She could send me pictures and videos which I loved.

Skype.com is another wonderful site which offers messaging much like aol.com or Windows Live Messenger but it also offers an extremely inexpensive long distance application which has saved me thousands of pesos every month. If you have a video cam on your computer you are (more…)

What would we do without our laptop or desktop computers?

When we first arrived in Ajijic in 1994 to say that internet servers were spotty would be an understatement. Things, thankfully, have improved over the years and now we have several competent servers to choose from albeit consistent internet on a daily basis is still a hope for the future. Of course, the frequent power outages are also a challenge consisting of rebooting and reconnecting various electronic devices.

The first thing I do when I get up in the morning, after feeding my three dogs of course, is sit down with my coffee at my laptop and being my day.

When my daughter first went to London, England in 2007 she set me up on Facebook so that I would be able to receive pictures and videos from her. I have since found Facebook to be a very valuable tool for many other features and networking. (more…)