By Lori Matsukawa
From King5.com
Posted - May 28, 2009
Find free high-tech help online
From iPods to cell phones, gadgets are all around us these days. Figuring out how to program them or fix them when something happens isn't always easy, but sometimes it's free.
Tracy Repchuk wanted to set up her phone to get a different ring for different callers.
Instead of wading through the tiny print instructions, she turned to cyberspace to solve her problem.
"I went to Google.com, and I check out the first few searches that appear and I ended up at a site called Fixya.com," Repchuk said.
That helped her troubleshoot her problem in a matter of minutes. The free site is one of many designed to help consumers do it themselves. Wired magazine's Joe Brown says they are quite popular.
"People are getting a lot more tech in their lives, they're getting a lot of new gadgets, and they don't necessarily know how to use it," he said.
Some of the sites, like AnswerBag.com, even have moderators to eliminate duplicate questions, which can run the gamut.
"For example, how do I get my iPhone to sync with my Google Calendar?" Brown said. "And then employees can research the question or other users who have had the same problem can give the answer to you themselves."
PC users can check out Techimo.com's forums. For Mac users, CNET and Apple's site may be best.
"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 the iPhoneblog.com. And for those with BlackBerrys there's Crackberry.com. When sites allow other users to answer, experts say be cautious.
"I would go with the trusted sources first, try to find the employee answers if you can," Brown said. "If you're going to members of the community, make sure you check the member of the community's bonafides."
It's helped Tracy
"They have been incredibly helpful, for phone, for stereos, for iPods, for everything," she said.
