October 18th, 2012 by ElizaP
WordPerfect. How long has it been since you’ve heard that name? The program is what many would consider to be a grandparent of Word. And if you look hard enough, you may have a floppy disk somewhere that contains WordPerfect files. But can you convert them to current Word format? The good news is that you can.
Simply open Word, and then open the WordPerfect file you want to convert. To find it, ensure that All Files (*.*) have been selected in the ‘Files of Type’ list. Once your file appears, click it, and Word will open the file. Then, simply save the file as a Word Document (.doc) to ensure easy future access. You may have to edit some parts of your document such as columns or page breaks, as Word may not convert these correctly.
May 24th, 2012 by ElizaP
A Blackberry can be a great tool to use for business.But the last thing you need are annoying notifications that someone has commented on your status update, requested you to become their friend or tagged you in a photo. There’s an easy way to turn off your Facebook notifications when you’re at work so that you can have an uninterrupted day.
Deleting Notifications
You can take a few minutes to scroll through your list of notifications if you have time, which will remove them from your Blackberry’s home screen. To do this, simply click the Facebook icon, navigate to the notifications, press the Menu key, and then choose Delete. Once you’ve clicked Yes to confirm deletion, all of your notifications should be gone.
Another method is to click the Facebook application. Once Facebook has loaded, click the Menu key, navigate to Options, and then scroll down, making sure that everything has been unchecked. Then, log into Facebook your PC, and find and select your Close Friends group. Then, turn notifications off in the top right corner.
A third method is to simply log off from Facebook while you’re using your Blackberry for work.
May 18th, 2012 by ElizaP
Virtually everyone knows about Google Earth, and its amazing views of just about every location around the world. If armchair travel is one of your hobbies, then you shouldn’t be doing it without this beautiful and interesting addition.
Panoramio
Owned by Google, Panoramio is an online photography community. It already exists as a layer on Google Earth and Google Maps, but has to be turned on in order to see the photos contributed. This resource adds another facet of discovery to the armchair traveler, who can view photos taken by residents or tourists, which gives a new perspective on places to see. This new perspective can also reveal lesser-known destinations that can be added to the itinerary of a trip.
Accessing Panoramio
A Google ID is all it takes to begin using Panoramio. Once signed in, you can enter a location if you know the name of the place you want to explore. Or, you can simply view the map of the world, and click on a random location. Either way, you will be able to view photos of places only, and not personal photos like you might find elsewhere. Users can zoom in nearly to street level to see photos, and clicking on a photo will reveal its location or building name.
May 15th, 2012 by ElizaP
Tumblr is a great and easy to use tool, but is missing some features that would make using it much easier. Luckily, there are browser add-ons and other goodies which add that functionality and solve just about every issue you may be having.
Extra Browser Features
While there are a few single add-ons you can use for Tumblr, there is one that offers a host of them in one download. Called Missing E, it makes creating new posts easy, allows you to track your followers and unfollowers, and includes a bookmarking function.
The Tumblelog
The Tumblr dashboard will give you a good overview of the posts of people you follow as well as your own posts and replies. But to get a better look at your own activity and that of your posts, the Tumblelog is your best best. You can get there by looking at the top of your Dashboard and clicking your blog name.
Keeping Long Posts Long
Tumblr will often truncate the original text of long posts, forcing users to click the heading-turned-link in order to read the rest of the post. Unfortunately, this may reduce the number of people who actually read the post. But you can keep your posts at their original length by switching the mode. Do this by looking to the “Reblog Text Post”, and clicking the “As” button beside it. Choose “As Text” to keep your post long.
May 10th, 2012 by ElizaP
There are many packages offered by cell phone carriers nowadays that offer unlimited texting. But what if you forget your phone and need to get in touch with someone on your list? Or what if you don’t own a cell phone but want to be able to get in touch with friends or family without sending an email?
Texting Via Email
If you know the carrier of the recipient, you can send them a text message via email. To find the email-to-SMS gateway for their carrier, simply visit the site of that carrier. The address could look something like cellnumber@pm.att.net. Once you have the address, simply open your email program, type your message and hit send.
Texting Via IM Programs
Programs like Yahoo Messenger and AIM will allow you to send a message to a cell phone. If you’re using AIM, you simply add +1 to the recipient’s phone number in their name box. For Yahoo Messenger, type in the number at the top of the chat window and hit enter.
Free Online Texting Services
There are web sites which anyone can visit to send a text message for free. Some examples are freetxt.ca, txt2day.com and ForeverSMS. A quick search will display several results for free texting sites. But be aware that some sites only work within a specific region.
May 4th, 2012 by ElizaP
While you may use your technology to relax and unwind after a busy day, it could be negatively affecting your well-being. Following a few simple tips will keep both you and your technology running at optimum levels.
Ergonomically Speaking
Do you spend a lot of time in front of your computer or with your device? If you’ve noticed soreness in your back or neck, your sitting position may not be supporting proper posture. To fix this, you can ask your office’s HR department about what options are available. If you’re using your computer at home, you may wish to consider the purchase of an ergonomic knee chair, which promotes proper sitting posture. As well, elevating your computer monitor so that the bottom of the screen lines up with the middle of your eyes will also help to keep your neck in the right position.
Beware Of Tech Critters
Nope, it’s not malware that we’re talking about; it’s the germs and bacteria that lurk on your keyboards, mice and smart phones. Did you know that a home computer keyboard can hold up to sixty times more germs than a public toilet seat? Now that you know, clean and disinfect your devices and peripherals on a daily or weekly basis.
May 1st, 2012 by ElizaP
The iPhone makes it incredibly easy to do a lot of things. Unfortunately, that includes accidentally deleting your emails, which only takes one wayward tap of the archive or delete button. But the good news is that your deleted iPhone messages aren’t gone forever.
Check Your Settings
Your email accounts can be set up on your iPhone to either delete or archive your messages. When you delete them, your messages end up in the Trash folder, and choosing to archive them will send them to the All Mail folder.
Go Through The Trash
Finding the trash folder on your iPhone is as easy as tapping the mailboxes button in the upper left corner when in your Inbox. Once back at the main mail app screen, simply look below the Accounts header for your account, tap it, and then tap the Trash folder. Once you’ve located the message you want to retrieve, simply tap the folder icon at the bottom of the screen, and then tap once more to move it where you want it.
Finding a message that was archived in error involves the same steps, except for the fact that you will have to go to the All Mail folder on your iPhone instead of the Trash folder.
April 20th, 2012 by ElizaP
So you’ve been surfing YouTube, and stumbled on some music that you’ve never heard before, but really like. And maybe you want to tell some friends about your new musical discovery, or put the music on your .mp3 player. But how do you get and convert the audio into something you can work with?
Convert Online
Video2mp3 is a free way that you can convert videos to audio. Simply copy the YouTube link of the video you want, visit the Video2mp3 site, and paste in the address. Once the conversion process is complete, you can download your .mp3 form the site. Videos from other sites like MySpace and Dailymotion can also be converted with this free online resource.
Convert With Software
Freecorder is a great no-cost way to record any audio that you find online including at YouTube. Installing the toolbar only takes seconds, and can be used to save online video as well. Ensure the toolbar is open on your computer, and then visit the URL where the video or audio you want is located. Play the video, and then hit the record button. When you are finished recording, the .mp3 will be stored on your computer, usually in the C:/Users/Documents folder.
April 17th, 2012 by ElizaP
Have you looked at your computer’s desktop lately? It can sometimes be like your dining room table; a clutter attractor that can end up piled with mail, car keys and anything else you may not be able to find a place for at the time.
What makes a messy desktop even more frustrating is that the icons sometimes re-arrange themselves, which can make hunting for your files resemble a scene from an Indiana Jones movie. But you can tame the beast that is your desktop using a few simple tips.
Get On The Grid
Auto-arranging your desktop icons will align them to an invisible grid, which means they will always arrange themselves neatly on your desktop. But beware; deleting anything on your desktop will move your items to the next spot on the grid, which may still make some things difficult to locate.
Ask The Wizard
If you feel you need the help of a professional organizer to clean up your desktop, consulting the Desktop Cleanup Wizard may offer you a solution. But this will only work if you are running Windows XP. However, you can click in any empty area of your desktop and choose “Personalize” in Windows 7 to see the options for making your desktop a little prettier.
April 10th, 2012 by ElizaP
Although most of today’s laptops include Bluetooth technology, you may still be working on a laptop that does not. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this technology on your older device. Configuring your laptop to accept Bluetooth connections is possible when you purchase and install an affordable Bluetooth adapter and have a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone.
Connection and Testing
Simply plug the Bluetooth adapter into your laptop via its USB port. Your adapter may have a light that will come on to confirm that it’s been connected, and your laptop will let you know that it has found a new device. If your laptop does not locate any drivers in its folders, it will request that you insert the installer CD. You can also locate the drivers online.
Testing the new connection can be done by grabbing your mobile phone and enabling its Bluetooth connection. You can then try and send files between the two devices. However, it’s important to ensure that both are located in the same room to eliminate disruptions by barriers like walls that can cause a Bluetooth connection to drop unexpectedly.
Syncing Other Devices
The best way to ensure a safe Bluetooth connection is to create a pass code. This can be done by clicking on Start, Control Panel, Network and Internet, and then clicking Add, which will reveal a list of the Bluetooth-enabled devices near your laptop. Choose your mobile phone from the list, and then provide a pass code.
March 13th, 2012 by ElizaP
You may have seen lots of interesting ringtones being offered for sale via iTunes. But all those great ringtones can add up to a lot of money on your bill. If you have a lot of music on your iPhone, you can actually create your own ringtone for free.
About iPhone Ringtones
iPhone ringtones should only last about 30 or 40 seconds, or be about 3mb in size. So ensuring that your new ringtone meets this requirement is a good idea so that your ringtone works properly when someone calls you.
Picking A Song
You will have to open iTunes on your computer in order to view your library of music. Once you’ve located the .mp3 that you want to use, you will have to choose a part of the song that you want to use for your ringtone. The chorus of a song might be a good clip to choose. Write down the start and end times for your desired clip.
Editing The Song
Once you’ve chosen your song and your clip, right click on the .mp3 and choose ‘Get Info’, and then click the ‘Options’ tab. Type in the start and stop times you wrote down before. Then, right click on the file and choose “Convert Selection to AAC”. Once conversion has been completed, right click on the ringtone to delete it, and then click the “Keep Files” button.
Making Your Song The Ringtone
Once you’ve located the file, you will have to rename it with an .m4r extension, which can be done by right clicking and choosing ‘Rename’. Double click the file in iTunes, and the file will be automatically added to your ringtones folder. Then, sync your iPhone and choose your new file.
March 2nd, 2012 by ElizaP
These days, kids are toting cell phones as early as 6 years old. But depending on the child, their request for a cell phone could occur much later on. Regardless of when it happens, the answer to whether or not to allow your child to have a cell phone can be an elusive one. How can you tell they’re ready for the responsibility of a cell phone? Read on to find out.
Understanding Of The Rules
Has your child demonstrated a willingness to follow rules set out by their school about personal technology? If so, then they may be ready for a phone. Ensure they understand the rules set out by their school by reviewing them on the school’s web site or asking for documentation.
Knowing Their Track Record
If your child has any items they are responsible for, such as a pet or portable game player, take stock of how they take care of them. If they have demonstrated a long history of taking care of their things, a cell phone discussion could be on the horizon.
The Value Of A Dollar
If your child has a good understanding of how much things cost, providing them with a cell phone can help you further instill this value. By contributing to all or part of their bill, your child may be less likely to abuse their phone or the rules applied to it.