How to make Gmail & other Google Apps even mo...

I highlighted a little about Google Labs enhancements of Gmail in my award winning 3 part introduction to Gmail, but I felt that the Google Labs needed a tip all its own. Google Labs lets users of their products experiment with Google’s own experiments. Their programmers and engineers work on literally hundreds of projects every day to enhance their online offering of applications. Some of these projects make it into...

7 ways to become a more efficient web user –...

This is a reintroduction and retitling of a previous video/tip because of a copyright infringement complaint fromFranklin Covey. Hopefully, the new title and verbiage will satisfy their legal staff. All week long I help computer users of all ages and experience levels. Too often, I see that many computer users (beginners and experienced alike) do not utilize or know about some basic web browsing skills that will speed their...

Become a web surfing pro!

At this month’s computer user group meeting, I used many of the articles, tips and videos I have written over the years to highlight how any computer user can start making quicker and better use of the Internet. Before I delve into specifics on this topic, watching and reading this tip title 7 ways to become a better web surfer, will yield you the greatest benefit if you read nothing else on this page. Do it! Now! First...

How to save time & money when printing email ...

The web and email were not meant to be printable items, but we love to print many things we receive via email or the web. In this tip, I’m going to teach you how to use less paper and ink when printing AND get better looking printouts for things you do want to print. If you combine this new tip with my Print Preview tip, my print what you want tip,  and learn how to use your printer’s draft mode (if available),...

How to type in your password correctly the FIRST t...

We use passwords to log into web sites continuously through the day. Your passwords should be long and complicated, but that makes them tough to type in accurately on the first try (since password fields are masked with dots or asterisks). Or, if you are using a netbook or mobile phone, the combination of a small keyboard and longer passwords can be extremely tricky. Save yourself some time and energy by using the power of...

Create Labels Online – Video Tip

Adam wrote about a new web service from Avery a few years ago. It’s called Create & Print labels. Avery developed this free service so that you can create quick, clean and flexible labels. The service is free and works inside your browser. Since it is a Web 2.0 application, any computer user can use it from any computer regardless of operating system. In addition to adding many customization features like personal...

Measure the distance of your walk, run, bike with ...

I’ve been meaning to share this great tool with you for a few years and somehow kept forgetting to do so. The Gmaps Pedometer is an easy to use tool that a runner put together using Google Maps to be able to quickly map out distances on city streets. The creator did a remarkable job of preserving the simplicity of Google while marrying it with a useful set of tools for exercise folks and tourists. I didn’t mention...

7 Internet Security Tips to Save You Time & M...

I write about Internet security frequently because I see too many breaches of Internet security every single day. And by Internet security, I’m referring to keeping your computer free of spyware, fake security software and other annoying, time consuming, and expensive ailments that can strike your computer. THESE TYPES OF INFECTIONS ARE PREVENTABLE. First, I need to exempt Mac and Linux (Ubuntu) users from reading this...

Email of the Week – 024

QUESTION Name:  TERRY JAMESON From:   LARKSPUR CO. OS:      Windows XP ———————- RICK, I WOULD LOVE TO USE FIREFOX, BUT IT SHUTS DOWN CONSTANTLY. THE INFAMOUS BOX COMES UP AND STATES THAT IT HAS “ECOUNTERED A PROBLEM AND NEEDS TO SHUT DOWN.” I HAVE TRIED TO UPDATE IT SEVERAL TIMES, BUT IT CONTINUES TO BE A PROBLEM. ANSWER Normally, I don’t read or answer...

Slow computer or slow Internet?

A common problem I hear throughout my week is “My computer is slow.” I finally learned to ask, “Is your computer slow, or is your Internet slow?” The computer user usually pauses, thinks and often responds that it is his or her Internet that is slow; not the computer. When I sit down at a client’s computer, I can quickly determine the health of a computer based on how quickly I can perform simple...

Firefox 3.0 Bookmark & History Search –...

This is a re-release of an almost 2 year old tip that you probably missed…it will save you boat loads of time!!! Firefox 3.0 was released last week after a long development period. The Mozilla folks put together an extremely good package and made genuine improvements in speed and features…a rare accomplishment in today’s software arena where programs get larger and less usable. The feature I use the most, so...

Watch almost any TV show on the web…for free...

If you don’t mind sitting at your desk to watch a television program you missed or just want to see it on your own time, you can do so using the web. Everyday, the number of TV watchers watching live television drops. The phenomenon is so big, it now has its own name: time shifting. Time shifting means watching a program on your own time instead of the time listed in the TV listings. The most common way to time shift...

Trust me, the cloud makes life easier & cheap...

Over the past few weeks, I witnessed many situations in my daily computer help rounds that would have been far less painful and costly for the computer user IF they utilized the cloud. The cloud I refer to is a broad term for using programs found on the web versus on your computer. Another commonly used term for this type of computing is Web 2.0. Here are some examples of problems I ran into recently that could have been...

Your friends CAN & DO send you malware

Probably the biggest single misconception I hear from computer users almost daily goes like this: “I never open anything from someone I don’t know, so I’m safe.” I promptly offer a retort to this highly uninformed comment by saying that many security breeches occur because of an email or message (think Facebook, Twitter, etc) that appears to be from a friend or family member. The bad guys in the tech...

How to use tearable tabs in your browser – V...

This is a quick tip on using an extra feature of tabbed browsing. What’s tabbed browsing? If you aren’t using tabbed browsing yet, you need to start…today! Click here to get started and learn how to put this powerful feature of all modern browsers to work for you. Today’s intermediate tabbed browsing tip only works in Firefox, Google Chrome, and Opera. Microsoft has not implemented it yet in Internet...