Come on folks...were using computers! You don't have to fill out a change of address form and march it down to the postal office. You don't have to send out a post card to every person you know. You don't have to fill out a change of address for all your bills and utilities.

Changing email addresses is actually pretty painless and can be cathartic as well. In fact, think of it as going into the digital identity protection program. Here's how to make it a smooth transition:

You should backup, and depending on your computer needs and usage your backups should occur frequently (sometimes daily). Many computer users equate backing up their computers with their mother's giving them castor oil. It's no fun, but a necessary evil. What is castor oil any way?

Things you should backup on your computer include:

1. In Gmail, click the contacts link
2. Click the New Group icon
3. Type a name for your new group
4. Click OK
5. Click All Contacts
6. Place a check mark in the boxes of the contacts you want to belong to your new group
7. Click the Groups menu
8. Click the name of the group you want for them

That's it! It makes more sense watching it being done so watch the video below to see these steps in action AND see how to use your group after you have built it!

]]> http://helpmerick.com/creating-an-email-group-in-gmail-video-tip.htm/feed 0 http://helpmerick.com/10-skills-every-computer-user-should-have-or-learn.htm http://helpmerick.com/10-skills-every-computer-user-should-have-or-learn.htm#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:50:54 +0000 Rick http://helpmerick.com/wordpr/?p=1197 I originally posted this list in January 2007. However, through my keen observation skills, I discovered that all computer users have not yet read and digested this information. For this reason, I'm posting it again because I won't stop working to educate computer users until every computer user knows these 10 skills.

Computers have become almost a main stream household appliance. Whether you have been using a computer for fifteen years or one, these skills should be second nature:

1. Cut, Copy, Paste
2. Print just what you want (word processing, email, web)
3. Backup your address book
4. Select (highlight) text or files
5. Properly uninstall unwanted programs
6. Burn a CD
7. Download files from the Internet
8. Use MSCONFIG ; Another MSCONFIG tip
9. Search the Internet
10. Attach Files to an email
    

Google offers a good Help section covering their email system, and you can find it by clicking here. My short video series here are meant to just get you started quickly and give you the highlights of this email system.

After running into this issue one to many times lately, I finally found a fast solution. Problem: Outlook users who want to export their address books (contacts) and import them into Gmail can get almost everything imported except street addresses. It's maddening. Madness be gone, the solution is now just a few steps away.

Exporting your contacts from Outlook:

1. Open Outlook (note this is NOT Outlook Express)
2. Click File --> Import/Export
3. Click Export to a file
4. Click Next
5. Click Comma Separated Values (Windows) option
6. Click Next
7. Click Contacts from the list of your]]> http://helpmerick.com/import-outlook-contacts-into-gmail-with-street-addresses.htm/feed 14 http://helpmerick.com/setting-up-a-new-computer.htm http://helpmerick.com/setting-up-a-new-computer.htm#comments Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:17:58 +0000 Rick http://helpmerick.com/wordpr/?p=120 Prevention is the best medicine when it comes to avoiding illness in ourselves. Prevention in the computer world is no different. And like a newborn baby, a newly purchased computer is subject to many terrible diseases and problems if not properly cared from the moment it is taken from its cardboard box. I follow these steps when setting up a new computer system for my clients, and recommend this methodology for all new computer setups:
   ]]> http://helpmerick.com/setting-up-a-new-computer.htm/feed 10 http://helpmerick.com/create-a-permanent-email-address-for-yourself.htm http://helpmerick.com/create-a-permanent-email-address-for-yourself.htm#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:50:51 +0000 Rick http://helpmerick.com/wordpr/?p=138 Are you tired of having to change your email address when your Internet provider goes out of business or gets gobbled up by another provider, or you move, or you just want to change Internet providers?

   Informing everyone in your address book that you have changed email addresses doesn't take a great deal of time, but it is annoying nonetheless. In today's Shotgun article, I explain how you can create an address that is permanently yours regardless of who you use for an Internet provider.

   ]]> http://helpmerick.com/create-a-permanent-email-address-for-yourself.htm/feed 1