Google started as a college project 12 years ago, then as a startup search engine just 10 years ago. Today, Google owns more than 60% of all web search traffic and employs close to 22,000 employees worldwide.
You probably interact with Google via their search engine primarily. However, you are missing out on some truly great services that Google also provides in addition to their fast and accurate search engine.
In this article, I will share 7 of the many other services Google provides.
Google News
When you arrive at google.com, click the link that says News at the top of the page or you can directly visit news.google.com. Google News is an auto-generated news page that refreshes automatically every 5-10 minutes and displays headlines from more than 4500 news sources around the world. To me, it is the ultimate newspaper?unbiased and unfiltered. And even more helpful, starting a Continue reading →
When I meet a client’s computer for the first time, I go through a little routine to check for problems, improve performance, and speed up boot times. You can do it to your own computer too.
Use Task Manager to see how many processes are running and determine how much tweaking I have to do to startup.
Check on the amount of RAM in the computer. If less than 1 GB for XP or less than 2 GB for Vista, I recommend an upgrade.
Pull up Crucial.com and run the memory scanner to determine what type of RAM and how much RAM can be added. Print out the results and add Crucial’s phone number.
Too many people start using a computer and don’t know how to customize its settings to best suit there needs. The mouse is one of the worst offenders…especially for low vision folks or computer users with other disabilities. This short video tutorial will help anyone get the mouse to work the best way possible for their own individual needs. Continue reading →
This is a pretty specific tip for a relatively new device, but with WalMart now carrying iPhones more and more people will want and need to learn how to take advantage of their investment. The iPhone is a wonderful little tool…IF you learn how to use it and make it work for you.
One of the first things you can do with any piece of technology is customize it to fit your needs. With the iPhone, learning to customize the interface makes the unit more usable for you. This week, I show iPhone users how to customize the location of their icons on the iPhone launch screen or home screen.
Touch and hold your finger on any icon
When the icons start to jiggle, take your finger off the icon.
Now you can drag any icon to any position by touching and dragging it to a new location or even a new screen by dragging it to the left or right edge of the screen.
You can also drag the default icons off the toolbar at the bottom and drag the ones you use most often to the toolbar
When you are finished moving your icons to positions that work best for you, push the button at the bottom of your iPhone.
As always, these tips make more sense by watching the video! And even if you aren’t an iPhone user, I think you will find it interesting to see the kind of tech that can be found in a phone today.
Bullets, in Microsoft Word and other word processors, allow users to bring attention to a list of items as seen here:
Bullets are fun
Bullets are customizable
Bullets make documents easier to read
Unlike my boring ‘dot’ bullets above, you can use this week’s tip to customize your Microsoft Word bullets to suit your style and document’s purpose.
First, to create a bulleted list follow these steps:
1. Type your first list item
2. Press Enter on your keyboard
3. Type your second item
4. Press Enter on your keyboard
5. Continue these steps for as many bullets as you need.
6. Select all the items with your mouse and click the bullet button from the Word toolbar.
Now to customize your bulleted list
1. Select the bullet list again
2. Click Format –> Bullets and Numbering from the menus
3. Choose one of the alternate bullets or click the customize button and really have some fun with your bullets. You can even use a photograph to represent a bullet
One year ago, ASUS started a fire storm of new computers that now go by the name of netbooks with the release of their EeePC. I wrote about this subject just a few months ago, but with the holidays approaching and netbooks are high on gift giver’s radar screens so I want to explore netbooks a little more in depth.
Netbooks make attractive gift giving ideas for a few reasons:
They are inexpensive; usually cost less than $400.
They are extremely portable (2-3 pounds).
They are cute.
Here are some facts you need to know about netbooks:
Netbooks run on an Intel Atom processor that has roughly half the power of a typical laptop Intel or AMD processor.
Netbooks utilize a very basic graphics system.
Maximum RAM is 1 GB (very few exceptions)
Hard drives are usually solid state flash memory ranging from 4-16GB. More expensive models have small hard drives with up 160 GB of space)
Screens are no larger than 10″
Keyboards are 80-90% of a typical laptop keyboard.
They do not have CD or DVD ROMs.
Prices range from $300-700
Most have built-in web cams
All have wi-fi capability and Ethernet as well
Some models run a Linux operating system, some Windows XP, and a few attempt to run Vista.
Netbooks are in no way meant to replace a desktop computer or even a laptop. Instead, netbooks are designed to be used as a second or third computer for traveling, Internet or email access in another room of your home, light word processing or document creating/editing, making Internet phone and video calls, instant messaging, and even listening to music.
Because netbooks run on tiny batteries and less powerful processors, trying to run a large operating system like Windows XP and especially Vista is completely impractical. Windows XP with all its updates and service packs and security software requires a strong processor and a minimum of 512mb of RAM or 1 GB of RAM on a slightly older processor. Also, Windows XP, and especially Vista) require above average graphics processing to function with any oomph. Vista barely crawls on dual core processor with 1 GB of RAM and is completely useless on a netbook.
Linux, on the other hand, can be completely customized for a less powerful computer like a netbook and doesn’t need to be burdened by excessive updates and security software. This makes Linux a perfect fit for the netbook Plus, Linux laptops come pre-installed with complete office compatibility, games, multimedia software and more…all things you need to spend extra for with a Windows install plus you need to have an external CDROM to install all of these things on a netbook since it has no CDROM.
If you are in the market for a netbook for yourself or to give as gift this Christmas, by all means go for it. I love my little Asus EeePC and think they make the best travel companions and work great for getting a small amount of work or email done while watching TV or sitting outside. But know up front their purpose and don’t expect more from them. Here are my recommendations when shopping for a netbook:
Do NOT spend more than $400.
Get one with a Linux operating system, NOT WINDOWS.
Make sure it has a built-in web cam. You will like having the ability to make video calls while on the road.
Purchase a 4-16GB extra SD Card for storage, but realize that it isn’t meant to be storage machine.
If all this still makes your head swim a little, here are my top 5 netbook suggestions (in no particular order):
Again, keep in mind that netbooks are not meant to be a replacement for a desktop or a full-time laptop, but an adjunct to them for traveling and quick access to a computer. If you already own a netbook, leave a comment below sharing how you use yours and what your experience has been with it.
I personally don’t mind the orange and black themes of Ubuntu. If you do, however, you can quickly change the look of the Ubuntu login them by downloading new ones from the Internet or using some of the extra options in Ubuntu.
To download new themes, I suggest starting at Gnome Look. Gnome Look offers hundreds of new themes you can use at no cost to customize Ubuntu to look the way you want it. Once at the Gnome Look web site, follow these steps to get your new login theme(s) installed.:
Click GDM Themes from the options on the left of the screen
Browse around and find a theme you like. I like to start by looking in the highest rated or most downloads tab.
You can click any thumbnail (small picture) to see a larger view of a potential candidate.
Once you decide on a theme, look for the download option and click it.
Save the theme to a known location on your computer.
Close your browser and download windows.
Click System —> Administration –> Login Window from the menus
Enter your password
Click the Local tab
Click the Add button on the right
Navigate to and click the theme you downloaded.
Click the Install button.
Your new login theme should appear (in alphabetical order).
Repeat steps 10-13 for any other themes you downloaded and need to add.
Now click the radio button next to the theme you want to use for your login screen
Click OK
The next time you login into your computer, your new theme will be used. See all these steps in action by watching the video below!
This is a reintroduction and retitling of a previous video/tip because of a copyright infringement complaint from Franklin 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 work and give them less problems when using the Internet.
In this week’s tip, I will highlight the inefficient habits computer users use and replace them with tips that will make YOU a quicker and more profecient web user.
1. Using an old browser
No matter how old your computer is or what operating system you are using, DO NOT USE INTERNET EXPLORER 6 (IE 6). IE 6 is late 20th century technology and is not compatible with much of the web today and it also poses the greatest security risks.
Instead, use Mozilla Firefox, Opera, or if you must use Internet Explorer, use version 7.
2. Using a search engine instead of the address bar
3. Closing the web browser or clicking the Home icon before going to another web site.
When changing channels on a television, you don’t always go back to channel 1, then go to the channel you wanted do you? Likewise, with the web, you can simply click a bookmark or type web address in the address bar to move on to a new web site. You don’t need to close the window or click Home first.
4. Keeping the default browser home page
Your Internet provider often installs their web site as your “home page” (the first page you see when you launch your browser). However, if you never use that page, change it to something you will use.
With older browsers (see Habit 1 above), we had little choice but to click on links, then the back button to reach our previous page. True, some people learned to use multiple browser windows, but even that is a dated technique now.
Modern browsers give us the efficiency and elegance of opening multiple pages in what are known as tabs. Tabbed browsing will drastically cut your use of the back button and change your web browsing life forever…for the better.
6. Wasting paper, time, and money by printing more information than necessary
The Internet definitely gave paper companies a new lease on life because we print more today than ever before. However, too often, Internet users want a certain amount of information from a web site and end up getting 6-8 or more extra pages of information they don’t need.
Instead, take advantage of this easy to follow tip that lets YOU select exactly what you want to print and print only that.
7. Search from a search engine site
Searching the Internet is by the greatest, in my opinion, function available for our computers. However, with modern browsers, again see Habit 1, there is no need to visit the search engine site to start your searches. Instead, use the built-in search bar in your browser. You can find it in the upper right corner of IE 7, Firefox, Safari, and Opera.
Watch the short video below to see all these tips in action and also use the links in this article for more details. Master all of these tips and you will be a web surfer with 7 highly effective habits!
Would you like to get targeted news/web searches delivered to your email? Google Alerts can do that for you. Google Alerts allow you to get automated, customized news and web searches delivered to your email daily, weekly, or as breaking news alerts based on the criteria you provide. The service can be used without a Google account, but if you start using the service more, and you will, having an account will allow you to manage and tweak your alerts easier. If you already use Google for a customized home page, email, Picasa account, Blogger account, or any of the other Google services, you can use that same account information to use and manage Google Alerts.
In order to really grasp how beneficial Google Alerts can be, you need to try it out for yourself. There are no limits to how many alerts you can create. Here’s how:
Type a search term or terms in the first box. Remember to spell your terms correctly and describe your search completely so your alerts are more accurate
In the Type box, click and choose whether you want to get alert items from news stories only, blogs, videos, web in general (non-news), discussion groups, or comprehensive (which covers it all).
Choose how often you want the emails in the third box. Your choices are daily, weekly, or as the news happens.
Lastly, fill in your email and click the Create Alert button
Within a few hours, you will start to receive your email alerts. The email will be from Google Alerts with the subject Google Alert – Your Search Terms. The email will contain a list of the matches it found with the link to the story and where it is from and the first two lines of the story itself. You can delete or edit an alert at any time by going back to the Google Alerts web page and clicking the Manage your alerts link.
I’ve posted some tips already demonstrating some of the power of Firefox 3.0. In today’s tip, I demonstrate how Mozilla has improved Firefox’s tabbed browsing, improved the ability to find and manage 3rd party add-ons, customize your address and search bar box lengths and more.
Take a look at the video and learn why Firefox 3.0 remains at the top of the Internet browsing mountain.
Google started as a college project 12 years ago, then as a startup search engine just 10 years ago. Today, Google owns more than 60% of all web search traffic and employs close to 22,000 employees worldwide.
6. Select all the items with your mouse and click the bullet button from the Word toolbar.
One year ago, ASUS started a fire storm of new computers that now go by the name of netbooks with the release of their EeePC. I 
Would you like to get targeted news/web searches delivered to your email? 
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HelpMeRick.com started as a monthly tip site for beginners in 1996, and now supports our popular call-in computer show, and hosts thousands of useful computer tips and links.