Castellini on Computers - Computer help for beginners » web app

Business and Education Save Money by Moving to the Cloud

Rick — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 04:50:38 +0000

Since joining Twitter last spring, I made it a point to follow industry leaders and pundits that post interesting and breaking tech news and information. Two of my favorites are GoogleAtWork and Zoho. After nearly 15 years in the computer help and training business, I firmly believe in the mission of these two organizations…cloud computing. Quickly, [...]

How to add a web application to the iPhone home screen – Video Tip

Rick — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:43:45 +0000

Popular demand (among new iPhone users) prompted me to add this quick, yet helpful iPhone tip. Don't worry non-iPhone users...there is a tip for you at the end of the article...keep reading or skip to the end!

To add a web page or application you frequently use to your iPhone home screen:

Start Safari
Navigate to the page you want to add
Tap the Add Bookmark button at the bottom of the screen (+ sign)
Tap Add to Home Screen
Type the name you want to attach to the bookmark or accept what is given
Tap Add in the upper right hand corner

That's it, easy, but extremely handy!Watch the short video below to see this tip in action.

What I learned in the first 4 days of my iPhone 3G

Rick — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:59:26 +0000

I picked up my new iPhone late on Thursday night, worked with it on Friday, then left with it for a quick trip to see my brother and my first and only nephew. Prior to this phone, I have used some sort of smartphone since 2000...all Palm software based. Prior to that I used Palm handheld computers since about 1997.

I decided to move to the iPhone because I felt that the Palm innovation had stagnated...about 5 years ago. Plus, with all the innovation and development happening around the iPhone, I knew it was a great opportunity to take my smartphone usage even further than the Palm based systems had. A real quick word about any smartphone; they aren't met for every cell phone user. Smartphones are designed for people who want to check email, lookup information on the web, get maps, send text messages, add specialty programs like conversion programs, time trackers and much more to their phone.

Enough blabber, here are some of my thoughts about the iPhone after only four days of use:

The screen is absolutely stunning...clear, bright, and responsive.
I really miss being able to select text

Eee PC 900

Rick — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:34:58 +0000

The new ASUS Eee PC 900 is finally available in the United States. Like its release earlier this year in Asia, the 900 version is selling like hot cakes in the U.S. too. I have been using the 4G version of the original ASUS Eee PC since November 2007 and wrote a few articles about it that can be found here. I originally bought it to try it out and see what all the fuss was about, but quickly became attached to its ultra portability and usablity.

Zoho Sheet – Video Tip

Rick — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:19:07 +0000

Last week, I gave you a short video tour of Zoho.com's Writer word processing application. This week the tour continues with the Sheet program (spreadsheet) from Zoho. Like the word processor program, Sheet offers all of the features that 90% of spreadsheet users need or use, including:

Mulitple sheets (workbooks)
Charting
Advanced calculations
Auto formatting
Link external data
Online collaboration
and much more.

Watch the short video below to see how far online applications from Zoho.com can take you.

iPhone Web Applications

Rick — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 20:36:52 +0000

I setup my third iPhone today. I like them (especially now that they are $200 cheaper), but I still prefer the Treo. The web experience on an iPhone is superior to any phone I've used to date and some useful and fun web based applications are starting to develop specifically for iPhone users. This site links up their Top 25 iPhone Web Applications.

Future Windows Prediction

Rick — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 18:24:29 +0000

By now it is no secret that I have a unique super power. I can see the future of technology. Too many cell phone radio waves to my brain have caused me to have premonitions about the future of technology.

Two days ago, I was carried away in vision and I saw the future of Microsoft.

Microsoft knows they shot themselves in the foot with Vista. They knew before it was released that they would have to create a demand for it since it was replacing a superior product.

Now even the government is looking into getting away from Microsoft products. Linux seems to be the most popular option. This is where the prediction comes in.

Web Appliances revisited

Rick — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 18:54:39 +0000

I wrote a number of months ago about the need for a new web appliance. A web appliance is a device that only accesses the Internet. Web TV (now MSN TV) is the only device that sort of falls in this category. What I envision (and wish I had the knowledge to build) is a flat screen monitor with built-in speakers and a cordless bluetooth connection to talk to a mouse, keyboard, and a printer. It would also have a card reader to interact with a digital camera and a wireless and/or Ethernet port for high speed Internet access.

It would not have a hard drive or anyway to load applications. All programs and document storage would be online ala Google Docs and Gmail. The vast majority of clients I work with do only three or four things: Internet, email, games, and maybe some word processing and/or digital photography. All of this (and more) can be currently accomplished online thus circumventing the need for anything but an Internet connection. Also, this type of user would benefit greatly by not needing to worry about backup and where their documents are when they need them. It would take away the need for the user to learn and understand file management (which is sorely missing for most computer users).

Free alternatives to Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and more…

Rick — Fri, 26 May 2006 20:32:13 +0000

I was asked today to make a choice between Adobe Illustrator (high end art illustration program for creating custom graphics) and its competitor Corel Draw. Both are great programs and in the hands of a 'digital artist' they produce excellent results for logos, advertising layout, custom clip-art, etc. The problem is that you do need to be quite experienced in the programs to get the most out of them and they cost between $400-500.

Fortunately, there are many talented programs around the globe who work on free software that anyone can download use. This type of software is called "Open Source". A large movement (I guess we call it that) has been in place since almost the beginning of computers that wants to keep powerful software free and available to anyone. Much of the software is quite good and here is a link to a site that I found which offers free alternatives to Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Flash, Microsoft FrontPage and more.