Picasa , from Google, has matured into a phenomenal digital photo manager. Not only is it easy to use and contains tons of great features, but it is also free to use. In the upcoming week, we will present you with a series of video tips explaining how to get the most out of Picasa.
This video may take a few minutes to get started (even on a broadband connection), but be patient, and you will be happy you have seen the video.
We have a few program specific tips on our website about how to send email attachments. Each step is broken down step-by-step.
I am writing this more as a general guide for emailing attachments. I have seen a few mistakes lately that have caused problems for first-time attachment senders. Here are a few tips to help you avoid problems.
1. If you are emailing photos and you use Outlook, Outlook Express or gmail, download and install Picasa – selecting, resizing and sending photos is a one step process.
2. Don't ever scan a document as "text" when scanning. Sometimes this will open the scanner software's OCR feature which converts it to a text document rather than an image. This sounds good, but it will cost you a lot more time and it probably will just frustrate you.
We have had a number of our listeners and folks who attend our various seminars ask us about our trip to CES this year. Until recently we were kind of up in the air as to whether we were going.
Well, I am happy to say that it's official that I am going. Rick will be staying home to take care of his goats and run the user group meeting in January, but I will be taking Andy, my brother and a writer for the show, with me to work the show.
As we have done in past years, expect daily blogs updates and we may even attempt some video this year if we can get it all working smoothly.
OK, I'm letting the cat out of the bag: web based porn is NOT magic. I always smile inside when I here people tell me that porn ads or images suddenly appeared on their computer. In more than 12 years of browsing and researching on the web (and I have put in a few hours), I can tell you that porn has never suddenly appeared out of thin air. I can also honestly say that I have never 'run into' porn by searching the web. Is it because I have some great anti-porn software on my computer? No. Is it because I have been lucky? No.
The reason why it has never suddenly appeared on my computer, my wife's computer or my kid's computer in almost 15 years of online browsing is that porn originates from only three possible places:
Many new computers over the past few years come with a minimum of six USB ports (four in the back and two up front). With cameras, scanners, printers, MP3 players, external hard drives, mice, keyboards and more, what seemed like a lot of ports quickly dwindles. You could add an external USB hub that plugs into one of your ports then gives you four more, for a net gain of three. Hubs can be found for about $20-30. More often, however, I'm recommending people spend less than $10 and get a PCI USB expansion card that gives you a net gain of four or more USB ports.
There are so many MP3 players on the market that they now all look the same. The iPod, the Sansa, the Zune, the Zen, there really is no difference. Sure one may be a little more popular and another may be more compatible with non-proprietary formats and software, but in the end they all have the same set of features.
Pretty much every manufacturer, except for the iPod, features a built-in FM radio. The built-in radio is the iPod's right mouse button. For almost 20 years consumers tried to tell Apple that they needed to have two buttons on the mouse. Apple spent 20 years trying to convince the consumer that as long as you didn't mind using both of your hands in keyboard combinations you really didn't need two buttons on a mouse. Almost two years ago Apple gave in and started supporting the two button mouse.
Actually, Microsoft designed the new browser that way so that there is more room for browsing. However, if you want the menu bar (the one with File, Edit, View, Favorites, etc) back, follow these steps:
That will do it. You can't move the menu bar above the new address bar, but at least it will be visible and usable from now forward. For those of you who just want quick access to the menu bar, but don't mind that it is missing, remember the Alt key trick to get the menu bar to appear when you need it.
If I had a nickel for every time someone tells me, "Gee, I didn't know you still ran your computer help business. Since you syndicated your show, I thought you quit doing your business."
The truth: Adam and I don't get paid a single dime to do our show. We are in about 11 medium size radio markets and none of those are live for the entire three hours. In order to make money from a radio gig, we need to have a minimum of 75 radio stations with at least five being large market stations.
We hope to make 2007 a big year for the show, but in order to feed and clothe our families, we continue doing what we love to do and that's provide the best computer help and training that can be found anywhere on the planet for half the price of what the flashy computer geeks charge.
Three of my clients today were digital beginners. Each of these three clients apologized for being "stupid." They explained that computers are new to them and they aren't smart enough to learn.
As a teacher and computer guy, I kind of get tired of hearing this. Keep in mind that this comes from a guy who had, "potential for higher achievement," on almost every report card he ever received.
It wasn't until I started teaching that I realized how much of a barrier our own attitude truly makes in how well we learn. I have clients who are 86 who are teaching their kids how to send email attachments. Then again, I have 45-year-old clients who tell me that they are too old to learn this stuff.
Remove FlowGo and PerfectNav with this tool from Symantec.