In this month’s group, we talked about and demonstrated how to set up a web page that can be personalized. I like to use a customized web page (portal) as my home page (first page that shows up when I start my browser). We looked at the Yahoo portal (My Yahoo) and the newer Google customized home page.
Both services require that you register and setup a user name and password. Once you register, you can customize your page to include weather information, stock portfolios, sports news and scores, news from industries or topics that you choose, comics, and even content from other web pages. Both services are free and give you the flexibility to add, subtract and edit any type of data that you choose.
This week’s tip focuses on skills that new Macintosh users will need to know in order to feel comfortable with their new Apple Computer.
In this video tip, I give new Mac users some important information about how to use the Macintosh HD (hard drive)icon, the Dock (which launches programs and documents), and a primmer on how application and folder windows differ from those in the Windows environment.
As with any operating system, there are multiple ways to accomplish the same task, none of which are wrong. Enjoy the tip if you are a new Mac user or pass it along to a new Mac user!
Since I bought my first computer, I have been borderline obsessed with voice recognition, using your voice to input text instead of the keyboard. With the release of the newest version of the Apple operating system for their computers, dubbed Mountain Lion or Mac OSX 10.8 (and later), that function is now a standard feature of the system. It does… Read More »Enable dictation for FREE with new Apple OSX Mountain Lion and later – Video Tip
When you buy a new computer, the Internet browser comes pre-configured with a home page (first web site you see when you start your web browser). For PC’s, it is usually MSN. For Mac’s it is Apple.com. If you download Firefox (which everyone should be using), its default home page is a Firefox branded Google page. Sometimes your Internet provider’s web site takes over as your home page if you run one of their setup disks.
Through all of this, you had no say so as to what your home page is. Fortunately, it is a simple procedure to change the home page to anything you want. Here’s how to change it no matter what web browser you use (except Internet Explorer 7):
Pull up the web site you want to see first when you start Internet sessions
Click and drag the little icon next to the address of that site to the Home icon (looks like little house)
Click Yes on the confirmation dialog box asking if you really want to change your home page
That’s it. Now if you are one of the many unfortunate souls who is using Windows Vista, watch how “elegant, quick and streamlined” Microsoft has made this process with Internet Explorer 7:
Pull up the web site you want to see first
Click the drop down arrow next to the Home icon…no not the one at the end of the toolbar, the one righ next to the Home icon
Click Add or Change Home Page
Read and decide whether you want to “use this page as your only home page” or “Add this web page to your home page tabs” (a question which will befuddle many computer users)
Click the option of the answer you chose
Click Yes
See, that’s DOUBLE the intuitive steps that we have used for more than 10 years and all other browsers use! That’s Microsoft progress! That’s Vista! But Vista sure is purdy.
To see these steps in action, watch the video below:
If you use Microsoft Word to create any kind of document that includes pictures, wrapping text around a picture can be frustrating. Today's tip will give you some easy to follow steps that will have you wrapping text like a pro. A bonus of using this tip is that you can also move your pictures around your document to almost any position.
As is my cardinal rule of word processing, type all your text in first then add pictures after your text is finished. To insert a photo or other image into Word:
Position the cursor where you want the picture to appear
Click Insert –> Picture –> From File (note that you can also scan pictures directly in at this point also)
In Part I of my "Creating Tables" tip, I discussed what a table was, how to create them, and some basics on how to customize them. In Part II of the tip, I discuss how to use reverse text, cell coloring, sorting, formulas and create a form all with tables. The video takes a few minutes to load (may be too slow for dial-up), but the wait is worth the knowledge.
Since many of us in the post-35 year old set learned how to type and create documents with a typewriter, we tend to try and use computer word processors like a typewriter. The two technologies couldn’t be further apart from each other and other than touch typing, we need to throw out almost all our knowledge of document creation from those days.Read More »Creating Tables in Microsoft Word – Part I – Video Tip
These techniques should be standard tools for any computer user. However, many computer users find these techniques elusive.
The ability to move (cut) or copy information from one computer program to another sets you free to do so much more with your computer. Cut, Copy and Paste function by temporarily storing the information, cut or copied, into a temporary holding spot of memory known as the clipboard (Click here for the Webopedia definition).
The information held in the clipboard stays there and is available to Paste until either the computer is restarted or another item is cut or copied. Make special note of this fact when using the "Cut" command, because if you cut or copy another item before pasting the first item, the first one is lost.
Before choosing Cut or Copy, the computer needs to know what you want to cut or copy. This is done by using the mouse to
Although we now have 19″ and larger monitors on most new desktop computers, the text seems to shrink. Why is that? It has to do with screen resolution (how much information can be displayed). Screen resolutions on today’s monitors are up to 3X that of monitors we used just 6-8 years ago. We can see a lot more information, but often the text is too small to view for some computer users.
Never fear. Using this week’s tip, you can easily and quickly enlarge the text of any web page using only your keyboard and mouse. This tip will work with any web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, etc) and any operating system (Windows, Ubuntu, Mac OS X).
All you need is a mouse with a scroll wheel and your keyboard. This tip can be performed without the mouse as well, but I’ll touch on that later. First, when you are reading a web site, particularly news web sites and blog type sites like mine, look for an indication of a printer friendly page. Often designated as Printer Friendly, Print this article, or simply Print, clicking this link brings up a version of the article you are reading that is much less busy and cleaner than how the article presents on the web page itself. This alone may make enough difference for readability.
However, you can quickly increase the size of the text you are reading by holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and spinning your mouse scroll wheel away from your body (towards the computer monitor). Amazing, no? Holding down the Ctrl key and spinning towards your body (away from the monitor) will shrink the text again.
The same result can be achieved by holding down the Ctrl key and pressing the “+” or “-” keys as well. I think the mouse method is a little more intuitive and elegant.
Watch the short video below to see this tip in action and see the web as never before!
I know I’m late for this year’s Christmas season, but you can learn and start using this tip TODAY to make next year’s Christmas card mailings a breeze.
Too many computer users have no idea what a database is, how to use it, and how to merge it with another program to create labels. Since printing mailing labels is only a once per year activity for many of you, learning how to do it again every single year requires too much time and frustration.
In this month’s group, we talked about and demonstrated how to set up a web page that can be personalized. I like to use a customized web page (portal) as my home page (first page that shows up when I start my browser). We looked at the Yahoo portal (My Yahoo) and the newer Google customized home page.
