Got a large stack of unmanageable windows? Right-click on a blank area of your taskbar. Look at the options starting with “Cascade”. This technique is much faster than resizing the windows by hand.
Archive for July, 2010
Windows Tip: Arranging
Saturday, July 31st, 2010Online Diversion: Tumble Bees
Friday, July 30th, 2010
Are you a good speller? Find out at Tumble Bees. It’s a cross between Tetris and a Spelling Bee. Create words by clicking on any connecting tiles. The bigger the words, the more points you get. Special colored tiles give you more points. But be quick about it. If the board fills with tiles, the game is over. The host of the game, Pogo, suggests you create an account to play, but I just hit the “Play as a Guest” option to jump right in.
How to Test Your Internet Speed
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
Is your Internet speed slow? Are you getting the speed promised by your provider? Well, there are ways to find out, but they are not foolproof. Before I started my company, I worked for an Internet Service Provider. We got calls all the time from people claiming their “Internet was slow.”
So many factors can contribute to a slow Internet connection, so do not immediately blame your ISP. First, how old is your computer? Believe it or not, your computer may not be able to handle a high speed connection well. If your computer is over four years old, the weak link in the speed equation may be on your desk.
Second, if you have more than one computer hooked to your Internet connection (also called a network), the other computers may be hogging all of the bandwidth (amount of information that may flow between you and the Internet).
Finally, run a few tests. I recommend testing your speed at SpeedTest.net and DSL Reports. You will be measuring two things: upload speed and download speed. Typically, your download speed will be much higher. Write those numbers down and call your ISP. Find out if that is close to what they promised you. If not, there may be a problem and they can help you figure it out.
Microsoft Excel Tip: Increasing the MRU
Monday, July 26th, 2010By default, Excel only shows the last four “most recently used” workbooks under the “File” menu. Increase that to nine by pulling down the “Tools” menu, choosing “Options,” hitting the “General” tab, and then increasing the value. Big time-saver!
Site of the Week: eCampus
Monday, July 26th, 2010It won’t be long before you college students go back to school. Buying textbooks can be very expensive, but not if you head to my site of the week, eCampus. Here, you can buy, sell, or even rent textbooks. The interface is dead simple. Just enter the name, author, or even a keyword to see what books are available. I wish this service had existed when I was at college. Heck, I wish the Internet existed then. Anyway, to save a bunch of money on textbooks, head to ecampus.com.
Free Anti-Virus – My Recommendations
Monday, July 26th, 2010Everyone knows they need an Antivirus program. But which one is best? And are any of them free? Let’s break this down. First, you MUST have an antivirus program on your system, free or not. Some of the best for-pay products are Symantec, Trend Micro, and McAfee, and AVG. But what if you don’t have a lot of money to burn. My favorite free antivirus program is, believe it or not, made by Microsoft. Security Essentials does one of the best jobs I’ve seen and doesn’t eat up your computer’s processing power. It ranks well in the industry tests which pit antivirus programs against each other. Once you install it, there’s nothing you need to do. It scans all by itself. It updates itself when it needs to. And best of all, it puts a little cute green house in your system tray. What more could you ask for?
Microsoft Word Tip: Quick Org Chart
Sunday, July 25th, 2010Need to create an organizational or genealogy chart? Pull down the “Insert” menu, choose “Picture” and then “Organizational Chart.” in Word 2007, pull down the “Insert” menu and choose “Smart Art.” It’s one of those little hidden gems in Word!
Internet Tip: Quick Security Check
Saturday, July 24th, 2010For a quick virus check (especially when you don’t have an antivirus program loaded), go to Symantec Security Check site. It’s great in a pinch.
Windows Tip: Unclutter Your Icons
Friday, July 23rd, 2010If your icons appear “cluttered,” right click on your desktop or within a window and choose “Arrange Icons.” If you click the “Auto Arrange” option, you’ll never have to worry about them being out of line with each other!
Online Diversion: Monopoly World
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
Sometimes the classics are still the best. Take, for instance Monopoly World. While there is no such thing as a “quick” game of Monopoly, there is no easier site to play it on than Pogo. You can be in the game in seconds. The 3D board is easy to see and all of the animations make it seem like a real game. Best of all, you don’t need any extra players to start a game. So, take a break from that spreadsheet, grab your mouse, and start your journey to Boardwalk!
