Has the web page you’re looking at changed? Instead of hitting the Refresh button, hit F5. It’s much faster.
Archive for August, 2010
Internet Tip: Refresh Quickly
Sunday, August 15th, 2010Windows Tip: Sort Your Programs
Saturday, August 14th, 2010If your program list is getting unwieldy, right click anywhere in it and choose “Sort by name.” While it won’t shrink, it will at least be in alphabetical order. This trick also works in your Internet Explorer Favorites.
Online Diversion: Puck’s Peak
Friday, August 13th, 2010
Remember playing with blocks as a kid? You would work and work to build a tall tower, only to have it topple over or be knocked over by a little brother! Puck’s Peak gives you the same challenge without the annoying siblings.
Using the shapes provided, your goal is to build a tower to a certain height. This game requires careful placement and a steady mouse, but is loads of fun. And the entertaining animations make it all the more fun. So, the next time you get a little break, minimize your spreadsheet and play with some online blocks. Enjoy!
Site of the Week: Board 800
Thursday, August 12th, 2010You gotta love whiteboards. You can easily sketch out any idea in your head to the whole group. But what if the group is not in the same room? Well, get them all on the Internet and head to my site of the night, Board800.
It looks and works just like a real whiteboard. You can draw, throw up external pictures. It’s perfect for that last minute collaboration and it definitely makes those boring teleconferences a lot more interesting. So, put down those dry erase markers, pick up your mouse, and head to board800.com.
Your Phone as a Scanner
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
I just love old James Bond movies. He had all the gadgets. How many times did he find some document and then photograph it with his watch or pen so he could look at it later?
Well, now you can do the same thing. Using your iPhone, Android, Blackberry, or Nokia phone, and a little app from scanr.com, you can photograph a document and have it turned into a high quality PDF on your desktop.
You can even have it faxed to any number in the U.S. But the best part is the OCR capabilities. OCR stands for optical character recognition.
Basically, that means the computer can “understand” the text it is seeing and provide it to you in a way that makes it easy to edit. No more retyping!
I’ve used this service for a while and am quite pleased with the results, even with my 2nd generation iPhone.
Google, Verizon, and Net Neutrality
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
A friend of mine suggested I discuss the issues surrounding some recent moves by the huge Internet companies, specifically Google and Verizon. I was hesitant at first, because this subject can get very boring very quickly.
However, the principle involved, Net Neutrality, is such a key pillar of the Internet, the subject bears explaining. Here’s an easy video that will get you up to speed.
Google and Verizon have been working behind closed doors on an Internet traffic agreement.
Keep in mind that Verizon is a big ISP (Internet Service Provider) and Google is a big Content Provider. While no one knows exactly what was discussed, the rumor mills on the Internet have gone full-speed.
Some people worry that Google may give Verizon users FASTER access to its content if Verizon pays Google something. Faster access can typically only work by SLOWING everyone else BUT Verizon customers down. And that’s the rub.
But this scenario can be reversed: Let’s say my ISP cuts a monetary deal with Yahoo so that the only search engine I can access is Yahoo. In return, Yahoo pays something to my ISP.
Google and Verizon are quickly distancing themselves on this issue and claiming 100% support for Net Neutrality, but we’ll see…
How to Find a Lost Cell Phone
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
It’s happened to everyone. You lost your cell phone. Where is it? Well, what most people do is borrow someone else’s phone and start calling it, listening for the ringing.
But what if you set it to silent? This happened to me recently. I could not find that thing anywhere and I couldn’t hear it quietly vibrating. So, I came up with an idea:
I wore my wireless Bluetooth headset. I would go into each room of my house and press the headset button. When I finally heard the little “connection” beep, I knew the phone had to be within about 30 feet of where I was standing.
Then, I turned out all the lights, and called the phone. When it lit up with the call, I found it! But it sure would have been easier if the phone had some sort of “vibrate but ring really loud if I am lost” setting.
Maybe I’ll email Steve Jobs about that. Some websites, like Where’s My Cell Phone and Blue Retriever might also be able to help if you lose it frequently.
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Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
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Google vs Bing
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
If I were to ask you which search engine you used, chances are, the answer would be “Google.” Yahoo would come in second and Bing would place third.
However, I am noticing some interesting trends occurring. When search engines were put side-by-side and people were asked which search engine “looked” the best, the answer was clearly Bing.
If you’ve never been to Bing, check it out. Every day, the background is an incredible photo. If you mouse-over the photo, you will discover secret “links” to interesting information about the subject in the picture.
While the search results in Bing are still less relevant than Google, I’ve found myself drawn to the Bing site daily just to see the new photo.
A few months ago, Google noticed this same behaviour. More and more people were checking out Bing. So…..one day, Google changed its background to a pretty photo. They received so many complaints from users, it was immediately removed.
However, next time you go to Google, and mouse-over the page, notice the little link that shows up in the bottom left corner. If you have a Gmail account, you can choose a pretty background for all of your Google searches!
Microsoft Excel: Use a Highlighter
Monday, August 2nd, 2010Use the “Fill Color” button (paint bucket) to quickly focus your reader’s attention on important numbers in your worksheet. In a sea of numbers, this trick quickly makes your point!
