Archives for Computer Help

Solving the Cloud Mystery for Small Businesses

cloud1 What "cloud" really means is using Internet services for file sharing, email, document sharing, etc.  Rather than storing files on your local network, the files get stored back up on the remote server.  The remote server is maintained by the cloud services company.   Email has been used this way for years: you purchase email hosting on a monthly basis and never think about the server housing its contents.  All of that server side storage is done remotely through an Internet connection. Cloud services are generally cheaper and the costs to implement and maintain are much lower than housing your own internal server.

 

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Category: Computer Help, Geek Speak, Intermediate       Tags: , , , ,

Switch to the New Gmail Look

Google announced an upgrade to its current Gmail interface.  Users may preview the new interface by selecting “Switch to the new look” from their Gmail homepage.  The design is a stripped down version of Gmail, as Google is famous for their simple GUIs. The new design doesn’t offer any new features, just a new layout.

Before

After

New Customizations

You can customize how the email fits to your screen.  Choose cozy, comfortable or compact options.

New Themes

The new Gmail look also comes with new themes. You can access the new color options by clicking on the Gears icon, then Themes.

Chat Window

You can now modify the size of your chat window.

Better Search

The search box has been enhanced to include more filters.  You can now search throughout your email and conversations with more granular options.

Revert Back

If you aren’t ready to use the new look, you can revert back to your old Gmail look temporarily.  Click on the Gears icon, then choose Revert to old look temporarily.  Eventually, Gmail will make the switch for you.

Category: Basic, Computer Help       Tags: , , ,

Shake Your Desktop

windows7 Do you run multiple programs simultaneously on Windows 7?  If so, you’ve probably noticed how cluttered your desktop can get.  In Windows XP, to minimize every window on the screen, the quick launch menu had a nice little button called “Show Desktop.”  This instantly minimized every window.  With Windows 7, this is much more fun!

Windows 7’s Aero Shake feature allows you to minimize every window except the one in which you’re currently working in a single step. 

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Category: Computer Help, Intermediate       Tags: , , ,

How to Add Email Accounts to Your Gmail Email

imageGoogle’s email service, Gmail, offers chat, calendar sharing, and a hefty inbox.  All of this is free!  Another great feature of Gmail is the ability to manage multiple email addresses under one account.  You can add all of your email addresses to your Gmail account and reduce the number of places you log into down to one.  It even gives you he ability to respond to an email from one designated account, or make it dependent upon which email address  the email was sent to. 

Here’s how:

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Category: Computer Help, Geek Speak, Intermediate       Tags: ,

Ask a Geeky Mom

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How is your computer running these days?  Are you wondering what kind of laptop to buy?  Is your husband filling the computer with viruses again?  Click here to send Geeky Moms your question and we’ll give you some free tech advice.

Category: Computer Help       Tags: , , , ,

CleanUp!

 

One of the best ways to keep your computer system running efficiently is to clear temporary files and delete Internet browsing cache.  In the past, this was a manual process.  With Windows CleanUp!, you can do this in a flash!

My geeky friends and I have been using this program for years.  A lot of programs on the Internet promise to help your system and never deliver.  CleanUp! actually does what it says it will do.

Here’s How To Get It

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Category: Computer Help, Geek Speak, Intermediate       Tags: , , , , ,

Internet and Email Safety

image With the use of computers and the internet comes certain threats. If you are going to be active on the internet or in email or even if you will be only somewhat active when accessing email and the internet you should take steps to protect yourself. Two of the biggest threats right now are Virus’s and Identity/Account Theft. Below are a few simple steps you can take to protect yourself.

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Category: Basic, Computer Help, Parenting, Social Networks       Tags: , , ,

Exposed – Purpose of a Recycle Bin

image Recycle Bin = Trash can

Let’s say you have a banana peel and you take your banana peel and walk it over to your garbage can and drop it in. In 15 days are you going to walk back over to the garbage can and pick up your banana peel? I’m guessing the answer is NO. Okay, so I’m truly HOPING the answer is no, because that would be really disturbing. Many, many, many, computer users do those same steps with their recycle bin. Granted not with banana peels but you get the point.

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Category: Basic, Computer Help       

Desktop Fun: General Desktop Icon Packs

Sometimes you need something a little more general in nature for your desktop and dock icons. If this sounds like you then have a look through our General Desktop Icon Packs collection.

Note: To customize the icon setup on your Windows 7 & Vista systems see our article here. Using Windows XP? We have you covered here

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Category: Computer Help, Fun       Tags: , , ,

How to Rip a DVD to your Hard Drive and Play it on your PC

Are you looking to for a way to play your media DVDs without rifling through your collection and swapping discs? Today we’ll take a look at ripping a DVD to your hard drive and playing it with some popular media players.

To rip our DVD we’ll use HD Decrypter which is the always free module of the DVDFab software suite. HD Decrypter will remove the copy protection from your DVD, and copy the contents of the DVD to your hard drive.

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Category: Computer Help, Intermediate       Tags: , , ,
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