Digital Simple » Tuesday: Press Here

Unsubscribe

Sherman — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:28:45 +0000

Coming back from vacation means my email box will be overly full. Besides the messages I have to attend to there are a pile of daily and weekly newsletters I get. I usually just go through and delete them, but they keep coming back so I’ve decided to remove myself from the mailing lists.

Remove link on an email message

Any reputable email provider will give you an option to unsubscribe from their mailer with a simple link on the bottom of each message. It only takes a second more then just deleting a message; well worth the time for messages you don’t read anymore.

Open newer Word documents

Sherman — Mon, 17 May 2010 21:27:27 +0000

I get a lot of Microsoft Word documents as email attachments. Recently I’ve started getting a lot of them as DOCX files. That’s the newest version of Microsoft Word and if you have an older version of Microsoft Office you can’t open them without help. Here’s how to solve that.

You’ll need to download the Office Compatibility Pack for Office XP and 2003. You can do that by clicking here then choosing “download” from the page provided.

You can get to the mac download directly by clicking here. Once you download the software you’ll need to run the installer.

Once you install one of these you should be able to open DOCX files without any hassle.

Free WiFi for Travellers

Sherman — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 05:22:42 +0000

If your Christmas plans include airplane travel you may be able to get some free internet to pass the time.

Gizmodo.com is reporting that these codes should get you one free sign-in per email address

• Delta: DELTATRYGOGO
• AirTran: AIRTRANTRYGOGO
• American Airlines: AATRYGOGO

If you’re flying Virgin Airlines, Google is picking up the Wifi tab without needing a code. And speaking of Google; while you’re waiting in the terminal take advantage of Google’s Christmas Present – Free Wifi at over 50 airports across the country.

Take some of the boring out of airline travel this holiday with free Internet!

P.S. Drop me a line while your in the air, if only because it’s amazing that you can!

Update your computer

Sherman — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:03:52 +0000

I know a lot of people who use their computers all the time but don’t know a lot about them. I assume that describes a lot of computer users out there, and it’s O.K: Computer user doesn’t (and shouldn’t) mean computer knower-of-everything. That’s why I’m here.

One thing I ask people to do often (before I try to help with most problems) is make sure they have the latest updates installed. Sounds simple; both Mac and Windows let you know when there are new updates. But if you missed them or didn’t install them when they showed up you may be a little behind in the update department – I worked on a computer this summer that was almost two years behind. It happens.

Staying updated is the best way to keep your computer running smoothly. here’s how:

Click on the apple icon () in the upper left-hand corner of your screen and choose “Software Updates” from the drop-down list. If there are available updates they’ll be displayed. Click “Install” to update your Mac

Click “Start” in the lower left-hand corner and choose “All Programs”. At the top of the list you should see “Windows Update”. Choosing this will open Internet Explorer and take you to the Windows Update site. Once that window opens you should be able to choose “Express Install” to get everything your computer needs.

Staying current with you Mac or Windows system won’t solve every issue you may have, but it’s a great place to start.

Wherever you may roam

Sherman — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:59:11 +0000

It’s hard for me to believe there are still places that don’t have wireless access but there are. Some hotels only offer free wired internet; my mom has broadband but it’s wired-only as well. The solution: Bring my own wireless.

The Apple Airport Express isn’t much larger than a stack of note cards but it’s a fully functioning portable wireless access point; a FAST one. And it works with PC or Mac. If you travel a lot, or just wanna make sure you have wireless wherever you may roam (…) you outta get one.

Configure it at home, throw it in the laptop bag, connect it at your destination. You’re all set.

Don’t forget a network cable! Bad news to have a wireless router and no way to connect it.

Show the desktop

Sherman — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:20:26 +0000

Yesterday I talked about using my desktop to hold files I need right now. It’s a great way to keep everything available, but I have a LOT of applications open. Moving everything out of the way could be a pain. Luckily there are keyboard shortcuts to help out.

On the PC you can use the Windows+D to minimize everything that’s open. You’ll get a clear view of everything on your desktop and all your open programs will be lined up along the bottom of your screen in the “Taskbar”. Hit Windows+D again to get everything back the way it was or click on one of your applications on the bottom of the screen to jump directly to that one.

Hit the F11 key on the Mac to move all your programs off to the sides of the screen. Hit F11 or click on one of your application on the side to get them back the way they were,

Windows+D / F11 offer a simple way to get that next file from your favorite new workspace!

Zip your files to pass them on

Sherman — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:52:27 +0000

If you need to send a bunch of files – whether over email or drop.io (for big big files) – it’s easiest to archive them: put a bunch of files into one “ZIP” file. Both windows and mac can help you do this.

On your PC, select all the files you want to “zip” (archive) and click on them with your right mouse button. Choose “Send To” then “Compressed (zipped) folder”. This will create an archive next to all the files you’ve selected. You can attach that to an email or drop it off at drop.io to send it on.

“Zipping” files on the mac is just as simple: Select the files you want and choose “Compress (n) Items” with your right mouse button (or from the File menu if you use a one-button mouse). This will create a file called “Archive.zip” that you can pass along.

“Zipping” is a simple way to pack a lot of files into an easy to move archive. Give it a shot!

Facebook, quickly

Sherman — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:21:27 +0000

Tuesday is normally about a feature; something that will make your digital life simpler. Today it’s Facebook… Lite

If you use Facebook but don’t want to deal with all the Mafia Wars, Quizzes, Likenesses and what-nots; try Facebook Lite.

Simple; Brilliant.

Slow start

Sherman — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:57:01 +0000

Back from a long weekend and I’m rested and ready to go, except my computer seems slower than it should. There’s a simple answer: It was off all weekend so it has some routines it needs to do; check for upgrades, defragment, whatever.

I’d rather save the electricity with my computer off during the weekend, but I make sure I turn it on as soon as I can after a weekend so it can do it’s thing and I can have a cup of coffee.

After a few minutes we’re both ready to get started!

Welcome to the work week!

Space Bar bliss

Sherman — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:45:40 +0000

I don’t like to scroll while I read web pages, it’s too disorienting. Instead, when I get to the bottom of the screen I hit the spacebar to move down the page. Each tap does a quick scroll of the screen so that what was on the bottom of the screen becomes the top. It’s a simple way to read a long article on a web page without having to scroll all the time.

Wanna move back up the page? Just hit Shift+Spacebar (shift key and the spacebar) to move up a page the same way… backwards!