Friday, April 24, 2015

Class Summary 4-23-2015


I shared about a number of websites I found and talked about their offerings. Here is a short list of them for you to link to.

https://www.jolicloud.com/ Is a cloud app that allows you to manage all your free cloud storage. You get to see all of it in one place and move file to and from like it was a big flash drive.

https://get2.adobe.com/reader/otherversions/ New name for Adobe Reader. Now called Adobe Acrobat Reader and it does more than just display a PDF. You now can annotate the file and more. It will come down from Ninite.com next time you run it. Or you will get it the next time you allow the reader to update.

http://www.html.am/html-editors/online-html-editor.cfm This is for the experimentor in you. It is an online HTML generator. You create the “page” in WYSIWYG mode and switch to the HTML source code view to see the program codes. You can use this to edit pages from an existing website or a blog or any other place HTML is used.
TechSmith Snagit (Extension) for Chrome. Snagit has been around for a while as a pay for program in WIndows. It allows you to “snag” a portion of the screen or capture it much liked Greenshot does. This does not run in your machine but is attached to Google Chrome as an extension and is free. Not only can you capture screen images, it lets you annotate them with words and arrows and other symbols. And it will capture videos as they play on your computer. 

http://ipiccy.com/ free online “photoshop”. No it is not a total photoshop clone, but it has a good number of similar features. I nice cloud app to clean up your images. There is even a button to remove wrinkles!

qr_code_without_logo.jpg

http://www.qr-code-generator.com/  make QR codes. That is the above style code. (If you read that one you will find it contains the URL to the class blog.) We find these codes on the bottom of most register receipts and even on many of the product packaging at the store. They can contain hundreds of pieces of data. YOu can download a QR code reader on your Android or iPhone smartphone.

http://www.onlineocr.net/  convert pdf to docx and more. I use this one to convert PDF documents to Word (and other formats). Good when you receive a PDF and want to modify it. This is free and all done online. Or you have a printed copy and need to make some changes. Scan it with your scanner, even a scanner on your cell phone, and have it generate a PDF. Upload that to onlineocr and BAM you get back an editable Word document.

http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html  Revo Uninstaller Free can be found on Ninite.com. The uninstaller that comes with Windows does not always remove all traces of the program. This one does a better job of it according to our tech experts.

Was asked about converting VHS tapes to DVD format. Did some searching online and found that Walgreens will do it for a fee. Unknown at this time, but that would be a simple solution. And we found this one on Amazon.

One of our class members is using this one and says it works great. It is a box that you plug the output (RCA connections) of your VHS to. Another connection from the box goes to a USB connection on your PC. Click the image to go to the page on Amazon.

Have you ever lost an icon on the desktop that used to open a program? Open File Explorer (Win+E) and browse the Program folder on drive C: to locate the program’s folder. Then look in that folder for the executable file. To be sure you have the right file, double-click it to see if it properly opens. Once you have determined it does, right-drag the file to your desktop. When you drop it there you will have a menu with an option to create a shortcut.

Had another question about accessing files in the backup archive of EaseUS. Just mount your external drive and browse over to the archive. Double-click it and it should open a window showing the “drives” you created the image of. Double-click the drive you want to see and a tree view of all the folders will appear. Drill down and locate any folder or file. You can then open a file directly or even copy it to another location on your computer.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Class Summary 4-16-2015

Class began with a question about Facebook messaging. PM or private messaging is the way to chat privately with anyone who is on Facebook.  They do not have to be a friend to you. To send a message open their page and near the top appearing over the right bottom of the banner you should find a Message button. If you do not see one then they have removed that function and cannot send them aesthetic.

Another way to get to Messenger is the icon on the top row. It looks like two rectangles, one over the other. Click it and the messenger window pops up. Type on the facebook name and type your message. When finished press Enter and the message is sent.

You can also add pictures and emoticons to your message by clicking the icons on the bottom of the message window. The pictures have to be on your computer. You can't copy paste. The emoticons are groups of free cartoons like smiley faces. You can also include web addresses in your message with the http:// and a link will be included.

Finished the series on Basic Computing we started a few months ago. This week was about Using Flash Drives and Backing to a CD, Flash Drive, or in the Cloud. Good discussion. I suggested using Mozy and letting it keep your data automatically saved in the cloud. I do not use it for my pictures or video files. They take up too much room and I have them in my monthly images anyway. This keeps me under the maximum space allowed with the free account.

Backup in the Cloud; use code GFBU22 http://www.mozy.com/free

Please use the above code. It gives you an extra 250mb free space and f the same for me. Thanks.

Had a question about how to print from a Web page. Ctrl+P prints the entire page including all the pictures and ads. If the page has its own Print button, it will probably be your best bet. Otherwise, select the piece you want to print and then Ctrl+P and print selection.

If you want to put the information into a Word document instead of Ctrl+P just right-click in the selected area and choose Copy. Then go to your Word window and right-click paste. When you paste you will get all the pictures and links. Click the smart tag at the bottom of the pasted data in the Word document and select Text Only and all not text material goes away. You can also use an intermediary program like Notepad to paste into first and then copy paste from there to Word or any other place you want the data.

Back to Facebook with a How To post pictures. What you cannot do is copy and paste pictures to Facebook.  They must reside on your computer. If they come in on an email you have to download them to your computer first.Then start a Post and type whatever you want to say about the picture. Click Photo / Video at the top of the Post section and browse to where you saved the picture. This places the picture in the post and in your picture folder on Facebook. You can also include a picture in a PM (private message) by clicking the icon of a camera at the bottom of the message window and browsing to the picture you want to include.

When emailing a picture, click the icon of a paperclip and browse to the picture you want includes. You may select more than one image at a time by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking to select.

We probably covered a lot more, but this is all that comes to mind.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Warning about YAC

Went to install YAC on a machine yesterday after I had installed and run Malware Bytes. MB would not allow the install of YAC claiming it contained malware. Did some checking on the web and discovered mixed feelings about the YAC program. I am NOT going to be using it--just in case.

So, if you downloaded it, I suggest you remove it. Sorry about suggesting it...

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Class Summary 4-9-2015

Looks like Windows 10 will be out in August. No firm dates yet. Had some interest in the past about downloading videos from YouTube. There is an app on Windows 8 you can install from the App Store called Megatube. It is not available in earlier versions of windows. With it you can open YouTube videos and videos from other sources and elect to download them to your PC. If all you do not want video portion you can elect to get only the audio. If you have an older OS try YouTube Downloader.

Showed a new image backup program that allows restoration to a different size hard drive. The EaseUS one we have been using does not. It needs a hard drive of the same size or a partition of that size to restore to. I have not tried it out yet.

While talking about EaseUS I mentioned that you can open the backup file on your PC and drill down to the file level and open or even copy/paste it to your PC. The backup is like a ZIP file. However, you need the backup software on your PC to open the archive and “see” the files.

When I do an image, I mount my external drive and create a folder for the backup noting the name of the PC I am backing up and the date. Then when I run EaseUS I place the backup file in that folder. I do this because I use the same portable drive to backup multiple PCs.

Jumped into the Basic Class Notes file and looked at 15 and 16 See the Class Notes link above to locate and download the PDF. We discussed using the search facility in File Explorer to locate files by entering words you think are in the file name, extensions like jpg or doc for specific files, or even words that may be inside a document.

Of course the best method is to name the files you save with easy to locate names and place them in logical folders. We used the shift-click method to rename files in bulk. To organize consider a folder named 2015. Then in that folder make folders for each event or topic. Maybe one for finances, church, family, etc. Then in those folders make other sub-folders. Then REMEMBER to save your files in the appropriate folders.

Then we had a good question on browsing. When you have multiple tabs open can you see both tabs on the screen at the same time? Yes, drag one of the tabs down and it will appear in a second browser window.

Links:

Aomei Backupper
http://www.davescomputertips.com/aomei-backupper-now-includes-restore-to-dissimilar-hardware-for-free/?utm_source=wysija&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly+Recap+Newsletter

Megatube
Comes with WIndows 8. It is an App that downloads audio, video, or both from YouTube.
http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/megatube-for-youtube-player/2ebcabcd-6de2-4b5c-9e42-ffada2e4477c

YouTube Downloader
http://download.cnet.com/Free-YouTube-Downloader/3000-2071_4-75219434.html

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Class Summary 4-2-2015

Showed everyone what the new browser from Microsoft looks like. It is called Spartan for now. Looks a lot like Chrome or the new Firefox. It is in the test stage now.

If you have Windows 7 or 8 or 8.1 when 10 becomes available you will get a free upgrade to 10. This will be in the form of a regular update, but you will have to accept the update. This free upgrade will only last for one year. After that anyone who wants to upgrade will have to pay for upgrade. If you do the upgrade within the year, you have it for life. You will not be billed for it later.

This is what we understand from the articles we have read. Also, if you want a CD, you will be able to download an ISO file and do the upgrade yourself instead of as a regular update.

We demonstrated how to rip a music CD and then how to create a mix of songs from the songs on our computer to a CD to be used in a CD or DVD player. The details are in the handout including screen shots. Click the Class Notes link above.

We talked about Dropbox and someone added it to their cell phone and it started to upload all their pictures to the Dropbox. I suggested uploading them to their PC and removing them from the phone so only the new pictures would end up on Dropbox.

With Amazon Prime you get unlimited storage for images and video. You can share your Prime account with up to five family members, but we do not know if that means five unlimited storage accounts or one that is shared. Non-prime Amazon accounts get 5 gb for free and can purchase unlimited space for any type of files for $5 per month or $60 a year.

We did touch on some Facebook ones regarding following and unfollowing someone. If you do not want to have someone’s posts appear in your newsfeed click on the down arrow in one of their posts and then select the unfollow option. You will still be their friend and can still go to their page and view all their posts and pictures. You just no longer have them appearing in your newsfeed. Depending on how someone sets up their profile you can follow someone who is not your friend. All you will see is their Public posts, the ones you would see if you open their page.

If you have lost your password to Facebook just click the lost my password link on the login screen. Facebook will ask you some questions and show you some pictures from your page to identify. Then you will be able to reset the password after they are sure it is really you who owns the account. If that does not work, they have you mail them a copy of your drivers license to validate who you are. They destroy it when they have completed their investigation and then allow you to setup a new password.

Had a number of other questions and I wish I could remember them all. LOL. CU next week when we get back to basics and discuss working with File Explorer and copying and moving files and folders.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Project Spartan

Just released from Microsoft, I installed the latest build of Windows 10 with Spartan. It is a new browser from Microsoft. Not sure if this means the older Internet Explorer is being phased out or just taking a back seat to their new entry. I will show it off on Thursday.