Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Computer Class Notes 3-26-2019

Check Your Google Account
You have complete access to everything Google has save for you. Check it out at myaccount.google.com and look at the details for you at myaccount.google.com/dashboard.



I scrolled down a little and was amazed I had over 18,000 photos on Google Photos!

How to Reset Your Apple ID Password
Most or the time we only get asked for it when we are requesting to download an App. Without it we are stuck. This article show you how to reset it.
https://tinyurl.com/y55wecfu

Excel ChampsFree stuff all about Excel. Every month 300k Excel enthusiasts come here to sharpen their skills by learning some the most amazing tips and tricks. If you don’t use Excel because you do not own it, use it free online at office.com. Most of the tips will apply to other spreadsheets like Google Sheets and LibreOffice. Sign up for their newsletter and get free tips in your email.
https://excelchamps.com/

Windows 10 version 1903
The soon-to-be-released next feature upgrade for Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system, features a new Windows Update related policy. We are expecting this to arrive second week of March, but who knows the actual date and if it will be a clean release. I for one am going to wait a little before putting it on my main machine.
https://tinyurl.com/yxr2xmux

Microphone App for Cell Phone
Using Bluetooth you can have a wireless microphone for meetings and fun. Download the app and you will instantly have a wireless microphone. So simple; it just works. You just need a bluetooth speaker.

How to Cast iPhone To Windows Computer
It’s surprisingly easy actually and requires no configuration of your Apple device or even a software download. You only need to download the strangely named Lonely Screen to your PC and within seconds you’ll be viewing your iPhone in glorious Technicolor. Now this is on your PC, not your TV. To cast to the TV use Chromecast or an HDMI cable. https://tinyurl.com/ybwvb7zj

The 10 Best Google Docs Add-Ons for More Professional Documents
Along with its regular features, Google Docs also supports a host of add-ons to help you properly format a document. These add-ons are found under the Add-ons menu option. This article outlines some useful Google Docs add-ons you can use to create professional documents. When you are used to doing things in Word it can be frustrating to use Google Docs. These add-ons enable Word like feature in Docs. And they are very easy to install and use. Check them out and these are only 10 of many many more.
https://tinyurl.com/ybq82tlq

The 10 Minute Mail lets you create a temporary email address. Why? You just want to download that delicious recipe and they want your email address. You know what they want it for--to send you junk mail. Instead of using your real one, create a temporary one and use it. They may want to have you confirm your email and this lets you read any emails sent to it. If you need 10 more minutes, you can add it--again and again.

Download from YouTubeYes, you can download the videos on YouTube to watch them later without internet access.
Locate the video on YouTube
Locate its URL in the address bar
http://www.youtube.com/xxxxxxxx

Add ss before youtube and hit the Enter key
http://www.ssyoutube.com/xxxxxxxx

On the next page, part way down the page locate the offer to download video in browser and click the link

Click Download and the video will be downloaded to your Download folder

PatchMyPc
Patch My PC can check your system against the current version of Adobe Reader/Acrobat/Flash, Mozilla Firefox, and more. Video tutorial available. Once you run Patch My PC, it will simply show you a list of supported software and then let you know the status. By the way, the app is portable, so no installation is required. Green means it’s okay, red means it needs updating and black means it’s not installed. The interface is more complex than Ninite which will do the same job except for CCleaner. That one is not included in Ninite so you have to go to ccleaner.com and download it yourself, wade through the screen wanting you to buy it, and keep you eye out for other software it wants you to install (Avast). This is an executable file that does not have to be installed to run. However, you might see a warning from your antivirus.
https://tinyurl.com/y2ufrfj5

Quick Google Doc
Just type doc.new and Google Docs will open with a new blank document.

Steps Recorder
I did NOT know about this neat feature in Windows 10. Turn it on and it records every step you are doing with images. A great way to show someone how to do something. Save it and email it to them. To start it locate steps recorder by typing that into the Type Here… box. (Win+Q gets you to it if it does not show on the bottom of your screen).



Click to run it.



Click Start Record and everything you do from then on will be recorded. Click Stop Record when finished. It saves as a zip file. Inside find an mht file which can be opened in Internet Explorer.

Try it out. It does an amazing job!

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Computer Class Notes for 3-19-2019

CCleaner
We all use CCleaner to clean the junk out of our hard drives and to clean the registry. I have been reading articles about cleaning the registry and the general consensus seems to be that it has no effect on the speed of the computer. I read that when Windows boots the entire registry is loaded into RAM which negates the need to defrag it or even clean it up. I have never had a problem using the registry cleaner in CCleaner, but some have indicated issues with windows after cleaning it. I have seen performance improvement when the cleaning finds hundreds of issues, but that is when it has not been cleaned in years of use.



There is a shortcut to cleaning the junk--right-click on the recycle bin and choose Run CCleaner. That does the cleaning in the background and you will notice a spinning CCleaner icon in the lower right of the taskbar.

ScamFoo
In looking into the possibility that a too good to be true website selling cheap laptops we came across scamfoo.com which reports as to the validity of a website. When we entered the URL for the questionable site it reported that this was not a safe site.

RANDOM.ORG offers true random numbers to anyone on the Internet. The randomness comes from atmospheric noise, which for many purposes is better than the pseudo-random number algorithms typically used in computer programs. People use RANDOM.ORG for holding drawings, lotteries and sweepstakes, to drive online games, for scientific applications and for art and music.
https://tinyurl.com/kt26b7

Keep A Portable Ubuntu Installation With You Wherever You Go
Having a PC in your pocket is a massive advantage. But how can it be done easily? The answer, of course, is via a USB stick. With a version of Ubuntu installed on your USB stick, you’ll have access to the web, to your favorite files and folders… all without the pain of lagging a laptop around.
https://tinyurl.com/yxcuxomp

Paint Dot Net
Originally intended as a free replacement for the Microsoft Paint software that comes with Windows, it has grown into a powerful yet simple image and photo editor tool. It has been compared to other digital photo editing software packages such as Adobe® Photoshop®, Corel® Paint Shop Pro®, Microsoft Photo Editor, and The GIMP.
https://www.getpaint.net/index.html

Program Switcher
Switch one program with another! For example, anytime you perform any action that would normally start Microsoft Paint, you can switch this program with Paint.NET, so that it starts instead! It is incredibly useful after major Windows 10 updates which reset file associations back to defaults; with Program Switcher you can always force your preferred program to run instead of Microsoft’s default program!
https://tinyurl.com/yxvtu2d8

SurveyMonkey is an online survey development cloud-based software as a service company, founded in 1999 by Ryan Finley. SurveyMonkey provides free, customizable surveys, as well as a suite of paid back-end programs that include data analysis, sample selection, bias elimination, and data representation tools.Wikipedia
https://tinyurl.com/a7u4ar

Write-Caching
Write Caching, if enabled, sends disk write-requests to computer memory (RAM) instead of directly to the much slower hard disk drive (HDD). This frees up applications from having to wait for the drive to finish its work before moving on to other tasks. This option is why we need to safely remove our USB devices before unplugging them.
http://tinyurl.com/y3crfktn

How to use the new Snip & Sketch
Beginning with version 1809, Windows 10 offers an expanded range of screen capture options. You can save the full screen, the active window, or a rectangular selection to a file or to the Clipboard for reuse in another app. Here's how the new tools work.
http://tinyurl.com/yxlcf5tf

Notepad Online
Perfect for quick, secure note taking. It was designed for simplicity, security, and speed. It loads immediately into a blank notepad and anything you type is instantly encrypted and saved. — You can add a password on any note and share it securely.
http://www.notepad.pw

The 10 Minute Mail lets you create a temporary email address. Why? You just want to download that delicious recipe and they want your email address. You know what they want it for--to send you junk mail. Instead of using your real one, create a temporary one and use it. They may want to have you confirm your email and this lets you read any emails sent to it. If you need 10 more minutes, you can add it--again and again.

Easy Screen Capture
With 1803 we were given an easy way to capture a screen by pressing Win+Shift+S. Draw a box around what you want to capture and release the mouse. Your image is in the clipboard.

With 1809 the clipboard is no longer a one time clip. Win+V will open the clipboard where you can view every item that has been copied since the last reboot or since you cleared the clipboard.

Daves computer tips is an online blog with many computer tips, as the name implies… I am now writing some articles for them. Check my latest article at https://tinyurl.com/yynegsp6 and please leave a comment on my articles. Thanks.

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Class Notes 3-12-2019

The Best Google Docs Add-Ons
Google Docs add-ons work similarly to how a browser extension works. They are a third-party app that you install to Google Docs to gain additional features. Some add-ons increase productivity (like proofreading tools) and some add more extensive capabilities (like allowing teachers to integrate grades into students papers). https://tinyurl.com/ya6h8xuq

To Display WiFi Network Password:
Win + R and type ncpa.cpl in the run box, then hit the enter key. Locate the wireless network adapter and then:
Right-click > Status > Wireless properties > Security > Show characters


Free online learning
https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/topics/computers/

Google Keep
Google Keep is what I use to keep our shopping list. We each can make entries on our cell phone and use it at the market to get all we want instead of getting there and trying to remember what we need.

Daves computer tips
is an online blog with many computer tips, as the name implies… I am now writing some articles for them. Check them out at https://davescomputertips.com/
Classic Shell f
ound at classicshell.net and in Ninite gives you a start menu on Windows 10 that has the appearance of XP, Vista, or 7.



Ninite
Ninite is the safest site to install programs from. When you open ninite.com you are presented with a list of program to select from. You check the ones you want and then click the Get Installer button. That does not download any of the programs you have checked, it downloads a tiny program to your computer with a list of the programs you checked.



When you run that installer program it looks over each program selected to see if you have it already installed on your computer. If not, it downloads and installs it. If you already have the program it compares the version on your computer to the available one. If the one you have is already the latest, it does nothing with that program. If the one you have is older, the latest is downloaded and installed for you.

The next time you want to check to see if you have the latest updates you do not have to go to ninite and start over. If you still have the installer program on your computer, just double-click it.

Check installed programs
When you install a new program off the internet, check the list of installed programs to be sure nothing else was install on the same date as what installed. Remove any surprise installs. I use Glary or CCleaner to look at the installed programs by date installed to accomplish this and to remove the offending software.

Magnifier is very useful and easy to use in Windows 10
Win+Plus enlarges
Win+Minus reduces
Move the mouse left, right, up, and down to see other areas of the screen
Win+Esc Cancels the magnifier

Router to Wifi Repeater
Use that old router to act as a repeater to get a good WiFi signal all over your house.
http://tinyurl.com/y6ynb4dn

Radio on the Internet
I Heart Radio gives you the ability to listen to your home town, or any other town, radio station. All your favorite music, radio and podcasts, all free.
https://tinyurl.com/zfk6w8k
Download from YouTube
Yes, you can download the videos on YouTube to watch them later without internet access.
1. Locate the video on YouTube
2. Locate its URL in the address bar
http://www.youtube.com/xxxxxxxx
3. Add ss before youtube and hit the Enter key
http://www.ssyoutube.com/xxxxxxxx
4. On the next page, part way down the page locate the offer to download video in browser and click the link
5. Click Download and the video will be downloaded to your Download folder

USB speeds
USB speed and colors
USB 1.1 1.5 mb/s white
USB 2.0 60 mb/s black
USB 3.0 625 mb/s blue
USB 3.1 1,210 mb/s red*
*Orange: the connector does not power off during sleep or standby mode.

No More Mozy
Mozy was bought out by Carbonite. It is not free. If you have data on Mozy it will be removed as of April 15, 2019. I have moved to IDrive for my daily backup. You get 5gb for free and it has a number of other features as well. I will be experimenting and report back to you soon.