How to Edit Office Documents on Your Tablet

Can a tablet replace your business laptop? Probably, if you're willing to load it up with the right apps. If you’re considering carrying an iPad or Android device around instead of your laptop, you're most likely concerned about sacrificing the functionality of a full PC--especially the office software that allows you to view and edit documents. Choosing the right tablet for your business needs can be tough; fortunately, no matter what tablet you buy, you can find excellent apps for both iPad and Android that duplicate the functionality of popular document-editing software packages such as Microsoft Office. This guide will help you select an editing app and get started in editing documents on your tablet. Try the Rest, Then Buy the Best: Quickoffice Pro HD Quickoffice allows you to choose from many cloud hosting services. Although iPad or Android tablet users can try any of the apps created for phones (check out our guide to editing documents on your smartphone for recommendations), one application is designed with tablets in mind: Quickoffice Pro HD ($20, for Android and iPad). Quickoffice provides a plethora of tools for working with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, as well as the extraordinarily convenient option to sync documents with cloud hosting services such as Dropbox automatically. Getting started with these syncing services in Quickoffice is as simple as tapping the '+' icon in the bottom-left corner of the iPad or the '+cloud' icon in the top-right corner of the Android interface, and entering the credentials for the service of your choice. You’ll need to log in only once. After setting up Dropbox or another service, you can browse it from the left-hand menu to find a document to edit, or just create a new document using the '+document' icon in the toolbar. Though the app gives you a choice between Office 97-2003 and Office 2007-10 formats, you should stick to the newer versions (namely, the 2007-10 .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx formats) unless you have some reason not to. In Quickoffice you can automatically share and upload documents to a number of social hosts. Once you’ve finished editing documents and you're ready to share them, this same interface allows you to send them via email (using the dedicated email button on the toolbar) or upload them to any of several popular social hosts (using the button directly adjacent). This is a great way to work on documents with colleagues who use different platforms (PC/Mac/Linux): You can share documents on a service such as Evernote, collect the edits, and then republish the edited documents in a Microsoft Office-friendly format. Edits are easy to make, too, because Quickoffice’s text editor is straightforward and uncluttered, with Bold/Italic/Underline, Undo/Redo, Search, Print (using something like Cloud Print for Android), and Formatting options available along the toolbar. You can input, cut, and paste text by tapping or dragging anywhere inside the main interface. If that's too troublesome for you, and you own an Android tablet, consider investing in a good Bluetooth keyboard. Usually you can find a good one for under $50, but be sure to see our guide to Android Bluetooth tablet keyboards for more information and buying advice. Here's a look at Quickoffice's document editor, with the formatting menu open in the top-right corner. The spreadsheet editor is much the same, with an extra option added to the toolbar to insert new rows. You can resize or copy cells by tapping or dragging anywhere within the main interface, just as in the document editor. Clicking within the function bar brings up an elegant function-search wizard that allows you to input Excel-style functions manually, or to choose any of several common functions from a menu. This is Quickoffice's spreadsheet editor, with the formatting menu open. The presentation editor also has few surprises; the usual text formatting and undo options are right where they always are. In addition, the butterfly menu in the top-right corner allows you to insert text, shapes, or photos into a presentation, and the play icon lets you see your presentation in action. As always, you can drag images around a slide, and you can long-press to cut and paste. Other Editing Options A free alternative to Quickoffice on Android is the official Google Docs app. Even though it’s simple enough to use--virtually all of the menu items get you to a list of your online documents, and from there it’s just one more click to Google’s famously bare-bones editor--it doesn’t permit you to work on any documents that you haven’t already uploaded to Google. Neither, unfortunately, does it let you export or email any documents in Word or Excel format, the way that the full desktop interface does; you may only invite other Google users to edit them (via the Invite pop-up menu). For this reason, the Google Docs app is a bit of a niche choice, though if your colleagues are amenable to the Docs interface, it helps that this app is free. iPad users might wish to use Apple’s own iWork suite of office software, consisting of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. At $10 each, these apps aren’t cheap (particularly since they lack the Dropbox support of Documents To Go or Quickoffice), but on the roomy screen of the iPad, they’re a great option for working with image-heavy documents, or in other cases where layout is especially important. No matter what app you choose to use, it's easier than ever to leave your heavy laptop at home and get work done on your tablet anywhere you can access the Internet. Enjoy! http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/256097/how_to_edit_office_documents_on_your_tablet.html#tk.hp_fv .
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

Encipher.it Encrypts Email for Free

Want to keep your email safe from prying eyes? Encipher.it is a free snippet of code that you can store in your browser bookmarks to encrypt email, or any block of text you enter on a website. To set it up, direct your Web browser to encipher.it, scroll to the Add Bookmark section, and add the Encipher It link to your bookmarks bar. In Firefox or Google Chrome, you can just click the Encipher It link and drag it to the Bookmarks bar; in Internet Explorer, you must right-click the link and select Add to Favorites. Simple to Use, Difficult to Crack When you’re ready to use it, load up your Web-based email in your browser, and compose a message. Click the Encipher.it bookmarklet, and it will prompt you to enter an encryption key for your message. Include any string of numbers and letters you wish (the longer and more complicated your encryption key is, the better), but be sure to make a note of your string, as your message will be unreadable without this key (or some serious decryption software). Once you’re satisfied with the key, click Encrypt, and the add-on will apply a 256-bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) algorithm that runs in real time; 256-bit en­­cryption is the same kind of data protection that the websites of many banks and government services employ. The Encipher.it bookmarklet should transform your message into a block of gibberish and append a link to the Encipher.it website so that your recipients can download the bookmarklet to decrypt your message. De­­crypting is simple for recipients once they have your key, which you can supply via a separate email, a text message, or even an old-fashioned phone call. Only those people who have the key can read your email message. This arrangement can keep your private data safe on public computers, but it can also help to protect you if someone hacks into your email account. Encipher.it isn’t limited to email; it can encrypt most text you type in a browser, including messages sent via Facebook and other social networks. The bookmarklet runs all code locally on your PC, so there’s no danger of Encipher.it staff or someone else listening in as you transmit messages to a server for encryption/decryption. Nevertheless, for even more peace of mind, you should know how to encrypt email through other means, and how to secure your wireless network. Finally, for more information, see our guide to encrypting files on your Windows PC. http://www.pcworld.com/article/255938/encipherit_encrypts_email_for_free.html#tk.hp_new
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

Cable Giants Partner to Offer 50K Free Wi-Fi Hotspots for Subscribers

Wi-Fi hotspot access just got easier for high-speed Internet customers of Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Time Warner Cable. The five cable giants announced an agreement Monday to make more than 50,000 hotspots in several U.S. cities available for free to each company’s customers. The new free Wi-Fi hotspots will operate under a new name called “CableWiFi” instead of using the separate names for each company’s hotspot networks. The new network brand is rolling out now, but it will take a few months to reach all the hotspots that are part of the new agreement. CableWiFi is already live in the New York City area and central Florida for Bright House and Cablevision hotspots. Free Wi-Fi hotspots will be available in New York City and the surrounding Tri-state area, Los Angeles, Tampa, Orlando, and Philadelphia. Other cities may also be added to the free Wi-Fi deal in the coming months. The new hotspot agreement should go a long way to helping alleviate the pain of mobile bandwidth caps that are the current trend among most major U.S. mobile device carriers. Users covered by the CableWiFi agreement will be able to grab free Wi-Fi at coffee shops, hotels, restaurants, and bars instead of using up their precious monthly data allotments from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. But with this ease of access may come new security problems for users. Make sure that CableWiFi access points are the genuine deal and not imitators looking to harvest data from your laptop. You should also try to use a virtual private network (VPN) whenever possible such as the free service HotSpot Shield from Anchor Free. And always sign-in to Webmail and social networking accounts using SSL encryption. For more tips check out PCWorld’s guide How To Stay Safe on Public Wi-Fi.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

Microsoft to Offer $15 Windows 8 Upgrade Deal

Microsoft will charge users who buy a new Windows 7 PC $14.99 for an upgrade to Windows 8, according to a report. The cost of the upgrade was revealed yesterday by Paul Thurrott, a popular blogger who writes SuperSite for Windows. An earlier report by CNET had claimed that Microsoft would charge a fee for the upgrade, but had not spelled out the amount. CNET said that the program would kick off alongside the delivery of Windows 8 Release Preview. Microsoft has said it will ship the preview the first week of June. If the company follows the same schedule it used in 2009 to deliver Windows 7's release candidate, the most likely date is Tuesday, June 5. Eligible customers must purchase a new Windows 7-powered PC between June 2012 and January 2013. Unlike the past two upgrades -- a 2006 program for Windows XP-to-Vista and the 2009 deal for Vista-to-Windows 7 -- Microsoft will this time not upgrade users to the corresponding Windows 8 edition, but instead will provide everyone with Windows 8 Pro, the higher-end version of the two that will be widely available at retail, said both Thurrott and CNET. The two previous upgrade plans offered the newer operating system for either no cost or for a small fee. Details varied, as computer makers fulfilled the offer, with some demanding small fees while others provided the upgrade free of charge. Some OEMs had given customers free upgrades to earlier editions as well. In 1998, Gateway, for years a Dell rival in the direct sales market, offered free Windows 98 upgrades to people who bought a Windows 95 machine prior to the former's release. Although Microsoft has not divulged upgrade pricing for Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro, if it sticks to its current scheme, those versions will run customers $120 and $200, respectively. Microsoft's $15 charge for the Windows 8 Pro upgrade would then represent a discount of nearly 93 percent. Apple, which is also releasing a new operating system upgrade this year, has not announced an upgrade program. Last year it offered customers a free copy of OS X 10.7, or Lion, if they bought a Mac equipped with Snow Leopard. Apple's OS pricing, however, has been significantly lower than Microsoft's of late: Upgrades to OS X 10.6, aka Snow Leopard, and Lion ran users $29 and $30, respectively. Users ineligible for the low-cost Windows 8 upgrade may be able to score a copy at a substantial discount if Microsoft's promise of "limited-time programs and promotions" results in a repeat of the aggressive deal the company ran for Windows 7 pre-sales. In mid-2009, Microsoft sold Windows 7 upgrades for between 50 percent and 58 percent off the sticker price, then delivered those orders after the late-October launch of the OS. Microsoft will likely run the Windows 8 upgrade program through a website it registered in February. http://www.pcworld.com/article/255616/microsoft_to_offer_15_windows_8_upgrade_deal.html
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

12 Tips to Cut Your Cell Phone Bill

Why pay more than you have to every month? These tips, tricks, and services can help you save plenty of dough on that monster cell phone bill. By Liane Cassavoy, PCWorld May 13, 2012 8:00 pm See that cell phone next to you? Unfortunately, you're paying too much money for it--every month. If overpaying for what you need sounds like a bad idea to you, stop doing it. We've assembled 12 simple actions that you can take to reduce your cell phone bill, so that some of the cash you now spend for service--maybe even half of it--remains in your possession. So check out our tips, and use one or more of them to save big bucks on your bill. Covering the Basics 1. Find the right plan for you: Carefully review how often and in what ways you use your phone. Ideally, you should do this before signing a cell phone contract, but of course it can be difficult to know exactly how you'll use your phone until you spend time with it every day. If you're already using your phone, take a close look at your plan, examining the calling, messaging, and data options you've chosen. Then scrutinize your usage pattern. Check several months of phone bills to see whether you pay for more minutes and megabytes than you use, or whether you regularly exceed your usage limits. How much can I save? Let's use a Verizon Wireless plan as an example. Possible Savings on Monthly Cell Phone Voice Plan (One Example: Verizon Wireless) USAGE LIMITS Price per month Overage fee (per minute) Cost of using 750 minutes in one month Savings Advice 450 minutes per month $39.99 $0.45 $135 over your $39.99 monthly fee You don't have any--and you're paying much more than your monthly fee Bump up the minutes on your voice plan if you consistently exceed your minutes limit. 900 minutes per month $59.99 $0.45 $59.99 $135 versus the 450-minute plan with overage charges Drop to a lower monthly rate if you would almost never exceed its lower minutes limit. On the other hand, if where you exceed the 450-minutes-per-month maximum just once during the life of your two-year service plan--even if you exceed it by a lot that one time, you still come out ahead with the lower limit overall. Suppose that you incur $157.50 in overage fees one month but stay under the 450-minute limit during the other 23 months of the service contract. Then you've saved overall by opting for the $39.99-per-month contract instead of the $59.99-per-month contract, since paying $20 more each month for 24 months would cost you an extra $480. Suddenly, that one-time surcharge of $135 seems like a bargain. 2. Trim the fat: Examine your cell phone to see what services you're paying for above and beyond your voice and data plans. Are you paying your carrier for mobile insurance? A GPS service? Roadside assistance? Visual voicemail? Then think about whether you need these extras. In the case of voicemail, for example, your call log shows you the name and number of incoming callers, anyway--and that's free. How much can I save? This time, let's use AT&T as an example. Here are a few of the carrier's extra services, and the monthly charge for each: Monthly Costs of AT&T's Extra Services AT&T Navigator $9.99 AT&T Family Map for iPhone $9.99 AT&T Mobile Insurance $6.99 Smart Limits for Wireless Parental Controls $4.99 Enhanced Voicemail $1.99 Detailed Billing $1.99 Opting out of just half of these billing add-ons can save you anywhere from $7.97 to $26.97 each month. Get the Details on Data 3. Go data-free: Kick it old-school style by dropping your data plan altogether. This option may not be available if you've purchased a smartphone that requires a data plan; but for some consumers it's a sensible move. And it is possible: When my iPhone 4 suffered a fatal fall recently, I went back to my elderly flip phone and relied on an iPod Touch for apps and Internet services. When I wanted to check email or browse the Web, it was Wi-Fi only. My pockets were heavier, in part because I was carrying two devices around, but also because my pockets had more cash in them thanks to my lower monthly bill. How much can I save? $15 to $50 a month, or more. 4. Go on a data diet: Not ready to opt out of a data plan completely? Try cutting back instead. WhatIsMyCap.org suggests ways to avoiding overage charges.Opt for the lowest-tiered data plan that your carrier offers, and make sure that you stay within your limits. Visit WhatIsMyCap.org, a handy site that offers tips on avoiding overage charges, using your current data plan as an example. Also, find out what apps are claiming most of your bandwidth; the culprits may be obvious ones like Pandora and Netflix, or sneaky ones like Google Maps or free versions of games like Angry Birds that increase your data usage by serving up ads. How much can I save? $15 to $35 a month, or more. 5. Compress, compress: Having trouble reducing your data usage? Check out Onavo's free iPhone and Android app, called Onavo Extend, which claims to make your data usage up to five times more efficient. IOnavo Extend can help you with data costs.t runs in the background on your phone, compressing your data by routing it through Onavo's servers and stripping out the extras. Yes, that means the company knows what data you're accessing; but that's the price you pay in exposure for the monetary savings you'll see on your cell phone bill. How much can I save? $15 a month or more. Shake Things Up 6. Switch carriers: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless are the big four in cell phone service, but they're hardly your only options. Boost Mobile offers low-cost unlimited Android and BlackBerry plans.Signing up with a smaller carrier, like Boost Mobile or US Cellular, can cut your monthly cost significantly. How much can I save? Boost Mobile offers an unlimited Android Plan for $55 per month, and an unlimited BlackBerry Plan for $60. (Both of these plans cover unlimited nationwide talk, text, Web access, 411 service, instant messaging, and email.) In contrast, opting for a similar plan from Sprint, which is one of the only big carriers still offering an unlimited data option, will cost you $99.99 a month for unlimited voice, data, and messaging. How much can I save? $40 to $45 per month.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

5 Hidden Gmail Tricks for Power Users

Whether you use Google's Gmail service at work or for personal purposes, you probably have a good handle on the basics: organizing your contacts, sending emails, setting up folders and more. SIMILAR ARTICLES: Gmail Keeper Preview Gmail Messages Before Opening Them Deliver E-Mail Messages at Scheduled Times with Right Inbox How to Use Gmail Filters How to Make Your Google Accounts More Secure How to Access Your Gmail Account When You're Not Connected to the Internet Make Your Email Appear When You Need It With Boomerang for Gmail But if you've mastered the basics and are looking to increase your Gmail prowess and productivity, here's a look at five tips and tricks that will take you to the next level. How to Set Up Desktop Notifications If you're expecting an important email, there's no need to constantly refresh or monitor your inbox. Instead, download an add-on for the Google Chrome browser that enables a popup that lets you know when you have a new email or chat message. Chat notifications are enabled by default, but you can disable them in your Gmail settings. To enable email or chat notifications, here's what to do: First, click the gear icon in the upper right of your Gmail and select "Settings." On the "General" tab, select the option you'd like in the "Desktop Notifications" section. Here, you can turn Chat notifications on or off, or receive notifications for all incoming email or only those Gmail marks "Important." When you've made your selections, click "Save." Right now, this feature works only for Chrome browsers. How to Quickly Add Multiple Attachments to an Email If an email you're sending requires you to add multiple attachments, there's an easier way than selecting and uploading files one-by-one. If you want to send multiple files from the same folder, hold down the Ctrl key (or Command key on Macs) and click on each file you want to attach to your message. Or, you can also hold down the Shift key to select a continuous group of files. Another option is to click and drag file icons from a folder or your desktop directly to the "Attach a file" section. When you do, the area will change to white and display this message: "Drop files here to add them as attachments." [Gmail Tips: 5 Great Email Timesavers] How to Send an Automatic Vacation Response Summer-and vacations-are right around the corner. If you'll be unplugged and out of reach, alert your contacts you're offline by setting an automatic vacation response. The vacation response feature will automatically send a reply with a message to anyone who emails you, except for messages classified as spam and messages addressed to a mailing list you subscribe to. These groups will not receive a notification. If a person contacts you again after four days, Gmail will send another vacation response to remind the person youre away. To set up a vacation response, click the gear icon in the upper right of your Gmail and select "Settings." From the "General" tab, select "Vacation Responder on" in the "Vacation responder" section. Next, enter the subject and body of your message in the appropriate fields, then check the box next to "Only send a response to people in my Contacts" if you don't want everyone who emails you to know you're away. If you use Google Apps, you'll also see an option to send a response only to people from your domain. If you check both of these boxes, only people who are in your contacts and your domain will receive the automatic response. When you're done, click "Save Changes." When you're back from vacation, click "end now" in the banner that runs across the top of your Gmail page. How to Learn More About Your Contacts Gmail's people widget, located on the right-hand side of your messages, shows you contextual information about the people you're interacting with in Gmail. Click on the contact's name on the right side to see information such as their name, email address or occupation; recent Google+ posts your contact has made visible to you, which you can +1 directly in Gmail; recent emails your contact has sent you; Google Calendar events if your contact's Calendar is shared with you; and Google docs, shared with both you and the contact. If you have several contacts on an email thread, the contact with the first unread message in the conversation will have the above information shown in the people widget. You can find more information about others in the conversation by clicking the more link at the top of the people widget. To disable the people widget, click the gear icon in the upper right and select "Settings." On the "General" tab, select "Hide the people widget" button. Then click "Save Changes" at the bottom of the page. How to Sign Out of Gmail Remotely If you use multiple computers or devices to sign into Gmail and think you forgot to log out, you can do so remotely. Scroll to the bottom of your inbox: You'll see information about the time and location of the last activity on your account. Click "Details" to see whether your account is still open in another location. The page that pops up shows you if your account is open in another location, recent activity,(which includes whether it was accessed by browser, mobile, POP3 and so on) the IP address; and the date and time. You can also log out of all other sessions from here.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

Top 15 Cloud Storage Tips and Tasks

No single cloud service can do everything. Some shine when it comes to streaming a cloud music collection from the Web, but stink at syncing desktop folders. Other cloud services are great for sharing photos, but useless for reviewing a document's revision history. Because not all cloud storage providers are created equal, we looked at current offerings from Amazon Cloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, and SugarSync, pinpointing the services with the best attributes for accomplishing specific tasks. Along the way we assembled tips and hints for performing advanced cloud storage tasks such as merging multiple free cloud services into one massive free megacloud. With so many new and improved online services vying to become your preferred online repository for documents, photos, music, and video files, why settle for just one? Use them all. Here are 15 awesome ways to get the most out of the free cloud storage craze. The Best Ways to Sync Your Music Across Multiple PCs You have many options for sharing a single music collection among several different PCs, such as using the Home Sharing feature in iTunes or online services like iCloud or Google Music. Another alternative is to drop your music collection into your cloud storage folder and have your desktop jukebox program (such as Windows Media Player) point to that folder as the default music location. Then, once you install your preferred cloud's desktop client on all your PCs, you'll instantly download your music to multiple computers. Depending on the size of your song collection, you may have to pay for extra storage to fit all of it in the cloud. Of course, you can also follow this tip to sync any kind of media collection, such as photos, videos, or DRM-free ebooks. The Best Ways to Sync Local Folders to the Cloud If you want to sync folders to the cloud without placing them inside your cloud folder, you can find several services ready to help. Ubuntu One from Canonical, available for Windows and Ubuntu Linux desktops, includes the ability to add any folder to your cloud storage without moving it. Another option is to use the recently released desktop client for Amazon Cloud Drive. Cloud Drive does not place a new folder on your desktop as Google Drive, Dropbox, SkyDrive, and Ubuntu One do. Instead, Windows users can right-click any folder and select Amazon Cloud Drive from the 'Send to' menu option to sync to Amazon. The downside with Cloud Drive is that you can access your files only via a Web browser. The Best Ways to Stream Your Cloud Music Library Streaming your music from the cloud is a very different proposition than syncing it across multiple PCs, since some cloud services (such as Dropbox) don't offer comprehensive music streaming features. Your best bet is to use a dedicated online music service. Amazon, for example, offers Cloud Drive and Cloud Player, which let Android and iOS users stream stored music files. You get 5GB of free online storage from Amazon Cloud Drive, and any music purchases you make through the online retailer's MP3 store and save to Cloud Drive do not count against your storage limit. Music on Google Play, formerly known as Google Music, offers free storage for 20,000 songs, and any tunes you purchase from the company's music store do not count against your limit. You can listen to songs via Google's Music app for Android 2.2 or later, or you can use the Web interface. If you live in the iOS ecosystem, Apple offers a service called iTunes Match that lets you upload 25,000 songs to iCloud for $25 per year. Your tracks, including iTunes playlists, then sync across your PCs and iOS devices. Ubuntu One users can pay $4 per month or $40 per year to stream music from Canonical's cloud service. With your yearly subscription, you also get an extra 20GB of online storage, which gives you room for another 5000 songs. In addition, Ubuntu One offers music-streaming mobile apps for Android and iOS that include caching, so you can listen to your music without an Internet connection. [Related: Five Services That Can Move Your Music to the Cloud] TIP: Blast 'My Documents' to the Cloud If you're a Windows user and you want all of your documents available in the cloud, you can turn a cloud storage folder into your Windows 'My Documents' folder. I did it using a subfolder inside Dropbox with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. To get started, open Windows Explorer, go to Dropbox, and create a new folder called Documents. Next, go to My Documents, right-click the folder, and select Properties. In the My Documents Properties dialog box, select the Location tab and click the Move... button. Navigate to the Dropbox\Documents folder you just created, and click the Select Folder button. This action will return you to the properties dialog box, where you need to click Apply. A window will appear, asking whether to move all your old files to the new Documents folder (click Yes). Now, every time you save a new file, it will go to Dropbox by default. TIP: Sync Your To-Do List If you save your to-do list as a plain-text file, you can then sync your list across all your devices--including your PCs, smartphones, and tablets--by using cloud storage. Just drop your Todo.txt file into your Dropbox, Google Drive, or SkyDrive storage, and you can then access it anywhere you have an Internet connection and a text editor. You can also turn your plain-text list into an interactive smartphone app, with help from Todo.txt Touch for Android and iOS. The Best Ways to Automate Smartphone Photo Uploads Since you carry your smartphone everywhere you go, you've probably filled it with snapshots you never want to lose. Many cloud storage providers can help you back them up. If you have an iPhone, you can use iCloud to back up your last 1000 photos and sync them across your devices. Windows Phone users can find a similar feature for SkyDrive. Google+ for Android has an Instant Upload feature that automatically sends your snaps to Google's social network; your photos will remain private until you choose to publish them in a post. Dropbox recently added an automatic photo upload feature to its Android app, and Canonical's Ubuntu One offers automatic uploads for Android and iOS. TIP: Send Mail Attachments to the Cloud Why bother searching through many months' worth of email to find attachments when you can just save everything to the cloud? Many desktop mail programs will let you specify where attachments should be saved. Then, whenever you download an attachment, it will go to a single folder that you can access anywhere. The Best Ways to Access a PC Remotely via Cloud Storage Microsoft's SkyDrive offers remote access to all your Windows PCs, including attached external drives, that have the SkyDrive desktop client. During installation of the desktop client, you will be asked to authorize remote access. After the client is installed, log in to skydrive.com on a Web browser from another computer. In the left column, you will see a 'Computers' section listing all the Windows PCs connected to your SkyDrive account. Select the computer you want, and then SkyDrive may ask you to enter a six-digit code sent via email to authorize remote access. (The authorization code will not go to your Hotmail account, but to your alternate email address that Windows Live has on file.) After you enter the authorization code, you can access your PC's file system via the SkyDrive Web interface. To use this feature on a mobile device such as the iPad, you will have to enable the PC version of the site at the bottom of the Web page. If SkyDrive doesn't interest you, SugarSync provides similar remote-sync capabilities for Windows and Mac. TIP: Send Website Document Links to Dropbox A beta service called URL Droplet lets you send documents (such as PDFs and spreadsheets) found on Web pages directly to your Dropbox, no manual download necessary. Simply sign up for URL Droplet and authorize the service to access your Dropbox; URL Droplet uses the Dropbox API, which means the service never sees your account password. Next, paste a link to the online document, and click Save. The file will appear in Dropbox and sync across all your devices. TIP: Email Items Directly to Dropbox The free service Send To Dropbox lets you hand out a public email address so that people can send things directly to your Dropbox. You can have the service automatically create folders and subfolders based on the email subject, the sender's email address, or the date the document was sent. You can also tell Send To Dropbox to unzip archived files automatically and include copies of the email messages sent. The Best Ways to Manage Document Version Control You've probably heard that Google Docs has a built-in version-control system so that you can go back and view past versions of a collaborative document, but did you know that Dropbox and SkyDrive offer similar services? Dropbox keeps a snapshot of every saved file over the past 30 days; if you delete an all-important paragraph and want it back, you can recover it as long as you saved a version of that file to Dropbox in the past month. Go to your Dropbox folder, select the file you want to see, and then right-click it and select View Previous Versions from the context menu. This action will take you to a Web page listing your latest file saves for that document, including the revision date and who changed the file. Dropbox typically shows only ten changes per page, so click the Older> link to see more changes from the past 30 days. In SkyDrive, you can see version history by selecting a file from the Web interface and then going to File, Previous Versions. This action will bring up a sidebar with all of your latest document changes. SugarSync also offers a version-control feature, but it is less robust since it keeps only your last five file saves. TIP: Don't Rely on the Cloud for Video Streaming Cloud storage helps you access your files anywhere you can get an Internet connection--except when it comes to video. Since streaming video takes up more bandwidth than downloading a document or streaming music, how much you can stream depends on your cloud provider. During my testing with a 315MB, 77-minute M4V file, Dropbox streamed the entire content when I used the service's mobile apps. But I could not watch the video in a mobile browser, and on my PC I was able to stream only a 15-minute preview. Google Drive let me view the entire video content on the Web, but streaming didn't work on any of the mobile devices I tried. In addition, Google Drive makes you wait while it processes the video file for streaming. TIP: Encrypt Your Cloud If security is a big concern for you, consider encrypting your data before sending it to the cloud. The easiest way to do this is to use Spideroak, an encrypted cloud-backup service that lets you back up specific files to the cloud and then sync them across multiple devices. Another option is to encrypt your data locally before storing it in Dropbox, SkyDrive, Google Drive, or any of the other cloud services. Mac users should read Macworld's tutorial on how to create an encrypted sparse image using OS X's built-in Disk Utility. You can also try the open-source program TrueCrypt for Linux, OS X, or Windows to encrypt personal files you want to send to the cloud; check out PCWorld's TrueCrypt tutorial to get started. TIP: Merge Multiple Services Into a Monster Cloud If you have files spread across a number of cloud storage accounts, such as at Amazon S3, Box, Dropbox, Picasa, SkyDrive, and SugarSync, look to Otixo. Through this service, you can connect them all, and then drag and drop files between your various cloud providers, no file downloading necessary. It works on almost any browser, including on mobile devices. Otixo is free for up to 250MB of bandwidth usage each month, or $10 for unlimited access to the service. [Related: 10 Google Docs Annoyances (and How to Fix Them)] The Best Ways to Share Photos Across the Cloud Various cloud storage services have different social networking capabilities for sharing images. If you want to share photos on Google+, then Google Drive is your easiest option (no surprise) since Google+ photo sharing is built in. SkyDrive users can post photos directly to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and email from SkyDrive's Web interface, although your friends will have to visit SkyDrive to see the full-size versions. Dropbox allows you to share a public link to photos, but in my tests this function didn't work particularly well with Facebook and Google+. Another option is to use Flickr to share photos via Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, and email; again, your buddies will have to visit Flickr to see the full-size version if you share on Facebook. http://www.pcworld.com/article/255072/top_15_cloud_storage_tips_and_tasks.html#tk.hp_fv
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

How to Buy a Router

Are you still using the router that your Internet service provider gave you? If so, you might not be getting the best results possible. Routers that ISPs provide tend to be older models running custom firmware, and the download and upload speeds from these routers may not match the speeds you pay for. The situation is even worse if you rent your router from your ISP, because that's money that could be better spent on more-glamorous gadgets. Though purchasing a router off the shelf requires making an initial investment, doing so will save you money in the long term, and the router you choose is yours to do with as you please. Before you run off to your nearest electronics store (or online storefront) to buy a new router, however, you need to take a few things into consideration. First, you should figure out how much you're willing to spend. A good midlevel or high-end stand-alone router will set you back anywhere from $50 to $200. If you want to connect just a handful of devices to the Internet, and you aren't interested in streaming high-definition video or playing games online, a midlevel router should address your needs nicely. Most routers in the $50-to-$70 price range should be more than capable, though Cisco's Linksys E series seems to give the most bang for the buck. For top-notch performance, you'll need to spend around twice as much. A full-featured router such as the Netgear N900 may seem pricey at first, but it's worth the cost if you're looking to get the most out of your wireless network. If you're a gadget-head like most of us here at PCWorld, you'll also want a higher-end router in order to put all your devices online without slowing down your network. The Netgear Media Storage Router is a premium N900 Wi-Fi router with data and media storage functionality. You should also take into account the types of connections that a router supports, plus the router's broadcast range. If you have older devices running on your home network, be sure to select a router that supports the 802.11g and 802.11b protocols. Most of the routers you'll find at the store broadcast on the 2.4GHz band and support those protocols, but routers that broadcast solely on the 5GHz band do not support those types of signals. Routers using the 2.4GHz band tend to have a decent broadcast range, but you'll suffer when it comes to speed. Since most wireless routers (and some cordless phones) use the same band, the signal coming from your router can become noisy and bogged down--especially if you live in an apartment building or another densely populated area with lots of wireless networks present. On the flip side, you're less likely to encounter interference while on the 5GHz band, but the range will be much more limited: Although everything from walls to people can cause the signal to diminish, you'll notice an overall boost to your network speeds. As I mentioned earlier, however, some of your older tech may not be able to connect to a network being broadcast in the 5GHz range. If you want to ensure that all of your devices will be able to connect to your router, I suggest going with one that operates at the 2.4GHz band. Most such routers support 802.11b/g/n broadcasting, so older devices will work with it, and newer devices that support 802.11n (such as Apple's iPad) should have no trouble connecting either. Keep in mind that having too many devices connected can create interference and cause them to drop their Wi-Fi connection randomly; I experienced this problem firsthand when I tried connecting six devices at once (two computers, two phones, an iPad, and a game console) to a single-band 2.4GHz router. Of course, dual-band routers don't have the same broadcast issues as single-band routers do, so they allow you to enjoy the best of both worlds. Dual-band routers are more expensive than single-band routers are, but they use both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands and often feature some neat extras. The Linksys E3200 dual-band router can broadcast simultaneously on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Dual-band routers are great for setting up a wireless home entertainment system, because you can have different devices on different bands depending on how you want to use them. For example, I stream a lot of HD content, so any devices that I use to watch Netflix or Hulu Plus are on a 5GHz band. This keeps my streaming activity from dramatically affecting the network speed of any computers that may be browsing the Internet while I'm watching a movie or TV show. It's ultimately up to you and how much you're willing to spend, but if you can afford a dual-band router, then I definitely recommend investing in one. After figuring out your budget and whether you want a dual- or single-band model, it's time to look at the extra features. Not all routers are created equal when it comes to specs, so you can be a little picky in selecting a router with features that you need or like. For example, some routers have few ethernet ports, making them a poor choice if you own a lot of devices (such as desktop computers or game consoles) that lack built-in Wi-Fi. Higher-end routers (like the Netgear N750) sometimes have USB ports, which allow you to connect hard drives and share media with machines connected to the network. While this feature is by no means as effective as a stand-alone network-attached storage drive, it can be useful for sharing a few files among a small group of machines. Other features to look for in a router include parental controls, guest network access, and gigabit ethernet ports. Once you've picked a router, be sure to check out our articles on how to set up a router and how to secure your Wi-Fi network to prevent your neighbors from stealing your Internet. Enjoy your new router, and enjoy getting the most out of your Internet connection at last. http://www.pcworld.com/article/254928/how_to_buy_a_router.html#tk.hp_fv
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

For the First Time, Hacked Websites Deliver Android Malware

Analysts with Lookout Mobile Security have found websites that have been hacked to deliver malicious software to devices running Android, an apparent new attack vector crafted for the mobile operating system. SIMILAR ARTICLES: Tablet Users Disappointed in Website Load Times Google Warns 20,000 Websites That Could Be Infected With Malware How Google+ Will Affect SEO for Your Website Lookout Antivirus Security How to Install the Silk Browser on Any Android Device Lookout Safe Browsing Keeps Android Safe From Phishing The style of attack is known as a drive-by download and is common on the desktop: When someone visits a hacked website, malware can transparently infect the computer if it doesn't have up-to-date patches. "This appears to be the first time that compromised websites have been used to distribute malware targeting Android devices," Lookout wrote on its blog. Lookout said it noticed that "numerous" websites had been compromised to execute the attack, although those sites had low traffic. The company expects the impact to Android users will be low. The malware that tries to install itself, dubbed "NotCompatible," appears to be a TCP relay or a proxy. "This threat does not currently appear to cause any direct harm to a target device, but could potentially be used to gain illicit access to private networks by turning an infected Android device into a proxy," Lookout said. "This feature in itself could be significant for system IT administrators: a device infected with NotCompatible could potentially be used to gain access to normally protected information or systems, such as those maintained by enterprise or government." NotCompatible will automatically start downloading if the hacked website detects an Android device is visiting by looking at the web browser's user-agent string, which specifies the device's operating system. The hacked websites have an hidden iframe, which is a window that brings other content into the target Web site, at the bottom of a page. The iframe causes the browser to pull content from two other malicious websites hosting NotCompatible. If a PC accesses either of those websites, a "not found" error is displayed, Lookout said. After the malware downloads, the device will ask a user to install the application. But for it to be installed, the Android device's settings must have "unknown sources" enabled, Lookout said. If the setting is not enabled, only applications from the Android Market, now called the Google Play store, can be installed.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

Puppet Masters of the Internet

When these ten guys pull the power strings of the Internet, everyone jumps. By Dan Tynan, PCWorld Apr 30, 2012 8:19 pm Nearly everyone on the Internet knows about Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos. Savvy geeks might even recognize Internet pioneers like Vint Cerf and Marc Andreessen. But among the most powerful people on the Net are individuals whose names are unknown to the teeming masses on the InterWebs. Some of them control vital pieces of Internet infrastructure. Others decide which companies get funded, which websites get the lion's share of the traffic, or whether sites will live to see another day. Who really rules the Net? Read on. Just don't get on the bad side of any of these ten power gurus. Matt Cutts Matt CuttsOfficial title: Principal engineer at Google Secret identity: Search ninja As head of Google's Search Quality (anti-Web-spam) team, Cutts is the guy who decides whether your website gets chucked down into the basement of Google page rankings for being too "spammy." Over the past two years, Google has changed its search algorithms several times to lower the position of content farms, scrapers, ad-heavy pages, and other less worthy sites in Google's search results. Why you shouldn't mess with him: One day you're king of the Google hill; the next day your site's holding a one-way ticket to Palookaville--and all it takes is a tweak of an algorithm. Lawrence E. Strickling Lawrence E. Strickling--Photo: Courtesy of the NTIAOfficial title: Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Secret identity: The root master Strickling may look like a typical federal bureaucrat, but as chief of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) he wields ultimate authority over the 13 DNS Root Servers that direct all of the Internet's traffic. Type www.pcworld.com into your browser, and these machines translate it into an Internet protocol address (70.42.185.10) that Web servers can understand. Why you shouldn't mess with him: Repressive governments often use DNS filtering to block access to websites that they don't approve of--and such filtering also happened to be a key part of the SOPA and PIPA bills recently debated in the U.S. Congress. Yishan Wong Yishan Wong--Photo: Courtesy of VentureBeatOfficial title: CEO of Reddit Secret identity: Web traffic controller Reddit has surpassed Digg and Slashdot as the preeminent uber-geek aggregation site on the Web, thanks in large part to its role in initiating the "Internet Blackout" to protest SOPA and PIPA earlier this year. A member of the elite Silicon Valley PayPal Mafia, as well as former director of engineering at Facebook, Wong is also a consigliere at Quora, the question/answer social network. Why you shouldn't mess with him: If Reddit loves your site you're flooded with traffic. If it doesn't? Look what happened to SOPA and PIPA. Rod Beckstrom Rod Beckstrom--Photo: Courtesy of WikipediaOfficial title: President and CEO of ICANN Secret identity: Master of all domains As head honcho of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Beckstrom wields ultimate control over which top-level domains (for example, .com, .edu, and .biz) get approved. This year ICANN plans to expand the current number of TLDs from 22 to possibly hundreds, providing a massive economic boost for major domain registrars--some of whom sit on ICANN's board. Beckstrom will retire as CEO in July after accusing his fellow board members of ethical conflicts. Why you shouldn't mess with him: With a few months left on the job, Beckstrom's got nothing to lose. And though ICANN has yet to name his successor, we understand Voldemort, Darth Vader, and Dr. Evil have all applied for the job. Douglas Cutting Douglas Cutting--Photo: Courtesy of WikipediaOfficial title: Architect at Cloudera Secret identity: Open sourceror This open-source search guru is the creator of Hadoop, software that lets geeks manipulate massive amounts of data across multiple machines--creating the Big Data revolution that lets banks, telecom companies, social networks, and the government know more about you than they ever did before. He is also chair of the Apache Software Foundation, which oversees the open-source server software that two-thirds of the world's websites use. Why you shouldn't mess with him: He's a virtual one-man Google. Read the Rest Here:
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.

10 Fantastic Websites You Need Now

What the Web offers consumers and technophiles evolves quickly, so keeping up with the latest and greatest sites can be a full-time job. Eye candy, slick utility, and superb shopping are a few themes designers and developers are getting better at serving up. In no particular order, here are ten you should check out -- sites recommended by web-savvy users as well as a couple of my personal faves. Gojee Crave something? Tell Gojee what it is and this app will deliver beautiful images and food and drink recipes curated from foodie blogs such as TasteFood, Kitchen Culinaire, and Fresh365. For instance, input “mushrooms” and Gojee will feed you 100 full-screen photos to tantalize you to get recipes for dishes with titles like “Linguine with Morels, Asparagus and Peas” and “Rosemary or Wild Mushroom Stroganoff.” You can sign in using Facebook, a Google account, or only with an e-mail address. Wizard of Odds A genius buddy of mine who works as a senior user experience designer for a logistics software company likes to visit Wizard of Odds to study the optimal gambling strategy of casino card games based on empirical evidence. “I go to the casinos a couple of times per year. The site helps me keep straight the optimal blackjack strategy for different numbers of decks and small house rule differences. I also always check it before trying new games, so I'm not playing blind. It's good about letting you know the house probability edge on various games too, so you know which ones to avoid entirely,” he says. Ebates Twitter user @shopaholicchic (real name Aimee Cheek) raves about Ebates, and says she’s not affiliated with the site but is a fan of getting cash back on things she was going to purchase anyway. She says getting started is as quick as entering your e-mail address and using coupons and deals on vendor sites. “It uses tracking software to know you made a purchase and every month or so, they mail you a check with your rebate. [It’s] seriously that simple. Even some airlines and hotels [are] included, not to mention most all the main department stores and popular clothing stores,” she says. Ebates says its members have earned more than $100,000,000. Since she started using the site in December Cheek has already received about $100 from Ebates. Houzz Cheek says she’s also a huge fan of Houzz, which is indeed a wildly popular (yet largely still undiscovered) site with people who want to build a house, renovate their home, or otherwise improve a property. More than 40,000 architects, contractors, and designers have uploaded more than 433,000 beautiful images that you can save in idea books. And if you want to hire the professionals responsible for the photos, the site sends you to a page that displays other projects in their portfolios, client recommendations, and information about how you can reach them. “I’m currently in middle of complete house renovation. Houzz and Pinterest our my two biggest sources of ideas,” Cheek says. AppSumo Geared for entrepreneurs, this one comes recommended by Andrew Woo, founder of ProjectSnap, a soon-to-be-released app that lets you add leads instantly from your iPhone to e-mail lists in MailChimp, Constant Contact, Aweber, and iContact. Woo says he’s used AppSumo to download more than 20 digital tools for growing his business, including the video Google Apps Unleashed and the e-book SEO Copywriting. “I love AppSumo because it always has great deals for entrepreneurs and if I don’t like what I buy they have a lifetime guarantee,” Woo says. Airbnb Even though Airbnb users booked 4 million nights of accommodation last year, it’s surprising how many travelers give you a blank stare if you ask them if they’ve used it. It offers “unique spaces” all over the world leased out by the night by people who want to make money opening their homes to strangers. Travelers, for their part, can not only save on the cost of paying for a hotel room, but have access to locals who can advise which mass transit routes are fastest, or what attractions are worth visiting. Unwilling to shell out the exorbitant prices demanded by Manhattan hotels, I recently tried Airbnb (that's Air B&B) when visiting New York City. I stayed with a woman who gave me her bedroom in an Upper West Side luxury apartment while she slept on the couch. While it still cost me about $150 a night for that privilege, I saved about $200 during my thee-day visit compared to staying in a reasonably-priced hotel. Notcot.org If Pinterest is a bit too focused on handbags and recipes for you, check out Notcot.org, which Kirk Diedrich, e-mail marketing manager for ad agency TBWA\Chiat\Day, says works like Pinterest but existed first. “[It’s a] cool stuff aggregator that always has awesome content,” he says. Indeed, if you stop by the site you’ll find things techies will likely dig, such as this Astronaut Glove Assistant, which uses “Muscle Wire” to increase pressure and improve dexterity. Urlquery.net A friend of mine who works as an IT administrator for a large company recommends Urlquery.net for security. “I can cut and paste links to see if they are going to maliciously attack my devices or not. [It] works with Windows, Mac, Droid, and iOS,” he says. Sportlyzer Denis Harscoat, co-founder of the action-tracking app DidThis recommends this one. “The Sportlyzer program helped me run a 10km in 39'58". Long before a running competition I enter my target time and it gives me a detailed program per week,” he says. DownForEveryoneOrJustMe You’ll love the simplicity of this site, which has an ultra-minimalist aesthetic (think old-school Google) and helps you figure out why you’re not getting into a website. “We live in a world of temporary connectivity. Mobile data signals like Edge and 3G come and go every time we step in an elevator, and Wi-Fi routers go down all the time. Using a tool like downforeveryoneorjustme.com allows me to isolate the cause of a potential problem -- is my Internet service provider blocking access to this website, is my router out, or are their servers just down?” says Jesse Waites, founder and CEO of the technical design, development and consulting firm PNTHR.com. http://www.pcworld.com/article/254683/10_fantastic_websites_you_need_now.html#tk.hp_fv
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.