Most of us use the Internet as a trusted source of information, whether you’re trying to remember the name of your favorite actor, or learn more about a medical condition. However, the quality of material you receive when you “Google it” varies extensively in its accuracy, reliability and value. Here’s how to sift through the mass quantities of data and feel confident that what you’re reading can be believed.

Goals

First, what is the goal of your online search? If you’re looking for a new cookie recipe, professional accountability of the source probably isn’t as important as when you’re looking for information on your daughter’s persistent rash. Many sites like… ...Keep On Reading!

By:  Andrea Eldridge

Give the Gift of Time

As a mom, I’ve discovered that technology typically falls into two categories: that which makes my life easier (by making me more efficient, helping me to connect with loved ones, etc.), or that which makes my life harder (by taking too much time to learn, use or master). As a daughter, I’ve discovered that some of the items that fall into the first category for me fall into the second category for my mom.

This makes Mother’s Day a great opportunity to share the gift of time to help mom get comfortable with a procedure, Web resource or gadget that I know will make her… ...Keep On Reading!

By:  Andrea Eldridge

When I’m greeted by a fine layer of yellow pollen dust coating my car, I know that Spring has sprung. The brighter days and open windows lead many of us to notice the layer of dust that has also settled indoors, followed by a mental note to pull out the Swiffer.

It’s easy to neglect some of the things that need our spring cleaning attention more than anything else — our hard-used gadgets. While at our fingertips 24/7, these workhorses get grungy.

Keyboard and Mouse—The Worst Offenders

You probably touch your keyboard and mouse every day, in sickness and in health. Most of us are guilty of coughing or sneezing either directly on our… ...Keep On Reading!

“Every year, tons of electronics are thrown in the garbage, creating a severe worldwide e-waste problem. Still, most of us love our gadgets and pine for the newest versions when they’re released.”
What should we do with our tech leftovers so we don’t contribute to the dilemma?
Here are some ways to re-purpose your old PC, Smartphone or monitor that will help you get more life out of it while taking care of Mother Earth.

Make a Media Center —Your PC or laptop isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer anymore, but it can still be a useful media storage device. Back up your pictures, music and videos to your old machine, then install software that allows you to easily stream content to your home theater, like Plex (www.plexapp.com). Voila! You’ve got a server from which you can watch movies through a network connected Xbox or Blu-ray player.

Make a Hot Spot — Having trouble connecting to your wireless network from the back bedroom of your house? Turn your old laptop into a Wi-Fi hotspot using Connectify (www.connectify.me). Simply connect your Wi-Fi-enabled system to your router with an Ethernet cable and follow the instructions. Connectify will use your laptop’s Wi-Fi card to boost and re-broadcast your Internet signal.

If the kids get online downstairs and you suffer from dropped signal upstairs, you could move the router and cause your kids to revolt when they lose connectivity. Instead, run one Ethernet line upstairs to the old laptop and have it act as a Wi-Fi range extender. Install Connectify on the old system and it broadcasts a Wi-Fi signal to the surrounding area. ...Keep On Reading!

It’s simple to Google, but it’s not always easy to get it right. We’ve all been frustrated by typing something into the search bar, only to be bombarded with a bunch of junk: pages of search results, filled with Web links from questionable sources. Results that aren’t what you were looking for.

Google is unquestionably the most popular search engine, with an estimated 900 million unique visitors every month, according to eBizMBA, which compiles website statistics. Its nearest competitor, Bing, gets an estimated 165 million unique visitors every month by comparison. It would be impossible to give tips for every search engine out there, so here’s how to refine your Google searches:

First, use the advanced search option. Type in your question to get the preliminary results, then click the options button at the upper right part of the page (it looks like a cog) to select advanced search. Narrow down your results by adding words, excluding words or specifying an exact word or phrase. If you’ve performed the search before, you can show updates only within a certain time frame, so you’re not looking at old information. ...Keep On Reading!

Blogging is no longer just for the online-savvy. It’s for anyone who wants to share a little bit of themselves with the world. When our son was born, my husband started a blog chronicling every little coo and giggle so our friends and family could share in the experience as he grew. The site still draws readers several years later. One of my friends, a fantastic cook, created a blog to share her inventive recipes. I’m far more inclined to try something off her site than out of a cookbook.

Before you bust out the laptop and start typing, pick a topic you love. Whether it’s gardening tips, improving your golf swing or sharing pet-training tips, the key is passion for your subject. Entrepreneurs can use an engaging and informative blog to promote a business, attract customers or even generate revenue from online advertising. Do your research: Check out blogs on your subject matter to see if you have a unique perspective. Finally, make sure to use a consistent tone in writing for your audience. Grandma and Grandpa may want to hear about your cat Lulu’s latest escapades; your clients probably don’t. ...Keep On Reading!

Every time I find an easier way to do something it’s a small victory. When it’s something I do all the time, like finding a shortcut to the office or a quicker way to make dinner, it’s even sweeter.

There are some easy shortcuts to accomplish common tasks in Windows. Shaving a couple mouse or key strokes may not seem like a big deal, but you’d be surprised how big of an impact they can make on your day to day.

I use copy, cut and paste all the time. I used to highlight the text, right-click, choose “Copy,” then right-click again and choose “Paste” in a new location, but it’s a bit cumbersome. If I right-click in the wrong place, I lose what I’ve just highlighted and I have to start over — frustrating and way too much clicking for my taste. ...Keep On Reading!

By: Andrea Eldridge.

Now that I have a newborn in the house, the last thing I have time for is weeding through an email inbox filled with offers for 30 percent off at a store I bought one thing from three years ago, or daily newsletters from an online magazine touting ways to make my life more creative. I don’t have time to shower, let alone bake sweet potato muffins.

Thankfully, there are some easy ways to make my email more of a tool and less hassle, with very little work from me.

Most email providers have an integrated spam filter, and many have additional plug-ins you can install that will use a variety of means to filter out what it deems to be spam. Unfortunately, junk messages often slip through while legitimate messages are relegated to your spam folder. ...Keep On Reading!

Before I joined the ranks of happily married mommies, I was a single girl once. After college, I learned that anyone who held to not dating from their pool of coworkers had a relatively narrow field of potential mate options. Bar hopping requires fending off drunken advances and getting set up by your friends involves a lot of baggage: “what do you mean you didn’t like my favorite cousin Melvin?”

These days, online dating allows singles to cyber-meet before committing to a face-to-face, a great way to get a hint of compatibility before giving out your phone number. If this Valentine’s Day finds you considering the blind date your Great Aunt Edna wants to set you up on, read on for tips to safely explore the world of online dating sites.

According to www.datingsitesreviews.com, of the 54 million singles in the United States, 5.5 million of them use dating services. However, the Internet can be a scary place for the unprepared. It’s good to be reasonably skeptical about a profile that sounds too good to be true.
According to a study led by Catalina L. Toma, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, about 81 percent of daters misrepresent their height, weight or age in their profiles. The good news is that the lies are typically not extreme, as no one wants to have to explain a 10-year age difference between reality and their profile when you finally meet in person. Most commonly people shave a couple years off their age and a few pounds off their weight. ...Keep On Reading!

This year, we have a renewed dedication to using technology to make my life easier. With precious few minutes to waste in the day, it seems like certain technological “advances” actually cause me to waste more time than they save. Here are some great resources to turn the tables and have your tech tools work for you again.

1: It’s impossible is for me to keep track of my phone. I can actually have it in my hand while I’m looking for it. Even though I realize I’m an extreme case, everyone has misplaced a phone between the couch cushions or under the seat in the car at some point or another. If you don’t have another phone handy to call your waylaid device, there are sites that will call your phone for you.

As awesome as this service sounds, I guard my cellphone number like it’s the direct line to Santa, so the idea of handing it over to a website and trusting that it won’t end up on some telemarketer’s list makes me cringe. Instead, I installed the free Google Voice plug-in that allows me to make calls (even video chat) from my Gmail account to any phone number, all for free. I log in to my Gmail and click the Chat drop down on the left and can choose the “Call Phone” option to ring my wayward cell. ...Keep On Reading!

Over the years, we’ve noticed that there are a lot of misconceptions about laptop computers. Specifically, there are misconceptions about what goes into repairing one. This article will help people understand the differences between desktop and laptop computers.

When I switched from a desktop computer to a laptop, the idea that everything that previously took up my entire desk could now fit in such a small, portable device was revolutionary. But when my first keyboard failed, I realized it wasn’t all wine and roses. The smaller footprint means that parts and pieces often aren’t as easily interchangeable. I could no longer toss the old keyboard and plug in a new $30 generic version; this one would have to come from the manufacturer and would require a skilled technician to replace it.

But not every failure of a portable electronic device warrants replacement. Many laptops are as easy to fix as a desktop. We’ve categorized them into three categories, Easier, The Same or Harder fixes. 

Virus Removal: The Same.
Cleaning a virus or malware infection off a laptop is no different than it is on a desktop. Software issues shouldn’t require that you spend any more than on a standard PC, or that you find a specialist.
  ...Keep On Reading!