School is right around the corner, and you’ll need a solid laptop to get you through those long study hours. Well, that and a lot of coffee. Whether you’re a first-time buyer or you’re ready to cut your old boat anchor loose, I’m here to help you separate your nice-to-have wants from your essential needs, so you can get the most bang for your back-to-school buck.
0 Comments
Once he's snapped a photo with his Android phone, Bob wants to move it to another folder.
This isn't really a photo issue; it's a file management issue. And so you need a file management app. I recommend the ASTRO File Manager. The Pro version costs $4, but the basic, free app is sufficient for this job (and much more). We would all like the ability not to be contacted from certain numbers. Perhaps you are receiving nuisance calls from PPI firms, or an ex just won't leave you alone. You can block each call as it comes in, of course, but how can you block that number forever? Here's how to block a number on an iPhone.
If you rely on a Kindle (or Kindle app) for reading, you probably know that it supports not only ebooks, but also PDFs.
In fact, if you've done your homework, you also know that your Kindle (or Kindle app) has its own email address, meaning you can send any PDF straight to your device just by attaching it to an email. (You can find this address in the Kindle's Settings area.) Microsoft may have bungled a few things with Windows 8 (snark reply: "Just a few?!"), but File Explorer isn't one of them.
For one thing, the file manager finally earned a home on the Taskbar (even if you have to switch to the desktop to find it). Even better, Microsoft endowed it with the now-familiar Ribbon interface, making for much easier navigation of your files (and Explorer itself). However, I think it could be even better with a little tweaking. Here are three simple changes you can make to improve the File Explorer experience: Two is definitely better than one when it comes to monitors. A single display may suffice for basic computing, but multiple monitors make a big difference for heavily graphical work, intensive multitasking—and of course, serious gaming. LCD prices continue to drop, too, making multimonitor setups more affordable.
But before you go on a monitor-buying spree, make sure your computer can support more than one display. This usually isn’t a problem with recent desktops, but it can be with laptops. After confirming that your system is multimonitor-ready, check out these tips for setting up those displays to maximize your productivity. Old hard drives make lousy flowerpots, but very effective paperweights. And I must confess that on some occasions, I've been tempted to use them for batting practice or skeet shooting.
But I don't think that's the answer you're looking for. You adore your laptop. It lets you get down to business wherever you happen to be—airport lounge, coffee shop, your home office. It’s the key to your competitive edge.
That is, until its battery croaks. Just as you’re putting the final details on your PowerPoint presentation. At the airport. Two hours before takeoff. And with no power outlet in sight. At that instant, you begin to wonder why you ever bought the ever-lovin’ boat anchor in the first place. But love will bloom anew as soon as you recharge. Avoid the heartache, however temporary: Follow these five tips for maximizing your laptop’s run time. Windows uses a file's extension--the part of the file name after the period--to identify what program should open it. When you double-click, say, a .docx file, Windows checks to see what application is associated with that extension (probably a word processor) and opens the file in that program.
You can change these associations yourself, and you can associate multiple programs with a single extension. In fact, there's a good chance Windows has already done that for you. It's trendy to complain about Twitter being overwhelming, and to say that whatever value the social media site once had has been drowned in a sea of incorrect, boring, or fatuous tweets. While the first reply to these complaints is, "Learn how to pare down your Twitter streams," sometimes that can be tougher than it seems.
|
NewsletterArchives
August 2013
Categories
All
|