The Present

Update Your Windows Operating System

June 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The last few versions of Microsoft’s Windows operating system have included an onboard utility designed to automatically update your machine. Windows Update, found in the Control Panel, can be set to periodically check for updates, download them, and even install them during periods of low use on your computer. For instance, you can set Windows Updates to check for new patchs and utilities late at night; your updating will be done by the time you wake up in the morning.

Of course, Windows isn’t the only software that can be updated using this feature. All registered and legal Microsoft products are eligible to receive updates through the use of Windows Update including Internet Explorer, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Defender, Microsoft Security Essentials and Microsoft Office applications. Using the Windows Update feature can help you keep your system and applications up to date. One of the most important concerns of any computer user is security, and Windows–as the most popular operating system–has had more than its share of hacks and malicious attacks. Keeping your system updated will help close any security holes as they are discovered and prevent a huge number of future problems.

There really isn’t any reason to avoid using the Windows Update utility, especially since it is so non-intrusive. The ability to run overnight, looking for and downloading updates, and providing you with complete control over which downloads should be installed, all comprise a robust and uncomplicated feature. When compared to the frustration that viruses and other malware can cause, Windows Update is a lifesaver.

Filed Under: Internet Tagged With: Control Panel, Microsoft, Windows Update

Most Popular Web-Based Email Providers

June 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Image via CrunchBase

Nearly everyone who uses the Internet is familiar with Gmail, Yahoo Mail and MSN’s Hotmail web-based email services, but there are actually many more such services that you probably haven’t ever heard of. For instance, Zoho is becoming rather well known for their web-based Microsoft Office-compatible applications that duplicate the functions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, but they also have a very strong email service. Having your email working out of the cloud along with your document management system, all individual documents and your planning and organization systems reduces the typical computer clutter and streamlines all of your work.

Gawab is another web based email provider that offers tons of storage, a spam filter and virus protection so you don’t have to worry about heavy or unsafe attachments. This provider also offers a couple of paid subscription versions of their service for business users and those who need more than a free email provider can offer. By comparison, My Way Mail’s free server includes a lot more storage, but has less features overall. Labels and folders don’t work as well in My Way Mail as they do in Gmail and they tuck advertising into your outgoing messages. That looks unprofessional.

Of course, you can always count on the free email accounts provided by your Internet service provider, and most of those support both a desktop mail application and online access. Larger ISPs, by nature of their popularity, are beginning to run low on available user account names. Unless you don’t mind having arbitary numbers or letters in your email address, you’re probably better off choosing a lesser-known free email provider.

Filed Under: Communications, Internet Tagged With: Gmail, Webmail, Yahoo Mail

How Email Changed Communication

May 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Image via Wikipedia

Communication means have come a long way since stone inscriptions and even the box telephone for that matter. The postal service, though still in existence, has lost a large number of its clientele to email. Formal communications have completely been revamped with its global acceptance and of course its speed. The security involved too is simple and effective that makes it the best means to communicate in this present day and age. The ability to personalize email for yourself or for a business you represent makes all the difference.

The rise of email has been a meteoric one and it has evolved almost overnight with its features. Email has changed the way businesses operate. Messages use to take a week to get from Point A to Point B. This resulted in businesses being localized. But with time, email changed all that. Businesses can carryout internal and external communications instantaneous.

Choosing an email host is an important issue. Depending on whether you have professional or personal use of an email account, you can choose from a free service or a paid service. Again, with the free service, there are many ways to upgrade your account for a small fee. You have the option of custom URLs, additional accounts for members of your staff, blog space if needed and all the online assistance that you require for market research.

Emails are also convenient in that they are not really time bound. If you are unable to talk to someone on the phone, you can send an email and be almost certain that the recipient will read it soon and respond instantly.

Filed Under: Communications, Internet Tagged With: Business, Mail, Uniform Resource Locator

The Multiple Benefits of Video Conferencing

May 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A dozen Indonesian students gathered at the U....

Image via Wikipedia

Technology has allowed video conferencing – when people across the globe can be simultaneously connected via the Internet and hold a live conference face to face. This development revolutionized the business world completely. Budgets for travelling significantly came down, allowing a company to do much more with their resources. Not only in business but also in several other areas, such as medicine and education, video conferencing has made a huge difference.

There are several benefits to video conferencing especially when it comes to business. Since people connect immediately, the process of decision making is sped up and productivity increases. Being able to confer with one’s team mates placed in different offices improves communication and creates better professional relationships. This also works in service provider – client situations as well. Without doubt, it makes better utility of a company’s resources and allows for interaction across time zones at a convenient pre-determined time.

There are uses for video conferencing in multiple other fields. Its advantages can be seen in the field of medicine, as second opinions can be sought instantly from colleagues in specialized hospitals. Since countries are connected, these opinions can also be sought from experts across the globe and a patient can actually be viewed and examined virtually. In the field of education, classrooms can be taken to rural areas where children lack the facilities to go to a school near them. It is also a great help to those who are based in far away locations such as the North Pole. Overall, video conferencing, which is now even available on tablets, is fast becoming the simplest means of keeping in touch.

Filed Under: Communications, Internet Tagged With: Business, Business Services, Videoconferencing

The Reach of Digital Media

May 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Image by Skokie Public Library via Flickr

With the advent of the Internet, information is no longer private unless of course you want it to be. The ability to share information at the click of a button has made digital media a veritable powerhouse when it comes to dissemination of issues. The concept of digital media has developed to such an extent that today it has been used to further causes, promote products, spread information and so much more.

There are several benefits to digital media depending upon the situation in which it is used. However, the fundamentals of its benefits remain the same. Digital media can be used for books, music, photos, videos and so much more. This form of media is such that any information or content can be used across different medias. So you can have something stored on your computer in digital format, saved on a USB, carried to another place, plugged into a player or a projector and used. Technology has developed such that devices like our phones too have become a means of carrying around digital data.

Digital media has also been exploited for the marketing of products. It is quite an interesting concept since a number of people in the target group can be approached with a simple digital media campaign. The costs involved are minimal and the impact much greater. Of course, a great deal of forethought goes into digital media planning and there are several aspects to take into consideration. The Internet is a dynamic place and one that needs to be interesting if you are to retain the viewership of a reader.

Filed Under: Communications, Digital Media Tagged With: Business, Digital media, Signage

Why Professional Photographers Prefer a Single-Lens Reflex Camera

March 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

To a photographer, capturing the moment means everything. Getting a subject to pose in just the right way at any given moment makes the difference between a good photo and a great one. Capturing a moment with just the right amount of light, at a given instant is essential.

With regular digital cameras, photographers have to make the angle of a taking lens and a viewing lens. In a digital single lens camera, the taking and viewing lenses are the same. Both regular digital cameras and DSLR cameras have electronic and manual zooms. The manual zoom option on a regular camera has limitations, however.

Professional photographers use digital single lens reflex cameras, or SLRs, while the average person most commonly uses regular digital cameras. Image quality is a huge benefit to using the DSLR camera. Photographers can take a great picture even when there is low-light.

Regular digital cameras are smaller than DSLRs, and quieter. Without setting up a shot, an amateur photographer can shoot a picture in auto mode. Shutter speeds on DSLR cameras are faster than on regular digital cameras.

Digital SLR cameras also allow for better depth and angle in a photo. Photographers get a more accurate preview of the angle at which they are taking the photo and of the depth. A shallower depth of field enables a photographer to isolate an object from the background.

With the ease of use and versatility of digital single lens reflex cameras, capturing the perfect photo was never so simple.

Filed Under: Communications Tagged With: Digital single-lens reflex camera

Using a TV as a Computer Monitor

February 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Wouldn’t it be nice if that video you’re watching on your computer could be seen on a bigger screen? Of course, it would, provided you didn’t have to deal with pixilation and other issues that can really ruin a viewing experience. Instead of worrying about those kinds of things, go out and take a look at TVs that are designed to have computers hooked up to them. There are cables you can get to do the job, and some TVs can even connect wirelessly, so you can use your TV as a computer monitor any time you want to. It may sound too good to be true, but it’s actually possible.

Before buying a TV that you’re going to use with your computer, do your research. Highest price isn’t always the best choice, and lowest price might not give you what you want. Instead, focus on value – what you’re getting for the money you’re spending. If you can get low price and high quality all in one package, you’ve gotten a great deal of value that way. Everyone has a budget, too, and it’s important to stay in yours. Look at what you really want. If you can’t get it at your price point, move down the line until you find what falls into your price range.

What you can afford and what you really want may not be identical, but they can be close enough that you’re happy with your TV purchase. Connecting it to your computer will depend on the way it’s designed, but make sure it has that capability before you buy it. If there are specific cables you need, get them, too. Then you won’t get home, hook your TV up, and realize that you have to go back to the store because you don’t have what you need to plug your computer into the TV properly.

Filed Under: Communications, General Tagged With: Computer monitor, Price point, Television

How to Make an Editable PDF using Acrobat Professional

January 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Having electronic documents makes telecommuting easier. With a click of a button you can send a form halfway across the world, wait for it to be filled out, and find it waiting in your inbox the next day. But while word processing software is great for creating documents, filling them out and watching all the lines and page breaks get skewed isn’t much fun at all.

A simple solution is to create the document the way you normally would, then edit it in Acrobat Professional.

Once you have your document, create a PDF. You can usually do this from the print screen. Import your PDF into Acrobat Professional.

At the top of the screen, select Tools and a pull down menu should appear. Go to Advance Editing, then to Forms. Select the Text Field Tool. Move your mouse over to where you want the text field to be, hold it down and drag it over to the opposite corner of the area so that you make a rectangle.

An option window will pop up. Go to Appearance to set the border and inside color. At the bottom of the window is a box that says Text. Change the Font Size from Auto to 10 or 12. Do this on all the text fields to keep the forms consistent. Next click on the Options tab. Unclick the box that says Scroll Long Text. This is important because if the form is printed, not all the text in that box will print.

To make a clickable check box, go back to Forms under Advanced Editing, and select the Check Box Tool. Draw a box with your mouse over the area you want to be checkable. When the option window pops up go to the tab that says Appearance, and set the border and inside color.

Now you have an editable PDF you can send to clients.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Adobe Acrobat, Checkbox, Electronic document

Instant Messaging is Here to Stay

January 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Programs that enable people to chat with friends have been popular for much of the history of the Internet. In fact, instant messaging pre-dates the Internet itself. However, these programs didn’t become well known until the 1990s. Some of the earliest internet services that were available to home users like Prodigy, Compuserve, and America Online had easy-to-access chat programs available either for download or on the web servers themselves. These early chat programs were very basic, set up in several different chat rooms that users could visit. The main drawback of chat rooms is the fact that you have to be in the same chat room as the person you wish to chat with.

These chat rooms lead to the creation of instant messaging. Instant messaging programs blended the instant chatting aspect of the chat room with the convenience of e-mail. The first instant messenger that really became well known among the general population was the America Online (AOL) Instant Messenger. In the mid 1990s, it became the must-have computer application. It did not take long for others to spring up, opening the door for more users to participate. The three that broke free from the pack to become the most popular were ICQ, Yahoo Messenger, and MSN messenger (now known as Windows Live Messenger.)

These were commonly used among computer users throughout the 2000s. As cell phones and, later, smart phones became more common, texting took over some of the instant messaging market, but did not kill it. In the last few years, Facebook chat has become a major player. Now, there are literally dozens of instant messaging programs. Many of them are simply shell programs that allow users to access their accounts from AIM, Yahoo, ICQ, MSN, and Facebook on the computer and from their mobile devices. Instant messaging is here to stay, and from the looks of things, it will adapt to the current needs of computer users.

Filed Under: General, Internet Tagged With: Instant messaging, MSN, Yahoo Messenger