GCF Learn Free

For those wanting to learn a new subject or brush up on a new one, GCFLearnFree.org is a good site to start.  With courses on subjects like computer software (particularly Microsoft Office), everyday life, money, and career this is a good place to go to for free courses. You can study at your own pace and there are accompanying videos that aid in your grasping the subject and greatly support the content taught. You also can register for courses given online that are graded by instructors. These instructors also will also provide help and feedback as well. You can finish these courses in a few days or up to 4 weeks. Upon completion for these you are awarded a certificate of completion.  You are not awarded a certificate for completing the self paced courses. There are also some good GCF videos on YouTube as well.  See link:  http://www.youtube.com/user/gcflearnfree

Some of these courses are very basic like "Cash Back".  Others like the ones for the various editions of Microsoft Office Excel and Microsoft Office Access are more involved.  By creating an account you are able to see what courses you have taken or are in the process of taking.  Courses that are more involved have various sections and a challenge at the end of each section. What I like about the Microsoft Office courses are that they are not only offered for the current version but for several previous versions. It is not necessary to be using the current version to get instruction that is meaningful for you. For those who are beginners with regards to computers, their Computer Basics course is useful and informative.  Most of their courses are computer related. Their Facebook page notes that  they provide "innovative online learning opportunities to anyone who wants to improve their technology, literacy, and math skills."

You may wonder how are they able to do this for free. GCFLearnFree.org is supported by the Goodwill Community Foundation. GCFLearnFree.org serves to support the educational mission of the Goodwill Community Foundation which is "to create and provide education, employment, and life enrichment opportunities for people who desire to improve the quality of their lives" as per the GCFLearnFree.org site. It certainly is a good site to go to for your lifelong education.


Computer Concierge NY LLC, provides expert computer services in the Bayside, NY area, Including Queens, Albertson, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellrose, College Point, Douglaston, Floral Park,  Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Kings Point, Lake Success, Manhasset, Mineola, Munsey Park,  New Hyde Park, North Hills, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Plandome, Rego Park, Roslyn, The Bay Club, Thomaston, University Gardens, Williston Park, Whitestone and Other Areas in the Bayside vicinity.  

Buying a New Computer

Sooner or later you will find yourself in the market for a new computer. It could be a replacement for an existing computer, your first computer purchase (not likely if you are reading this), or an additional computer.

When that time comes you need to keep a few things in mind. The first is probably what will you be using your computer for? Will you use it for word processing, surfing the net, photos, etc? While you need to realize your use may change as your computer usage evolves, you should not purchase much more of a computer than what you will need. Don’t purchase a computer that is suited for games when you will only be doing surfing and word processing.

You should get the most recent operating system provided it has been around long enough to work the bugs out. Usually the operating system should be out a few months.

Consider your space requirements and where you will primarily be using it. If you live in a small apartment, will you have space for a desktop? Would a large laptop (11” and up screen) that is considered a desktop replacement be more suitable? If you have a desktop, you likely will not be moving it around much if at all as it involves a tower. Also keep in mind if you are purchasing a laptop, a bigger one tends to be less expensive.

With that in mind, if you are purchasing a laptop you need to know again how you will use it. If you will be travelling with it often, you should consider a smaller one. You also need to realize that the keyboard is not a standard keyboard that you would find with a desktop. You can buy an external mouse and keyboard to use with your computer but this will take up space in your computer bag which you should get if you are buying a laptop. If you are getting either an external mouse or keyboard, get the mouse. It is more value added to a laptop than the keyboard as far as speed is concerned.

Also note that more and more laptops these days come with a cam for videoconferencing.

You also have 3 other aspects to consider. Note that the minimums given are as of now and will change as technology changes. Random access memory (RAM), processing speed, and hard drive size. RAM is the most important. It is the memory used when your computer is on. Once your computer is turned off, this memory is no more. It is sometimes referred to temporary memory. The more RAM, the faster your computer operates and this is the most important of the 3 components. It is where the operating system all opened programs, and current data used are stored. Your minimum RAM should be 2GB and if money is not an issue, a minimum of 4GB. You also need to consider your hard drive size. Think of this as the drawer space for keeping clothes. It is your permanent memory as opposed to RAM memory. You should have a minimum of 160 GB of hard drive storage. If you will be storing, pictures, video, audio streams, you will need more depending on how much you plan to store. Processing speed is the speed of your computer. You do not need to get the fastest processing speed available. You should get 2nd or 3rd fastest. You will not notice the difference and you will appreciate the savings.

The next issue is MAC vs PC. There is a greater availability of software for a PC than a MAC but this gap is a lot less than it used to be. There are other factors to consider however. See below:

MAC Advantages
1. Not as Prone to Viruses.
2. Less Issues of Breakdown – also quicker to start up and shut down.
3. Excellent training. A lot is free.
4. Better maintenance and customer service.
5. Easier to use. However Windows 7 operating system has greatly narrowed this gap. It is competitive with MAC’s Snow Leopard Operating System.

PC Advantages
1. Owned by 90% of people and businesses.
2. More varieties (HP, Dell, etc).
3. Less expensive especially laptops.
4. More for businesses especially since more availability of software as noted.

Last but not least if you are buying a desktop, think about the screen size of your monitor. Again space considerations come into play.

By doing a little research into your needs and space availability you will be able to get a computer that works best for you.

Check that Connection

There are times when that appliance, home entertainment unit, or computer does not start and panic will start to set in. It is basic but sometimes the issue can be resolved by simply checking to see that the appliance is connected to an outlet or if the outlet is controlled by a light switch checking to see that the switch is in the on position.
So the next time that appliance fails to start, don’t panic. Check to see that it is plugged in. If that light switch is turned on, plug something else into the outlet. You may be surprised at how much time you saved by not panicking where the issue is not the appliance but rather the connection and a whole lot of troubleshooting is not necessary and you’re able to go as you normally would in no time.

A Good Product Review Site for Tech Products and More

Want to know if you should purchase that camera you have in mind?  Need a good place for downloads? Or just want a good place for Tech News.  Then CNET is a good site for you to go to and explore.

The top of their webpage offers 4 selections in addition to a search bar and a "Home" icon.  They are "Reviews" "News" "Downloads" and "Videos".

For "Reviews", all sorts of tech products from computers, cameras to mp3 players are reviewed here.  You can see how the product you are interested in compares to similar products. Many have a video review by one of CNET's experts.  It is the largest part of the site generating per Wikipedia over 4,300 product and software reviews annually.  Most of the traffic generated to the site is for its reviews.

The "News" section has headlines and more details of Tech related news.  The information can be very useful for your own technology.  It includes articles about tech related business, wireless, green tech, blogs among other subjects.

"Downloads" consists of about 500,000 software titles for download  with both freeware and non freeware titles.  You can download based upon operating system, type of software and price.  There is probably some good software for your computer here and it certainly is worthwhile checking out.

The "Video" section includes product videos and how to instructional videos.  As a visual person, I have gotten some good tips here.

One of the other features of this site is the ability to compare prices for a product you may be thinking of buying.

All in all this is a good site for tech information particularly the reviews and downloads.  There are discussion forums for asking questions and exchanging information as well. Like most forum sections you need to set up an account. Why not check it out and if it meets your needs include it as one of  your bookmarks/favorites.

Flickr - A Different Type of Photo Sharing Site

If you not only enjoy sharing photos but also being able to learn about photography as well, then you may wish to check out Flickr. Flickr is owned by Yahoo and a Yahoo account is required but worth it if you wish to have a Flickr account. As of a year ago, Flickr had over 26 million users.

A free account allows you to only see the last 200 pictures you have posted and you can only post a picture to 10 groups. Groups relate to a topic which can be related to camera gear used, locations, types of photos, etc.  You can discuss in these groups not only photography but also topics relevant to the group. If you are travelling, there is probably a group for the places you are visiting that you can check out for pictures posted in the group and even post questions or comments about the area.  For $24.94 a year you can get a Pro account. This enables you to have stats on your account, unlimited uploads and storage, ad free browsing and other benefits. No matter what type of account you have, you can tag your photos which enables pictures to be found easier when doing a search by topic.

This is such a popular site for photography that in May of 2009 the official White House photographer Peter Souza started to use Flickr as a way to release White House photos.

If you have even a passing interest in photography this is a site worth checking out. You do not need to have an account to go through the site and check out the pictures and groups. You may decide to stay awhile.  Click to see pictures in my Flickr account.

Dropbox – A Real Good Program for File Sharing and Accessing Files Away From Your Computer

Have you ever wanted to share files with someone without emailing them? Have you ever needed to access a file and you are not by your computer? Then Dropbox is for you. Per Wikipedia, “The Dropbox client enables users to drop any file into a designated folder that is then synced to the cloud and to any other of the user's computers and devices with the Dropbox client.”

While Google Docs is a way to share and store files offline, it is not as good as Dropbox. 3 reasons:
1. Using Dropbox allows you to upload by folder which at this point in time you cannot do using Google Docs. With Google Docs, you can only upload files. You have to set up a folder in Google Docs and move the files to that folder after you upload. With Dropbox, you can drag the folder into Dropbox and the folder and contents are uploaded.
2. You can set up more than 1 computer to have access to selected files. When you use the files and update, they are automatically uploaded on any other computer linked to your Dropbox account. You do not need to use a USB drive to transfer files or email a file to yourself.
3. Dropbox offers up to 2GB free storage. With Google Docs you are limited to 1GB of free storage.

Let’s discuss the 1st advantage. When you use Google Docs you can only upload files. You cannot upload a folder but rather the files in a folder. In Google Docs you upload the files in the folder, individually or collectively. What this means is that in Google Docs you need to create a folder name. Then in Google Docs you move the files to the folder selected. In Dropbox you simply upload the folder which would include all the files in the folder. A step saved.

I also like the time saver of the 2nd advantage. My wife and I have both a laptop and a desktop. When we travel, frequently our travel notes are written on the desktop. Prior to our trip we use a USB drive to transfer our travel notes to our laptop. Now that we have Dropbox and both computers are linked to the Dropbox account this is automatic. No USB drive needed here. That said, in order for the file to sync in Dropbox the file cannot be opened. While you are using the file, it cannot be synced to the Dropbox website or any other computer. Only files in the Dropbox folder are synced. If you do not want to share a file and/or folder you don't put it in the Dropbox folder. You save time in that you do not have to email files to yourself. You also do not need a USB drive to transfer files from 1 computer to another. This also has the advantage of backing up files on both another computer and on the Dropbox website. Don’t have another computer? Well like Google Docs, you can access the file from another computer by going to Dropbox on the web. If you want to share a file with others, you send an email allowing access to the file you wish to share.

The last advantage is academic. 2GB of free storage vs 1GB of free storage.

All in all, Dropbox is not only a good way of storing and accessing files online. It is also a better way of doing it than using Google Docs. Try it. You will find that you have some extra time on your hands for other things to do.

How Far Is That?

Before I blog about the subject at hand, I wanted to mention that you can subscribe to this blog by email or RSS feed.  On the right side towards the upper part is a "Subscribe Via Email" link.  On the bottom of the page is a "Subscribe to Blog" tag.  By clicking on Posts, you can select the RSS service you wish to link this blog to.

Recently I went running out of town and could not get my GPS to work for me to know how far I ran. By using Google Maps, I later was able to map out the route and determine how far I actually ran instead of guessing the distance. The days of driving your car  to determine that distance of the route is in the past.  Further it does not work well where there are one way streets involved.   Note a few weeks ago I did a post about Google Maps.  I did not include this feature as it deserves its own space.

First you need to set up a Google account if you already do not have one.  Once that is done, go to Google Maps.  In the top right there is in red "New!".  Select this option. Find the option "Distance Measurement Tool" and select "Enable".  On the lower left of the map itself is an icon that looks like a small ruler. Once you have zoomed in on the map to your desired starting point click on this small ruler with your mouse. Then go to your starting point and click here with your mouse.  Click at the first turn and all subsequent turns.  If you make an error select the option on the left side to "Delete last point". While you are mapping your route the total distance to this point shows on the left side.  When you are done, the distance I just mentioned is now the total distance of that run, walk, or bicycling that you have done.

I used this to measure the distance of a run I already did.  You can of course it to plan a path for running, bicycling, walking, etc.  It is a tool that can come in handy. However the next time you tell someone that it is a short walk to wherever you want to walk with them to, they can check if it really is a short walk later on.

What the Internet Has Made Free

Since the internet, there are things that are now free that you used to pay for.  Some of these include items where a savings has made it free. An example is writing a letter that costs $0.44 to mail but sending an email is free as you have no postage.  So here are just a few things that used to cost but are now free online:

1. Skype - you can videochat with anyone who also has a Skype account anytime, anywhere for free.  No more tracking message units, long distance phone calls, etc.  Yes there are other videochat sites.  I am using Skype since it is so well known.
2. Newspapers-  yes more and more newspapers are moving to a paid service online.  That said, there are still many that you can access for free.  
3. Directory assistance - at one time this was entirely free then for local calls a charge was added.  You can access sites like anywho.com and whitepages.com to get phone numbers for free.
4. Paying bills - most banks allow to to pay checks online for free.  No postage costs or paying for checks.  Plus you can set up automatic payments that save you time.  The checks are automatically written at a time interval you specify.
5. News, weather, sports - no more calling a 900 number or other number for which you were charged.  This up to date information can be obtained on the internet.
6. Dictionary and Thesaurus - this also saves on space.  You can access definitions and synonyns at sites like Dictionary.com or Thesaurus.com
7. Your personal phonebook - can be put on sites like Gmail, Yahoo, etc.  No need to buy a phone book.  Further, you do not need to worry about losing your phonebook and losing all contacts.  You can access it anywhere you have internet access.
8. Trip planning - Get routes on google maps.  Purchase and print tickets and boarding passes. Flight status is online. You used to need to be a member of AAA to get their triptik online.  Now you can go to their site and download a triptik at no charge which you can print even if you are not a member of AAA. Further you can get quite a bit of travel information online that you used to have to pay for.
9. Photo sharing - no longer need to pay for extra pictures for friends and relatives.  You can send pictures via email or photo sharing sites like snapfish.com or yorkphoto.com.  
10. Historic weather data from the Farmers Almanac. 
11. Encyclopedia - wikipedia.com and http://www.encyclopedia.com/ have made that encyclopedia collection your parents had just about obsolete and a lot less expensive.  Plus they free up space around the house for other things.
12. About.com is a great source of reference for which a lot you previously had to pay for. 
13. Sales tax - although this is changing, depending on where you live you may save sales tax by ordering something online.
14. Shipping & handling - see sales tax above.  Due to online price comparisons, companies may waive shipping charges on certain items or if an order is greater than a certain amount.
15. Movie showtimes - the cost was either a newspaper or a phone call.  Now free online along with reviews.
16. Accounting software - GnuCash is a free accounting software program for small business usage. QuickBooks has a basic program that is also free.
17. Money management - mint.com 
18. Ecards - rather than buying and mailing birthday cards, anniversary cards, etc you can now send someone an ecard.  There are still those that are free plus you also save postage.  I would not send a sympathy card as an ecard but this post is about things that are now free not how to do a card on the cheap.  

I am sure there are other things that the internet has made free that you at one time paid for.  Any additions to this list are welcomed and if I get enough will publish them in a future blog giving you credit.  

Evernote - Your Own Personal Digital Assistant

If you are looking for a good note taking program that you can sync with your smartphone then Evernote may be for you. Its number of users have increased quite a bit since it became more user friendly for Android users. It can be used to store notes, pdf files (which you can annotate) and is great for clipping parts of a website that you wish to save to later use. While it is in the cloud, you can save a version that rests on your hard drive as well. You also are given an Evernote email address to use in case you or someone else wishes to add to your existing notes or create a new one. This is good where your spouse,friend,etc can send you a picture of what a particular item you are shopping for looks like.

As mentioned you also can take and store pictures. You can take a picture with your smartphone and upload to your Evernote account making notes about the picture once it is uploaded.  Those who have an Eye-Fi card in their digital camera can send pictures directly to their Evernote account from it.

It is a great program for note taking and organizing your notes. Similar notes can be categorized as notebooks which is a collection of notes. The search feature is also very good.  You can search by keywords, tags, and titles. Evernote is good for making notes which you could use with pictures to better clarify and also for its ability to clip parts of a webpage. You can also convert speech to text. This enables you to send voice notes that are converted to text.

An area of concern is its ability to share your notes with others. You have the ability to share your notes with everyone, selected people or no one. Sharing is based upon notebooks which as mentioned is a collection of notes. Even with the paid version I do not see a way to allow those you share your notes with to edit and make changes to them. I find the lack of this feature and the fact that sharing is by notebooks and not individual notes to be a concern. When I make notes that I wish to allow others to make changes to I use Google Docs where you can allow changes to be made by others for individual file(s).

For those who like a good way of taking and organizing notes on the run, need a good way to organize your notes and have your own personal digital assistant this is a good program check out.  It may suit your needs and do it well. Even if you do not have a smartphone, you may do well using it.

A Concern About Yahoo Calendar

Earlier this week I was helping a friend who uses Yahoo Calendar and was having issues with it. What I found was cause for concern. I did a little research using my existing Yahoo account which I do not use much anymore. Let me first start by saying that between Friday February 18 and Monday February 21 the calender that was in beta version for Yahoo was released as their new version. My friend had prior to February 18 converted from the older calendar version to the beta version and was having issues with the beta version. This past Friday that version was still in beta. With my Yahoo account I successfully converted my calendar to the beta version. I saw this disclaimer which led me to believe I could switch back if I was not satisfied with the beta version (see the disclaimer terms noted in 2). I switched to the beta version with the intent of switching back as there was nothing in the disclaimer to make me believe I could not switch. As a matter of fact,what was mentioned was what I would lose if I decided to switch back. However, when I tried switching back there was not a way for me to switch back. Upon further searching, I found a link that I cannot switch back to prior version. While I certainly do not think that Yahoo deliberately is setting up people to switch, I do feel that given the disclaimer I should have been able to switch back. With Yahoo Mail,one can choose from their current version, classic version and beta version switching as you see fit. Why can you not go between the old and new Yahoo calendar versions? I will add here that if you have had an existing Yahoo account, you are not presently required to switch to the new calendar. However if you were to now open up a new Yahoo account, you are given the new calendar version.

My concern is that there are likely others who made this switch but were not able to switch back.  As I noted, in Yahoo mail you can go back and forth between 3 versions including the beta. Why not allow the same for their calendar especially in light of what I had mentioned? If anyone from Yahoo reads this and wishes to respond, I will publish their response. We all know Yahoo has been having issues as of late and has reduced staff. They should step up here. When I used their service on a more frequent basis, I was satisfied. I note that Google's email service and calendar surpassed them a while back. Their new calendar still does not have quite a few features that Google has but it is improved and I like the interface better than their previous calendar. I hope that Yahoo does the right thing and allows those who use the new Yahoo calendar to revert back to the previous version if they wish.