Computer and Web Articles

Awayfind does not solve the eternal problem of too much email. Instead, it helps you handle that eternal flow of emails in the most productive manner possible – whether you’re in the office, on the road, or on vacation.

If you dread opening your inbox each morning, or if you waste the most productive hours of your day answering emails, Awayfind can help.

Awayfind can…

• text-message emergencies and time-sensitive communications to you or others when you’re not checking your email.
• route messages to others while you continue to do your work.
• inform people as to exactly when and how you can be reached.
• let you keep an eye on critical developments without having to read through hundreds of other messages in your inbox.

Awayfind offers a Basic plan for free as well as a Professional plan for $6.95/month or $49.95/year (the Professional plan comes with a 30 day free trial). Learn more at www.awayfind.com.

1. www.testmytyping.com – Not such a hot typist? Take free online typing tests and view your progress and results instantaneously. Browse through online typing tutorials, test your typing speed, and play free typing games to get your skills up to par.
2. http://tools.dynamicdrive.com/gradient - An online, free, easy-to-use gradient creator for designers and people who like to create their own graphics. Preview your colorful creations, then output your custom gradients as jpegs or pngs.
3. http://tinyurl.com/clpsng - One of the most technologically advanced postcards I’ve ever seen, the Stopper postcard measures the actual time it took for it to be delivered. Please keep in mind that I’m most definitely not saying this is an amazing, must-have product – I just wanted to make sure you were up-to-date in the world of postcard technology.
4. http://scr.sc/products/kazetodesktop/ - A screensaver that moves about according to the current wind conditions in your town or city. A PC running Windows XP or Vista is required, and the software is free to try, $8 to purchase.
5. http://tinyurl.com/2cadap - Make Gmail your computer’s default email program so that you’re presented with a Gmail “compose” screen whenever you click email links on the web. Works on both Macs and PCs.

It can be quite annoying when Microsoft Word butts into your business and assumes you’d like to create a numbered list in your document … when in fact you have no such desire. In fact, Word assumes that you’re creating a numbered list every single time you place a number in front of a new line.

Let’s take a moment right now and tell Word to stop making these annoying assumptions. Just follow these steps:

1. Go to Tools > AutoCorrect Options.
2. Click on the AutoFormat as You Type tab.
3. Uncheck the box that reads Automatic Numbered Lists.
4. Click Ok.

In the future, you can tell Word when you’d like it to make a numbered list for you by clicking the numbering icon in your toolbar (the icon with “1 2 3″ listed vertically, on the left of three horizontal lines).

I cannot emphasize this one enough. When creating content for your business website and deciding how to organize your information, remember to guide yourself using the answer to this question: “What do my customers and potential customers want to see?”

Your personal preferences, ideas about what information is most interesting, beliefs about the superiority of your company, and wealth of knowledge about certain topics should never come before an the information your customers wish to see when they arrive at your site. This is not to say that you can’t tell them what you want them to know, but addressing their wants and needs should be the primary focus of your content.

If you’d like to talk about yourself, post photos hobbies, tell people about your travels, etc. – you may wish to consider starting a personal blog. Your business website is for your customers, not for you.

1. http://tinyurl.com/2fjzg7 - A great tool to answer that “What If…?” question that occasionally drifts into so many people’s minds: “What if I had invested in x or y stock back then?” Just visit this link, drop your information into the form (stock symbol, initial amount you would have invested, etc.), and the answer to your question will be instantly displayed before your eyes.
2. www.parenthacks.com - A “collaborative website that collects and publishes parents’ tips, recommendations, workarounds, and bits of wisdom … in a single pot so we can all partake.” Hmm. I have a hunch that when the site’s creators say “we can all partake,” their concept of “all” really means “all of us with children”.
3. http://tinyurl.com/6kpz56 - This blog post from a site called “TechnoTheory” offers a quick checklist for those looking to make their email communications more professional. Example suggestions include letting people know when you’re replying on a mobile device, changing your signature when appropriate, and restricting the number of names in your To and CC fields.
4. http://tinyurl.com/y34ob5 - Do you have a domain registered in your name (in other words, do you have your own website)? If so, you’ve got a terrific anti-spam tool at your finger tips. Learn why right here.
5. http://tinyurl.com/37b4kr - Do you have a blog on your company website? Wish you could find ways to increase the number of subscribers/readers? This post provides eleven suggestions for attracting new RSS subscribers to your blog.

1. www.word07.com – Word 2007 looks and sometimes functions rather differently than all previous versions of Word, so many of the tips and tricks I’ve provided in the past can’t be applied by users of Word 2007. That’s why I’m sharing this link with you – it’s here to save the day by offering a wealth of helpful, useful, usable tutorials specific to Word 2007.
2. www.legacylocker.com - Have you ever wondered what happens, exactly, to your Facebook account … after your death? Legacy Locker wondered. Their belief that people’s digital legacies need protection drove them to build an online service that allows people to “grant access for online assets for friends and loved ones in the event of death or disability.” A simple to use service that promotes itself as selling peace of mind.
3. www.twilert.com – A handy application that sends you regular emails updates of Twitter tweets that contain mentions of your brand, company, product, service – or any other keywords you’d like to be notified about. It arduously, continuously scours the world of Twitter so you don’t have to. For free.
4. http://tinyurl.com/4ffz79 - Gawker is a cool little application for Mac OS X that allows you to create your very own time-lapse movies using your webcam. Totally free. The examples on the site are quite fun too. I can’t help but wonder how long it took to capture the “Snail Grand Prix” video.
5. http://tinyurl.com/cjcmc4 - Are you currently engaged in a war on clutter? This helpful blog post insists never organizing what you can discard. If you’re seriously looking to become a little less cluttered, I encourage you to read this short post along with its readers’ (mostly) thoughtful comments.

If, while browsing the web with Internet Explorer, you frequently run into an annoying Security Information pop-up stating, “This page contains both secure and nonsecure items. Do you want to display the nonsecure items?” it’s highly likely you’d pay a hefty sum of money to be able to rid your web-browsing experience of this extreme annoyance. 

Allow me show you exactly how to turn these annoying pop-up alerts off altogether. Completely free of charge.

• Step #1: In Internet Explorer, go to Tools, then Internet Options.
• Step #2: Click the Security tab, then the Custom Level button.
• Step #3: Scroll alllllllllllllllll the way down, down, down until you see the option that reads “Display mixed content”. Select Enable.
• Step #4: Click Ok, then Yes.

All done!

You’ve got a nice website. People visit your website. And on your website you have a spot where those people can sign up for your email newsletters. Problem is — no one is signing up. Why?? Give the following points some consideration:

1. Are you telling people why they should sign up for your email newsletter . . . or are you just telling them to sign up? People are far less likely to blindly give away their personal information or sign up for newsletters if they have no idea what they should expect after signing up. Make sure you’re clearly stating the benefits people can expect in return for subscribing.
2. Is it easy, quick, and simple to sign up for your newsletter, or do you require people to first fill out a lengthy form? The longer the form and the more information you require your site visitors to divulge, the more likely people will be heading elsewhere, thinking “No thanks.”
3. Are you clear about how often you send out your newsletter? Some people avoid signing up for email newsletters due to fear that they might start receiving twice-daily communications from you when they’re already inundated with massive amounts of emails. Make sure it’s obvious how often people can expect to receive email communications from you if they sign up.
4. Lastly, are you offering true value in your newsletters? Are you providing information that the potential recipients of your newsletters are genuinely interested in? Or are you simply shooting off updates every time your name is in the paper, reviewing products only interesting to people in your industry, or presenting the same information over and over again? Remember that people will want to subscribe to your newsletters if they provide value or are interesting to them.

1. http://doyouknow.gordmangroup.com – Do you know what you don’t know? Well … do you?? It’s a serious question. If you run your own business, it’s very possible that what you don’t know is costing you big bucks. Bob Gordman, President of Breckenridge’s Gordman Group, has a fantastic blog that provides real life examples of how not knowing what you don’t know causes problems.
2. www.nothired.com – Ever wonder why some people never seem to get hired? Wonder no more. (This is an absolutely hilarious website…)
3. http://tinyurl.com/dngb4r - A super-stylish Power Pack for your iPhone. Make sure you scroll down and read the entire post.
4. http://tinyurl.com/53qtd9 - I’m sharing this because I know the anatomy of a Lego man is something you’ve always wanted to know more about.
5. http://tinyurl.com/bokod - eBay’s “heads up” article about spoofed emails.