Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Do dots matter in a gmail?

Google’s Gmail service does indeed ignore periods in the address before the @gmail.com. 

Who knew.  However if you used professional versions such as google education this my not be true.

Friday, September 21, 2018

Helping out remotely on a Mac

If you are remotely trying to configure settings on someone else’s Mac and you both have iOS devices, Apple’s FaceTime video chat app can be helpful for visual cues walking someone through setup steps
Microsoft Skype users can also share screensfor visual reference.

Like Windows users, if you don’t care for the built-in tools, you can also use free third-party programs like TeamViewer to give and get remote assistance. 
Edovia’s $30 Screens 4 is another remote-control app and has a free trial version available.

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Keeping your landline number..but losing the cost

 I want to transfer a phone number I've had for decades, but my new ISP says I can't port it over because it's in a different "rate zone." Any other way I can keep my home number?
A. 
First you have to see if a "VoIP" service can take your number at all. Most have simple forms on their sites where you can enter your digits, or just the area code and exchange, to see if they can handle the port.
But you can't count on this happening, because companies like those must sign agreements with residential phone services to cover these out-of-area moves.
Vonage, perhaps the best-known among them, has deals that allow it to port numbers "for approximately 90 percent of U.S. population," carrier-operations vice president Ed Mulligan said in a message sent along by a publicist.
At Lingo, "Virtually all numbers are portable nationwide except in Alaska, Hawaii

98 percent of phone numbers port over to Ooma successfully
With all of these services, three basic issues apply. One is the need for extra hardware: Although you don't need to call through a computer, you do need to plug your phone into a small adapter device that will also stop working during a power outage. Another is varying compatibility with home-security services.
And 911 is not as much of a sure thing as with landline service. If you don't register your current street address with the service, that information won't automatically be passed to the 911 operator. And in certain locations, calling 911 connects you a nationwide call center, where an operator will take your information and patch you through to a local center.
But in the bargain, your costs should decline dramatically. You can expect to pay $20 or so for unlimited calling, including such features as voicemail you can check from any computer.
But if you're only keeping the line to hang on to a number friends and family know, consider less generous plans with a cap on voice minutes (at Lingo and Vonage, they can halve your monthly costs) or fewer features (Ooma's basic version is free except for taxes, though you still must pay for the required hardware).
Tip: Port a landline number to Google Voice through a prepaid wireless phone.
For those of you thinking "what about Google Voice?": Google's service only lets you port over a wireless number. But if you're determined to have the convenience of taking calls to your landline number on your smartphone--or any device running one of Google's Hangouts apps -- you can make that happen with a two-step process.
As Google Voice veterans like ZDNet's David Gewirtz have explained in detail, the first move is to port your landline over to a prepaid cell-phone plan. Buy the cheapest phone and the fewest minutes possible; once the porting process is done, you can flip the number into Google Voice for the usual $20 fee.


From then on, you can link that number to your mobile number to answer calls to it on on the go. You can place calls from your old landline number using one of those programs too, although in Android you'll need to install a separate Hangouts Dialer program.
PC GURU link

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Google mail updates

Gmail. You know Gmail. If you don't know Gmail, you know someone who does. It's Google's email service, which is free for anyone to use and available for businesses to buy for their employees. More than 1.4 billion people use it. So changes are important.
On Wednesday, Gmail rolled out its biggest changes since 2011. Some of the new features leaked ahead of time, but the new look hasn't actually been available for people to try out for themselves until now.
A bigger, better Gmail means stiffer competition to Microsoft's Outlook email service, which is available to consumers and business users through Office 365, just as Gmail is part of the larger G Suite.
The updated aesthetics aren't hard to adjust to, and there's a handful of great new features. But a few new aspects could be disappointing. Here's what you need to know.

The good

With this rollout, Google is aiming to make Gmail smarter, more secure and easier to use.
One of the most exciting new features is a "confidential mode" that prevents people from copying, forwarding, downloading and printing the emails you send them. You can choose to have the email "expire," or become inaccessible, in one day, one week, one month, three months or five years. "Confidential mode" also lets you specify whether your recipient will have to type a passcode they receive separately in a text message in order to read your message.
In addition, Google transformed Tasks — a to-do list tool that has been hidden in Gmail since 2008 — into a much more useful, nicer-looking way to make lists. It launched delightfully simple mobile apps for it, too.
Tasks is easy to access from Gmail: You simply tap the icon on the right rail and it pops out on the right side of your inbox. You can add tasks, reorder them, tack on sub-tasks, assign dates to everything you have to do. And you can drag emails into Tasks to add them to your list.
That right rail is where you'll also find the new miniature versions of Google Calendar, where you can view and add events, and Google Keep, where you can read and write quick notes. Integrated third-party apps can be accessed from the right rail as well. Having these on hand means you don't have to switch browser tabs so often.
Gmail is also making it easier to take actions on messages. The app will surface attachments and files in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides right below the subject line while you're scanning your inbox, folders and search results, so you don't need to dig through all the messages in a thread to find what you're looking for.
And now when you hover over threads, there are new buttons for archiving messages, deleting them, marking them as unread, or snoozing them. By being able to click those buttons without actually clicking into an email, you'll ideally be able to whiz through your inbox faster.
A new "offline mode" lets you prepare messages to be sent while you're not connected to the internet, and it will send them once you get back online. You can also mark emails to be deleted or archived, and everything will be updated after your connection comes back. Previously you had to set up a separate Chrome web app in order to use Gmail while offline.

Smarter apps

Gmail is also getting smarter, particularly in its companion mobile apps.
Instead of getting a notification every time a new email hits your inbox, you can now tell your Gmail app to ping you only for the most important 3 percent of your incoming messages. (Google decides what it thinks those most important emails are based on your usage. For instance, if you have a thread going with someone, it would ping you with new replies, but you wouldn't get pinged for every new message on a large chain email that you weren't reading.)
This should be a nice addition for many people, especially those who receive so many push notifications that they can't keep up every day.
Nudges are new for Gmail's mobile apps, too. If you don't respond to an email that Gmail thinks is important after a few days, or if a person hasn't responded to an important email you've sent a few days ago, Google will call the thread to your attention, so you can follow up. Maybe people who are already on top of their emails won't need this, but for those with a lot of volume or simply a tendency to be forgetful, Nudges could be a great help. (Google didn't provide us with early access to Gmail's updated Android and iOS apps, so we didn't get to try either of those tools.)
Meanwhile, Gmail on desktop is getting a nifty feature that was previously only available on your phone: Smart Replies.
With Smart Replies, Google includes three crude guesses at how you might want to answer someone's message. Jacob Bank, Google's product management lead for Gmail, told CNBC that 10 percent of all replies on Gmail start with Smart Replies.
Also, you can now mention individual people right in the body of an email, which automatically adds them to the list of recipients. All you have to do is type the + sign and start typing until you see the contact information for the person you're looking for. Microsoft started rolling out a similar feature in Outlook in 2015.

The bad

Despite all the helpful new bells and whistles, the new Gmail has some frustrating elements.
For years, Google has allowed you to click on a date and time in the body of an email you've received, and then add it to your own calendar. That's gone now.
You also can't drag an email into the Google Calendar window on the right of your inbox.
If you're a keyboard shortcut fanatic, tough luck: You can't use Google Keep's keyboard shortcuts in Gmail's new Keep window. Keep isn't very complex overall. You can't search through notes, add reminders or apply labels. You can't click on links that you drop in to notes, either.
The new Gmail also makes sacrifices when it comes to the amount of space you have to scan your inbox. On a 13.3-inch Apple MacBook Pro, the old Gmail shows more emails in all three display modes. Plus, there's more horizontal space for emails in the old Gmail — that is, unless you minimize the folder rail on the left side and the new app section on the right side.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/24/gmail-redesign-how-to.html

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Whats New with Print Screen

 Print screen still exists in Windows 10. Press the PrtScn button on your keyboard and your entire screen is copied to the clipboard. Then you can paste it into Paint, or word.

An upgraded version of PrtScn available since Windows 8 is Windows key + PrtScn. Tap those two keys simultaneously and your screen will “blink” for a second, like a camera shutter.
Navigate to Pictures, Screenshots, and your screenshot will be there. 
If all you need only the current program you’re using, such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint—tap Alt + PrtScn
That will copy an image of the actve window to the clipboard. Just like using the PrtScn shortcut, you can then paste the image into a program.
WHAAT! 
Windows now has a Snipping Tool to capture the screen, save, and share that image. 
Type snip, in search and then click Snipping Tool. Next, click the New and select.
Save the snip.  There you go!

2018 National Back Up day!

Dont be an April fool....Back up your important files and pictures!

Download your Facebook Information



I just discovered you can download your Facebook data! Use it to keep a copy or to look at what data Facebook really has on you!
Go to the General Settings. See the list that includes your Name, Username, look on the bottom of the page and click, “Download a copy of your Facebook data.” 
Click the Start My Archive link.
Facebook will send an email to your email address confirming it is you who requested the download.
 Click the email link, you will now see a  Download Archive link.
The more information you have, the bigger the download.
The download is in a folder, that has an index.htm file just like a website. Click on it, and it will open in your browser.
G
This is your Profile page, click the links below your profile picture to see other Facebook data. Messages, security settings, ads you clicked on, apps you use.....
If you  want to get rid of any information....You have to do it through your Facebook account online.