Computer Tips
I made this page for my friends who kept asking me for my
computer tips help. Hope you find them useful!
Various link and tips for your computer:
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computer tips - how to make your computer faster, leaner and free of
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more computer tips - a continuation of the previous link but covers tips
how to make yourself work faster on the computer, how to type quickly,
beautifying your work environment, safe computer practices, how to surf,
safe emailing and many other tips.
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how to format in Word - originally
written for my translators, but you might find it useful as well. Certainly
easier than reading the extensive help files with the program.
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Total Commander help - a great, free
file management program and some quick tips how to put it to powerful use
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how to resize digital camera
pictures - maybe you have a great new camera but when you send pictures to
your friends some may have too slow of an internet connection to receive 6MB large
files. Here's how you can quickly resize many pictures in minimum time.
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how to put your pictures in
easy web pages -
Google's Picasso and other free services like
Flickr are generally
good but if you want to take things a step further and make it more pleasant
for your friends and viewers, it is easy to make your own webpages. For
example, for services like Flikr I generally find it slow and annoying to
look at little thumbnails and then wait until the full picture loads into
the browser after I click on it. Personally I prefer that the large pictures
all load while I am viewing them or reading some text.
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how to use search engines - may seem
easy and straightforward but there are certain tricks how to quickly hone in
on exactly what you need, with the proper key words and other factors.
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how to choose between products -
want to buy some fancy new electronic hardware, such as a laptop or digital
camera, and don't know where to start? Use the power of the internet to help
you make a sound decision.
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computer virus protection - dont be
caught with your pants down!
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How to Set up and Properly Secure WordPress - a content management
system for blogging.
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protect your
computer and Windows - and why get a
virus in the first place if there are simple steps you can take to build a
fortress around your system and prevent any penetration whatsoever?
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how to Download Videos to your
Computer from a Digital Video Camera - why don't any of
the manuals which come with your fancy new video camera seem to explain
this? Anyway, now you'll know.
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how to stop email spam dead in its
tracks - there are several ways for different programs, but one of them
stops them dead in their tracks, although it costs 30 bucks a year.
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search engine optimization - have some
beautiful webpages but no one knows about them because they are not near the
top of search engine results? Well, I won't tell you all these secrets
because that is one way how I earn my bread, but through the email
correspondence section you will certainly find a lot of secrets.
And speaking of search engine optimization, that is what the
following text primarily concerns. Yes, one of the secrets of getting to the top
of search engines is to
to offer lots of original text. Anyone can copy a bunch of
text from other webpages and add it to their own, but not only is that stealing,
but if it worked, everyone would do it. So the search engines have figured out a
way to know who was the first contributor of such text and give them all the
credit, possibly penalizing all the others who plagiarize the original. So what
does that mean? Well, if you type fast and are an avid blabber like me, you can
spit out lots of original content and it helps your webpages! And what does this
mean for you? Well, it means that you probably want to stop reading now because
it's probably not going to be very interesting. Although who knows.
Anyway, how did I become a computer expert?
Basically
I started my own translation
agency and was forced to. Why was I forced to? Well, running a translation
agency requires surprisingly more computer skills than one might first think,
and because I was starting, didn't have much money, and possibly because I'm a
part Jew, I just couldn't stand departing from my money! Occasionally I would
ask for the help of a computer expert friend, but most of the time I scoured the
help files and internet and taught everything I know about the computer myself.
From graphics design, to making web pages, yes, even SEO (search engine
optimization). You'd be amazed how many things you can learn on the computer
just by solving a simple problem. It certainly does not seem simple though when
you first try to solve it. Like those magic tricks that seem so elusive but you
can only smack yourself in the head and proclaim "DUHHHH!" once it is explained
to you. Or those little wooden blocks like toys that you are supposed to take
apart and put back together.
While scouring the help files to solve a computer related
problem I usually learn ten other things about the computer in the process. And
over the years I have covered so many bases in the computer universe that many
now call me a computer guru – which I gather should be at least one notch above
a computer expert. Or perhaps a
computer expert is educated and his/her knowledge confined to one particular
segment of the computer universe. But one can truly have a good overview when
they can cover more bases. Even setting up computer networks for my office. I
would find a computer expert through the local newspaper and always gaze over
their shoulder watching everything they did, occasionally asking them questions.
After all, I was paying for their time, so why not milk the donkey while its
there? And why would they object? I can't imagine little ol' me could pose a
competitive threat to their profession. Other times I'd roll a big fat Bob
Marley and we'd become the best of friends. A great way to get the layman's
price for anything you need. In fact, I almost can't imagine why anyone needs a
university education these days, since practically all knowledge is becoming
available on the internet. Even MIT is starting to put its entire curriculum
online. In this way a caring person in Africa
with an internet connection can learn the latest in medicine and help save
lives. Of course, a fancy hospital in the west will not hire someone without a
diploma, no matter how much they know, but information should be free, and is
hopefully the way of the future.
On the other hand, many people I talk to admit they don't
have enough motivation to teach themselves in this way. They need to go to a
school, with a regimented schedule and be told what to learn so that they could
eventually find a job and be told what to do. Not me though. In fact I quite
enjoy my freedom and have no problem motivating myself. My greatest motivation
is the fear of failing and having to get a "real job", so that someone could
breath down my neck, tell me what to do, and I'd be forced to fight in traffic
twice a day like everyone else.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed my blabbing about computer
knowledge and I guess that's enough of it for this page.
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