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The Week in Technology
Google will discontinue selling the Nexus One, their Google Android Phone, on their website; instead opting to partner with cell phone carriers in order to sell their phones inside brick and mortar stores. Google had originally planned to sell the Nexus One through their web store without a service plan, however, the search engine giant stated that customers want hands-on experience before buying a phone, and the ability to select a service plan during the ordering process. T-Mobile had quickly adopted the Nexus One when it was released, however, Verizon and Sprint refused the Nexus One in favor of the HTC EVo 4G and HTC Incredible.
As you may have noticed from my past reports on Facebook security, the popular social networking website is one of the most regular targets for hackers, scammers and phishers. In response to the increase in recent attacks, Facebook will begin to release new security features in an effort to protect their users. New security features include suspicious login detection, which will monitor users login locations and alert the user if there is an attempted login from an unusual location, and registered devices, which will allow users to restrict access by only allowing registered computers and mobile devices to login to their account.
One of the biggest complaints regarding Wikipedia is that it is unreliable. Why? In allowing millions of users access to editing a gigantic encyclopedia, people are bound to hold a bias and write about what they believe, instead of what is truth. Well, Wikipedia made a move this last week which might allow for some of that bias to disappear from their database. Wikipedia is currently looking into developing an innovative method of increasing the accuracy of the public policy and political articles in its online encyclopedia, with the assistance of The Stanton Foundation. As the Wikipedia Press Release stated, "The Wikipedia Public Policy Initiative will recruit Wikipedia volunteers to work with public policy professors and students to identify topic areas for improvement, and work to make them better." The project is set to begin in Fall 2010 and continue through Summer 2011.
Define it with Google
Need a quick word definition? Go to Google and type "define:" (without the quotes) followed by the word. So, if you want to know what "gigabyte" means, just type in "define: gigabyte" (again, without quotes) and hit the Search Button. You'll get a list drawn from several sites. Check it out!
How to Create a Local Area Network Connection and Share Files across Multiple Computers
Do you use multiple computers at your workplace? Don't you think it would be a good idea to create a Local area network connection (LAN) between them so that you can quickly copy files, folders and documents from one computer to another. Let's learn how!
To create a Local area network connection between two computers, you will need the following things:
1. An Ethernet Cable
2. Network drivers and adapters
Following are the steps involved to create a local Area Network connection between multiple computers using the Windows XP or Vista Operating system.
1. Plug in one end of the Ethernet cable to the Ethernet port of Computer1. Next, plug in another end of the Ethernet cable to the Ethernet port of computer2.
2. In computer 1, click Start Menu, right click "My Computer" and choose "Properties"
3. If you are using Windows Vista: In the Computer name, domain and Workgroup settings, choose "Change Settings".
If You are Using Windows XP: Navigate to the "Computer Name" tab as shown below:
4. Click "Change" and enter a assign unique Workgroup name to computer1 as shown below:
5. Click "OK" and you are done setting up the first computer. Now carry out the exact same settings for Computer2. The Workgroup settings of Computer name must match exactly with the Workgroup settings of Computer2.
6. Once both the computers are assigned the same Workgroup name and the ethernet cable is connected, restart both the computers.
7. After a reboot, both computers will detect the workgroup settings automatically and now you are ready to share files, folders and documents across computers using LAN.
Sharing Files in a Local Area Network
Following are the steps involved to share files among the two computers connected in a local area network:
1. Copy a file or folder in computer 1 and click "Network" from the start menu. If your computer is on Windows XP, click "My Network places" from the start menu.
2. In the Network window, you will see a shared folder icon as shown below:
3. This is your second computer, which is showing in the Network window. Double click the icon and browse to "Shared docs > Docs" folder and paste the file which you copied in step1.
4.To get access to this file on your other computer, go to "My Network places" and open the "Shared docs" folder. You would see the file which you copied in the above step.
That concludes the tutorial on setting up a local area network connection on two windows computer. You can now share files, documents and folders and do not require any software or router to do the job.
Windows 7 Action Center
The Windows 7 Action Center is responsible for letting you know what's going on behind the scenes, but it can get a little invasive at times. I mean, how much work is one expected to get done if there are little windows constantly popping up in the corner to let you know about various security and maintenance happenings?
So let's turn 'em off!
Hit Start, and in the Search Box type "Action Center". Hit Enter or click on the result that appears at the top of your Start Menu.
From here, click Change Action Center Settings.
In the windows shown below you can choose which security and maintenance message appear. Just un-check anything you don't deem necessary and click OK.
If you ever want to turn them back on, just repeat the steps and re-check the items!
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Q:
I have heard that there is a way to shut down the computer right from the desktop. Is that true?
A:
Yes, it's true; and you can do it to reboot, log off, hibernate, and stand by, as well! Here's how:
Let's start with the desktop shortcut for shutting down the computer.
1. Right-click on an empty area on the desktop. You'll see a menu. In the menu, select New, and then Shortcut.
2. Click on Shortcut. The "Create Shortcut" Wizard will pop up.
3. Where it asks you to type the location of the item, type the following:
shutdown -s -t 00
4. Click on Next and a screen will ask you what you would like to name your shortcut. Name it anything. I named mine – don't be shocked – "Shut Down". Now click Finish.
Done! Except…it doesn't look like the real Shutdown button; the icon is different.
Now this may be all you need, but I am very picky about things and I want it to look like the real shut down button. Thus I have to change the icon. To do this:
1. Right click your new shutdown shortcut and choose Properties.
2. Select the "Change Icon" button in the Shortcut section.
3. A box of icons will pop up. You can choose any one of them for your icon (I chose the icon for – Surprise! - Shutdown)
Now – I mentioned that you can Log off, Reboot, Hibernate, and Standby the same way. Here is a chart of what you type in when the "Create Shortcut" Wizard pops up.
Here's what I ended up with on my desktop:
A word about the icons:
I couldn't find one for Reboot or Stand By (Windows icons), so I Google'd them (i.e. Windows XP reboot icon) and found some in Images.
However, to save you some time, here are the links to each (courtesy of Icon Archive):
Reboot Icon
Stand By Icon
These are in various sizes. I used size 64x64 for mine.
And you know, I didn't think it would make that much of a difference in time and hassle, but it did. The other night I had to shut down really quickly and didn't want to because I was working on something so I just clicked on Hibernate on my desktop and it was all good.
Pretty cool, huh? Try it; it really is useful!
Q:
Since so many people I know are on Facebook, I decided to join. Now I don't know what to put on my profile page. Can you help?
A:
I know what you mean. It's hard to decide what's important and what's not.
All the people I know love Facebook. A couple of my friends use it to promote their own personal web sites. Basically, the question to ask yourself is this: What do I want people to see when they visit me?
For instance, let's say you are a photographer. You might want to create a profile geared exclusively towards photography and not include a lot of details about your personal life. Or let's say you have a thoroughbred German Shepherd. You may want to have your profile reflect your interest in breeding dogs, maybe upload some pictures of your dog, offer tips on how to take care of a dog, etc. Or maybe you are like most everyone I know and just want to put your personal information on your page and look interesting.
Whichever route you choose, there are some basic tips that may help. Keep in mind that these are tips that will help with any social networking site, not just Facebook.
1. Create a profile that is simple and easy to read. If you clutter up your page with a lot of stuff, then you run the risk of having people jump on your page and then jump right back off. People on the internet surf fast and if have a ton of text and huge pictures that take a long time to load, then they are going to go on to someone else. On the other hand, the information you put on your profile page should be descriptive enough for others that have the same interests that you have can catch that right away. Use significant phrases in your descriptions that reflect your interests. This makes it a lot easier for people that share the things that are most important to find you.
2. "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." I don't know who said that, but it is so true! There are a couple of easy ways to do it. You can make a good first impression just by having a nice layout. You can find tons of free layouts all over the internet; depending on the site they may have custom layouts that you can choose from. Get on Google and type in Free Facebook Layouts and you'll easily find something to express your artistic side. Another thing that you should do is make sure that the things expressed by you or someone that wrote on your page are things that can be read by anybody; you don't want somebody to get a bad first impression of you because someone left something nasty or mean on your page.
3. I should have put this first: Decide on exactly what you want to say! If you want to present the "real" you (well, within reason), then include hobbies, any qualities you want to brag about, interests that you would like to share with someone, etc. Think of your page, pick one main idea or interest, and focus on that. Try not to have a "rambling" page; everything that is on your page should pertain to whatever it is you want to focus on.
4. Be careful of who you add as a "friend" or contact. Make sure to add only those that like what you like, like to do what you do, etc. People will be checking out your "friends" as well. If they go to one of your "friends' pages and that person is – well – not exactly the type of person they would have anything to do with - they may never come back to your page again. Impressions, impressions…
Okay, there you go. These are just some basic tips to get your started. Once you do, you will learn to fine-tune your page and get it exactly how you want it.
Happy Social Networking!
FEBE for Firefox Backup
Are you a die hard Firefox fan? Do you love using Firefox add-ons and can't imagine surfing the internet without them? There are a lot of add-ons for Firefox, and some of them are quite useful too, but the problem comes when you want to use the same set of add-ons in multiple computers.
Here's an example: You have two computers – one at your office and another at your home. You want to use the same set of Firefox add-ons on both computers without having to install all the add-ons individually. Also, you would want to sync Firefox settings across multiple computers which means any changes made on one computer will reflect in the second computer as well.
There is another problem with Firefox extensions – backup. After a system format, you have to install all of the add-ons from scratch.
To solve this problem, you can use FEBE – a Firefox add-on to backup your settings, bookmarks, extensions and other important stuff. Later, you can simply mount the file on another computer and all the add-ons are in place. Here is a quick step by step guide to backup Firefox extensions and use them on multiple computers:
1.Go to the FEBE download page and install the extension in Firefox.
2.Restart Firefox and go to Tools > FEBE > FEBE Options.
3.Now you will see a lot of options in the resulting window. In the "Options" tab, select "Backup extensions" and "back up themes". Leave all other options untouched.
4.Switch to the "Directory" tab and select the location where you would want the extension to save the backup files.
It's recommended to choose a directory in a non system drive, which means you have to create a folder on a drive where the operating system is not installed.
5.In the "Schedule" tab you can schedule an automatic backup of Firefox preferences. You can schedule the backup daily or create a weekly backup. If you do not want to perform an automatic backup, leave all checkboxes unchecked.
6.The extension allows you to automatically upload a copy of the backup file at popular file sharing service – Box.net. You can enter the Box.net preferences in the "Box.net" tab as shown below:
7.Click "Verify" and the setup part is over. You are ready to backup all your Firefox preferences, including add-ons, bookmarks, passwords and use them on multiple computers.
How to Manually Backup Firefox Add-ons using FEBE
How to Manually Backup Firefox Add-ons using FEBE
To perform a manual back up click Tools > FEBE and select "perform backup".
This will freeze Firefox for a minute, but when the backup job is over, you will find new backup files in the specified directory.
Restoring Firefox Add-ons in other computers
Now when you want to restore this backup on another computer, start Firefox and Install the FEBE extension as usual. Next restart Firefox and select Tools > FEBE > Restore and select "Restore extensions".
This will open a window and you can simply navigate to the extension back up folder created earlier and browse the required files one by one. Once all the backups are in place, restart Firefox and enjoy using all the add-ons!
Note: The Firefox versions used in both computers should be exactly similar or else some add-ons might not work after a backup/restore job.
Pandora Internet Radio
Pandora has become one of the most popular internet radio stations out on the web! It is not your normal radio station. Instead of listening to songs at random, you get to pick the type of station you want. That's right – this site provides the opportunity to create your own personalized radio station! Just type in the artist name, composer name, or song name, and Pandora will create a radio station playing that music and others in the same category!
Let's say we want to listen to classical music. You could type in Mozart in the search bar. The autotype function will usually list results resembling your search request, and you can select the one that best meets your needs. For example, I clicked on the first search result that popped up for Mozart: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and I am now listening to the lovely Serenade No. 13 for Strings in G. If you like the song you are listening to and would like to purchase it, simply click on the Buy image on the corner of the song icon. It will give you the option to purchase the song either on iTunes or as an Amazon CD.
If you look on the left-hand toolbar on your Pandora Radio Station, it gives you a few options. First, you have the option of creating new stations. By clicking on Create a New Station, it will let you enter another name into the search bar and create a completely new radio station. When you have more than one, you can alternate back and forth between your different creations!
Under Your Stations, you have two mini-tabs under each of your created radio stations. If you click on "add variety," you can add the name of another artist, song, or composer to the same station to spice things up! You don't necessarily have to create a new station when you can combine multiple genres in one.
If you click on "options" underneath a created radio station, it allows you to share your station with a friend, rename the station, edit the details of the created station, find other fans of the same station you have created for yourself, and delete this station if you no longer wish to have it.
At a certain point during your trial run, Pandora will ask you to create an account. Creating an account on this website is 100% free! This is why you will often see advertisements on their page. Sign up with your email address to ensure hours of great musical entertainment. Next time, we will learn about how to manage your profile, genre stations, and more! Stay tuned!
Color Everything With Outlook Categories
Do you use the color-coded categories in MS Outlook 2007?
I don't know about you but I love them in conjunction with e-mail rules so that as certain messages come in they are marked for my attention as soon as they hit my Inbox.
What I'd like to discuss today is an extension of the category use.
Did you ever notice that practically everything in Outlook 2007 can be categorized just like your e-mail?
Take a look…
For example, in the calendar right-click on an appointment 
See the Categorize choice? It leads you to the exact same situation that you get when you right-click on a message.
Or… instead of trying a right-click on everything, simply take a look at the Standard Toolbar. 
See the Categorize button? If you have a task, note, appointment, contact, etc. that needs to be assigned to a category and this button is accessible then you can. It's as simple as that - no more difficult than it is to categorize a message.
I should probably add that while I could categorize my contacts, the color coding doesn't show in all the view options… so, if you're looking to color code your contacts you may have to experiment with the way that you view them to get what you really want.
Overall, I found that using this option can really help me to organize and prioritize. Since this feature is very visual with all the different colors to go with each category I find it extremely easy to see what needs to have my full attention with just a glance.
Anything that makes my work and day go a little bit easier is a very good thing!
Q:
Since so many people I know are on Facebook, I decided to join. Now I don't know what to put on my profile page. Can you help?
A:
I know what you mean. It's hard to decide what's important and what's not.
All the people I know love Facebook. A couple of my friends use it to promote their own personal web sites. Basically, the question to ask yourself is this: What do I want people to see when they visit me?
For instance, let's say you are a photographer. You might want to create a profile geared exclusively towards photography and not include a lot of details about your personal life. Or let's say you have a thoroughbred German Shepherd. You may want to have your profile reflect your interest in breeding dogs, maybe upload some pictures of your dog, offer tips on how to take care of a dog, etc. Or maybe you are like most everyone I know and just want to put your personal information on your page and look interesting.
Whichever route you choose, there are some basic tips that may help. Keep in mind that these are tips that will help with any social networking site, not just Facebook.
1. Create a profile that is simple and easy to read. If you clutter up your page with a lot of stuff, then you run the risk of having people jump on your page and then jump right back off. People on the internet surf fast and if have a ton of text and huge pictures that take a long time to load, then they are going to go on to someone else. On the other hand, the information you put on your profile page should be descriptive enough for others that have the same interests that you have can catch that right away. Use significant phrases in your descriptions that reflect your interests. This makes it a lot easier for people that share the things that are most important to find you.
2. "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." I don't know who said that, but it is so true! There are a couple of easy ways to do it. You can make a good first impression just by having a nice layout. You can find tons of free layouts all over the internet; depending on the site they may have custom layouts that you can choose from. Get on Google and type in Free Facebook Layouts and you'll easily find something to express your artistic side. Another thing that you should do is make sure that the things expressed by you or someone that wrote on your page are things that can be read by anybody; you don't want somebody to get a bad first impression of you because someone left something nasty or mean on your page.
3. I should have put this first: Decide on exactly what you want to say! If you want to present the "real" you (well, within reason), then include hobbies, any qualities you want to brag about, interests that you would like to share with someone, etc. Think of your page, pick one main idea or interest, and focus on that. Try not to have a "rambling" page; everything that is on your page should pertain to whatever it is you want to focus on.
4. Be careful of who you add as a "friend" or contact. Make sure to add only those that like what you like, like to do what you do, etc. People will be checking out your "friends" as well. If they go to one of your "friends' pages and that person is – well – not exactly the type of person they would have anything to do with - they may never come back to your page again. Impressions, impressions…
Okay, there you go. These are just some basic tips to get your started. Once you do, you will learn to fine-tune your page and get it exactly how you want it.
Happy Social Networking!
Refine Your Google Image Search
We all know of the joy that is Google image search. You can find pictures of just about anything on there, but did you know that the rabbit hole goes much deeper than just typing in a word or phrase into the search box?
For example, say you want to look for an image of a specific size. Simply use the drop-down box to choose large, extra large, medium or small image sizes. Additionally, you can refine your search using the other drop-down to specify search terms for faces, line drawings, clip art and much more! You can even search by color if you like!
It doesn't stop there, though! If you click the "Advanced Image Search" link a whole array of extra options spring up! Here, you can get really, really specific as to what you're looking for. Exact dimensions, specific filetypes; you can even look for images that match your desktop resolution!
And there you have it, a better, more efficient way to search for images on the Internet using Google!
A Second Instance
If you want to open a second instance of a program in Windows 7, but you don't want to go through the hassle of the Start menu, simply hold the Shift key and click on the program's icon in the task bar.
Depending on the program, a second instance should open up!
Show Empty Drives in Windows 7
By default Windows 7 doesn't show empty drives, like card readers and what-not, in the explorer window. As far as I know there isn't really a good reason for this, so I keep it so everything shows up no matter what.
Here's how:
Click Start, and in the Search Box (Located above the Start button) type "Change search options". In the results that will appear above, you'll see a selection at the top that says "Change search options for files and folders". Click it.
Now select the View tab and scroll down until you see the selection that says "Hide empty drives in the Computer folder" and un-check it. Hit Apply, then OK and you're all set! Now whenever you insert media into your computer it'll show up regardless!
Windows 7 Taskbar
I was one of the many who upgraded to Windows 7 as soon as it was released in stores. The one thing I noticed straight away after I upgraded was the new format of the taskbar. Instead of long, rectangular buttons, Windows 7 features a space-saving small button design. To be honest, I don't particularly like the new buttons, and would love to return to the old style. I didn't think this was possible until recently, when I chanced upon an option under Taskbar Properties to change this.
If you're like me, and want to get a blast from the past by switching back to the old taskbar format, here's how:
Firstly, right-click on a blank space on the Taskbar. A menu will appear... select Properties.
Select the Taskbar buttons dropdown menu and choose Combine when taskbar is full.
Click Apply and voila! Your taskbar should now look like this:
Although this isn't the exact look that you get on Windows Vista, it's very similar. This way, instead of a non-descriptive icon, the taskbar shows the name of the program. You still have the option to preview the window you're planning to open by simply hovering over the icon in the taskbar, just like before.
Have fun with your new taskbar!
Backup Your Computer for Free with GFI Backup
There are many services and software that allow you to backup your computer files, however the majority of these programs are usually not free and can be quite costly. Fortunately, GFI Backup Utility isn't like that, because it allows you to backup your entire computer for free! The following information shows how to backup your files with GFI.
Step 1: Download GFI Backup Utility
The first thing you have to do is download GFI. This can be done by going to the GFI homepage [GFI.COM]. Under the "Products" tab, select "GFI Backup Home Edition". Next, enter some of your information and download the product. The software is about 10MB, so it will not take long to download.
Step 2: Backup Your Computer 
Once you have finished downloading GFI, open the program and click on "Backup". The following screen will ask you to enter a task name—which must be entered to begin the backup process. The rest of the information is optional. 
Select the type files in your computer you want to backup. GFI allows you to backup registry keys, files & folders, Emails, and user settings.
Choose where you want to backup data. After you have selected the files you want to backup, you will have the option to choose where you want them stored. You can store your files in DVDs, CDs, USB flash sticks or an external hard drive.
Step 3- Restore Your Files
After you have backed up your files, you will able to restore them to your computer. To restore your files, open GFI, and simply click on "Restore". The following screen will give the options to restore entire or individual backups.
Vista System Health Report
Did you know that there's a built in diagnostic tool in Windows Vista? You can generate your very own health report for your computer that will show you what's going on inside and give you helpful resolutions to ensure your PC is running at it's peak of performance!
Here's the dish:
Go Start>Control Panel>System and Maintenance>Performance Information and Tools. Under here you'll want to select "Advanced Tools" on the left. At the bottom click "Generate a System Health Report".
The gears will start turning immediately, and within a minute or two, a window will pop up giving you a bevy of system information to peruse.
Use the arrows to expand and collapse each field. You might see a lot of stuff you don't recognize in here, so just look around and don't be afraid to Google or check Worldstart's tips out if you have any questions.
Congratulations! You might not be a doctor, but you play one on PC!
