Nibbles and Bytes

Nibbles and Bytes has Moved!

2014-12-28T12:36:00.001+10:00

Hey all,

We've revamped Nibbles and Bytes and moved it to a brand new WordPress blog with its own domain name.

You can visit the new Nibbles and Bytes here:

http://nibbles-and-bytes.co/

Thanks for your support and we hope you enjoy the new Nibbles and Bytes!

Digital Photography Step by Step

2012-10-28T13:07:00.000+10:00

I have said this before, but this time I'm fair dinkum! I WILL increase my photography skills to the point where I can consistently produce good quality photographs.

To that end, I'm going through Tom Ang's excellent book, Digital Photography Step by Step. The book is clear and well presented and, as the name suggests, takes you through the process step by step.

Although I'm only a little way through the book so far, I've already learned some useful information about my camera.

I'm using a Pentax K100 D. It is a few years old but it is a good solid camera and should be more than adequate for my needs at this point.

Wish me luck!

Things

2012-10-14T17:31:00.001+10:00

Over the years, I've tried a number of task manager and to do list applications. Some have been quite good, but until recently I've never found one that really ticked all the boxes for me, so to speak. Enter "Things", a fantastic task manager app for Mac, iPhone and iPad.

Although simple to learn and intuitive to use, Things, has a lot of great features. It allows you to easily create to-do lists of various kinds, set up projects, schedule tasks for future dates, create "Areas" to help manage different areas of your life and a lot more.

One of app's best features for me is the way it syncs seamlessly between all of your devices. I have the app installed on my iMac, MacBook Pro, iPad and iPhone, so my task and project lists are there right with me whatever device I'm working on.

Being a pretty disorganised sort, I've found that using Things really has increased my productivity and helped to keep me on track. I really do love it!

That said, it is quite expensive, especially if you want to set it up on several devices. The cost may put some users off, given that there are plenty of free or low cost task management apps around. But, for me at least, it's worth every cent.

Posted with Blogsy

Testing Blogsy

2012-10-14T16:31:00.001+10:00

I've just downloaded and installed Blogsy on my iPad. Blogsy is an app that allows you to blog on the go from your iPad. Right now, I'm still finding my way around the app, so this is something of a test post. But, so far at least, I like what I see.

Posted with Blogsy

Task Manager Tabs Done Gone!

2012-06-12T21:52:00.000+10:00

So I'm fiddling around in Windows Task Manager, probably trying to kill some unresponsive app:

Suddenly, all the tabs and the menu bar on Task Manager suddenly disappear. What the?

Scratching head. Google the issue. Ummm, must have doubled clicked in the wrong spot. My bad!

If this happens, just double click somewhere on the border of the window and your tabs and menu will come on back:

Decision to Defect

2012-06-10T15:21:00.000+10:00

Momentous news! After more than a decade of being a purely PC person, - that is, a staunch and steadfast user of Microsoft Windows - I've made the decision to defect. Today, I ordered my brand new iMac. Being something of a hopeless geek at heart, I'm actually quite excited. I can't wait to get my hands on the new machine. It arrives next week.

So, why the change of heart after all this time? Well, to be honest, I've actually been flirting with a couple of attractive members of the Apple family for quite a time. Of course, I mean my beloved iPad and iPhone. And, once I take delivery of my gorgeous new iMac, the Apple trio will be complete.

The great thing about combining this trio is that they all get on so well together! Well, that's what I've been given to understand by the research I've conducted in preparation for the potential switch. So, theoretically, I can be working on one device and then seamlessly switch to another in the trio and continue where I left off. Via Apple's iCloud technology. And, I should be able to access any of the information I need from any one of my three compatible devices.

I admit to be pretty impressed with the way Apple does things. Their technology, in my experience, is slick, intuitive and easy to use. And, it looks great as well! Just as an example, I'm writing this in Pages on my iPad. Of course, the app does not have all of the functionality of a word processing powerhouse like Microsoft Word. But, for general purpose applications, it has everything I need. Plus, the interface looks terrific, all of the functionality you need is easily accessible and the app is just a pleasure to use. This experience is typical of the Apple apps and devices I've used

That said, switching my main workflow from PC to iMac is going to involve a fairly steep learning curve and there is bound to be some setbacks and frustrations along the way. So, to smooth the way a little, I'll be leaving my current Microsoft system up and running while I learn some Mac basics. Then, when I'm good to go, I'll start moving over to the new system. I'll be allowing a month for the full transition. Or more if required. Good things should not be rushed. But, it should be exciting and interesting in a geeky sort of way. Wish me luck!

Riding the Cloud

2012-06-03T15:51:00.000+10:00

Cloud computing seems to be on everybody's lips these days. Of course cloud computing has been around in various forms for years, but with more and more cloud services coming online, the concept and its potential benefits are now rapidly infiltrating the psyche of everyday computer users.

So, that's why I've been thinking a lot lately about "clouding" all of my online activities, so to speak. Or more precisely, using cloud computing to efficiently integrate my online life across all of my applicable devices. In fact, I already use something vaguely akin to cloud based computing, albeit in an unplanned, haphazard and disorganized sort of way. For example, I sometimes find it necessary to quickly update an existing article on the go, via my iPad, or iPhone. Or I might jot notes for a new article on my portable device and transfer to my main computer later for further work. And, of course, I often read and respond to email, social media posts and site comments using my portable devices.

But, thought I, how good would it be if I could seamlessly jump from one device to another and just keep on with what I'm doing? Have all the tools I need on each and every device to do my work, regardless of where I might be?

Some scenarios:

#1:

I begin writing an article using Word on the Desktop. I have to drive someone to an appointment, so while I'm waiting, I continue working on the article using Pages on the iPad. Later, I continue writing the article using Word on the XP Laptop in the kitchen while cooking. When I have to pick up family member from work, I edit final draft of article using Pages on the iPhone while waiting for her shift to finish. Later I use EditPad Pro on the PC to create HTML version of article and upload using CORE FTP. Check and respond to social media comments via laptop while watching TV in lounge. Respond to email question via iPhone while waiting to pick up son from Scouts. Use iPad with Textastic to fix minor error in an article and upload correction via iPad while in bed before sleeping.

#2:

On family day out, check FB on iPhone and notice many posts about a new version of an old message that I have previously written about. Believe it's worth taking a fifteen minute hiatus to do an update. Switch to iPad, and use Textastic to add new example to article with brief commentary about new version if required. Upload and post to Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Occasionally monitor and respond to initial social media feedback during rest of outing via iPhone.

#3:

Feel the need to get out of the "office" (read corner of a bedroom) for a few hours, so head down to local beach. During walk along esplanade, occasionally check and respond to email and social media posts via iPhone. After getting back from walk, set up laptop in park by the sea. Write draft of new article while eating cut lunch in park. When grocery shopping on way home, add quick reminder to cover particular side issue in article. Finish and upload article on PC when I get home.

#4:

Take a couple of hours off to go on a photo outing just for fun. Snap a reasonable shot on the SLR. Card shot to laptop. Write short post and upload with picture to WordPress blog. Later use Lightroom to create and upload an enhanced version of original picture on the PC.

#5:

Check and respond to social media posts from any location and regardless of which device is being used.

#6:

Check and respond to email from any location and regardless of which device is being used. Copies of both sent and received emails are subsequently available on all devices.

So, sounds great! But how best to implement all this? There are quite a few viable approaches to bringing it all together. Along with some potential pitfalls. But, I'll leave my subsequent clouding adventures for later posts.

Flickr is Excellent.

2011-06-27T16:55:00.003+10:00

I recently restarted using online photo sharing website, Flickr. This time around, instead of just occasionally using the site to casually share a few pics, I've been exploring more of what Flickr has to offer with a view to using the site much more seriously. And I must say I'm pretty impressed.

One of Flickr's great advantages is that it is very easy to use, even if you are not a computer guru. Uploading and organizing your images is very simple and intuitive. You can store your images in "Sets" or "Collections" and you can even have "Collections" of "Sets". Your front page features your "Photostream" which displays your most recent uploads, and, depending on the layout you choose, your sets or collections as well.

Flickr makes it easy to share photos via email and via Twitter and Facebook. For many blogging platforms, you can also send your Flickr images direct to your blog if you wish. Or you can embed a slideshow into your blog posts or web pages, as I've done below.

Flickr also allows you a lot of control over who sees your images and what license you want to apply to them. There are a variety of ways of controlling who sees what, ranging from full public access to completely private. And, if you want to keep your images private, but would still like to share them with certain people, you can create Guest Passes that achieve just that.

Flickr doubles as a powerful and lively image orientated social network that allows you to participate as much or as little as you please. You can join or create Groups that focus on a great many different subjects as well as "Favorite" and comment on images and create Galleries featuring the work of other users.

Flickr offers a free account that should be more than adequate for a lot of users. And, if you want more storage and other extras you can upgrade to a Pro account for a nominal yearly fee.

Check out Flickr

Please don't Play Music at Me Without Asking!

2011-06-25T15:52:00.000+10:00

There seems to be quite a lot of website creators who think it is cool to have music automatically play when you visit their site. Personally, I find that irritating. I often listen to music while I'm browsing, so having another unexpected music track suddenly assault my eardrums on top of what I'm already listening to can be quite jarring.

If you must have music play automatically on your website, at the very least provide a prominent "off" switch so that your visitors can choose to listen or not to listen according to their preference.

Frankly, if I visit a site that plays music without me requesting it to do so, I'm app to hit the "back" button and never return.

Google Moderator

2011-06-11T12:41:00.000+10:00

I've recently been experimenting with one of Google's less well known tools, Google Moderator. Google Moderator allows you to easily create an online discussion page were you can ask for and receive feedback from other web users about just about any subject you like. The site's help files explain:

What does Google Moderator do?

Google Moderator allows you to create a series about anything that you are interested in discussing and open it up for people to submit questions, ideas, or suggestions. These are called submissions.

Anyone can come to the site and submit a question, idea, or vote, and anyone can vote. Google Moderator shows you a question in the box with the blue background. This is called the Featured Question.

A topic is a way to break up your series into smaller, more manageable topics of discussion. You can have one topic, or multiple topics. For example, if you create a series of 'Book clubs' for your organization, topics could be 'Fiction,' 'Non-fiction,' or 'Auto-biographies.'

You can create your series right on the Google Moderator website. There is also an option to embed Moderator in an IFRAME on your own website if you wish.

Explore Google Moderator Here

Clavier+

2011-06-09T09:30:00.000+10:00

Some software applications become such a normal part of your daily computing routine that you almost forget they are there. For me, once such software is Clavier+. This little freeware program lets you create and configure universal keyboard shortcuts that will work in just about any program you are using on your computer.

I mainly use Clavier+ for quickly adding snippets of text to various documents such as email, Word files, HTML documents, Evernote notes and more. To set up a shortcut, you input your desired text into the software's simple interface, choose a key combination and save your settings. Then, whenever you key your chosen combination, the text will appear magically in the document you are working on. If, like me, you often have a need to enter the same snippets of text over and over again, this can be a real time saver.

You can also create shortcuts to open specific programs, files or websites.

The software can be configured to start with Windows which means it is always available.

Visit the Clavier+ website

Exploring iPad

2011-06-08T16:43:00.000+10:00

Well, my much anticipated new toy is here at last and, of course, I'm in geek heaven - at least until the next cool gadget comes out! Right now, I'm still exploring the device and installing essential apps like Evernote for iPad. It's certainly well worth the wait. It's just the right size for both portability and ease of use. For example, tying to blog from an iPhone is a little fiddly, but blogging from an iPad (as I'm doing now)is easy and fun and I can do it from my lounge room or where ever else I may be!

Xmarks Bookmark Sync

2011-06-07T15:44:00.000+10:00

I've just downloaded and installed Xmarks for Firefox. Xmarks is a browser tool that allows you to easily sync all of your bookmarks across computers. The "Features" page on the Xmarks website notes:

Install Xmarks on each computer you use, and it seamlessly integrates with your web browser and keeps your bookmarks safely backed up and in sync.

Xmarks will sync across browsers too. Today we support Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Safari (Mac OS).

You can also simply login to your Xmarks account from any computer and access all of your bookmarks very easily. When using another computer, you can even remotely load tabs (including Firefox App Tabs) that are open on the computer that has Xmarks installed.

Xmarks has quite a lot of other features that I've yet to explore properly. But even as just a quick and easy way to access your bookmarks when away from your primary computer, it looks to be a very useful application.

Check out Xmarks here

New Facebook Page

2011-06-07T15:00:00.000+10:00

I've now set up a companion Facebook Page for the Nibbles and Bytes blog. The page is a great place to discuss and recommend cool software and websites and a lot of other stuff. When I post a new article here on the blog, I'll also post a link to it on the Nibbles and Bytes Facebook page. So, "liking" the page is a good way to stay notified of new blog posts as well as participate in what I hope will grow into a lively and interesting little community.

Check out the new Nibbles and Bytes Facebook Page

Of Rice and iPhones

2011-06-07T10:14:00.000+10:00

Not too long after I got my much loved iPhone, I managed to drop the bloody thing in a toilet bowl while doing my husbandly cleaning duties! It fell right out of my shirt pocket and plummeted helplessly down into the water, with me screaming in horror all the while. I fished it out within seconds, but I thought the poor thing would be well and truly deceased.

But around the same time, with my Hoax-Slayer hat on, I was checking into a circulating tip that claimed that you could save the life of a wet mobile phone by covering it in uncooked rice overnight. So I thought I'd give it a go.

Well, the good news is that the phone dried out! I left it in the rice for around 24 hours, cranked it up, and it worked perfectly and has been going ever since.

So did the rice actually save the phone? In truth, there is no way of knowing for sure. It is quite possible that even if I'd left the phone, forlorn and riceless on the bench, it may well have dried out and fully recovered anyway.

Unless you were to take two identical phones in precisely the same condition, immerse them in water for precisely the same length of time and then place one in rice and the other on the bench, there is no real proof that the rice method is effective or not. Even if you did conduct such a controlled experiment, other uncontrolled factors such as the relative robustness of components inside the phones might affect the results. To be really sure, you'd probably have to conduct the same experiment a number of times and correlate the overall results.

The theory is that the rice helps to draw out and absorb the liquid caught in the phone. That may well be the case. Anyway, regardless of whether the rice saved the day or not, I was just glad to have my iPhone back!

iPad Anticipation!

2011-06-06T19:53:00.000+10:00

I ordered an iPad 2 via the Apple Store a couple of weeks ago and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on it! I already love my iPhone and have installed a lot of useful (and not so useful but fun - think "Fruit Ninja") apps on it. So, I can't wait to get hold of the iPad and start installing :) Hopefully, it will arrive by the end of the week. It's the 64 GB model, so it should have plenty of room for lots of stuff.

I'm Back!

2011-06-05T20:25:00.000+10:00

Well, how time flies! I added a couple of items to this blog earlier this evening and then realized that it was the first time I'd posted here since June 2007. But, I'll certainly try to make up for my callous and shameful neglect by posting a lot more from now on. Promise! Really! :)

Hell, I even changed the blog template and fiddled with the settings a bit.

Here's a picture of a camel I snapped in Tasmania a while back. Why am I including it here? No reason really. I just like camels:

An old man, a boy & a donkey

2011-06-05T18:38:00.001+10:00

This story has moved to it new home here. :)

Evernote

2011-06-05T16:11:00.000+10:00

Some software applications or web services become such an important part of your everyday working life that you'd wonder how you'd manage to get anything done without them. For me, one such tool is Evernote. Evernote allows you to capture and store thoughts, ideas, information from websites, images, scanned documents, files and just about anything else you can think of with ease.

The great thing about Evernote is that you can add notes in multiple ways, including via the Evernote website, its desktop software and its smartphone application. And, best of all, your notes are automatically synched between these various devices! What this means in practice is that I'm never very far from a device that allows me to add a note to my Evernote account, so I can record thoughts and ideas on the fly. For example, if I'm out shopping, and get an idea I'd like to record, I can whip out my iPhone and jot down the outline of my idea in just a few seconds. Later, at home, I can look at the idea on my Evernote desktop software, expand on it as necessary and file it for future attention.

Evernote is a very powerful and versatile application that really does help me stay organized, increase productivity and remember things.

Check out Evernote Here

Zoom Search Engine

2007-06-25T16:10:00.000+10:00

I recently purchased a copy of the Zoom Search Engine to replace the existing site search engine that I was using on Hoax-Slayer.com. I have previously tried several site search engines, but I was not particularly happy with any of them.

However, Zoom is simply outstanding and is streets ahead of other search solutions I have tried. It is highly configurable, and allows webmasters to set up a very professional internal search engine that blends seamlessly with the design of your website. Most importantly, it produces reliable and relevant search results for users.

Zoom comes as a software package that installs on your computer rather than a fully web-based script and control panel like others I have tried. This means that you can configure your search, index your site and upload the necessary files from software installed right on your computer.

Moreover, the support offered by the company is excellent. After I bought the program, I encountered some quite server-specific problems with Zoom's logging function. Even though the problems were caused by the way my hosting company's servers are set up and were not explicitly caused by the Zoom software itself, Zoom's support staff went out of their way to help and even rolled out an updated version of the software that addressed the issues.

Zoom is free for small sites with other fee-based versions available depending on the specific needs of your website. I opted for the professional version and I consider it worth every cent and more.

Find out more about Zoom Search Engine

See Zoom in action on Hoax-Slayer

SyncToy - Folder Synchronization Tool

2007-06-05T19:02:00.000+10:00

Recently, I was looking around for a program that would allow me to easily synchronize two folders across two computers on my home network. While there are a number of applications that will perform this fairly simple task and a lot more, Microsoft's SyncToy v 1.4 turned out to be just the ticket for what I required.

This free little PowerToy makes it simple to keep the contents of two folders in sync with each other. Once you create your desired folder pair or pairs, you can then just click the "Run" button and the program will update the folders so that they both hold the very same contents. If you add, rename, delete or modify a file in one of the folders in the pair and then run SyncToy, the changes will be reflected in the second folder.

SyncToy v 1.4 works on Windows XP and Vista.

SyncToy interface

Grab a copy of SyncToy

Google Buys Feedburner

2007-06-03T16:29:00.000+10:00

For the past few weeks, I've been using Feedburner to manage my new Hoax-Slayer New Articles feed. Feedburner offers an excellent service, especially for those of us like Yours Truly who are still fairly new to the heady world of RSS.

Soon after I signed up for a Feedburner Account, rumours began spreading that Google was in the process of buying Feedburner. Turns out the stories are true.

Overall, I'd say that the change in ownership will be positive. Google's reach and resources will probably improve an already excellent product.

Still, it is a little concerning how many companies Google has managed to acquire.

Where will it end? Maybe, one day Google Earth, will REALLY be Google Earth...lol.

APOD Desktop Version

2006-04-07T14:21:00.000+10:00

One of my favourite websites is NASA's excellent Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). Every day, APOD features an outstanding photograph or image of some aspect of "our fascinating universe". A succinct but informative explanation compliments each picture.

There is also a downloadable version of APOD available that automatically downloads a new astronomy picture every day and displays it on your computer desktop. The desktop version includes the image explanation, which is heavily hyperlinked for those seeking more information. It is therefore educational as well as aesthetically pleasing.

The APOD software is free and "as is". However, I've been running it for several weeks on my Windows XP system with nary a hitch.

Grab your own copy here

PCI Modem Connection Problem

2006-04-01T13:45:00.000+10:00

Last weekend, my neighbour asked if I could help solve an Internet connection problem she was having. She could successfully connect using her dial-up account, but could not browse web sites or receive email.

After first ensuring that the computer was virus, spyware and trojan free, I tried pinging websites via a command prompt, but this was unsuccessful, even though the connection was still active. I tried disabling any programs that might be interfering with the connection, including the firewall and various scanners. This did not resolve the issue.

To check that it was not a problem with the ISP, I tried the account on another computer and found that it worked perfectly. I also tried another working dial-up account on the problem computer and encountered the same connection issue. Thus the problem was clearly on the client computer.

After some resolute googling, I tried altering the modem settings as described on several sites, but this did not help either. I installed a network card in the problem computer so that I could use my broadband connection to do a Windows update and install a more up-to-date modem driver. No joy!

Next, I replaced the modem with another that I knew was working correctly but the problem still remained. This really had me scratching my head! In fact, if I had hair, I probably would have pulled it all out!

Then I realized that I had not yet tried swapping the modem to a different PCI slot. Lo and behold, this simple procedure fixed the problem completely! I suspect some sort of conflict must have been causing the problem with that particular PCI slot. Updating the BIOS or doing some prolonged conflict hunting may have solved the PCI slot issue, but I decided to leave well enough alone (grin).

So, if you are having problems solving a modem connection issue, don’t forget to try moving the modem to another PCI slot. It may not solve your problem, but it’s certainly worth a try.

Google Calculator

2005-10-20T16:28:00.000+10:00

Google has quite a few extra web search features that can make your browsing experience just a little more efficient. One of these is the Calculator feature. You can perform conversions and calculations on the fly right in your browser. Just input your calculation into the Google search field, press the “Enter” key, and a page with your result will be displayed.

For example, lets say you come across a page that states a distance between two destinations as being 357 miles, but you are more comfortable with kilometres. Just enter “357 miles in kilometres” (without quotes) into Google and you’ll instantly get the result “357 miles = 574.535808 kilometres”

You can also perform other conversions, such as pounds to kilograms, Celsius to Fahrenheit, modern numbers to Roman Numerals and many more. The calculator supports a raft of mathematical functions including addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, square root, logarithm and others.

Combine the Google Calculator with a tabbed browser that has built in Google Search such as Mozilla Firefox and you can quickly perform calculations without surfing away from the web page your are examining.

Find out more about using the Google calculator