Tech Tips From a NonGeek

iPhone 4S

2012-02-24T20:15:00.000-05:00

In my last post I was worried about making the wrong decision on a new smartphone.

I chose the iPhone 4S and there has not been one regret.

I have only had it for three days now, and I really love this little piece of technology.

I can't believe all the stuff it does, and all the apps that make doing it so much easier.

I love the e-reader in it.

I love the camera - 8 megapixels with great clarity, color, and sharpness.

I love the apps that help in daily life.

I love the overall ease of use of this phone.

There are no glitches or lagging that I have noticed with the android phones.

Everything in it is smooth and flowing.

The sound and voice quality is the best I have heard in a cell phone.

I really love this phone - she even looks beautiful.

And best of all - it is small enough to still fit in my jeans pocket - many of the androids are much too big to do that.

Finally A Decision

2012-02-19T17:16:00.000-05:00

The time has come - the new cell phone plan with devices is about to be signed.

We have spent quite a bit of time looking at our options.

And trying to decide what we all wanted to purchase.

Four out of the five are going with smartphones.

Since my husband and I are together most of the time, we can share mine.

Finding a "dumb" phone is a pain though - there are not many choices - I think his current one is better than any of the new ones out there.

I finally decided on the iPhone 4S.

It was a hard choice between it and the LG Nitro, which has superior resolution and a faster processor.

The cameras and videos are the same and both operating systems were given good reviews.

The iOS5 on the iPhone was thought to be slightly better than the Android.

The size of the iPhone is about the same as my current phone.

The LG is huge - there is no way it is fitting in my jeans pocket.

But it would be nicer as an e-reader with the bigger screen.

And the screen isn't glass like the iPhone's is.

It was really a tough decision, and I am hoping a made the one.

That Speedy Technology

2012-02-06T22:00:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

He was in a big rush.

My son had a project due for an evening class and it was lunch time now.

He had no time to stop and wait for his photos to be made up and printed.

He had no time to go out of his way to the photo store either.

So, I directed him to the Walgreens online site where he could upload his photos and place his order all from his very own computer.

And best of all - there was no waiting, the photos were ready for him to pick up on his way to class.

He could even choose which store he wanted to pick them up at.

The speed of this modern day technology was a big time saver and grade saver for him.

But did he learn anything about waiting until the last minute - I tend to doubt it.

For even more savings on photo finishing services, the Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens offers bonuses to their members.

They are offering a special discount on their annual plan for families and individuals.

Families, which includes spouses, dependents 22 and younger, and pets, can join for $35.

An individual membership is $20.

Both of these plans offer savings on over 8,000 brand name and all generic drug medications.

There are discounts on flu shots, nebulizers, diabetic supplies and pet prescriptions.

Keep updated with their offerings by liking Walgreens on Facebook and following Walgreens on Twitter.

Newest and Fastest Phones

2012-02-06T17:02:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sprint for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

They just keep getting better and better.

I really don't know how they can fit so much in these little devices.

The newest smart phones are a far cry from the cell phones of just a couple of years ago.

Way beyond just calling, they are life and business organizers on the go - for the whole family.

Sprint is offering one of the newest and fastest devices, the Nexus S™ 4G, for FREE from 2/5 - 2/8.

This four day sale is only available online and it is only for those who are opening a new line of service or adding a new line to their account.

They are also offering the newest smart phone in 3D technology.

The HTC EVO™ 3D is on sale also during these four days.

For $49.99, this device is available for new subscribers and those who are adding a new line to their existing account.

Both of these phones use the Android 2.3 platform and super fast processors to deliver lightning fast 4G speeds to their users.

Google apps and surfing the web is what it is all about, and these phone deliver.

When purchasing these devices online at sprint.com, the activation fees will be waived and the shipping will be free.

Lenovo's New Multimedia Remote Keyboard

2012-02-03T04:01:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Lenovo for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

This new little device is sure to please those who use a keyboard on their PC, Xbox, PS3, or Wii.

It is the Lenovo Enhanced Multimedia Remote.

It is a palm sized keyboard that is wireless, and with the 2.4FHz radio frequency, it can be used up to 30 feet away from your device.

And for those who are computer challenged when it comes to installing new devices - this one is a snap.

There is no software or drivers to install.

All it requires is plugping in the USB nano dongle.

That's it - it is ready to use.

This new enhanced remote is an upgrade to the very popular Lenovo multimedia remote.

It has a back lit keyboard so it can even be used in the dark.

This new model also includes an optical finger slide bar which makes it very quiet and easy to use.

It takes two AA batteries that last up to three months.

It also has the option to turn off the back light to conserve battery power.

It works with PCs that have these operating systems: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows7.

This one handed palm sized remote is a keyboard and mouse all in one.

It would certainly make a laptop much easier to use when balancing it on your knees and trying to type.

Small and very functional - way to go Lenovo!

Search for Phones

2012-01-16T21:09:00.000-05:00

We have about a month and a half before we need to seriously start searching for our new cell phones.

The two year contract will be up, and it will time for another one.

That means new phones with a new plan for all of us.

The phone selection is a bit intimidating.

Smart phone or "dumb" phone.

Smart is expensive and it needs an expensive plan to go with it.

"Dumb" has only one or two to select from, and they are really dumb.

Not even as nice as the ones we got two years ago - more like the ones we got four years ago.

And each time, the phones seem more fragile - they certainly aren't lasting the two years like they used to.

Oh the choices - not looking forward to this time around as we have the last ones.

Walgreens to the Rescue

2012-01-12T22:00:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

We love our local Walgreens - they have the best deals on just about everything we need for our health.

And we are not alone - the parking lot is always full whenever we go there.

But there are many customers who have become quite frustrated with the terms that Walgreens and Express Scripts now have.

For years they have been able to get their prescriptions at their local store.

They could go whenever they could fit in the time and the local pharmacist knows them.

They know that they could rely on the pharmacist to make them aware of any interactions in their medicines.

They would take the time to answer questions, and best of all, they know them by name.

Express Scripts, who covers many prescription plans, will no longer be doing business with Walgreens, which means these customers cannot get the service they are used to.

They are confused and upset and very worried.

To help them, a Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens is another alternative that Walgreens is offering to it's customers.

They are offering special discounts on these memberships to help even further.

Concerned customers can contact their local media to let them know what's happening and how they feel.

This action also affects the military as Tricare, the prescription provider for them, is a client of Express Scripts.

Check out Walgreens on Twitter and Walgreens on Facebook.

Like and Follow them on both networks to keep updated.

Adgitize Shutting Down

2011-12-27T18:26:00.000-05:00

I used three different advertising sites for promoting my blogs.

I got the most out of them by regularly visiting other members blogs.

I considered it manual labor and found it worth my time for the exposure they gave me.

Last fall, one of them closed down, and as of the end of this month, another one will be shutting down.

All three of them worked great together with the system I used.

Now it is down to only one.

And that one site is the oldest one, but it isn't what it used to be either.

I am really bummed that these two quality sites are no longer around.

If anyone uses any other good sites to promote their blogs, I would love to hear about it.

Snapdragon Stadium?

2011-12-24T01:01:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Snapdragon by Qualcomm for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I'm sure that you are wondering just what is Snapdragon Stadium.

Many in the sports world are familiar with the Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California.

Well, from December 18 through December 28, the Snapdragon Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium are one and the same.

This is a first for something like this, and it will happen for eleven days only.

Qualcomm, a wireless chip company, is the parent company of Snapdragon, and since they hold the naming rights for the Mission Valley stadium, they are allowed to do this.

Snapdragon makes application processors that power many of the smartphones that we all use.

Snapdragon processors by Qualcomm are the digital brains inside mobile devices made by Samsung, LG, HTC, and Nokia.

There will be several special events taking place in the Snapdragon Stadium during these 11 days.

The stadium will feature a Sunday night game with the Chargers playing Baltimore.

There will also be two college bowl games.

The first is the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on December 21,

And on December 28, the stadium will be hosting the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl.

The change hopes to make consumers aware of the Snapdragon processors in their phones, likening it to the phrase of the brand "Intel inside" for computers.

Optical Cord

2011-12-19T21:28:00.000-05:00

We purchased a new flat screen LED TV about two months ago.

We have been very pleased with the picture quality of this set, but the sound that comes out of those speakers built into it is just atrocious.

We have tried adjusting them with the settings to no avail.

We even plugged a pair of good quality speakers into the headphone jack to get a better sound.

It did sound better, but the volume on the TV set was in the high 80's. It only went to 100.

We still couldn't hear it very well at times, and I kept thinking that the internal parts of the TV would blow up having the volume set that high, but not letting the sound come out at that high volume.

We searched online, and found a soundbar that we could add to help with the sound quality.

But it was expensive.

So we gave it some more thought, and wondered if we could set up the TV sound to come through the DVD player that has surround sound speakers attached to it.

By purchasing an optical digital cord, we could connect the two, and it should work.

It took a lot of configuring with the settings in the DVD player and the TV, but we eventually got it to work.

And the sound is great.

But when we play a VHS tape in the VCR, the sound deteriorates so badly, that all we hear after a few minutes is a mind-boggling deep hum.

It doesn't matter what tape we play, within 2-3 minutes that hum and vibration is all we hear.

We will have to do some research to find out what the problem is and how to fix it.

But we will enjoy the sound of the TV now as we use it regularly!

Two Screens in One

2011-12-15T03:00:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of LG DoublePlay™ for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

These cell phones keep getting more amazing.

Just when you think the newest piece of technology cannot be beat, something new comes out that just blows it away.

In this case it is the LG DoublePlay - a cell phone with two screens.

It brings multi-tasking to an all new level.

Each touch screen is customizable and they can work together or independently.

At first glance it looks like a regular cell phone.

But when that QWERTY kepboard slides out - that is when the surprise is revealed.

The second screen is embedded in the middle of the split QWERTY keyboard.

This device comes with a five megapixel camera that has an LED flash for those low light photos.

There is also a 720p HD video recorder to capture great videos.

Check out this Android 2.3 LG DoublePlay™ device over at T-Mobile, which is the only place you can find it.

How many hours do you spend texting or surfing the social networks on your cell phone?

Do you think this new LG DoublePlay would change the way you do these things?

I know one thing - it will certainly save a lot of time with it's multi-tasking capabilities.

Leave me a comment to let me know how this handy new device can help you.

This new technology is certainly amazing.

Google Analytics

2011-12-10T07:30:00.001-05:00

Interested in how your website is performing?

Then Google Analytics can help you out.

It is not something I would have thought about when I made my blogs.

But when I wanted to try making some money with them, it became an important thing.

And I would not have known about it if it hadn't been for one of my earning websites that required them.

I have since accessed them myself, and even though they are a bit confusing unless you are someone who uses this info, I found them pretty interesting.

One of the most important stats gives the number of visitors to your website.

It also breaks it down by country and there are all kinds of stats and percentages that they derive from that info.

Not quite sure how to put it all to use for my benefit, but it does tell a lot of info about the traffic.

It requires a bit of back-end searching in the html for the site in order to set them up, but most of the directions are pretty easy to follow.

Once the code is installed, it reports back to google all the info in those charts.

Check it out, and if you have any tips on how to successfully use the info, I would love to hear them!

Klout Network

2011-12-01T16:44:00.001-05:00

I just discovered a newer networking platform called Klout.

Not sure how big it has gotten yet, but here is my profile if anyone wants to add me to their network.

It was pretty easy to set up and it pulled in both my Twitter and Facebook friends.

It seems to be a score of how one is rated in popularity or influence on the internet.

Not quite sure how to use it yet, but I will keep checking back with it to see how things progress.

What has your experience been with them?

Norton For Me

2011-11-28T03:00:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Norton Small Business by Symantec for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

In the past, I have posted about the security software that I use for my computer.

It has always been important to me that every computer in the house be protected with internet security.

And since I run my business on my computer, I have always made sure it is kept up to date and run regularly to scan for problems.

For years I have used the Norton Internet Security, and I have just recently discovered the Norton Small Business by Symantec software.

Instead of updating my computer with the 2012 update that has just come out, I may give this new product a try.

Especially now since Norton is giving small business owners a 30% discount on it.

I can not imagine running my business computer without having it protected.

All I need is a virus or worm to take control or destroy any part of my system, and I would be out of business pretty quick.

And I think it is also of the utmost importance to protect the information of my customers.

I know that most people think it will never happen to them.

But it does.

It can sneak up on you without you even knowing it.

That's why I wouldn't be without my Norton Internet Security - it is worth the money invested.

Check out what Norton has to offer for you - and leave a comment to let me know which one works best for your system and why.

If you are a business owner, protect your Small Business from the latest online threats with Norton's products.

You will be glad you did!

Facebook and the Blogs

2011-11-17T20:31:00.000-05:00

When I joined Facebook a couple of years ago, I was impressed with the way all my blogs seamlessly integrated into my feeds.

Then I joined Twitter, and that integrated just as nicely too.

My photo website also automatically posted to my wall.

I loved that one website could bring together all my sites and news into one area.

The tabs could promote my sites and interests.

It was great.

Then the tabs were taken away.

Then the networked blogs were taken away.

I now have to manually update my feed from my photo site.

And now, as of 11/22, the blogs will no longer integrate with Facebook.

We will have to manually put the posts in the feeds or use the new "notes" feature to add them to our feeds.

Pretty soon there will not be too much left to the site that works any more.

I am really disappointed and will miss this feature.

Not only for my blogs, but from the friends I follow also - I like to see their posts on my wall.

Some changes really are not for the better, and it is sad to see it going this way.

Importing Firefox Bookmarks to Chrome

2011-11-12T20:09:00.000-05:00

In my last post, I wrote about the Google Chrome browser.

I was having a hard time getting it to read my bookmarks in firefox and import them into chrome.

I had tried the way I was supposed to import them, but they just wouldn't come through.

After some research, it was determined it was probably one of my firefox extensions.

So instead of deleting them all, I tried another method that worked like a charm.

I will post what I did, so hopefully it can help another user.

I found this info online:

1. Go to Firefox Bookmark
2. Click on Show all all bookmarks
3. Click on Import and Back up your bookmark
4. Click on Export HTML
5. Save it on a desired location
6. Open Chrome
7. Click on Bookmark and select Bookmark Manager
8. Click on Organize
9. Click on Import Bookmark
10 Go to where you originally saved the HTML...

Worked like a charm and imported them all.

I really like the way they run across the top of the browser - the whole screen gets used and they are still available.

I have been organizing them into folders on the bar, and it is coming together quite neatly.

I am really liking this browser and will explore some of the extensions and apps over the next few days.

Google Chrome Browser

2011-11-11T20:12:00.000-05:00

I have been a die-hard Firefox browser user for many years.

A few weeks ago, I upgraded my version and was quite happy with it.

The speed was the most improved feature I noticed, and I was able to browse along nicely.

Then I noticed that I was being signed out of all my websites.

At first I thought it had something to do with Norton, my internet security program.

But it became quite evident over a period of time that it was my newly upgraded firefox that kept logging me out.

I checked all the options that were recommended to keep that from happening.

I also deleted a couple of files that had to do with cookies being stored as that was also recommended to fix the problem.

Well, when it started happening while in the middle of browsing, one minute I was fine, the next I was logged off of all my sites, I couldn't stand it any longer.

I wasn't able to find any other fixes for it, so I decided to give the Google Chrome browser a try.

I thought firefox was fast - chrome had the sites loaded faster than I could click them.

I can't figure a way to bring my hundreds of bookmarks over from FF - it just won't import them even though it tries to.

Since it has only been a day I have used it, I will try to keep my excitement down.

I will continue to use it for my drops each day - they fly.

I may eventually use it full time, but since FF has the bookmarks, I will have to stay with them for the time being.

Chrome is different from firefox, but I like it.

If you haven't tried it, check it out - it is free to download.

Entrecard Troubles

2011-11-03T20:11:00.000-04:00

I think Entrecard is coming to an end.

It isn't even possible to access our accounts even though drops can still be made.

Only a few were done on my main blog today, and none on any of the other blogs.

I couldn't access the account to switch my users.

So, for the first time in many years, they didn't get done today.

And to be honest, the troubles that have been plaguing the dropping over the the past few weeks have just about worn out my patience with them.

I was giving serious thought to leaving that community.

But the decision might have already been made for us.

I welcome any comments from other EC users - lord knows, you won't find any answers on the EC site.

New TV

2011-10-22T18:42:00.011-04:00

We finally bit the bullet on the TV situation.

Our set was an old one - the kind with a big picture tube in it.

And it has been steadily on the decline for the past year with the picture quality getting worse by the day.

So we did our research.

And spent a lot of time in many different stores - electronic and department - searching for the best picture and size at the best price.

We wanted a 1080 resolution that was at least 24 inches in size.

And we liked the LED rather than the LCD.

And there had to be enough connections in the back for the VCR, DVD, and Xbox 360.

And since we do not have cable - there had to be an antenna connection.

After figuring out all this in the stores, we went online to find a real deal.

And we did - a 26 inch Vizeo for $180.

It met all our requirements and was a great deal.

It took an afternoon to set it up, and set-up and access to the VCR, DVD, and game console is different, but we were able to work it out.

And it was worth all the work and time we put into finding it - the picture is beautiful!

Cell Phone Deals

2011-10-18T10:01:00.001-04:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Net10 for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Everyone wants a great deal on a cell phone.

Most of us stick to the same plan and get tied into a contract that sometimes can give you big surprises as you go along.

The Net10 Unlimited Plan has a solution for that.

For $50 a month, you get unlimited talk, unlimited text, and unlimited data.

With no surprises, no contracts, and no credit checks, you know what to expect each month.

An the coverage is nationwide and they provide great reception and connectivity.

Hear What Rob has to say about his experiences with Net10

Another Real NET10 customer also has good things to say about this service.

They have many different plans available - whatever suits your lifestyle.

For $15.00 a month, you can get 200 minutes a month with the Easy Minutes Plus plan.

And they also offer a Pay-As-You-Go plan that has carry over of unused minutes when you keep the service active.

You can even switch between plans from month to month without paying any fees or charges.

They also have a phone for every need and they are affordably priced .

Airtime can be purchased online, in retail stores nationwide, or on the phone itself.

A bit of something for everyone and certainly something to check out the next time your searching for cell phones and plans.

Google +

2011-10-13T19:33:00.000-04:00

I haven't added Google+ to this blog yet, but I have added it to my main blog, Photos by KML.

It's right there, the first thing in the right hand side bar, and has been there for almost a week now.

And so far I have only one "+".

That is pretty sad.

I am wondering if perhaps there aren't too many people using it.

I try to hit it when I visit blogs that I like, I think that is the way it is supposed to work.

Or perhaps I didn't put the code on right on the blog.

I thought I would put it on my main blog to see if it was worth adding to my others.

I will give it more time, after all it is still in beta.

We will see how it goes.

Oh yeah, feel free to push the + button if you like my blog - Thanks!!

Update Browser

2011-09-29T12:13:00.000-04:00

Man, was I out of date.

My browser of choice is Mozilla Firefox.

And the last major update I did on it was about six months ago - or so I thought.

I was using some version in the 4's, which I thought was fairly current.

But when one of the secure sites I visited warned me that my browser needed to be updated for security reasons, I checked out what was going on.

Firefox was up to version 7.

I was way out of the loop on that one, so update I did.

Quite a few of my plug-ins or add-ons no longer work now, and the layout on the toolbar has had some major changes.

But the speed of it all makes up for any of those inconveniences.

It flies - I can't believe I had been creeping along and not realizing it with the old version.

So, if you too are a Firefox fan, do yourself a favor, and update to version 7.

You are going to love it!

CMF Ads Closing

2011-09-19T15:54:00.000-04:00

I had noticed that the CMF ad site was having a hard time loading this past weekend.

I figured they were doing some kind of maintenance on the site.

But I was finally able to get onto it this morning, and there was an info line across the top that read they were closing on October 31.

I was bummed to read that - I have been with them since the beginning, and have their boxes on all my blogs.

It hasn't been a big earner, but they were part of the network that I use for visiting other blogs.

They are stating that the normal cash-out routine will be in place until September 25th, then they will have a new system to finish up sending out the earnings before they close the site.

It is sad to loose them - the blogs on there were quality ones that you didn't have to worry about running into problems with.

A big thanks to the owners who have kept it running all this time and all the best to them in their future endeavors.

I will be removing my boxes as soon as the ads on them expire.

A Good Cleaning

2011-09-16T20:02:00.000-04:00

I always keep the outside of my PC pretty clean - using the vacuum around the vents each each week to remove the dust.

The back is a wiring nightmare, and it usually gets no attention at all.

So when the power went out a couple of weeks ago, I decided to unplug the whole system and give it a good cleaning.

I was really astonished to see the condition of this poor CPU.

The outlet fan in the back had a very thick coating of dust - it was almost hidden.

All of the connection ports were full as well.

After that was cleaned up, I opened the the case to see the innards.

It was unbelievable - there was dust everywhere.

It had been about a year since I had taken it completely apart like this.

I thought I was getting a lot of it before it entered the unit by vacuuming the outside each week.

Guess I will be taking it apart more often.

It wasn't giving me any problems, why, I don't know.

If I was in that condition, I would be making sure everybody knew!

Easy Prints

2011-09-10T18:16:00.000-04:00

I have always either printed my own photos or used an online lab to have them printed professionally.

But my son needed a few printed right off for the next day, and he couldn't see spending so much money on replacement inks for his printer when having them printed at a lab was so much cheaper.

So down to the pharmacy with the quick print service we went.

They have the computers that take the images from the flash cards and then print what you want.

I had never used one of these services before so it was a learning experience.

And it was so easy - the software allows a bit of processing - cropping, lighting, and a few color correction options.

They were printed within ten minutes and were only 29 cents per photo.

The print quality was fine for what he needed.

It's a good thing to keep in mind for a few quick photos, and it is so easy to use.