Author Archives: Glen

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Build Your Own WordPress Website

Step 1: Sign up for, or into, your favorite Web Hosting service. Mine is Bluehost. There are many others (HostGator and GoDaddy being a couple of the more popular ones), but BlueHost is priced right and has be extremely reliable. … Continue reading

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My New Budget Chromebook

As some of you know, I own a few Chromebooks. My HP I loaned to my son and I might never see it again. My Asus and Acer (R11) were given to our church. And even though I still have … Continue reading

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y2mate’s Demise – life just got more complicated!

For some background, y2mate.com has been my go-to site for downloading content from YouTube. Since I often use snippets from others’ YouTube videos for my classes (with appropriate credit given of course), not being able to download YouTube content is … Continue reading

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What Kind of E-Bike Can I Buy for $900?

Well, it has been a while since my last posting. I took August off from teaching, and I just got busier. We’re in a ‘de-junking’ phase where we identify things that we no longer use or need, and either sell … Continue reading

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A Tale of Two Watches…

No, this has nothing to do with Dickens, or the French Revolution. What it does have to do with is a recent discovery of mine as the proud (almost) owner of two new watches. The first watch is the ‘Apple … Continue reading

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Hey Chromebook users – Don’t Upgrade Your OS!

I’m writing this post on March 28, 2021. For the first time ever, Goggle seems to have given us (Chromebook devotes) a bum update. My HP and Acer Chromebooks were updated recently and in both cases, after booting the Chromebook, … Continue reading

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Convert Anything!

So you asked, what is the best file conversion tool? I’ll answer that question in a moment, but also in this post I’ll let you know what all my other ‘essential’ tools are and why. So first, why convert? Well, … Continue reading

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How to download YouTube and Vimeo videos

Since there’s lots of interesting content on the internet one can download and edit into short clips for personal use, I have discovered reliable ways to download the content I require. But first a message from our lawyer: Downloading videos … Continue reading

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To Charge, or not to Charge, that is the question

For a while now, I have been providing certain advice on how best (and when) to charge your ‘portable’ devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops – and even your EV, though this last item is not so portable). So here goes; what … Continue reading

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Snap (your perfect face) on Zoom

Now why would you want to do something as silly as this? Well, maybe because it’s FUN? Using an application called Snap Camera from Snap Inc. you can select different ‘Lenses’ to use when on a Zoom session or other … Continue reading

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I Live in Philly but want to watch local TV in Seattle…

And I want to do it without buying a VPN! Here’s how: Sign up for Locast (local TV) at locast.net. Install the ‘Change Geolocation (Location Guard)‘ extension in Google Chrome. Visit latlong.net, type in the city you want to change … Continue reading

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Short Video – Embed YouTube Video in PowerPoint

As a Zoom instructor, I look for ways to improve/simplify my workflow. Workflow in this context includes the number of steps or transitions one makes during a presentation. In my PowerPoint presentations, I have both word slides and short videos. … Continue reading

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What is ‘Google One’ and why do I care?

For those unfamiliar with Google Drive, this is a file storage and synchronization service developed by Google and available to the public since 2012. When one creates a Google Gmail account, 15 gigabytes of storage are provided for free. For many, this is enough for their … Continue reading

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Time Lapse Photography – on a budget…

If you have attended any of my classes, you’ll know that I praise Wyze for their innovative products, and especially for their prices. So a while back, I wrote this post about the amazing $20 WyzeCam V2 camera. Now the … Continue reading

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WSL – What is it? Linux on Windows – how cool is that!

WSL Windows Subsystem for Linux is a compatibility layer for running Linux binary executables (in ELF format) natively on Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019. Translation: WSL allows you to run Linux on your Windows platform without installing virtualization software from VM Ware, Oracle (my favorite), Microsoft or elsewhere. In … Continue reading

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Wyze Band – Is it worth $25? And a new Watch for even less…

Fitness Tracker, Amazon Alexa built-in, hi-res screen, customizable color watch-face, heart-rate tracker, sleep monitor, notifications, alarms, water-resistant, and 10-14 day battery that recharges in a little more than an hour (special charging cable provided). Wyze’s Wyze Band does all this … Continue reading

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Move over Roku, Chromecast with Google TV just came to town

For those who are not yet Google Chromecast fans, here’s what you have been missing: the ability to ‘cast’ content from your Mac, PC, Chromebook, or smartphone to your TV. The original Chromecast models plugged directly into the HDMI input … Continue reading

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The Lenovo Chromebook Duet

More specifically the Lenovo – Chromebook Duet – 10.1″- Tablet – 128GB – With Keyboard – Ice Blue + Iron Gray available from Best Buy for $229, which is a very good price! So, when one already owns 6 Chromebooks … Continue reading

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Lights, Camera, Action… Making Your Best Impression on Zoom

I already had a pretty good PC with a pretty good camera, a nice headset with mic and some lights I scrounged for additional lighting, and my Zoom presence wasn’t terrible, but I knew it could use some polish. So … Continue reading

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Zoom Basics for instructors

Below are 3 videos I created for instructors that are new to teaching using the on-line Zoom platform. For those familiar with the classroom instruction experience, the transition to Zoom could be problematic due in part to the way Zoom … Continue reading

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