Category Archives: Tips

Kindle Cloud Reader revisited – off-line reading

Several months ago, I wrote a post entitled ‘Using your iPad with OverDrive and Kindle to get eBooks and AudioBooks from the library‘. Among other things, it covered downloading Kindle books to your iPad. More recently, I wrote another post … Continue reading

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Free Microsoft Office! Check out Office Web Apps…

So you decided this time ‘round you weren’t going to pay the ‘Microsoft Tax’ to upgrade your Office products. You might have chosen to go with OpenOffice or LibreOffice, or maybe even use Apple iWork products like Pages and Numbers, … Continue reading

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ChromeBook Power Tips – a PCWorld article

There are a lot of good tips in this PCWorld article written by Chris Hoffman. Whether you’re new to ChromeBooks, or have been using them for a while, you’ll learn something useful. Thank you Chris for an excellent article… Chris … Continue reading

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Ripping DVDs on Mavericks – How To

Borrowing ideas from this lifehacker post ‘Five Best DVD Ripping Tools’, there’s a good possibility that  MakeMKV and Handbrake installed on a Mac Mini running Mavericks is able to rip a DVD that’s protected by digital rights management. Before I … Continue reading

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What is Raspberry Pi?

What is it? WikiPedia: The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card-sized single-board computer developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi Foundation with the intention of promoting the teaching of basic computer science in schools. RaspberryPi.org: The Raspberry Pi is a … Continue reading

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ChromeBook Update – And Still in Love

Perhaps you read my ‘It’s Time to Consider a ChromeBook’ post from July. If not, please take a moment to read it here. Since I wrote the post, I’ve become even more fond of my Samsung XE303C12 ChromeBook. It is … Continue reading

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Convert your files in the Cloud – cloudconvert.org (beta)

File conversion from/to various different formats has always been an interesting challenge. That is, until the cloudconvert (beta) became available on the web. You know from reading my other blog posts that I’m becoming a big fan of ‘the cloud’. … Continue reading

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Apache OpenOffice 4 vs. LibreOffice 4.1

I’m out of time so will take the easy route to get this information out quickly.  Lately, I have been down on OpenOffice and high on LibreOffice for various reasons, but this article could well change my open source office … Continue reading

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And maybe it’s Time to Consider ChromeCast too

Much has been written in the press about Google’s new $35 gizmo called ChromeCast.  So being the geek that I am, I had to buy it and try it.  So buy it I did, then waited a really long time … Continue reading

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It’s Time to Consider a ChromeBook

Perhaps your laptop or netbook is aging and you’re thinking of replacing it, but don’t want to spend a lot, or really don’t think you’ll need all the bells and whistles that new laptop computers offer.  Or, your needs are fairly … Continue reading

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Republic Wireless – $19/month, unlimited everything

Update: Maybe the price of a new Moto X has been scaring you away from investing in Republic Wireless’ service. If that’s the case, you’re in luck (soon*). Sometime in April 2014, you’ll have access to the new Motorola Moto G for … Continue reading

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Google Cloud Print – a cool new capability from Google

What is it? In the world of Google Cloud Print, you can print anything, from any device, to any ‘cloud-connected’ printer. When you print through Google Cloud Print, your file is securely sent to your printer over the web. Because … Continue reading

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Why I didn’t buy the Roku 3…

I can write all day about gadgets and gizmos like Roku or Apple TV, and I even get hands on experience when I buy one for a customer.  But until now I haven’t had to choose and purchase a recent … Continue reading

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Microsoft Office 365 (aka Office in the Cloud) Home Premium edition

Update: For those sending your kids off to college this year or next, consider this – Microsoft Office 365 University, then buy it here.  This is a great value (and product), but make sure your student qualifies for this product … Continue reading

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Outlook.com – What is it, and why should I care?

Well, if your one of those people that believes 60 million people can’t be wrong, then this should interest you.  Outlook.com, released in “preview” last Summer, went live yesterday, with another 1.5 million users climbing on board.  But what’s all … Continue reading

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Apple TV – move over Roku

As you know, I’m a pretty big fan of Roku (see my blog post).  But when I recently recommended an Apple TV to a client who had purchased an iPad and a new HDMI-equipped TV, I became even a bigger … Continue reading

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What about Antivirus software for Linux?

In my previous blog entry ‘Consider Linux‘, I covered the virtues of Linux and why you might consider Linux as an alternate or primary OS for your laptop or PC.  What I didn’t explain very well though, is the need … Continue reading

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Consider Linux

I have been debating (in my own mind) whether or not I should write this post.  Factors that kept me from writing it were mostly related to ‘information overload’.  We have Windows and Mac, and for the most part these … Continue reading

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Looking for a really good, inexpensive tablet?

As an iPad(2) owner, I have first-hand experience with a good tablet – one that does just about everything well.  And, as you know, Apple charges a premium for their stuff.  They always have and always will. But, there’s a … Continue reading

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So you want to buy a tablet…

Even though it’ll become obvious in this post that I’m a fan of the Apple iPad (2), the iPad is NOT the only game in town.  Not long ago, Amazon tried to put a dent in iPad sales by introducing … Continue reading

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