ith Windows 7, you can easily share files and printers across a network via the HomeGroups feature. Here's how to set up your network to share files and printers with Macs.
Windows can share a printer with other PCs on your network, so anyone in your network can connect as long as your printer and PCs are on. Here's how to set up this sharing in Windows 7.
The iPad is loaded with all kinds of features you’ve probably heard about, but look a little deeper, and its extra abilities might surprise you. Some of these secrets are enabled through apps, while some are built into the device already.
With its big, high-resolution display, it’s a shame to just park an iPad when switching to a computer. Instead, Air Display ($10) makes your iPad a second screen for your Mac, extending the desktop. The tool has just been submitted to the App Store and should be released soon; I checked out a beta.
Note:
This software's pricing changed from US dollar pricing to Euro pricing on January 1, 2008. Please verify price before buying.Your PC can get dirty inside and out. Here's how to blow the dust out of a PC and clean a clogged port.
Safety tip: Touch metal on a case when unplugging a power cable.If you allow your desktop PC's case to get dirty over time, grime can clog the fans that keep the internal parts cool. If airflow is blocked, those parts could overheat.
If you upload your images to the Web, your geotag data usually stays intact. To protect your privacy, you can strip it out. GeoSetter and many photo editors can modify or erase photo details, but a specialized tool can do so more quickly. I like Exif Farm because it's accessible via the right-click menu; the demo is free, but batch processing is available only with the paid app. Note that clearing the EXIF file removes all potentially identifying data, including your camera model, the date, and the time.
Note: This link takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.
Whether you work as an in-home massage therapist, operate a taco truck, or run some other small business, you're missing sales if you can't process credit cards. In the past, you were pretty much tied to a land-bound credit card terminal. However, there are mobile alternatives. A number of mobile payment tools now let you accept credit cards on an iPhone, an Android handset, a Windows Phone, or a dumber handset. You just need to sign up, attach credit card reader hardware, and navigate the fees.
Most of these tools require a merchant account. Banks regard credit card transactions similar to the way they do loans: Since they're afraid that you'll run up a bunch of sales with fraudulent cards, pocket the money, and book a flight to Bermuda before they catch on, they're stingy about granting access. You'll have to pass a credit check to earn a bank's trust and a merchant account.
Small businesses need phone service and online meeting tools to get started. Instead of going for separate tools, Virtual Office Pro bundles both services for $50/month. With it, you get unlimited voice calling and online conferencing.
Phone service sounds great and includes faxing. Online conferencing includes video chat and screen sharing, but it lacks basic document sharing. Unfortunately, weak design choices, strange problems, and other limitations make Virtual Office Pro feel like it tries to do too much without first fulfilling the basics.
MegaMeeting gives you all kinds of tools to conduct business meetings online--screen-sharing, videoconferencing, VoIP and phone conferencing, simple whiteboards, and text chat. But its lack of one tool in particular--file presentation--makes it weaker than its competitors.
MegaMeeting is available in several pricing plans. I tested the Professional Light account, which costs $100 a month for up to five participants at a time, with the ability to add more users for $20 per month. The Personal account costs $49 a month for up to five people, but it lacks polls and screen-sharing, among other features.
Instead of physically assembling people for meetings-and eating the cost of travel-online conferencing software lets you hold those meetings online. LotusLive Meetings does that by letting you present files, stream video, share the desktop, and text chat from your Mac. But compared to other online conferencing services, LotusLive Meetings feels a little incomplete.
For a base price $39 a month, LotusLive allows you to meet with up to 15 people at a time. The service scales from there up to 1,000 participants (which costs $99 a month, or $948/year), with several other pricing combinations available in between.
You're probably used to pressing PrintScreen (Windows) or Command-Shift-3 (Mac OS X) to capture occasional computer screenshots. But the operation is not so easy on an Android phone. What if you want to taunt a friend with proof of an online game victory, record a strange error message, teach a relative how to perform a task, or capture an image for your blog? You can still do it, but you'll have to walk through a few more steps.
I'll explain how to set up a PC or Mac to capture your Android's screen. With the right software installation and Android configuration, you can get direct screenshots in any situation.
Why assemble your own ethernet cables? Many online stores sell them for only a couple of dollars each. But certain situations call for using your own custom-wired cables. Maybe you need enough of them to make DIY cables cost-effective; maybe you have unique length requirements; maybe you need to replace broken plugs, or maybe you just want to use up excess cable that you have on hand and would otherwise waste.
I'll identify the parts and tools that you'll need, and then I'll explain how to assemble each cable. With the right equipment, you can crank out customized cables in seconds.
Wireless networks may be convenient, but wired networks beat Wi-Fi in every other way. Wired networks are faster, they're always reliable, and they're secure. Unless you're sitting on the couch with a laptop, or connecting a Wi-Fi-only device, such as an iPad, wired ethernet is the better way to go.
But what should you do about the tangle of wires? Homeowners can run cables inside the walls, potentially increasing the value of their house for tech-savvy buyers. I'm making a few home upgrades and began wiring it up for ethernet even before it had a working bathroom. (I have my priorities.) Here's how you can do the same in your house.
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