For more than 20 years, Rick Broida has written about all manner of technology, from Amigas to business servers to PalmPilots. His credits include dozens of books, blogs, and magazines. He sleeps with an iPad under his pillow. More by Rick Broida
Reader Greg is switching Internet service providers, meaning he's giving up the email address he's had from that provider for many years. He wants to know how he can simplify the transition to his new address.
Although that kind of move is a lot easier than moving to a new home, it can still be a hassle. Here are some suggestions for smoothing the process.
1. Don't lock yourself into your ISP's domain. For example, if you're moving from, say, SBC to Comcast, you might be tempted to use your new Comcast email address. That's fine, but what happens if you decide to switch to a different ISP again? You'll face the same hassle all over again.
For more than 20 years, Rick Broida has written about all manner of technology, from Amigas to business servers to PalmPilots. His credits include dozens of books, blogs, and magazines. He sleeps with an iPad under his pillow. More by Rick Broida
For more than 20 years, Rick Broida has written about all manner of technology, from Amigas to business servers to PalmPilots. His credits include dozens of books, blogs, and magazines. He sleeps with an iPad under his pillow. More by Rick Broida
Windows 8 has pretty decent file-search capabilities built in, especially if you learn a few tricks for smarter searches.
Of course, not everyone has (or wants) Windows 8, and even those who do may find Microsoft's search engine lacking.
Check out SwiftSearch, a free, portable search utility that's remarkably small and remarkably fast. With it you can find just about any file, on any drive, in about the time it takes to read this sentence. In fact, forget sentence; the time it takes to read this word!
For more than 20 years, Rick Broida has written about all manner of technology, from Amigas to business servers to PalmPilots. His credits include dozens of books, blogs, and magazines. He sleeps with an iPad under his pillow. More by Rick Broida
Google gives all comers 15 gigabytes' worth of free storage across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Plus Photos. Not a bad chunk of space just for having a heartbeat.
Of course, more is always better, especially when you don't have to pay for it. And Google is now offering exactly that, though there are a couple small catches.
From now through Sept. 26, you have the opportunity to score an extra 10GB of Google Drive space, no extra charge.
For more than 20 years, Rick Broida has written about all manner of technology, from Amigas to business servers to PalmPilots. His credits include dozens of books, blogs, and magazines. He sleeps with an iPad under his pillow. More by Rick Broida
If you spend any significant amount of time working at a desk, the single best way to boost your productivity is to connect a second monitor.
Most laptops have either a VGA or HDMI output, making the addition pretty simple: just connect the LCD, tweak Windows' settings to extend your desktop, and then enjoy the benefits of a double-size workspace. (My preferred arrangement: Outlook "permanently" open on the right, my browser and other stuff on the left.)
Ah, but why not go a step further? Why not extend your desktop even further with a third screen?