Archives for the ‘Helpful Tips’ Category

Helpful Tip: Restore Firefox Tabs & Windows

In the Firefox settings there is an option to show the "windows and tabs from last time" when starting up the browser. This is handy for anyone who wants to close their browser, but retain any windows and tabs that were previously open for the next session.

December 27th, 2007
Helpful Tip: Restore Firefox Tabs & Windows

Helpful Tip: Get the Old Firefox Address Bar Back

If you've been brave enough to venture into the realm of Firefox 3 Beta 2 there is no denying that you've seen the newly designed Location/Address Bar (). It's big, prominent, and is likely to irritate some people who prefer the more streamlined Address Bar that we've come to know and love. Give me just 30 seconds of your time and we can bring back the classic look...

December 21st, 2007
Helpful Tip: Get the Old Firefox Address Bar Back

Helpful Tip: Gmail Contact Groups

Multiple email services offer the feature to create contact groups, but today we're concentrating on creating them in Gmail and why they are useful.  One of the things I don't like about Gmail is that when I go to compose an email, there's no way to have my contact list pop-up so that I can select the contacts that I want to send the email to from the compose screen.

December 14th, 2007
Helpful Tip: Gmail Contact Groups

Helpful Tip: Vista Flip3D Mouse Shortcut

Vista's Flip3D is one of the most notable features, and something you frequently see in demonstrations of the operating system. It presents a unique way to flip between your open applications, and for the longest time I didn't think it would ever make me more productive.

December 9th, 2007
Helpful Tip: Vista Flip3D Mouse Shortcut

Helpful Tip: Middle-Click to Close Programs

I can't even begin to count how many people have become addicted to closing tabs in their browser using the middle mouse button. If you're one of those people I'm here to tell you that you can carry that feature outside of your browser and onto the Windows Taskbar!

December 7th, 2007
Helpful Tip: Middle-Click to Close Programs

Helpful Tip: Paste Multiple Lines in Input Boxes

Have you ever been in Firefox and wanted to paste multiple lines of text into a single-line text field? You know, like in the example above where there is an address which has been placed on two different lines, but if you paste that into the Google Maps search field it will cutoff anything on the second line.

November 29th, 2007
Helpful Tip: Paste Multiple Lines in Input Boxes

Helpful Tip: How to Report a Phishing Email

It seems like I've been getting an unusually large number of phishing emails lately, and I've began wondering whether everyone realizes how they can report phishing emails with their email provider. This article will highlight what phishing is, and why/how to properly report it.

November 24th, 2007
Helpful Tip: How to Report a Phishing Email

Helpful Tip: Use a Keyboard to Move the Mouse

Microsoft includes a feature in Windows that many people would love to use ... if they knew about it. It's the ability to completely control your mouse using only the keyboard, but since it is buried in the Accessibility Options a lot of people never know it's there.

November 20th, 2007
Helpful Tip: Use a Keyboard to Move the Mouse

Helpful Tip: Clean Your Keyboard & Mouse

Ashley has already covered the different ways to clean your keyboard, but have you ever tried to clean your keyboard or mouse while the computer was on? I've done it, and the result is programs and files unexpectedly being opened, or even worse getting deleted. It's almost like closing your eyes and typing on the keyboard ... you just don't know what's going to happen.

November 14th, 2007
Helpful Tip: Clean Your Keyboard & Mouse

Helpful Tip: Monitor Sites for Changes with RSS Feeds

Back in March we introduced you to a service called Feedity which creates a feed for sites without syndication. As I had mentioned at the time, there's nothing more frustrating than coming across a site that I'd like to keep tabs on that doesn't have any syndication available. This is why Feedity and other services similar to it like Drapper are so helpful.

November 9th, 2007
Helpful Tip: Monitor Sites for Changes with RSS Feeds

Helpful Tip: Vista Volume Mixer

A new feature to Windows Vista is the Volume Mixer which allows users to choose the volume for any application that is running. In Windows XP there is only one single control for all sounds which means that you could find yourself constantly making adjustments. This is why the volume mixer in Vista is so convenient, yet many users don't even know that it's there.

November 6th, 2007
Helpful Tip: Vista Volume Mixer

Helpful Tip: Create a Remote Desktop Shortcut

The Windows Remote Desktop is a built-in tool that lets you take control of a computer over a network connection. It is useful for accessing computers that are not sitting in front of you, and it's something that I use quite frequently.

October 31st, 2007
Helpful Tip: Create a Remote Desktop Shortcut

Helpful Tip: Disable the System Beep in Windows

One of the things that annoys me the most in Windows is the system beep. It's loud and often happens at the most inopportune times, like during a meeting or a class. All heads turn towards you as people wonder what idiot would have the sound turned on.

October 23rd, 2007
Helpful Tip: Disable the System Beep in Windows

Helpful Tip: Firefox "Secure Updates" Extension Warning

Mozilla is trying to beef up extension security in Firefox 3 by ensuring that the updates are provided by a secure address. All of the extensions on the official Mozilla add-ons site will work perfectly with this new system, but there could be problems when venturing outside of the site.

October 19th, 2007
Helpful Tip: Firefox "Secure Updates" Extension Warning

Helpful Tip: How to Add Music to Your iPod Without iTunes

Not everybody who owns an iPod is a fan of everything that comes out of Apple, including iTunes. Thankfully there are many alternatives to manage your iPod should you not want to use iTunes.

October 11th, 2007
Helpful Tip: How to Add Music to Your iPod Without iTunes

Helpful Tip: Middle-Click on a Touchpad Laptop Mouse

I've never really understood why the idea of creating a laptop that includes a third mouse button never really took off. Would it be all that bad to have some miniature button squeezed in between the left and right buttons on the touchpad?

October 6th, 2007
Helpful Tip: Middle-Click on a Touchpad Laptop Mouse

Helpful Tip: Remove Flickr Spaceball.gif in Firefox and Opera

One of the things you may have noticed with Flickr is that the photos will have another image overlaid on top of them called spaceball.gif (here is an example photo) This prevents you from copying the address to the image or being able to save it to your computer.

September 28th, 2007
Helpful Tip: Remove Flickr Spaceball.gif in Firefox and Opera

Helpful Tip: How to Buy a Used Computer on eBay

While eBay isn't the best place to buy it's not a bad place to purchase a used computer. There are some risks involved, but in general, the majority of transactions on eBay will be trouble-free if you know what you're doing. Here are a few helpful tips for buying a used computer on eBay that will give you a great eBay experience.

September 24th, 2007
Helpful Tip: How to Buy a Used Computer on eBay

Helpful Tip: What’s Inside Your Batteries

Picking up some batteries at the store can be quite discouraging because of the outrageously high prices that they can cost. As Lifehacker has been showing us lately things may not always be what they appear. Checkout what lies inside some of your everyday batteries:

September 20th, 2007
Helpful Tip: What’s Inside Your Batteries

Helpful Tip: How to Fix Scratches on Your iPod

While iPods look clean and shiny right out of the box, it doesn't take long for a few scratches to appear. They tend to scratch fairly easily, even when you try (like I did) to keep it scratch free. Unless you're using a case or cover of some sort, it's inevitable that it will happen eventually.  Here are a few tips on different ways that you can fix the scratches on your iPod:

September 17th, 2007
Helpful Tip: How to Fix Scratches on Your iPod