GeeksAKnockin'

How-to: View and change flexibility of speech commands in Mac OS X Lion

JS — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:38:41 +0000

Apple introduced speech commands to Mac OS X back in 2005, with their release of OS X Tiger. It wasn’t perfect, was a bit of a novelty, and when trying to use it for anything substantial it was often more of a nuisance than a benefit. Speech recognition technology has greatly improved since then, and that change can be witnessed in Apple’s latest lineup of products, such as their popular Siri. OS X Lion has also seen vast advancements in speech technology with greater sensitivity and recognition of speech commands. You can also adjust the level of flexibility you have with those commands, allowing for more natural speech. By mastering this Star Trekian technology you can get the best use out of your machine, and more importantly, feel like a real starship captain. Appearing below are links provided by Apple that explain how to view a list of available commands and adjust their flexibility.

View the commands you can speak

Change how spoken commands are recognized

How-to: Insert a picture or clip art in Word

JS — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:34:29 +0000

Word is a great word processing application brought to us by Microsoft. It is known for its ease of use, flexibility and extensive features. It allows you to create varied documents, from the simple to the complex. Many users are aware of its basic features, but are not always aware of every function this application can perform. For example, did you know it allows you to inset pictures or clip art into your documents? Now you can adorn that presentation or homework assignment with beautiful and informative images. Below is a link to an article from Microsoft that provides step-by-step directions.

office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/insert-a-picture-or-clip-art

How-to: Add an email signature in Microsoft Outlook

JS — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:50:49 +0000

For many years, Microsoft Outlook has been the one of the most used email applications. It is great for storing, sorting and sending emails with one, or multiple, email accounts. Quite often though, there are so many different features available that they get buried and many users may not be aware of all the powerful tools at their fingertips. One of these great features is adding a signature to each email you send out. This may be as simple as a line of text or two, or can include images, your electronic business card, or even a handwritten signature. Below are links provided by Microsoft that explain this process in more detail. Just click on the appropriate version and follow the step-by-step instructions.

Outlook 2010

Outlook 2007

Outlook 2003

How-to: Import & export bookmarks with Google Chrome

JS — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:07:56 +0000

Back in 2008, Google first released its very own web browser, Chrome. Since then, it has become the second most popular browser in use worldwide, overtaking Firefox but still trailing Internet Explorer. Chrome is sleek, slim and slightly faster than the other two popular browsers. Google has also made it very easy to import and export bookmarks into and out of Chrome. This is a great function if you like to use multiple browsers, or if you just get fed up with the one you mainly use. Below is a link to an article, provided by Google, which explicates these processes in detail.

support.google.com/chrome

How-to: Use new Windows 7 calculator features

JS — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:30:16 +0000

One might first think the Windows 7 calculator looks a lot like previous incarnations of the classic Windows calculator. However, in Windows 7, Microsoft added a myriad of new calculating features. You can switch to Scientific mode, Programmer mode or Statistics mode. You can also perform conversions and calculate time between dates. In addition to that, you can calculate fuel economy, vehicle lease payments and even your mortgage! The new Windows 7 calculator also includes a Calculation History area, so you can review your past calculations. Below is a link from Microsoft that explores all of the seemingly hidden options and explains their operation.

windows.microsoft.com

How-to: Back up your iPhone or iPad

JS — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:40:36 +0000

Have you ever lost your iPhone? Had it stolen? Or, gasp, dropped it in the drink? Well, fortunately, Apple makes it easy to back up your data, beforehand, in preparation for such a calamity. This enables you to restore your lost data, once you have a replacement device in hand, of course. You just have to remember to perform your backup before an unforeseen mishap. So, do it soon, if you’ve not already. This can be achieved with either local storage on your computer, through iTunes, or on the web with iCloud. Below, is a link to an article provided by Apple Support that describes both of these processes in step-by-step detail.

support.apple.com

How-to: Customize your toolbars in Firefox

JS — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:57:36 +0000

With their last few releases of Firefox, Mozilla has tweaked the way Firefox’s toolbars are displayed by default. They did this to streamline the look of the application, but some folks still like to have their typical toolbars of past displayed. Luckily, Firefox allows you to show, hide, and customize your toolbars and the way in which they are viewed. Below is a link to an article from Mozilla that explains this process in detail.

support.mozilla.org

How-to: Get replacement Windows discs, legally

JS — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:49:40 +0000

Far too often these days, new computers don’t always come with Windows recovery discs. Some companies do still include them, but a lot require you to create your own. Or perhaps, you lost yours, or just want a backup copy, and would like to make another. Sometimes, if your computer’s operating system is already severely damaged, and you haven’t yet created a recovery disc, you might have to order a replacement disc directly from the manufacturer. All of these processes vary, depending on the manufacturer, so we’ve provided a link below to an article that describes how and what to do if you find yourself in this situation.

zdnet.com/blog

How-to: Use Multi-Touch gestures in OS X Lion

JS — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:33:52 +0000

With the release of Mac OS X Lion, Apple expanded on its Multi-Touch gestures feature. Gestures allow you to operate your machine’s functions with ease, just by touching the trackpad in certain different ways. Or, if you don’t have a built-in trackpad, you can also use Multi-Touch gestures with a Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse. While gestures appeared in previous versions of OS X, Lion now offers brand new gestures and improved, more realistic, gesture responses. Details on these new features and their use are highlighted in the article we’ve linked to below.

support.apple.com

How-to: Create formulas in Microsoft Excel

JS — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:34:25 +0000

Excel is a fantastic spreadsheet application brought to us by Microsoft as a part of their Office Suite. It is simple and easy to use, but also allows you to create some quite complex formulas for manipulating the data in your spreadsheet. That way, if you have a spreadsheet that needs to perform a lot of calculations, you can have the spreadsheet do all the hard work for you, instead of manually performing every single calculation yourself. These formulas can range from the simple to the not so simple. Below is a link to an article, provided by Microsoft, that explains this process in more detail.

office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/overview-of-formulas