When the holidays hit folks will take photos. Photos and your Computer! Lots of them. Maybe you want to adjust the lighting, perhaps get rid of red-eye, or just sharpen it a little. Getting those photos ready for printing and framing, making cards or calendars and just sharing around is a great thing but doesn’t require Photoshop! So we’re talking about alternatives to Photoshop that are better suited to normal folks like us! Photoshop Elements is the Diet Coke of Photoshop meant for consumers. https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements.html Windows Photos and MacOS Preview are included with your operating system and can do many basic tasks. Even your smart phone has built-in tools in its photos apps. GIMP is a free, open-source program but has a bit of a learning curve. https://www.gimp.org/ Paintshop Pro is a longtime alternative. https://www.paintshoppro.com/ Corel offers a whole suite of graphics tools, including a photoshop alternative! https://www.coreldraw.com/en/ Affinity Photo is a professionally aimed program with a budget friendly price. https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/ And do you want better photos? Starting with how you take them will help! https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/10-quick-tips-to-fix-your-bad-photos https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-take-good-photos-with-your-phone/ https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/10-easy-tips-and-tricks-for-better-smartphone-photos
It’s always Phishing season, so beware! (11/5/22 Part 2)
We’re getting into the holidays but it’s also Cyber Security Month! Phishing Scams Are you akamai about phishing? When the baddies try tricking you into giving you all your information? Be it through email or text message or anything you need to be vigilant. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams https://www.cisa.gov/cybersecurity-awareness-month https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-two-factor-authentication-app/ https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-password-managers/
Rock Me Like A Hurricane! (10/1/22 Part 2)
There you are, minding your own business, and the weather decides make things personal. Weather and the Internet Doesn’t matter if its hurricane season here or tornado season on the mainland, there are tools that can be used to help. Listen as Jonathan tells how he helped a friend who was Hurricane Ian! https://www.windy.com/ https://www.waze.com/live-map/ https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
It’s like Christmas! Well, Apple-mas! (9/10/22 Part 1)
New stuff from Apple! Apple’s New Line Whether you’re wanting the best and newest thing OR want to see last year’s stuff go down in price? Well, this is for you! New iPhones, Apple Watches, AirPods and more! Join Jonathan, LD, and Sam as we chime in on our thoughts.
Is your battery trying to blow you up? (7/2/22 Part 2)
Do you have a device with a rechargeable battery? A phone or laptop? Guess what: it can go bad and swell up. And if it swells up? It becomes a hazard! So, what should you do? Well, we talk about that. Don’t Let your Laptop Go Kaboom! Why does it happen? Well, it’s a bit of a read: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/heres-why-your-old-rechargeable-batteries-ballooned-in-size/ar-AAWkuyC
Let us re-introduce you to Thunderbird (6/25/22 Part 1)
A listener emailed us and asked us to talk about Thunderbird! Reintroducing Thunderbird! Thunderbird is an email program that you can use instead of Windows Mail, Microsoft Outlook, or Mac Mail! Its on Windows, Mac, Linux, and many other operating systems. Even Android! https://www.thunderbird.net/en-US/ https://addons.thunderbird.net/en-US/thunderbird/ https://blog.thunderbird.net/2022/06/revealed-thunderbird-on-android-plans-k9/
Peripherals 101: Bluetooth, Wireless, and your car? (6/4/22 Part 1)
Some folks don’t like to be tied down. Wires and cables get in the way, get chewed on by pets and more! Bluetooth Devices! We use it for keyboards, computer mice, printers, speakers, and… cars? Well, yeah, actually. Android Auto – https://www.android.com/auto/ Apple CarPlay – https://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/
Peripherals 101: USB and you! (5/14/22 Part 1)
USB! USB! What is the state of USB? What is it? All Things USB We’re going to try and keep to the most current, relevant stuff, so no history lesson here. There’s enough stuff currently and more coming to keep us busy anyhow! If you take one piece of advice from Sam this show, then it should be “label things!” What do all these plugs look like? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_hardware#Connectors Need a chart? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Connector_type_quick_reference Current as of last year: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/09/usb-if-is-once-again-trying-to-logo-its-way-out-of-usb-c-confusion/
Word and word processing! (4/23/22 Part 1)
The Word processor is one of those programs that most everyone will use at some point. So, we found a few tips for you to make the experience better, including not using Word! Word Processing 101 Find a keyboard shortcut cheat-sheet Windows keyboard shortcuts: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/keyboard-shortcuts-in-windows-dcc61a57-8ff0-cffe-9796-cb9706c75eec#WindowsVersion=Windows_10 Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts: Windows keyboard shortcuts: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/keyboard-shortcuts-in-windows-dcc61a57-8ff0-cffe-9796-cb9706c75eec#WindowsVersion=Windows_10 W10/11: go to Settings, System, Clipboard, you can enable “Clipboard History.” Win + V for Clipboard History Win + . for emoji ❤️ Word has a Focus feature so you can simply write with minimal distractions. Go to View then click Focus. Press Escape to get out of it. Add words to the dictionary! https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/add-or-edit-words-in-a-spell-check-dictionary-56e5c373-29f8-4d11-baf6-87151725c0dc You don’t need Acrobat to make a PDF of your document! https://www.howtogeek.com/352668/how-to-convert-a-microsoft-word-document-to-a-pdf/ Classes are available via Maui Computer Learning! https://www.q-a.net/maui-computer-learning/ You don’t have to buy Word! https://www.office.com/ for the free online version. Its more limited but more than enough for many folks. Also available on phones! Wordpad comes with Windows and is usable for basic use. Google Docs is pretty good, more robust than the free online Word, and free. Libre Office and Open Office are available for free! Macs come with iWork which comes with Pages, a nice little word processor.
Recycling and eCycling on Maui! (4/23/22 Part 2)
Got “old stuff”? You know what we’re talking about: old desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones and more? Well, time to talk eCycling here on Maui! E-cycling on Maui! Why Recycle? from Alert Internet Surfer Kimi: https://tcrwusa.com/pages/recycling-services ECycling Maui’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ecyclingmaui County of Maui Environmental Protection & Sustainability website – https://www.mauicounty.gov/742/Environmental-Protection-Sustainability Residential Recycling Guide (also in the April 2022 issue of the Maui Times!) https://www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/120794/ Got batteries? https://www.epa.gov/recycle/used-household-batteries Got Lithium-Ion batteries? https://www.epa.gov/recycle/used-lithium-ion-batteries Reading on Lithium-Ion recycling: https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/04/lithium-costs-a-lot-of-money-so-why-arent-we-recycling-lithium-batteries/ Want to contact your State representatives about recycling those batteries? https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/members/legislators.aspx?chamber=H How about your County reps? http://mauicounty.us/councilmembers/