Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing is a term you may have heard before, but do you know what it means? Moreover, do you know what it means for you specifically? No, it's not some sort of steam-powered supercomputer, although it would be pretty cool if it was!


Imagine a future where just about everything you use on your computer (music, pictures files, etc.) could be accessed from anywhere you could get on the Internet. Actually, it's not really hard to envision at all, seeing as some of us already use sites like “flickr” which act as an online storehouse for our pictures. But imagine everything for a moment. No more installing huge games to our hard drives and worrying about lost disks, if we forgot a document for a meeting we could just hop online and retrieve it! Want a friend to hear a favorite song of yours? It will all be possible! Even your settings will be kept online, so you don't have to fiddle around with options every time you hop on. How cool is that?

Yeah, I thought about security too, and I'm pretty sure that if Cloud Computing becomes a full blown reality we'll have to see measures taken to prevent theft and other malicious happenings. Still, I think the concept is neat enough to share with all of you!

Make Your Own Wallpaper

Would you like to have one of your pictures as a desktop background? It's easier than you think!

1. Figure out your screen resolution. Before you begin, you'll need to figure out what size the final image needs to be. Fortunately, this is really easy. Just right-click a blank area on your desktop and select Properties from the resulting menu. Then, click the Settings tab on the resulting screen. Look at the Screen resolution area and write down the current setting.

2. OK, now you know the size you need, the next step is to pick a photo. So, head to your archives and open the photo you want to use in your favorite imaging program. I'll wait here.

3. Have the photo opened? Cool. Now, adjust anything that needs adjusted (color, saturation, etc). Now, you'll need to resize the image to match your monitor resolution. This setting varies by program, but it's usually found under the Edit or Image menu in most programs.

Most programs will have an option to "constrain proportions". This keeps the image proportional as you change sizes. Make sure this option is checked or the image may look distorted. For more on how this works, check out:
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/1587

Now, here's the trick. You may find that when you resize the image with the proportions constrained, the numbers don't work out to match your screen resolution. If the numbers are close (say within 10 pixels), don't worry about it. Any distortion will be minimal. However, if you find the numbers are off by quite a bit, you'll need to either crop the image or put it onto a black background that is proportional to your screen resolution.

For the details on how to do this, check out our Constrain Proportions article (linked above). It will explain in detail how you can turn an image that's not proportional into one that is.

4. Once your have your image resized, cropped, and generally ready to go, save it as a JPEG. I'd put it in the "My Pictures" folder for easy reference, but the choice is yours.

5. Last step! Right-click your desktop, select Properties from the resulting menu, then go the Desktop tab. Click the Browse button and navigate to the image you just saved. Select it, hit OK and you should now have your photo set as your desktop wallpaper!

Happy wallpapering.

Removable Memory Cards

We all know that cell phones are one of today's big crazes. An even bigger one is camera cell phones. Before we know it, all cell phones will probably have camera abilities, because the world today likes to see real images rather than just words. So, it may be a good idea to know what you can do with the pictures you take on your phone after the shooting is done.

Picture Messaging

A common way that people transfer photos from their cell phones to their computers (that doesn't really have any additional cost from your regular monthly bill) is picture messaging. It works pretty much the same as text messaging; you just have to have text messaging enabled on your cell phone. If you don't, this method will not work.

Note: Expect this method to be a little different for various phone models, but the following directions are pretty basic and similar for all phones.

If you would like to send a picture to another person's cell phone or if you want to e-mail a picture to a friend or even to yourself, you just need to open your phone and go to the Menu. Find your phone's Media Gallery and then choose Pictures. At this point, you can pick the photo you'd like to send. Once you have it chosen, go to Options and choose Send in Message (like you're sending a text message). This is where you choose to send it to one of the Contacts listed in your phone or if you want to e-mail it to someone or yourself. Pick the person you're sending it to and push the OK button and then Send.

You can also send text with the picture if you want to do that. If you end up e-mailing the picture to someone, you will just have to type in their e-mail address and they will get it in their Inbox. You just need to make sure the person you're sending the picture to has picture capabilities too.

Data Cable

Another way you can transfer photos to other people is to put them directly onto your computer, so you can e-mail them to your friends or save them to a disk or a CD. So, to do that, you have to have some sort of a USB data connection kit, which comes with the cable cord that plugs your phone into your computer's USB port and the software that will help you in transferring the pictures from your phone. You usually have to purchase these kits separate from your phone. The store where you buy your phone should have them available and they will be able to tell you which one will work with your type of phone.

Once you have your phone and computer connected, you can start transferring the pictures. Again, keep in mind that these kits are phone specific, so you need to make sure that you get one that will be compatible with your phone model.

Bluetooth

Another way to handle the pictures on your cell phone that is becoming more popular every day is a wireless technology called Bluetooth. Bluetooth works with short-range wireless technologies that allow you to easily send photos from your phone to a laptop or desktop computer. The computer you are sending them to just has to be equipped to accept the pictures.

The most difficult (but it can sometimes be fairly easy) part about Bluetooth is matching the phone to the computer, so they are both compatible with each other. But, once that it is done, sending the images couldn't be easier.

As long as your phone has the Bluetooth software on it, you can send the images without any extra charges billed to you. You can also send photos to other Bluetooth users' phones without any wires or additional charges. This seems to be the most versatile way to go if you're looking to maybe spend a little more money up front for the Bluetooth works, but it will save you money in the long run when you don't have to pay any extra charges when sending your pictures back and forth.

E-mail

Another way for you to send pictures between your friends and family is to e-mail them. Your cell phone has to have e-mail capabilities for this to work, but a lot of the phones these days come with that ability. You can e-mail them to other people or, as mentioned above, to yourself. You just have to type the e-mail address in the To: field just like you would if you were using Outlook Express and it will be sent.

If you see something while you're out and about that you just have to take a picture of, you can snap the photo on your phone, send yourself a quick e-mail and when you get home, the picture will be on your computer waiting for you. You can then send it off to other people or do something like set it as your desktop wallpaper.

Removable Memory Cards

Another new technology that is presenting itself with camera phones is an external memory card for your phone. The phone just comes with a slot for the card and you can transfer the shots to your computer in a snap. You will need to purchase an external memory card reader so it will all work, but it's one of the easiest ways to go if you takes several pictures with your cell phone.

When you have the card reader installed, you just remove the memory card from your phone, insert it into the reader and your computer will recognize it as another drive. You can then drag and drop the photos wherever you want them to go, e-mail them to others, etc. The options are pretty endless with this choice. You can then get rid of the existing pictures on your phone (since they're on your computer and not lost) and go out and take more. It's that easy!

Just one more reminder: all of these applications work differently with different phones, so make sure you refer to your phone's manual before doing anything you're not sure of. But, all in all, this is all really cool when you think about it. Who would have thought we could do so much with a little phone? Technology is just out of this world!

Broadband Trouble

Here's your problem: "My broadband has stopped working and I can’t get it going again. What can I do"? Believe it or not, but that’s not an uncommon problem and there are a few tips I can give you to solve this annoying problem!

But, troubleshooting should really be called "trouble prevention," because there are a number of steps you should take now before disaster strikes, which will make the whole process a whole lot more painless. So, first of all, let's list some prevention methods.

Prevention

Take a pen and a pad of paper and take a tour of your installation, making notes of the following:

1. Router: What lights on the front are on when the broadband is working? Which blink and which are steady?

2. Connections: Which cables go from where to where? (For example, computer, router, telephone or satellite connection, etc. (Draw a diagram or two if you need to).

3. Go into your router settings (see Appendix below) and write down all the settings under the various headings.

4. Open up your network connections on your computer (see Appendix below) and make a note of the modem/adapter settings and the TCP/IP settings. (You don’t need to know what they mean, just make a note of what they are).

5. Go into your browser and check the connection settings there (see Appendix below).

Having done all of that, you are now in a much better position to check out what is happening when you have problems without making disastrous changes to your setup, which could make matters worse and not better.

So, now disaster has struck. Everything is at a standstill. What do you do?

Problem Solving – Hardware

Let’s start with eliminating potential problem causes one by one.

1. Is it just a power cut? Are other electrical appliances working?

2. Is it a faulty telephone connection if you have ADSL broadband? Pick up your telephone. Can you hear a signal? If not, trace all of the connections and see if anything has become loose or disconnected. If this is the case, once the telephone is working again, your broadband will too. (Although, you may have to reboot in some cases).

3. Are the same lights on or off on your router as before? If not, which ones are different? They could give you a clue as to the source of the problem.

4. Are the connections in to the computer secure? Take them out one by one and put them back in again. Does this solve the problem?

Problem Solving – Software

Let’s move on to possible settings and software problems.

1. Are all of your broadband connections down? (For example, is it both your e-mail and the Internet?) If it’s only one, suspect the settings on the non-functioning one. It’s unlikely to be much else.

2. Go to your router and run through all the settings you have previously noted down and check and/or rectify any that have been changed.

3. Go to the modem/adapter settings and check these out (especially the channel selected and any passwords. You should have them written down from when you got the equipment).

4. Now, let’s move on to the TCP/IP settings. Have there been any changes. Can you rectify?

5. Next, check the Internet connection settings in your browser.

6. If still no solutions are forthcoming, go to the little Network Connection icon in your system tray (bottom right of screen) and right click. You should see an option to “Repair.” Select that and let Windows try to solve the problem for you.

If you have found settings that have changed and you have been able to change them back, make sure you save everything before exiting. Then reboot your computer before trying again.

If all this fails, it’s time to call your broadband services supplier.

You may find that you are greeted with a recording telling you that there is a breakdown of services in your area. At this point, you are permitted to throw the computer through the window or you may get through to your friendly helpful technician who will talk you through the various checks on their side (don’t be surprised if he goes through many of the steps you have already taken above, but doesn’t it sound impressive when you say, “Yes, I’ve already done that”?!)

Appendix

Now, here are some more detailed explanations of how to do some of the things listed above.

Router Settings

Your instruction book should give you detailed information about how to access the settings of your router. Usually you have to enter an address in your Web browser, enter a username and password (often admin and admin or admin and 1234 by default, but do change this as soon as possible).

You will then see something like this (varies according to manufacturer):

So, as we suggested, take down all the settings and keep them safe somewhere.

Modem/Adapter Settings

You access your settings via Control Panel / Network settings.

If you right click on the icon, you will see a little box in which you can select Properties (see picture).

This will lead you to a page like this:

Take the top part first: “Connect using” and click on Configure.

Again, what you see will vary from one supplier to another, but basically you should work your way through all the tabs and note down the various settings.

Exit this and then move down to the bottom box and highlight the TCP/IP line (often the last row). Click Properties, which will then bring you to a box like this:

Make a note of the numbers on this page (or maybe the box “Obtain an IP address automatically” is checked. If so, make note of that too).

Browser Settings

Fire up your browser, click on Tools and then Internet Options, which will lead you to this screen:

Select the Connection tab and then write down all the settings here too.

There you go! Hopefully now you are out of the broadband blues and back on the right track!

Happy broadbanding!