Hardware isn't a Store you Buy Fork Handles From!

I remember several years ago, that I took on a temporary role as 'first line tech support' for British Telecom. In this role, I made a handful of friends, that I still keep in touch with today, but that was the first thing and last thing I liked about the job. I was really thrown in at the deep end.

Every day, I would have clients call me and give me their computer issue, and I had to determine what the problem was, which part they required to fix it and to schedule an engineer to go and fix it.

I had no idea about the inside and outside of a computer, and found the job extremely difficult. However, I persevered and I was amazed at how quickly I learned about something I had very little desire in.


They say that pictures speak a thousand words and who am I to argue.

I think that the information here is pretty self explanatory, so although the list is not exhaustive, you can congratulate yourself on now knowing what hardware is!

4 of The Best List Making Apps

Everyone loves a list, infact 'Listicles' - a piece of writing that contains a list, for example, the 10 Best Restaurants in London, or the 10 Ten Best Beaches in the World, are some of the most popular reads today. Short, sharp and snappy information, with visual pictures, inspiring our minds!
Anyway, I digress, there are some great apps available you to make lists, and as we have recently discovered what apps are, I think it is only fair to share some useful ones to get you started.

So, from shopping lists, to-do list, checklist, what to pack list - these following apps have been designed to help you create and manage your lists!


1. Wunderlist

I love the name first of all! It is available on Android and iOS, and is free to download, however, some of the features offer in-app purchases to unlock, such as file sharing. The app is easy to use, and allows you to create lists



2. Google Keep 

This is a great app, for those of you that enjoy colour coding lists. You can also add reminders to the lists, download audio recordings, and photos. You can also keep the lists indefinitely, great for all you Bridezilla's out there. Its a smart little app that helps you manage and control your life day to day.



3. Remember The Milk

One of the original list making apps, and compatible with iOS and Android. This app has been around for a while, and has continually been updated to keep it up there with its newer rivals. Great app, but expensive price tag to upgrade for features you get free with other apps.


4. Todoist

A great motivational to do list, for those of you who need inspiration to cross things off your list. It awards you with 'karma' points to help you achieve and accomplish your lists and goals. Overall a great clean app with plenty of benefits, however, you have to sign up to a yearly prescription to unlock all of the features.


There are many other to do list apps and features around, however, you can start to look at other choices once you get confident with navigating apps and downloading them! 

Appy Days and How to Find Them

Apps, short for Applications, is a piece of software (information for your device), that is down loaded to your phone, tablet or computer.

There is practically an App for everything these days, and I will be featuring some of my favorite ones throughout the blog.

Some apps are free to download, some contain in-app purchases allowing you extra features and benefits, and some you have to pay for to download them.

I was pretty amazed once I started to research apps, just what kind of information is out there at our fingertips.

How Do I get an app I hear you ask. The most common way is to use the software provided by your operating system, the most popular ones being Android (Google Play Store) and for ios (Apple) you have iTunes  and The App Store.

Find your app icon, open it and search until your hearts content. I have many Apps downloaded. for health, reading PDF's, scanning documents on my phone (saves me an hours commute to the office some days!)

No More Reading Your Screen Upside Down

The first time I managed to rotate my computer screen, I had absolutely no idea how I had achieved this feat of engineering, nor did I know how to get it back. The tried and tested method of switching my computer on and off again had failed miserably.

However, it is as easy as 123 to get that screen rotated the right way again, so no need to panic or stand on your head to use your computer. Phew!

The reason it has a screen rotation option is the same as using Microsoft word's landscape or portrait view, some things just look better rotated, especially when doing a presentation, so now you know.

All you need to do is press CTRL + ALT + UP ARROW button until the screen is the right way around! Yep, that is all! You are Welcome :) 

Handy Commands and Function Keys

Here are a few shortcuts you can use on your keyboard. Always hold down the Control (Ctrl) key first and press the second function key simultaneously for the command to work. Use these for example when editing a word or excel document.

Sharing Photograph's Online from your Phone or Tablet

We are a nation of selfie takers, and everyone wants to show off their latest pic, and I don't want you to miss out either.

If you have taken a photo on your tablet or phone, it is pretty easy to upload (the process of getting the picture to where you want it) to your facebook account, or chosen social media platform. Very often, you can select the picture you have taken and press the share symbol that looks like this:

The Share Symbol

When you see this, if you select the item that you want to share, then press this, it will give you a choice of options of how you can share it. Select the one that you want and hey presto! You have shared that fabulous selfie!

This option only works if you have the app that you want to share your photo's with on your phone or tablet. If you want to upload them via your PC, please see the next post!

Alternatively, visit the social media site you want to visit, and select upload photo, and when it asks you to chose from where you want to upload the picture from, press gallery, photos or wherever the picture is stored and click the picture or some devices have a multiple function where you can upload more than one at a time.

Opening a Facebook Account

So, you have decided to take the first step into the world of social media and open a facebook account. I am going to walk this through with you and include images.


Step 1.
First of all, you need to access the website for facebook, click here for access to www.facebook.com
You will find this page below.

Step 2.
Enter your details in the boxes under sign up - names, contact information and date of birth, your gender and click create account. See below for an example.

Step 3.

Facebook will as you to confirm your email for security reasons, and you will see the screen below. If you click on the blue box, it will automatically take you to your email provider to enter your details.

Step 4.

Click on the link in your emails to confirm the details. You may have been sent a code. Write this code down and go back to this page (you will find it in the tab above your pages with a blue square and white f symbol). Click on enter code and put the code you were given in. There may be a short time limit to do this, if you miss the time limit, you will have to repeat step 4 entirely.

Step 5.

You are good to go! You will see the page below, and many options are available to you.

You can't break your facebook page, so keep clicking on links until you feel comfortable navigating your way around the site. The worst you can do is update a status without meaning to, even then it can be deleted easy enough! Happy Social Networking, and congratulations on not giving up!

Understanding Social Media - Part 2

So, lets look at some more symbols and platforms to get your social media knowledge up to date. I have not covered them all here, just the most used ones in my opinion.

Instagram
Ease of use rating: 4/5

In the second row, we begin with Instagram, a camera symbol within a square. Instagram is an app usually associated with your tablet. You can upload photos, add on filters to make everything look amazing, and share them with friends. You can chose who to follow, and the app will suggest people from your facebook friends if you link them together with your account. The app is compatible with ios (apple) and android systems. It will ask you to sign up an account using your email address. Look out for a later post on how to sign up for an email address if you need one!

Instagram can transform you pictures from this...

To this, in literally under a minute! A big relief for all of you that shoot too much sky or foreground! Watch the birdy!!

Snapchat
Ease of use rating: 2/5

This is an app that you would most like use on your mobile. You are really down with the kids if you get this app! This one is a bit of a mix of all of the others. The main purpose is to share pictures, but with a twist. There are all kinds of filters that you can use, give your selfie a halo with flowers, make yourself look like an animal, mostly pretty useless stuff, but the kids love it. Not my favorite app, but like to use it with my nephews to create funny pictures on a quiet day.



What's App
Ease of use rating: 5/5

The app that displays a greem square with a handset. Really handy if you live or have friends and famiy overseas as it allows you to send messages, photos, videos, phone and message calls for free, providing you have wi-fi access. To access the app, go to the apple store if you have an iPhone or apple product, or play store for android products, search for What's App and you can download it for free. You will need to sign up with your mobile number, and it will send you an access code by text message to enter, but the instructions are very clear and straightforward. Along with facebook, this is my other most used form of social media and networking.