One of my favorite podcasts, Get-It-Done Guy (on the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network), just did an episode about email subject lines. Poorly written (or missing) subject lines are one of my pet peeves. Here are a few points from Get-It-Done Guy, which apply to messages sent by email, Facebook, LinkedIn, or any other […]
When you log into Facebook, the first thing you see is the Home page, also known as the News Feed. This is a list of status updates, photos, links, etc. from your friends, pages, and applications. Each of these pieces of news are known in Facebook lingo as a "story". The News Feed is a […]
Looking for an alternative to a program for Windows, Mac, or Linux, or a substitute for a web app? Try AlternativeTo.net. Just type in the name of the software you'd like to see alternatives to, and you'll get a list of alternatives ranked by popularity. Let's say you're looking for alternatives to Dropbox, a popular […]
Note: DownOrNot.com is offline. DownForEveryoneOrJustMe.com is still online. When a website won't load for me, my first question is, "is the site really down, or is it just me?" I use DownOrNot.com to check. It uses a monitoring network to check the site from several different locations, then determines if the site is actually up […]
Update: here's my latest list of WordPress podcasts. These are the best WordPress podcasts I've found so far. Please share your favorites in the comments!
Where can you get free software for your Windows PC? Ideally, directly from the software creator, such as Google, Apple, or Microsoft. What if you don't know who makes the software? A Google search will likely take you straight to it, but search results can be hijacked. Here are my favorite reputable sites for downloading […]
I carry a USB drive containing my software toolkit: various programs for removing malware, tuning up Windows, installing updates, etc. Some are installers that install programs to a hard drive, and others are portable applications that run straight from the USB drive without hard drive installation. Because most of these programs are frequently updated, it's […]
The best way I've found to post audio files (such as MP3s) to WordPress.com sites is to upload the files to the Internet Archive, then link to them from your WordPress.com post. The Internet Archive offers free media hosting, with no file size or bandwidth limits, as far as I could find. You could also […]
I'm often asked, "I need a laptop. What should I buy?" Although the technical specifications of laptops change constantly, the basics have remained the same for years. Below are some things to consider when shopping for a laptop (AKA notebook computer). A note about netbooks: these portable computers are smaller than laptops (usually with 9 […]
I recently helped a client with a laptop that had suddenly become agonizingly slow to start up. The Windows XP loading screen stayed up for longer than normal, and it took several more minutes after that for the desktop to load and be usable; over 7 minutes total. Any hard drive intensive programs ran extremely […]
When I run across a website that's visually appealing, functional, and fast, I like to find out what technology powers that site. I've found BuiltWith.com a helpful resource for finding this information. Enter a website address, and BuiltWith lists return's the site's Technology Profile. This profile includes details such as the server software, analytics platform, blog […]
Want to know what web host is hosting a particular website? Maybe you're shopping for a web host, or you're just curious who hosts your favorite websites. I use WhoIsHostingThis.com, which answers the question its name poses. Simply type in the website address, and WhoIsHostingThis.com will try to tell you who the host is, as […]
