Computer Tips Archives - Page 225 of 230

Save time by using Google instead of the ‘Yellow Pages’

Posted on January 21, 2013

yellow-pages For decades we kept the ‘Yellow Pages’ next to the phone for those times when we needed to look up the phone number or address of a local business, but times have changed. Now, thanks to Google we can find that information with just a mouse click and a few keystrokes. Here’s how:

Start by typing the following information into Google’s search box, in this order and without the commas: Business Name, City or Town, State. If you live in a small town with just one business by that name, the Google Plus listing for that particular establishment will pop right up. [Read more…]

How to add Shutdown and Restart tiles to the Windows 8 Start Screen

Posted on January 18, 2013

As I explained in a previous post, when Microsoft designed Windows 8 they made drastic changes in the way we have always performed a number of common tasks. One of the most irritating of these changes is in how we initiate the Shutdown/Restart procedure.

With Windows 8, instead of needing just a couple of simple mouse clicks to shut down or restart our PCs, we now have to go through a frustrating process that’s about as intuitive as learning how to pilot a 747.

If you’d like to be able to shut down or restart your PC in a hurry again, here is a fast and easy way to add a pair of Shutdown and Restart tiles right to your Windows 8 Start Screen:

1 – Right-click on a open area of the desktop, then select New > Shortcut.

2 – In the “Location” box type shutdown /p and click Next.

3 – Name your new shortcut Shutdown and click Finish.

4 – Find your new Shutdown shortcut on the Desktop, right-click on it and click Pin to Start. You now have a Shutdown tile right on your Start Screen! Clicking on this tile will shut the system down right away.

5 – Repeat steps 1 – 4, replacing shutdown /p with shutdown /r /t 0 and naming the shortcut Restart. Finish up by repeating step 4. Now you now have a Restart tile on your Start Screen as well.

WiGig routers now on the horizon

Posted on January 15, 2013

wigig The IEEE Standards Association has recently approved a new wireless Internet technology known as WiGig (that’s 802.11ad to you technophiles out there).

What makes this such big news is the blazing fast speeds at which WiGig wireless routers and other networking equipment will be able to transfer data over a Wi-Fi connection. The newly approved WiGig standard is theoretically capable of wirelessly transferring data at the mind-boggling rate of 7 Gbps, a speed that will make the Wireless N speeds that we currently use seem like a snail’s pace. [Read more…]

How to access a Shell Prompt on a Chromebook

Posted on January 15, 2013

Google’s Chrome operating system is billed as the OS that moves the computing experience into the “cloud”, but there is still an easy way to access a Command Line and Shell Prompt: Simply press the CTRL+ALT+T keyboard combination to get to the command line, then type Shell to get a shell prompt.

Most users would be well advised to stay away from the Chrome command line since a misstep could seriously break your Chrome installation. But if you enjoy tinkering and don’t mind taking a risk, have at it!

ManualsOnline.com – Download free User Manuals for virtually anything!

Posted on January 14, 2013

Have you ever bought an item, took it home, opened up the box and stashed the user manual away in a “safe place”, only to not be able to find it when you needed it? Yeah, me too. I wish I had known about a great site called ManualsOnline.com!

ManualsOnline.com has over 300,000 user manuals available for download right to your PC, for free. Their catalog includes manuals for virtually everything ranging from electronics to power tools to computers to appliances to lawn tractors to automobiles to…Well, you get the picture. At various times I have personally downloaded manuals for a couple of computers, my Samsung smart phone and my Husqvarna lawn tractor.

If the manual you’re looking for is in their catalog (and it probably is), finding it is easy. Simply browse the category of your item by brand and model number, or if you’re really in a hurry you can just type the model number into the Search box.

While this isn’t one of those sites that you’ll visit every day, when you do need it you’ll find it indispensable. I keep it safely tucked away in my bookmarks!

Visit www.manualsonline.com and check it out.

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