Tame Your Technology - Computer Repair Zone

In recent discussions a number of otherwise highly computer-literate people have mentioned how they haven’t got a clue how to find good-quality blogs on topics of interest to them.

This is a real shame because I am a keen blogger and also a keen visitor of other blogs. I enjoy visiting them on a regular basis, I enjoy getting to know the characters who write them and I find I can learn a lot from them to boot.

Finding blogs actually isn’t too hard.

They do, of course, appear in normal search engines like Google, Yahoo or MSN though they appear alongside normal web sites, PDF files and so on.

If you’re looking specifically for blogs, we need to use some slightly different tools.

Firstly we can include words in our standard search engines such as “blog” so we search for “gardening blog” rather than just gardening which will likely turn up a few.

But there are numerous search engines designed specifically (and only) for blogs.

Generally the blogs they list have been manually verified at some point in the past so are reasonable quality.

My own two favorite blog search engines of all though are Technorati and Google’s Blog Search.

In my experience both of these bring uo the highest quality results.

Note that Technorati will allow you to search for either individual posts *or* whole blogs. It’s up to you which option you choose. I personally tend to search for blogs if I’m searching for a general word or phrase (”computers”, “cell phones”, “cookery”) and blog posts when I’m doing a more indept search (”best places to stay in Morocco”, “is Windows Vista any good?”).

Lastly, don’t forget that thanks to bloggers, linking is alive and well.

A good number of the dozen or so blogs I visit on a regular basis were found because another blog linked them. Many blogs now have a links section or what is commonly known as a “blogroll” (simply a list of related blogs the blogger themselves like to visit) so follow some links and get exploring

Popularity: 61% [?]

Can’t get your PC to do what you want it to? Wouldn’t it be nice to have an IT helpdesk like at work that you can just call up and they’ll solve your problem for you in a couple of minutes?

Well surprisingly this is now possible thanks to the digital age - and for a cost that might surprise you.

There are a number of companies now who specialize in IT support and will deal with general members of the public meaning even at home you can have the level of suppot you’d expect working for a large company.

Costs and tariffs vary from either a monthly subscription charge to a per-case basis with it costing as little as $20 to resolve a serious problem you’re having.

Popularity: 49% [?]

When building a website it is often very useful to know it’s dimensions. Knowing so will help you lay out a site neater and will also enable you to specify the dimensions in the HTML files so allowing the  page to load faster.

It is therefore of use to be able to very quickly tell these dimensions so here’s a simple tip…

Fire up Microsoft Paint which comes free built into Windows, open up the image you need to know the dimensions of and select ….

Easy as that!

Popularity: 56% [?]

When I worked with cell phones this was one of the most common questions of all - and yet the easiest to resolve.

So let’s take you through a simple guide to linking (or “pairing”) your cell phone and Bluetooth headset.

Basically what we are going to do is play an electronic version of find and seek. We’re going to get your headset to say “come and find me!” then your cell phone to search for him and track him down.

OK, let’s get prepared. Best have your manuals for your cell phone and headset to hand as each model is slightly different and you might get stuck part way.

Here are the steps:

1) Turn the Bluetooth on your cell phone on.

Typically this will either be in a “Tools” or “Settings” menu. Taking my Samsung as an example, I open the menu, select “Organizer And Tools” and there 4 options down is Bluetooth. I go into this menu and notice by “Activation” it says “Off”. I need it to be on, so I toggle it with the menu button. It says says “On” and that’s stage 1 complete.

2) Prepare You Cell Phone To Search

Still within the Bluetooth menu look either for an option called “Search For Devices” (or similar) or look my “My Devices”. Taking my Samsung again I select the “My Devices” option and inside that menu there is an option to “Search New Device”. Basically where we end is in such a place that you can just click an option and your handset will start “looking” for any Bluetooth-enalbed device within range.

3) Put Your Headset In Pairing Mode

By putting your headset in pairing mode, it is essentially sending out a message so your cell phone can locate it and create the necessary link between the two. This differs greatly between headsets but generally involves pushing in and then holding down one or more buttons. You’ll know it’s right because the lights will change - typically rather than an ocassional blue flash you will get alternate red and blue flashing lights. When you see this, you’re ready.

4) Begin The Search

Your Bluetooth headset will only remain in pairing mode for a matter of 30 seconds of less (which is why we did that last) so quickly press the search option on your handset and within a few moments you should find the name of your Bluetooth headset appear on the screen. Wait till your phone has finsihed searching then highlight and select your headset on the screen. If you phone asks you for a password to link the two devices simply enter 0000 and that should work.

All done!

You should now be able to pop your headset on and make a call without holding your cell phone! You should onlt need to do this once and your phone and headset will continue to recignise each other when in range in the future.

Popularity: 60% [?]