Episode 67: Broken Screen

Hi Everyone,

There was a time in our lives when we were able to function without a phone in our pockets. Today however, it’s an impossibility...well, that’s what my kids say. Here’s a couple tips for those uh-ohs in life.

Apps: Recovering Apps
Have you ever accidentally deleted an app or maybe you let a little one play with your iPhone/iPad and now you are missing some apps. No fears, just go the Apps Store > Purchased > Not on this iPhone\iPad and download it from the cloud (click on the icon that looks like a cloud with an arrow pointing down). This works with songs that you purchased as well.

Calendar: Add an event
There are several ways to add an event to your calendar. You can select a day from the month view and then select the + icon. Did you know that if you press and hold on the day, it will bring up the "Add Event" window? Try turning the screen on its side and it will change from the month view to a weekly view. Press and hold on the date and time to create an event. Want to use Siri, just to make an appointment.

Workbench: Broken Screen
Okay, you broke your screen and you didn’t buy insurance for your iPhone. All is not lost. You do have a couple options out there. If you’re not mechanically inclined, there are local shops, mall kiosk or online shops that will fix your device. It can cost around $70-$100 to replace your iPhone screen.

Have you ever wondered what was behind the screen. It’s really not too hard to replace your screen. There are several vendors out there to order the parts and they even have tutorials and videos to do the job. Always shop around for the best prices. I use phonepartsusa.com to order my parts. Yes, I’ve replaced 1 iPhone screen, 1 Home button and 2 iPad screens.

Excel: Name Box
Are you working with multiple worksheets and use vlookup in your Excel formulas? Do you manually select a worksheet and the array when entering your formula? Try naming the array with the Name Box (Fig. 1.01) and then use that name in your formula. So, instead of =VLOOKUP(A2,Resource!A:C,2,FALSE) where you select the worksheet and then the array (Resource!A:C), you now just type "District" in its place.

=vlookup(a2,district,2,0)

Did you notice that my formula was not case sensitive and that I used a 0 instead of false? That’s another tip. Want to learn more fun things you can do with Excel? Just come by my desk or send me an email.

Fig. 1.01

 

Hope you enjoy these tips and I hope that last one was not Greek to you,

Episode 66: I must be losing my mind?

Hi Everyone,

Multitasking through our busy life and schedule, you may encounter a hiccup here and there. It happens to all of us. We’re running at full power to long and your brain rebooted itself. Where did I put my glasses…you know the one on top of your head. I can’t believe I forgot my number. Where did that app go? Here’s a couple of tips for those fuzzy moments in life.

Phone: What’s my number?
This happened to me today. I was filling out a work order and I forgot the last digit of my cell. If this happens to you, select the “Phone” icon on you iOS device. Select “Contact” and tap the top of the screen (or scroll to the top) to show “My Number”. If you have Siri, ask her “what’s my number”… second thought, you might not want to say that out loud.

Spotlight: Where did that app go?
Have you ever lost an app? You know that you installed it, but you can’t remember where it’s at. Perhaps you let a little one (child, grandchild, etc) play with the phone and now your app is gone. Use Spotlight to find the app. Press your “Home Button” or swipe to the right to open the “Spotlight” window (search). Type the name of the app and it will show your results with the folder name to the right.

Phone: Nickname
Do you say the whole name when calling a contact (old school)? Maybe your tired and you call for someone by their nickname (no match found). Did you know that when you use voice commands to make calls, you can use just the first name or even nicknames? If you have junior in your family, just add the nickname to the contact…”call junior”.

Hope you enjoy these tips. Don’t forget, if you have a tip or app you want to share, pass it on.

Episode 65: Web Browser

Hi Everyone,

Okay, IE (Internet Explorer) is running slow and now you’re on Chrome. You open a page on your iOS device and it asks for a Flash plugin. So, let’s talk about web browsing in this tip of the day.

Google Chrome: The Basics
So you moved to Google Chrome and you’re a little lost. Your Menu Bar is gone. You don’t see a Home icon. It looks a little funny…. As with anything new, there is always an adjustment period or learning curve. Most of your icons that you were used to in IE are just not available on Chrome. This doesn’t mean that Chrome is not as good as IE. It just means it’s more streamlined. The icon that looks like a list icon (three horizontal bars) is your “Customize and Control” function. Go to settings to add the Home icon, set you default and even add users. This is a great feature if you have multiple Google accounts. It makes switching between account a breeze. No more logging out of one account and logging with another. Here’s another cool thing about Chrome. When you do a search, roll over the link and you will see two arrow to the right of the link. Roll over the arrows to preview the page.

Flash on you iOS: Can’t see the flash
You go to a website with flash content on your iOS device and it’s not doing anything. You can’t see the video, game, etc. To see the flash content, you will need to install a flash browser app on you iOS device. Here are a few options you might see in the app store. You can use a flash browsers like Photon, Puffin and Skyfire or you can use a remote desktop app like Splashtop.

iPhone 5 Tip: Camera
Did you know that you can take still photos while shooting a video on your iPhone 5? While shooting a video, you will see the camera icon to the side of the screen. Press the icon or the volume up button to take a photo. Now you have the best of both worlds. Sorry iPhone 4/4S, this is only available on the iPhone 5.

App of the day: Slopro
Here’s a fun app for the action videographers out there. Slopro is a video app that will shoot an action shot in slow motion. The basic app is free, with a watermark and can only post to YouTube. The upgrade will let you save to the camera roll ($3.99).

Hope you enjoy these tips. Don’t forget, if you have a great tip or app, pass it on.