“How To” collection
Simplify your digital life with comprehensive step-by-step tutorials and instructional guides for modern technology. Learn how to optimize your software configurations, manage cloud services, and master new devices with these easy-to-follow technical walkthroughs.
HTD Tech Briefs
View all →March 18, 2013
How to Remove Little Black Square Paragraph Formatting & Page Break in Microsoft Word
Recently, I received a panicked email from my step-mom wondering why a page break could not be removed from Microsoft Word. Normally, if you click on the "show paragraphs" button (¶), you can see a page break or section break. However, in this case, there was no line signifying a section break or page break when the formatting was revealed.…
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March 13, 2013
How To Fix a Broken iPhone Home Button – A Free & Easy Software Fix
Yesterday I received a panicked call from one of my daughters - "Daddy, my iPhone's home button is broken!" Tears and wailing ensued. But, as with any broken gadget, I was up for the challenge, knowing that I could either replace the iPhone home button myself or figure out some other way to breath a few extra days or weeks…
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March 11, 2013
A Collection of My How-To Articles on GoGrid Cloud Computing
While I spend a lot of time writing articles for HighTechDad during the off hours and in my spare time, my day job as Technology Evangelist for the cloud infrastructure company, GoGrid, allows me to do a lot of other types of articles. These articles tend to focus on the cloud, GoGrid product and service features, How-To's, and reflections on…
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February 5, 2013
How To Change Your iOS Device’s Root & Mobile User Password After Jailbreak and OpenSSH Install
As many of you may know, the latest untethered jailbreak tool for iOS called Envisi0n was released to the general public yesterday (2/4/13). As a consequence, the Cydia installer which manages all of the repositories for 3rd party app that you can install on your jailbroken iOS device was pretty much hammered. Things are coming back to normal now (but…
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January 28, 2013
Apple Posts iOS 6.1 Release – Here’s What’s New & How to Update!
After releasing iOS 6.1 beta 5 to developers this past weekend, Apple released iOS 6.1 to the public today (Monday Jan 28, 2013). Updates can be obtained directly via your iOS update or via iTunes. You can also download the .ipsw directly from Apple. Details on these processes are below. So what is new in this iOS release? Honestly, there…
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January 28, 2013
How To Back Up Your WordPress Blog The Hard and Easy Way (DIY vs. blogVault)
If you are a blogger, probably one of the worst things that can happen to you apart from writer's block is having your blog crash or the server that it is on get corrupted in some way. Technology is imperfect and Murphy's Law always manages to find us one way or another. If suddenly all of your writing and your…
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January 11, 2013
How To Disable Java in Chrome, Firefox, Safari & Internet Explorer on Mac OS or Windows to Prevent 0-Day Exploit
If you have been reading any of the Technical publications online, you will probably know that there is currently an exploit in Java that affects most internet browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer on systems that have Java installed. This is being called a zero-day or 0-day exploit which essentially means that there is a security vulnerability in…
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January 10, 2013
A New Respect for Plumbers, Learning from Trade Professionals and The Zen of Snaking Out a Sewage Line
I have a bit of a "crappy" story to tell. Literally. And it doesn't have to do with technology, it involves sewage. I believe that the house that I own has plumbing possessed by Mother Nature. Ever since we have owned our home, there is an annual tradition (sometimes more than once a year) where we have to call out…
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January 9, 2013
iOS Apps & Backups are Hogging Up Your Hard Drive – How To Easily Free Up Disk Space
I don't know about you but I am always looking for ways to clear up my laptop's precious free hard drive space. I have tools that clean caches, temporary files, language files, logs and files in my trash. But I never seem to get ahead of the game. I probably never will but a periodic cleaning is always an important…
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December 28, 2012
13 Security Resolutions for 2013 – Follow Them or Get Hacked!
With just a few hours left in 2012, it's time to think about ways to make 2013 an even better year. I'm sure that all of you are planning on going to the gym about 20 times a day, or eliminating all fat from your diet, or working to become Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2013. I wish…
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December 18, 2012
Why and How Ballerinas Break In Ballet Pointe Shoes
With the holidays upon us, ballerinas of all ages become a bit more inspired. One of the primary reasons is that various renditions of The Nutcracker are being interpreted and performed widely, from local community dance groups to large scale professional productions. Whether you are "into" ballet or not, you simply cannot help being sucked into this magical story. For…
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December 5, 2012
Honeywell’s WiFi-Enabled Thermostat is Hot, Cool, Controlled Remotely & Easy to Install
Here is the scenario. It's the early morning in the winter. You are snuggled warm in your bed but outside of the comfort of your blankets, your house is cold. The last thing you want to do it to have to get out of bed and turn on the thermostat to heat the house. So you just hope for someone…
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