“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 →June 25, 2012
5 Tips on How To Make your Child Safer When Gaming Online
Just the other day, I was talking to someone about how playtime has changed since when we were children. The line that my parents used to say all of the time was "go out and play" and off we would go, getting into trouble outside, coming back with scrapes, bloody knees and bruises, covered in dirt and physically exhausted. However,…
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May 30, 2012
5 Reasons Why You Should Repurpose Old Content from your Blog
I have often been asked: why the heck do you have those automated tweets of old content coming from your blog? What is the reasoning? They are outdated and might not be topical, could be viewed as out of context and, in my case, might be talking about technology, products or services that are over a year old. Think about it,…
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May 4, 2012
How To Create a “Work” Menu Like Office 2004/2008 in Microsoft Word 2011 for Mac
While I truly like Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac (you can see my review of it here on the Microsoft Office for Mac Blog), there are some folks who have complained about a feature being removed from previous versions, specifically, the “Work” menu that was present in previous versions of Word in Office for Mac (2004 & 2008). Personally, I…
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April 24, 2012
Get Those Cleaning Supplies Out & Roll Up Your Sleeves – How to Clean Your Digital Home!
It's Springtime! Leaves are appearing on the trees, the sun is starting to gain dominance over the rain, and my eyes are teary, not only from the pollen in the air, but also from the fact that I need to start doing my spring cleaning around the house! It's time to put away the winter clothes, coats and blankets, throw…
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April 23, 2012
How To Fix Adobe Fireworks Hanging After Launch on MacOS
Adobe Fireworks is the lifeblood of many web developers, artists and bloggers so when it stops running, I envision all of these groups running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Recently, I ran into an issue where when I launched Fireworks, it would run through the splash screen, loading extensions and the like but then hang, once it…
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April 17, 2012
10 Ways Brands Can Work More Effectively with Top-Tier Bloggers
Bloggers are not second class citizens. At least not all of them. I do have to draw a bit of a line here between those "bloggers" who simply post sales, coupons, contents and giveaways, and those who produce content in the form of reviews, how-to articles, social commentary, experiences, analysis and the like. In my mind, there is a clear…
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February 1, 2012
If Your Laptop is Jealous of your Ultrabook, Give it a Hybrid SSD from Seagate – the Momentus XT
I have an Ultrabook and a MacBook Air and my non-SSD traditional laptop is getting jealous. It told me that it wants to be more like them, faster booting up and able to launch applications more quickly. "Why can't I be like those super slim laptops you are always using?" it always asks me. Obviously there is no way for…
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January 10, 2012
Video: How To Wrap a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro MagSafe Power Adapter the NEW Way
I have been in search of a really good way to wrap up my MagSafe power adapter for both my MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. The reason being, if you simply wrap them up the "conventional" way, you run the risk of fraying the connections which increases the risks of electrical shocks or shorting out your power adapters. And to…
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November 29, 2011
How To Configure Location-Based Reminders on the iPhone with iOS5
I kept hearing about how with iOS 5, you could set up Reminders that would trigger when you arrived or left a particular location. It's a pretty neat concept. You can program in an address, like your work, and set up a series of to-dos that magically remind you when you are geographically near that location. Or perhaps, you are…
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October 28, 2011
How To Fix Applications Crashing After Upgrading to Apple iOS5 on the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch
The upgrade to Apple's iOS 5 is a few weeks behind us now and most people are up and running on it. And, now the iPhone 4S is out in the market and more people are migrating over from older iPhones to the new iPhone 4S. I haven't heard of too many issues as part of the upgrade process, though…
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October 17, 2011
iOS 5 Tips: Cell Data for Purchases, Custom Vibrations and Hourly Weather
Last week I talked about a few new tidbits and tricks in Apple's new version of its mobile operating system, iOS 5 (enable Emoji keyboard, get the camera button to appear in the lock screen and how to launch the new built-in dictionary). I have 3 more pretty cool little tips and tricks this time around, namely: cellular data for…
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October 14, 2011
iOS 5 Tip: How to Enable the “Smiley” Emoticon or Emoji Keyboard in iOS 5
Here is another great (and fun) feature that is buried deep within iOS 5 for the iPhone and iPad. And, when I showed this to my daughters, they were SO excited about it! We all love emoticons or "smileys" as many people call them. Well, now you can actually activate an "international" keyboard that contains literally a hundred different graphical…
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