On Computers

Appidemia for iOS lets you know what apps your Facebook friends are using.

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Filed under: apps, facebook | Comments Off on APPS YOUR FACEBOOK FRIENDS LIKE

Shutterfly Photo Story is a free app for creating printed photo books with talking pages. Each page can have a 30-second voice recording. The printed albums start at $30. For iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad.

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Filed under: apps, photos | Comments Off on APP HAPPY

We think “Peggle” is the most addicting computer game we ever played. But our most fantastic moves and scores are ephemeral, lost in the mists of time. Serious gamers record those magic moments using a free program called “FRAPS.” Now we have a way to convert FRAPS videos into regular movie formats, and it’s also free: Freemake Video Converter from Freemake.com. The reason gamers use FRAPS to record their triumphs is simple. The typical video recording can’t copy a video game in high quality because games are fast and have too many frames per second. If you search on “FRAPS” at YouTube.com, you’ll see a good example of it. Freemake Video Converter can also convert any video from one format […]

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Filed under: games, video | Comments Off on GAMER’S DELIGHT

This bugs a lot of people, probably millions: When they print something in Facebook, it comes out in blocks with ugly frames. Here’s a solution. It takes an extra step but it cleans up the print job.

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Filed under: facebook, word processing | Comments Off on FACEBOOK PRINTING TIP

Boundless.com is being sued by textbook publishers for offering cut-rate and cut-down versions online.  They cover 21 subjects and all the books are $20, which is quite a bargain compared to $100-200 for many printed textbooks. Here’s how it works: Instead of an actual textbook, Boundless summarizes all of the key information, chapter by chapter into a condensed version about 90 percent shorter. You’ll miss the author’s style, but you’ll get what you need to know, complete with flashcards, quizzes, and reminders. Their own research shows Boundless users study far less than other students and get better results.

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Filed under: books, discounts, education, Kindle | Comments Off on BACK TO SCHOOL

As we’ve mentioned before, many Windows 8 users are exasperated by the start-up screen, sometimes called “Tile World.” It delays booting to the normal desktop screen and is distracting. Microsoft fixed that in version 8.1, available now in a “preview” version at Windows.Microsoft.com.

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Filed under: troubleshooting, Windows | Comments Off on WINDOWS 8 REDUX

Some restaurants give you little gadgets that vibrate when your table or order is ready. A company called “QLess” has another way to help customers avoid lines.

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Filed under: apps, business | Comments Off on AVOIDING LINES

It seems like every Tom, Dick and Harry we know, including Joy’s nephews, have switched to Gmail. In fact, we read that Gmail beat out Microsoft’s Hotmail to become the world’s largest email provider last year. So here are a few tips for Gmail users.

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Filed under: email, Gmail | Comments Off on EMAIL TIPS AND TRICKS

You’d think, being tech columnists and all, that we’ve never had one of those computer disasters where we lose everything. Guess again. One of us has done it several times. (Joy looking sheepish.)

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Filed under: backup | Comments Off on NO BRAINER BACK-UP

TwentyTwoWords.com has “An Artist’s Progress from 2 Years Old to 25.” We really liked his later drawings.

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Filed under: art, Internuts | Comments Off on AN ARTIST’S PROGRESSION FROM 2 TO 25