On Computers

We recently explained what they call a “hashtag” on Twitter: It looks like this: “#.” It’s used to organize and navigate your way around Twitter. Typing #BillGates when you’re logged into Twitter, for example, takes you to Gates’ Twitter page. A reader wrote in to say he loved the explanation, but what about the “@” on Twitter?

The “@” is used when you’re replying to someone else’s post. Click the reply icon and Twitter fills in the @ along with the person’s Twitter name. You can also use “@” when you want to reference someone or something. For example: Suppose you write something about physics and want to credit an article in Scientific American. The magazine’s Twitter name is “sciam.” So to reference them, you would simply add “@sciam” to your post.

Our Twitter handle is “oncomp.” So Joy’s nephew tweeted: “@oncomp “Thanks for the smoothie #vitamix.” In plain English, we got him a Vitamix blender for a graduation present so he was saying thanks and then referencing smoothie recipes on their home page.

There are great tutorials on Twitter, LinkedIn and other services at Lynda.com. The site isn’t free, but you can get a free trial.

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Courtesy of the Washington Post

Facebook has a “Privacy Checkup” link to make sure your posts are shared only where you want them shared.

Start off by clicking the image of a lock next to the globe in the upper right corner of the home page. Privacy Checkup then shows you how to control who sees your posts: whether the whole world, your friends, only close friends, or a list you’ve created – presumably the fellow members of your secret society.  .

Step two: Control the apps that post on your behalf. When we looked, we had close to hundred apps we didn’t remember adding to Facebook. Most wouldn’t automatically post anything on our behalf, but more than a dozen displayed our activities right up there for the world to see. Hello out there in Patagonia.

Another new Facebook feature is the ability to save articles, videos or comments to view later. Just click the drop down arrow in the upper right corner of a post and choose “save.” Then,  in the upper left corner of the Facebook page, click “saved” to view those items. If you’re on a phone or tablet, click “more.”

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Adzuki beans

TellSpecopedia.com  This website has one of those hard to remember names that usually spell doom. But if you go there, you’ll find info on a thousand common food ingredients. Click on an ingredient like propylene glycol, Vitamin H or chicory root fiber and find the benefits or harms. This is an exhaustive site.

Filed under: health, Internuts | 2 Comments »

“The History of the World in 18 Minutes” is a talk by David Christian. It’s been viewed over 4 million times. We got interested after reading that Bill Gates listened to Christian, an Australian professor, and was so inspired he started funding Christian’s high school programs.

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Ranker.com/comics lets you vote on your favorite comic book characters, plots and movies, or create your own list of favorites. When we looked, the illustrated list of Spider Man’s girlfriends was number one. We also viewed the votes on best comic book heroes. (Batman beats Spider Man.) The illustrations are great.

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The engine warning light went on in our 14 year old minivan, and the dealer said we should add some goop to the gas and that might make the light go off. We’re giving you the short take.

Somewhere deep in there, the automatic sensors in the car’s computer didn’t like the engine exhaust, or the carburetor setting or something like that. This incited Bob to a fit of high dudgeon (which is common for him) because back in the old days when he drove a 1962 Morgan, he could tune the engine himself. Everything was accessible to the owner back then, but now you need a computer analysis.

Well we have one. It turns out that every car made since 1996 has a socket under the dash for plugging in a device that will shake hands with the auto mechanic’s computer. Who knew? It’s called an OBD (On Board Diagnostics) port. So we got this $100 gizmo that’s about the size of half a pack of cigarettes — which is something people used to have back when they could tune their own car.

It’s called “BlueDriver” and it works with an app on your smartphone. You plug it in and it connects with the app on your phone and tells you all about your car’s engine, including whether you’ll pass a smog check. Using it is kind of an intelligence test, because it’s not in the same location in every car. Good luck. We finally located ours under the steering wheel.

Some of the info it gives you is the kind only a car mechanic or auto enthusiast would understand. However, if you’re dogged, the BlueDriver Repair Database does offer over 4.5 million fixes for problems listed in the detailed reports. More info at BlueDriver.net.

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“JamStik” looks like half a guitar. Okay, maybe a quarter. Actually, it looks like a fat fret stem, the part where you put you fingers down to shorten the strings. It costs $299 and works with your iPad, iPhone or Mac. The sound is interesting but not like a real guitar.  Still, that’s okay, a lot of electronic instruments have their own sound, and sometimes we like it that way.

You hold it like you would a regular guitar and strum actual strings. Apple must be pretty confident it will sell, because the company is offering it in 71 of its retail stores. You can also buy it at Jamstik.com. It uses infrared transmitters to sense where your fingers are and includes “Jam Tutor,” for interactive lessons. The JamStik can also be used to control software, such as Apple’s GarageBand. The best part is you never have to tune it.

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Bob’s XP computer was so slow, Joy tried to talk him into restoring it back to its factory settings. Bob wouldn’t do it.

Because what it means is you’re clearing the hard drive. You’re taking it back to the beginning, when the Universe was dark. All your files, all your programs, will be gone. Did you back up the files before you reset it to factory specs? No? Too bad. Do you still have the disks to reinstall the old programs? Who does?

Faced with the prospect of living forever slow or committing digital suicide, Bob took drastic measures: He uninstalled Google Chrome and Malwarebytes. Both of these seem to have become too demanding for old computers. So he switched to Firefox as his browser and everything is running fast again, as in the old days when the Earth was young. Joy tried Firefox too, and also found it clean and fast.

A couple weeks later we read that PC Magazine named Firefox as the best browser for the Internet.

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Courtesy: KennyMyers.com

Rhymer.com is a rhyming dictionary. It’s easy to rhyme with boat. But what if you need a three syllable word for that song you’re writing? We suggest overcoat or antidote.

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RecipePuppy.com: Enter the ingredients you have on hand and they’ll give you a recipe that uses those ingredients.

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