Tech Tips [ Stop The Pop-Up Madness Now! + Are You Choosing The Right Tablet OS? + The Sweet Sound Of Mobile Device Silence ] 06/20/2012

WorldStart Tech Tips 2012-06-20 Having trouble viewing parts or all of the newsletter? View the entire newsletter here! iPad Quick Mute Did you know that there's a quick way to mute all sound on your iPad? All you need to do is press and hold the Volume Down button on the side and it'll mute the sound completely in two seconds! It's much faster than rapidly pressing volume down, lowering the volume one tick at a time. So next time you're playing a game or watching a movie and someone comes up and starts talking to you, you have a quick fix for silence! Now if only humans had that same option… Giver it a try! ~Andrew Click here to rate this tip | Printer friendly version Do You HATE Your Keyboard? Can't....See... THE LETTERS?! Typing Just Became Possible Again... WITH THE BIG BRIGHT KEYBOARD! HUGE Black Letters on Green Keys: THE PERFECT CONTRAST! Standard Alpha Numeric Keyboard With 12 Function Keys... USB POWERED PLUG & PLAY SIMPLICITY! Well it's About Time... Whether you have 20/20 vision or wear coke-bottle glasses that make your eyes look like baseballs, the letters and numbers on those keyboards are just TOO SMALL TO SEE! It's so annoying! All this technology, all these big improvements to computers...and they've never really done anything to make it easier to type. Don't they understand that some of us sit at a computer all day? Don't they know that some of us don't have the genetics of Superman, enabling us to see tiny, microscopic things with our naked eyes? Someone understands, and they've done something about it! It's a standard alpha numeric keyboard (the exact set up you're likely used to), but with MASSIVE letters on those keys and a color scheme to make it simple to see! BIG Letters + Contrasting Colors = Perfect Keyboard Vision! Most keyboards have tiny letters and numbers on the keys. Why? There's a ton of real estate left on each of those keys to make the letters bigger! It's just common sense, right? Well, apparently not... Apparently, they want us to strain our eyes for eight hours every day. Maybe the manufacturers of these keyboards are in business with the optometrists and major eye glasses companies... The letters and numbers on each of these keys are MASSIVE! You'd have to be legally blind to not be able to see them...and even then, you should be able to make them out! And it's not just the huge letters that make such a difference: it's the colors! Bright green keys. Dark black letters. It's the perfect contrast! You can't go wrong! Simple to Set Up: Plug & Play! As you can see from the image, there's NOTHING complicated about this thing. It's a keyboard with one cord attached to it. That cord plugs directly into your USB port and you're ready to use it! No drivers, no set up, just 100% plug and play simplicity! A few facts: Standard QWERTY set up! USB powered for plug and play simplicity! Flip-up legs for the PERFECT angle! It's also PC and MAC compatible, so it works on everything! Things Can Be WAY Easier for a VERY Small Price! Some places would charge a small fortune for something this cool. But not us! Today, get your BIG BRIGHT KEYBOARD for just $21.97 with FREE US SHIPPING! http://store.worldstart.com/product/7871 Are Your Plants Dead & Unhealthy Despite Your BEST Efforts? Are You Suffering From Dead Plant Depression? The Plant Doctor is in! THE 3-IN-1 GARDEN PROBE IS HERE AND YOU NEED IT! Accurate Probe Monitors Moisture, pH Balance AND Light Levels! Perfect For Indoor AND Outdoor Plants - Know Exactly What They Need! Extend the Health & Longevity of ALL of Your Plants! Dead Plant Depression... We spend a LOT of time on our plants - whether we're gardening outside or pampering our favorite indoor plants (more likely during this time of the year), it's something we love and cherish. Ever wonder why, despite your excellent care-taking skills, some of your favorite plants just don't make it? It's sad when a beautiful, living plant starts to die. The leaves or flowers begin to sag, the soil starts drying up, and before you know it, it's dead and dry. Yes, it's a bit sad; but it's also preventable, which makes it even worse! If only you could monitor the fundamentals...if only you could do something about it...you can! NOW YOU CAN MONITOR ALL OF THE FUNDAMENTALS AND KEEP YOUR PLANTS ALIVE AND HEALTHY! YOU'VE GOTTA SEE THIS MIRACLE PROBE! So How Does it Work? Science, my plant loving friend, science! On your end, all you need to do is stick the end of the probe into the soil, read the meter and find out what your plant needs. Science takes over from there, telling you the EXACT levels of pH, moisture and light levels! All you've gotta do is adjust accordingly based on the information the probe gives you. Anyone can do it - you don't have to be a botanist or even have a green thumb to make it work! Check this out: Probe Accurately Measures the Fundamentals of Plant Life! Get accurate soil moisture readings, and adjust watering accordingly! Check soil pH levels for acidity and alkalinity - Change when needed! Monitor light levels - find out if your plant is getting the light in needs! Keep your beloved plants alive and healthy for longer! Perfect for Indoor & Outdoor Plants! Unbelievably SIMPLE to Use! The meters on the face are simple to read, and it's color coded with blue, green and red (each telling you what they mean, too). The needle moves itself according to what your plant needs, and you can make ANY adjustments necessary to the soil, water or light! All your plants need you to do is stick the probe into their soil to unlock the mysteries of their healthy living and well-being! Obviously during these winter months you'll be using this on your indoor plants. That's great, because it works flawlessly inside! But guess what? It also works just as well for your outdoor plants and in your garden! Because Healthy Plants are Happy Plants! Just look at this thing...cute! How couldn't you love a face like that? Of course, it's much more than just a cute face - it's a scientific breakthrough that you're gonna love! Whether you're using this on your house plants or plan on bringing it to the garden come Spring, both you and your plants are going to be happy you got this when you did! Especially when you see the deal we've got for you! An AMAZING Deal! Today is your lucky day - we got a great deal on these, and we're passing the sales directly on to you! Today only, this awesome Plant Probe can be yours for just $10.97 with FREE US SHIPPING! Get it now! http://store.worldstart.com/product/7644 PS: These are also perfect for indoor plants, so get yours now and be prepared! Theresa from NY writes: How do I disable the thumbnail preview that pops up when I hover the cursor over anything that is open on my taskbar? Microsoft decided to include a "feature" (which for many is about as useful as a rock) that creates small pop-up previews of any window currently open when you roll your mouse over their taskbar icons at the bottom of the screen. Clicking the preview opens the window, but the pop-up also includes a button for closing the program, so you may end up accidentally opening or even exiting programs just by dragging your finger across your laptop's touch pad. Disabling these thumbnail previews in Windows 7 requires a bit of work, as you'll need to access and edit the operating system's registry. To prevent the previews from appearing you must create a new registry entry that delays the amount of time before the pop-up appears, and then set the delay to some absurdly high number, effectively preventing the preview from ever being created on the screen. Note: This tip deals with editing your Windows Registry. It is recommended you consult a professional if you're unsure of how to proceed. You have been warned. To start the process, open the "Start" menu and type "Regedit" in the "Search" box at the bottom of the menu. (Want these tips in their entirety? Sign up for Premium!) Do you have a question for us? Ask it here! Ray from UT writes: I am thinking about buying an Android tablet. However, I don't know which version of the OS is the best. Can you shed some light on the difference among the Android OS (from 2.0 to 4.0)? Also, can you upgrade to a more advanced version after the purchase? Android has a lot of great features, including customization, open development, and tons of devices to choose from. One thing that's a problem though is something called fragmentation. Fragmentation means that instead of most Android devices running the same basic operating system software, there are many, many versions. So which Android version is best and what should you avoid? It's pretty simple: (The higher the number, the more recent the version of Android. The codename (the words in parentheses) is a name Google assigns each version and is named after a snack) Get all the details here! (Want these tips in their entirety? Sign up for Premium!) OpenOffice.org Calc: Printing a Worksheet Just Like You See It On The Screen Sometimes I find that in order to accurately edit something, I need to see it in hard copy form… it's just the way that I am. I need to be able to write on the page and think through my corrections in writing. Other times, especially with large worksheets, I need to see it in printed form because it doesn't all fit on the screen at one time and I can use the printout to double-check references made in formulas. Did I actually use the correct cell references or are there mistakes? Get it all at Worldstart! (Want these tips in their entirety? Sign up for Premium!) Spybot Search and Destroy This program is used for removing those pesky adware / spyware files on your computer. By now, most people understand the vast threat out there when it comes to malicious files that are sometimes tied to programs you download. If you are not aware of the potential threats I will give a bit of an overview. Spyware is defined as a type of malware designed to collect information from your computer about you without your knowledge. It can do many things from changing your computer settings to causing really slow connection speeds on your computer. This program is designed to take care of these and many other problems for you. I would like to go directly into the use of the program but before I do, I want to mention a very important step. Directly after the setup, it will ask you to Create a Registry Backup, make sure you take this step. This protects you in case the program deletes any necessary files. After this step you will be looking at a screen like the one you see here. Get the link here! (Want these tips in their entirety? Sign up for Premium!) For stories, jokes, quotes and cartoons every day, sign up for our Just for Grins newsletter. Clever Bot This site is fun and strangely addicting, but 'm going to get the warnings out first. As clearly noted on the site, children should only use this with parental supervision, the Clever Bot AI is not a human – but its AI learns from the humans who interact with it, so at times it may say something…inappropriate. I didn't have anything inappropriate come up during the two hours (hey, I said it was addicting) that I played around with it, but that isn't to say it couldn't happen. With that said, I had so much fun chatting with Clever Bot that I couldn't wait to share the site with you! There are three buttons below the blank text box, they are Think About It, Think For Me, and Thought So Far. You can write some text in, say whatever you want and hit enter, or you can click Think About It to input your text. Then Clever Bot will reply. Don't feel like responding? Make Clever Bot talk to itself by clicking Think For Me. Want to see what has been said so far? Click Thoughts So Far, and another window will pop up showing you the conversation so far. I found the interaction with Clever Bot to be highly addicting! You've been warned! http://www.cleverbot.com/ ~Amanda Click here to rate this tip | Printer friendly version Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share? Send it to Amanda at amanda@worldstart.com Sick of NEVER Having Enough Outlet Space? 1 AC Plug has a Measly 2 Outlets - Why? Now You've Got Things Plugged in ALL Over the Place! IT'S TIME TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Check This Out: Turn 1 Outlet into 6! Our #1 Selling Outlet Multiplier - This Thing is Amazing! THIS DEAL IS SO GOOD IT'S SHOCKING! Get 2 Outlet Multipliers For Just $14.97! So Many Things to Plug in...So FEW Outlets! Ok, so what's the biggest problem with AC outlets? THEY ONLY SUPPORT TWO PLUGS! How irritating is it when you're sitting at your desk, trying to charge your computer, phone, camera and a multitude of other devices...but you've got 'em scattered all over the house?! Or how about your entertainment system? Yeah, you need WAY more than two outlets to get everything plugged in. Why do they make it impossible? And let's not even get started on those awkward, space hogging power strips...terrible! You NEED an Outlet Multiplier! You'll LOVE This Thing! This instantly lets you multiply 1 household outlet into 6! Talk about a sweet design, this Outlet Multiplier replaces your outlet cover and it STAYS plugged in! Never again will you run out of outlet space! Now instead of fighting with outlets all over the house, or dealing with those thick-corded, awkward power strips, you'll have 6 outlets right in front of you! Talk about a convenient and simple invention! Odd Shaped Plugs? NO PROBLEM! This makes a great outlet for odd shaped plugs and even lets you plug in other expanders without covering up all of the outlets! As you can see from the pictures, the way the AC outlets are positioned on this device allows you to plug in those odd shaped plugs that usually take up a ton of space, into an angled outlet that leaves PLENTY of room for the rest! If you're tired of never having enough outlets where you need 'em, this is an absolute MUST HAVE! And don't forget, it's a 2 pack - so you're getting 12 extra outlets! Think about that! Ready for a deal that'll SHOCK you? Get this 2 pack of Outlet Multipliers for just $14.97 with FREE US SHIPPING! http://store.worldstart.com/product/7093 June Wallpaper! OK, it's that time again - time for some shiny new desktop wallpaper for your computer! Here are the picks for June, and remember - lots more on the site too! As always, all the desktop wallpaper below is 100% free. Lower Falls Morning Light So, I'm at the base of Lower Falls in Hocking Hills State Park and I'm running out of time. In fact, I shouldn't even be here – the plan was to break camp and head home that morning – no photos. However, it had rained the day before and many of the falls – including this one – actually had too much water going over them. I also knew from experience that (more) Fawn Peeking Through The Brush OK, so we're in Custer State Park in SD in search of some cool critters when we spot this pair of fawns. One had lost her spots, but this little gal still had a few left. The brush was thick and the light was fading so it wouldn't be long before we were forced to (more) Spring Time Iris So, I see this little Iris off in the distance and I knew despite the danger it could make for a sweet photo. I gather my gear and with my heart pounding in my chest I begin the relentless 10 foot hike over to its location. It was a tough trek (more) It can all be found here: http://www.backcountrygallery.com/wallpaper/ Enjoy! ~Steve

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