Tag: handy
How to: Fix your parents' PC remotely with TeamViewer
Teamviewer did a fantastic job this morning when I used to it to help my Dad troubleshoot a network issue. Despite him living in a remote village in eastern France, I was able to quickly and securely view his desktop. If I’d wanted to, I’d have been able to conduct a presentation, transfer a file, or join a VPN.
All he needed to do was install a small program, and give me a userID and password. Seriously – if my Dad could manage it, then it can’t have been tricky. It’s free for non-commercial use, and very functional. I can’t recommend it enough.
Now all you need to know is how to actually fix the damn thing. For that, I recommend this guide from Lifehacker. Good luck, and don’t forget to set their homepage to Tech Digest when you’re done.
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GMail gets offline access
Picture the scenario – you’re at home, and your internet connection’s gone down. You want to ring the providers, but all the info is in your GMail, and you can’t get to it, because you’ve got no internet connection! What do you do? You stop panicking, because you’re turned on offline access for GMail.
It’s a new feature for the popular webmail client that’ll allow users to keep a local cache of their messages so that if your internet connection drops for some reason, then you’ll still have complete access. It’ll also work in situations with no connection at all – on a plane, for example, or a bus.
To activate offline access, go to the Labs section of your GMail. It should be in the list there. If it’s not yet (it’s not for me) then give it a few hours and it should show up. Once activated, click the “Offline 0.1” link in the upper righthand corner to set everything up.
(via Official GMail Blog)
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NOISE GATE: How to create an awesome office jukebox in five easy steps
If you work in an office, then how does the music work? Is it a tinny radio in the corner blaring out Radio 1? If so, I feel sorry for you, and I suggest you take control.
We moved offices over Christmas, and switched from a benevolent musical dictatorship run by Stuart from My Chemical Toilet to a much more democratic approach using communal playlists in Spotify. It’s very simple, and all you’ll need is some speakers, as well as someone volunteering to take charge. Click through to the post to find out how.
USB Wristband makes fashion history
Although having a USB drive around is very handy, they’re a bit annoying to carry around. If you wear them on a lanyard, you look like you’ve just stepped out of a computer scientist’s convention, and they’re a bit too bulky to carry on a keychain.
The wristband pictured above, sold by tinyliving, remedies the problem somewhat, providing 512MB of storage wrapped around your wrist. It’s still not the coolest-looking bit of kit in the world though, giving me flashbacks to 2005’s Make Poverty FashionableHistory campaign. Still, if you want one they’re just $30 (£21) so we’re not exactly talking a massive outlay for this addition to your wardrobe.
Flash Drive Band (via LikeCool)
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Mimo 7" LCD screens – a little bit of screen, for a little bit of cash
I’m a big fan of multi-monitor setups. Although they look a little ridiculous, they really do enhance your productivity no end. At the moment, though, adding another monitor can be tough. Unless you’ve got a bad-ass graphics card, it usually requires the installation of a new one, then you’ve got to mess about with drivers, and OH it’s all so complicated…
