Category: Apple

How to Listen to Podcasts on Your Amazon Echo

Yes, you can now hear Podcasts on your Amazon Echo device. Apple Podcasts and others, like Spotify and iHeartRadio, are now options to choose from for your favorite podcasts.

We are going to link your Echo device to one of these podcast services. Our example is linking Apple Podcasts to the Amazon Echo. The ways this is done is somewhat clumsy. The Echo seems to be hard to program; it’s not straightforward. But follow along, it’s not time consuming and is worth it.

This is for iOS devices (iPhone and iPad) and the Amazon Echo

Starting Alexa

  • Open the Alexa app on your smart device. If you have yet to download the app, head to the Apple Store to download and install.
  • Tap the hamburger icon, the one with 3 dots in upper right hand corner or tap on the menu icon in upper left hand corner
  • Select Settings. You will see the following screen:
Apple Podcasts 1
The Settings image
  • Select Music & Podcasts. Refer to following image:
Apple Podcasts 2
The Music & Podcasts screen

Setting up the Link

  • Select Link New Service.
  • Select Apple Podcasts. Refer to following image:
Apple Podcasts 3
Enabling the Apple Podcasts image
  • Tap ENABLE TO USE.

You will be asked to enter your Apple ID, Password and Passcode depending on your login procedure

  • Tap SETTINGS. See following screen:
Apple Podcasts 4
The Apple Podcasts settings screen.

Linking the Service to Echo

  • On the Skill Settings screen, tap on the Link Account link. See below image:
Apple Podcasts 5
The link screen for Apple Podcasts

Allowing Access for the Link

  • Tap Allow on the Access Request screen. You may see a different screen depending on what service you are linking. Refer to below image for Apple Podcasts:
Apple Podcasts 6
Allowing the link to Apple Podcasts image

Linkage for the Podcast Service Completed

You will see that Apple Podcasts has been successfully linked. See following image:

Apple Podcasts 7
Apple Podcasts now linked to Amazon Echo screen
  • Click Done

Now you can listen to your favorite Apple Podcasts. Just repeat the above steps to add other podcast service(s).

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help me out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath

Using the Microsoft Word Zoom In or Out Feature

I get frustrated when Microsoft Word does not remember my last zoom setting for a document. At times it seems to just forget. It will bring up four pages when I only want to work on one page. To help us out, let’s explore a few options of the Zoom feature.

The Zoom bar is located on the right side of the status bar at the bottom for a Word document. To use the Zoom bar, click and drag the slider to the right or left to zoom out or in. As you do so, the page percentage decreases or increases. Also, you can click the “+” or “-” sign to zoom out or in by 10% increments.

This is for Word for Office 365 Windows and Mac versions. Other versions of Word will be similar.

The Zoom Dialog

If you want more control, the Zoom Dialog Box offers a few more options. To access this, select View>Zoom. You will see the following screen:

Word Zoom Options
Word Zoom options

You can choose a predefined option, like “75%”, as noted on the left hand side of the dialog box. Alternatively, you can choose the up and down arrows in the Percent button to increase or decrease the percentage in 1% increments. These percentages will differ depending on your device’s screen size of your Word windows (full screen, half screen, etc). When you are finished, click OK.

Some Shortcuts

If your are using a touchscreen or touchpad, you can take advantage of the pinch to zoom feature. This feature allows you to zoom out or in by placing two fingers on the screen. To Zoom out, you pinch your fingers together, to Zoom in, you separate your fingers.

If you are using a mouse, you can hold the Ctrl button and scroll the wheel up or down to Zoom in and out. Some mouses have separate flywheel buttons for zooming in or out.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath

How to Clean Your Device

The Coronavirus is in the news in a big way, almost a Pandemic by World Health Organization. The news has you aware of how many times you touch your face, how many times do you touch your device?

What you Will Need

What can we do about this? To get our gadgets gleaming, you will need microfiber cloths, cotton swabs, isopropyl alcohol, compressed air spray and distilled water. Before you apply any cleaning, unplug or turn off your device. We are going to disinfect your device and give everything else a general cleaning.

Cleaning your Phone or Tablet

iPhone Image

Phones and tablets have fingerprint resistent coating that could come off. Manufactures generally recommend wiping them down with distilled water on a microfiber cloth, then using cotton swabs to clean around the edges of the screen, buttons and camera lens.

What To Do

Apple recently released its updated guidelines for cleaning. They endorse using 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. You may gently wipe the nonporous surfaces such as the screen, keyboard or other exterior surfaces.

You can create a mixure by using 70 percent alcohol and 30 percent water in a spray bottle. Be sure to wash your hands before starting the cleaning. Then remove any case (leave on any protective screen), spritz the cloth with the solution and thoroughly wipe down your device. Let it dry completely. Then be sure to wash your hands again.

What To Avoid

  • Do not use bleach
  • Avoid getting moisture in any opening
  • Do not submerge your Apple device in any cleaning agents
  • Don’t use the wipes on fabric or leather surfaces
  • Do not reuse the microfiber cloth
  • Avoid using Windex

Cleaning Your Desktop or Laptop

Laptop

First unplug your device and remove the battery for a laptop. Turn your laptop or PC keyboard upside down and (gently) shake out to get rid of dirt and crumbs. Then grab a can of compressed air blaster (available at WalMart and similar places) and blast it. Use cotton swaps to get inside the crevices like the keys.

Lightly spray a microfiber cloth with your solution and wipe down the plastic and metal surfaces to include external devices.

To clean the screen, use a screen cleaning product or your mixture and spray onto a microfiber cloth. For a laptop, a one stop solution is to try 3M Notebook and Tablet Cleaning Wipes. If you have a touch screen, clean it with a microfiber cloth; for smudges, use only water or eyeglass cleaner applied to the cloth to remove them.

Don’t forget the mouse. Using the same mixture, dab it on a cotton swab and run it over the feet of the mouse and any crevices. Then take a microfiber cloth dipped in the mixture and go over the body of the mouse and cord.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

How to View Two Excel Worksheets From the Same Workbook Side by Side

There is a way to compare the contents in two sheet tabs in the same workbook. Lets see how this is done. In my example, Sheet1 has eleven rows, Sheet2 has ten rows. See following image:

Excel Side by Side 1
The two sheets

This is for Excel for Office 365 Windows and Mac versions. Other versions of Excel will be similar.

Opening a Second Window for Comparing Contents

In the View tab of the Window group, click New Window

Excel Side by Side 2
Setting up for a new window

A second window of the same workbook opens, like a clone. At the end of the workbook name is a number denoting the sheet, either a one or a two. The new window becomes the active sheet.

Excel Side by Side 3
The two windows

Setting Up Side by Side Viewing

In the View tab of the Window group, click View Side by Side

A Compare Dialog box may appear. If so, choose the sheet you want to compare with the active sheet.

Click View Side by Side. When you select this view, Synchronous Scrolling should already be turned on. This allows you to scrool both worksheets at the same time. If its not turned on, click the View tab, then click Sychronous Scrolling. See below image:

Excel Side by Side 5
Setting up for viewing side by side

If the two windows didn’t arrange side by side, from the View tab, click Arrange All>Vertical and check the box for Windows of active workbook. Refer to following image:

Excel Side by Side 6
Setting up how to view the side by side comparison

Viewing the Two Sheets Side by Side

You can now synchronously scroll both up and down, left and right to compare the contents of the two sheet tabs in the same workbook. See final image below:

Excel Side by Side 7
Comparing the two sheets in same workbook

When you are finished, to restore your window size, close one of the two windows, then click the Maximize Button in upper right hand corner of the worksheet window.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

Five Tips for Using Your iPhone at Night

Apple added the Dark Mode feature in iOS 13+. This allows less eye strain, especially at night, and promotes a healthier sleep. You can use Dark Mode all the time or have your iPhone automatically turn it on.

This is for iPhone and iPad

1. Enable Dark Mode

  • Tap Settings
  • Tap Display and Brightness
  • Select Light or Dark
  • Toggle on Automatic to enable auto switching. You can also setup a schedule under Options. Refer to following image:
Dark Mode 1
Enable Dark Mode on automatic schedule

Note! Not all apps support Dark Mode, especially Facebook and Messenger.

2. Enable Night Shift

This feature is for iOS 9.3 and above. It limits blue light and makes the iPhone “warmer” for a healthier sleep.

  • Tap Settings
  • Tap Display and Brightness
  • Tap Night Shift
  • You can enable a “Sunset to Sunrise” automatic schedule or choose a custom schedule. See following image:
Dark Mode 2
Enabling Night Shift on a schedule

3. Enable Night Vision

Night vision naturally occurs in low light as our pupils adjust to reduced light. By using a red filter, the iPhone simulates night vision. This feature places a red filter across the screen. You can adjust the amount of red color being displayed.

  • Tap Settings
  • Tap Accessibility
  • Tap Display and Text Size
  • Scroll down and tap Color Filters and toggle it on. Tap Color Tint from the list. Move the Intensity and Hue sliders all the way to the right. The screen will be very red in color. Refer to following image: (Note! The reddish color does not show up in a screenshot)
Dark Mode 3
Enabling Night Vision

4. Adjust the Flashlight

To do this, launch the Control Center by one of the following ways:

1. iPhone 10 and above – Swipe down from upper right hand corner

2. iPhone 8 or earlier – Swipe up from bottom of screen

See below image:

  • Tap and hold the Flashlight icon. You will see a segmented bar in five sections. Tap a section to control the brightness of the Flashlight. It will keep this brightness setting until you change it by following the above steps. Refer to below image:
Dark Mode 5
Adjusting the Flashlight intensity

5. Enable Led Flash for Alerts

Let’s say you are on silent mode and want to be notified of alerts at night. We can use the camera flash to alert you of a push notification or a phone call.

  • Tap Settings
  • Tap Accessibility
  • Tap Audio/Visual
  • Toggle on LED Flash for Alerts. Optionally, you can toggle on Flash on Silent. See following image:
Dark Mode 4
Enabling LED flash on alerts

Personally, I like the auto switching of Dark Mode. This feature reduced my eye strain at night. I wrote this post at night using Dark Mode on my iPhone. It was much easier to write and edit than using Light Mode.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer tech or smart device question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

How to Find an App on iPhone or iPad

If you are like me, you have dozens of apps on your smart device. Instead of swiping screen by screen to locate and launch an app, let’s explore another method using Spotlight Search.

This is for iPhone and iPad

Launch Spotlight Search

  • Near the middle of any screen, especially the Home screen, tap and swipe down. This will open the Spotlight with a keyboard and a search bar. See below image:
iPhone Find App 1
Launch of Spotlight

Finding an App

  • Type a few letters of the app name. In my example, I am searching for “TV App”. See following image:
iPhone Find App 2
Finding an app using Spotlight search
  • Spotlight will suggest a “Top Hit” and other possibilities. Refer to below image:
iPhone Find App 3
Spotlight Top Hit for your search

Launch the App

  • Once you find your app, tap it’s icon to launch. See following image for launching “TV App”:
iPhone Find App 4
Launching the Spotlight search app
  • You can also use Siri to locate and launch an app. Once Siri is activated, just say “Launch” followed by the app name.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer tech or smart device question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help me out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

Related

How to hide an app on your iPhone or iPad

How to Hide an App on Your iPhone or iPad

You have some choices but you can’t completely “hide” an app. You can delete an app by a tap and hold on the icon until the “X” appears, then tap it.

The choices are making the app hard to find via a search or using Siri. To do this we are going to turn off some of an app features.

This is for iPhone and iPad

Hide an App

  • Launch Settings
  • Tap Siri and Search. See below image:
iPhone Hide App 1
The Settings screen for Siri & Search
  • Find the app you want to “hide” from your list of installed apps. I selected the app “Yale Cleaners”. Refer to below image:
Phone Hide App 2
My Yale Cleaners app
  • On this screen, disable all items by toggling them off. The Show App toggle will be revealed; disable this toggle as well. This will exclude the app from all search results and and suggestions screens. See below image:
Phone Hide App 3
Disabling all Yale Cleaners searches

Note! The Settings app does not follow the rules. Any app you try to “hide” will appear in Settings and it’s search field.

Find Your Hidden App

To find the “hidden” app, you have to find its icon somewhere among your installed apps to launch it.

Unhide Your App

  • Launch Settings
  • Find the app from your list of installed apps.
  • Tap Siri & Search and toggle on each feature
  • Tap Notifications and toggle it on. Refer to below image:
iPhone Hide App 4
Unhide Yale Cleaners for searches

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer tech or smart device question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help me out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

Related

How to find an app on your iPhone or iPad

Five Areas to Update your LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn software can be a dauting task to setup and maintain. You should update your LinkedIn profile regularly to attract recruiters, coworkers and friends. Of course, most of us don’t have the time, so we put off this task. If you want to take a little time, you should addrtess fives areas of your profile.

This feature is for your iOS (iPhone/iPad), Android device, Windows 10 or whatever smart device supports LinkedIn

1. Your Heading Statement

This is the short statement that appears below your name. That Heading is what the recruiter’s search for. The Heading needs to say what you do or want to do. It should hit these points using keywords. People who haven’t updated their profile in a while might have their current job title followed by a comma and then their employer or department name. If so, I suggest changing the Heading to some keywords that match what you want to do.

See below image for my Heading as a Blogger: (Note! I used the tips in this post to update my LinkedIn profile for blogging purposes).

LinkedIn Heading statement

2. Updating your Photo

Does the photo reflect who you are today? It would be unwise to visit a recruiter looking completely different from your photo. Of course, you want a headshot photo of you smiling. Put on an appropriate shirt or blouse because it might show up in the photo. You want a photo that will impress recruiters, coworkers or friends.

3. Using Keywords in your Profile

We have discussed using keywords in your Heading. Using keywords in your Skills & Endorsements is also very important. You can use a ton of keywords. Make sure you hit the top words that reflect your experience. Click the “plus” sign in upper right hand corner to add skill(s). Refer to following image:

LinkedIn Skills section

Tap in the Skill search box. Then go thru the aphabet, keying in one letter, ie, key in A, then select your keyword(s); then key in B, etc. through the alphabet to see which LinkedIn keywords to apply. See below image:

LinkedIn adding Skills using keywords

4. Using your Geography

If you are looking for work, it helps to provide a location. Its best to use a general location in a greater city areas, like Oklahoma City/Tulsa metro area instead of a just a single city. This will open up more possibilites for recruiters to locate a matching job.

5. How Open are you to Recruiters?

LinkedIn has a setting you can turn on which tells only recruiters that you are open to being contacted. When you turn on this setting, no one else can see it, only people who have recruiter accountgs. This setting is found in several places in your profile. The setting is labeled Only recuriters.

Go to your profile and look just below your Heading (refer to the first image in this post). When you tap Only recruiters, you are taken to the Job preferences screen. See below image:

LinkedIn Job Preferences

Tap the Edit icon (the pencil in upper right hand corner). Here you can add Job titles, Job locations and select Job types. Refer to below image:

LinkedIn adding Job titles, locations and types
  • Tap the Only recruiters drop down arror to allow your job information to be shown to anyone using LinkedIn or just Recruiters.

Updating these five areas of your profile will open up more job opportunities and attract more recruiters.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help me out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

How to Disable Google from Tracking You

Whereever you go, Goggle is tracking you, especially Google Maps, and archives that activity in your Google Timeline. It is both a blessing and a curse. It can take you down memory lane, but as a curse, it leaves the door wide open to your privacy.

With Timeline, Google Maps can show where you are going and where you have been. Even photos taken and uploaded to Google Photos can reveal your location. You can also share your location in realtime on your smartphone.

If you prefer to keep your location private, you can remove your location history and stop Google from following you.

This feature is for your iOS (iPhone/iPad), Android device, Windows 10 or whatever smart device supports Google

Stop Activity and Location Tracking

  • Open your Google browser
  • Log into your account at myaccount.google.com
  • Select Data & personalization
  • You can disable what Google can tract and collect from you by managing your Activity controls. To stop tracking, click on the Title and toggle the switch to off. See below image:
Google Tracking 1
Google Activity controls

Warning! Turning off these Activity controls will effect the use of their features.

Delete your Activities

Your activities are kept until you manually delete them (the default). You have the option of deleting all data for the past 18 months or past 3 months.

  • Navigate to your Google account at myaccount.google.com
  • Select Data & personalization>Web & App Activity>Manage Activity>Choose to delete automatically. See below image:
Google Tracking 2
Google Deletion process
  • Select the 18 or 3 month option
  • Tap Next. See below image:
Google Tracking 3
Google selection of how long to keep your activity
  • Google will show you what is about to be deleted
  • Tap Confirm at the bottom of your screen. See below image:
Google Tracking 9
Google confirmation of your activity deletion
  • Also, you can delete a particular day’s browsing activity by taping the Trash icon next to the day. Refer to second image above.

To select a custom range, an hour or a date:

  • Tap the Menu icon located next to My Activity
  • Select Delete activity by. See below image:
Google Tracking 4
Google custom deletion
  • Choose one of the following options. See below image:
Goo5le Tracking 6
Google selecting your custom deletion
  • There are other privacy settings you can explore such as Location Services under Settings>Privacy and Security>Location>Location. A set of apps that use Location Services can be toggled on or off. See the following screen:
Google Tracking 8
Google Location Services to turn on or off

Warning! Turning off these Apps Location Services will effect the use of their features.

Go Incognito

The best and easist way to “hide” your browsing is to set the Incognito Mode. This feature allows you to browse without Google compiling history, cookies, site data or form information. Google has extended the feature to Maps and YouTube. Maps will stop tracking your location history; YouTube will no longer track your search and view history.

  • Launch Google
  • Tap the More icon in bottom right hand corner (the 3 dots)
  • Tap Turn on incognito. See below image:
Google Tracking 10
Google setting for Incognito Mode

You will see the following screen:

Google Tracking 7
Google Incognito Mode turned on

To turn off Incognito Mode:

  • Launch Google
  • Tap the More icon in the bottom right hand corner (the 3 dots)
  • Tap In incognito mode
  • Tap Turn off incognito. Refer to following image:
Google Tracking 7
Google Incognito Mode turned off

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help me out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

How to Block Unwanted Apps in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge has a new “crapware” blocker. For some reason, it isn’t enabled by default, and it should be.

The browser can block “potentially unwanted programs (PUP)”, also known as “potentially unwanted apps”. These are obnoxious programs like adware, cryptocurrency miners, malware and browser toolbars, to name a few.

There is a simple toggle to block these “crapware” downloads. Let’s see how this is done.

This is for Microsoft Edge in Windows 10 and Mac versions

First, let’s check what version of Edge you are running. The stable release of Edge is 80+.

Check Your Version of Edge

Stable Version

  • Open Microsoft Edge
  • Click the Settings & more icon (the three dots in the upper right-hand corner)
  • Click Help & feedback
  • Click About Microsoft Edge

If you have the correct version, let’s enable the toggle. If not, go to Windows Update to check for updates or download and install from this link.

Set the Toggle to Block Unwanted Apps

  • Click the Settings & more icon (the three dots in the upper right-hand corner)
  • Click Settings
  • Click Privacy and services option
  • Under Services, toggle to On for Block potentially unwanted apps option
Block Unwanted Apps in Edge
  • Close the Settings screen
  • You may now Close or Exit Edge

Microsoft Edge will now be more active in blocking unwanted software.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help me out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.