A little here, a little there…

I am a collector of information. In any given day I will run across dozens of cool little tidbits of information I want to keep. There are some really cool websites out there.  Gizmodo focuses on cool new gadgets.  Techguy.org and blackviper offer answers to technical questions or problems.

One of the primary sites in my arsenal is MakeUseOf (www.makeuseof.com).  There are How To’s, guides, and tips for just about anything tech related.  One of the most impressive parts is it has resources for every operating system, from Windows and Mac to Unix and Linux.  It even has specific sections for Android and iOS. I practically live on my phone.

 

There is stuff all the way from gamers to bloggers – tips for Facebook –  information on how to do file sharing – sections for tech help – plus articles on hardware and software solutions and new technologies.  It has something for everyone from an Android user to an IT technician, from a digital music fan to a hardcore PC gamer.

If you are having trouble finding what you’re looking for, there are thousands of links under the site index.  From web design to text messaging MakeUseOf has resources for just about anything tech related you could imagine, and then some.

Pictures are a pain

My friend sent me some pictures. They wouldn’t open. How frustrating! Pictures are one thing that has always been a pain to work with. I think the problem with the ones my friend sent is I don’t have the program that would open them. To change it into something I could read meant I had to upload it to a website and convert it. Alas, the files were too large. There has got to be an easier way.

In every windows machine there is a software program called Microsoft Paint. You can usually find it under ‘accessories’ in the start menu. This program is less than intuitive. Once you do figure out the menu it’s a very limited program. You can crop, resize, and do a few other things. If you need your picture to be a specific size it’s pretty hit or miss. It’s a nice quick way to take a screen shot of something and crop it down, just don’t expect to really do any real changes to your picture.  Oh, and you can only have one picture open at a time. Try copying and pasting portion from one to the other and you will end up pulling your hair out.

I did a bit of searching online and found most of the programs that are available for pictures is just plain overkill.  I don’t need layers or stencil masks.  I just need something simple and easy.

Eventually I came across IrfanView.  It was a free download, which is always a plus, and it was incredibly easy to use. The one downer for me is that it isn’t online. I end up working on different computers all the time and software that lives in my computer box has limited capabilities for me. It’s kind of hit or miss if I will be at the computer which has the downloaded software or not. I find it’s also a pain to try to install the software on every single computer I sit down at. Not all of them are mine so some computers, if it isn’t online, I’m not getting it.

IrfanView is compatible with more picture types than I had ever heard of.  It does all of the simple things like resize and crop, and even has some cool simple filters like ‘Sharpen’ and ‘Red eye reduction.’

It also allows me to toggle easily through folders full of images, rather than having to go through and open each separately.  There are plenty of neat little bells and whistles like this.

IrfanView does everything Microsoft Paint does and a whole lot more.  When I am at this machine it’s nice to have something that has just enough of the bells and whistles without being over the top.

My games solved!

Ever since we got new computers at the house none of them will load my favorite game MSN Spades. I know, it’s just a game. So what?  Well…. There is not comparable spades games and believe me I’ve tried them all. For the best combination of screen graphics, score tally and multiplayer version MSN has them all beat. But none of the new computers will load spades. It just keeps coming up with this Whoops! Error. I followed all of their instructions found in their help files and support forums – multi page sets of instructions on how to change your security settings, how to delete untrusted sites, how to delete the existing active x controls, how to disable pop up blockers, how to turn off your firewall, how to open specific ports, how to turn off your virus software.

After many frustrating months I ran across this simple little post in a forum that was an answer to a specific person

 

 

All of my new machines are Windows 7 64 bit machines. By default they are installed with Internet Explorer 8, which is 64 bits. So for all of you MSN Spades fans out there that your new machines won’t load the game… to solve this problem all you have to do is to use the 32 bit version of Internet Explorer when you want to play your game.

To do this Click ‘Start’ at the bottom left corner

Type ‘Internet Explorer’ in the box

Choose the Internet Explorer from the list that is NOT 64 bit

That’s it. All it took. So the question remains “Why is this game so important to me?” I know why. I need these logic games to organize my brain. Typically before I sit down to do any work I will play one or two games  to help me put things in my brain where they belong. My substitute has been Puzzle-loop nonograms on my phone. It’s okay. Just not the same.

I wonder how this will all play out with these computer boxes that are holding more and more of our lives. There is no support for MSN games. There is no support for Windows. This was a ‘somewhat’ problem. I could still use my computer. I just wasn’t quite as effective. Finding someone who knew what was wrong was happening. I tried three friends, my techie son and a paid tech. Nothing. It was up to me to find the solution. And what if I hadn’t known what that cryptic sentence meant? Off to the repair facility if I wanted it fixed.

To most that would be the easy solution. For me, it’s anathema. In our family we can fix just about anything – from cars to houses to you name it. I don’t like relying on other people to be able to solve my problem. But I persevered and I won.

So I am celebrating today. I got to play two games of Spades (Whoo Hoo!) and my brain is one happy little camper. I think I’ll make a kale, lettuce, chard, basil and mango smoothie with some peach kefir and raw coconut oil – but that’s a whole different story 🙂