Monthly Archives: November 2014

Facebook: Changes Coming January 1, 2015

The Good Stuff:

Privacy Check-Up:

Dear Facebook, Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Facebook is adding prompts to help you do just what I taught you in Facebook: Little Known Tips and Tricks, tips five through seven.

Make sure to use this new feature. It’s a great privacy tool. If you want a sneak peek, go here.

“BUY” Button:

In some markets, Facebook is testing a “Buy” button so you can purchase items without leaving Facebook. I have no clue if you’re in a test market, but January 1 you’ll know.

One-time Advertising Control:

You’ll be able to set up advertising options once and it will cover all your devices – mobile or otherwise. Prior to this, you had to set your preferences on each device.

Neutral Stuff:

Location Information:

Facebook loves to ask where you are and what you’re doing. Now when you tell them, you’ll be prompted with things you might like to do, places you’ll like to eat, and Facebook friends in the area. This might end up being good, but I’m still evaluating the needs for this kind of privacy invasion.

Facebook Family of Companies and Apps:

Facebook has expanded its reach over the years. New terms in January will explain what, and who, their family of companies are plus apps you can use to interact.

Developer Updates:

If you’re a developer, you must comply with Facebook’s Platform Policy. All your special provisions will be merged and linked to an external page. You can find more info here.

The Not-So-Good Stuff:

Ad Cookies:

Facebook is jumping on the advertising bandwagon by adding to their cookies. I think you’ll see more ads on your Facebook pages.

“We offer a range of products and features that involve the use of these technologies to reach you based on your activity on and off our Services.”

Advertising:

But the ads you see won’t be free ones.

“Now we’re bringing new volume and content controls for promotional posts, so people see more of what they want from Pages.”

That we understand and that’s good, but the next part…

“According to people we surveyed, there are some consistent traits that make organic posts feel too promotional:

1 Posts that solely push people to buy a product or install an app

2.Posts that push people to enter promotions and sweepstakes with no real context

3.Posts that reuse the exact same content from ads”

Here’s what Facebook has to say about organic posts.

“Organic reach refers to how many people you can reach for free on Facebook by posting to your Page.”

Previously, creating and using a Facebook page for only advertising was a no-no. Now, they’ve narrowed it to individual posts.

What does this mean for home-based businesses, book giveaways from authors, or using canned marketing packages? I understand it to mean you can’t. I’m not sure of the consequences if you do. I would guess if someone turns in your post to the Facebook police, they’ll take it down.

An example of an organic post per Facebook is shown below. I certainly hope they don’t consider every post from bit.ly an ad. Some of the best recipes found on Facebook are there.

What can you do to advertise your product on Facebook? You can pay. Facebook says they are only trying to keep their subscribers happy and not make money. You decide.

For more information, go to Facebook’s explanation page: Organic Reach on Facebook. If you’re a business client of Facebook, you can find added info here.

For updates to Facebook Terms and Privacy Policies, click here.

Enjoy the hustle and bustle of this magical season, have a great week, and thanks again for following Patti’s Pathways.

Related posts: Making Sense of Terms of Service

DISCLAIMER: Any and all ideas presented in this blog are solely my own unless otherwise noted. I experience troubles with technology just like any other person, and if I stumble upon a fix or suggestion I feel could benefit others I pass it along. At no time, have I suggested or implied that I hold any degrees or certificates related to computer repair.

I have during my career assembled parts into working computers; done troubleshooting on hardware and software; utilized a great many computer programs and software; designed and updated websites and blogs; as well as created brochures, banners, and flyers.

Have a Merry Techie Christmas!

Ho, Ho, Ho. Let’s go!

Let’s face it. If you have an unlimited bank account, your gifts are going to be more spectacular than the average joe. It’s sad, but true.

I’ve tried to find high-end and lower-end gizmos so everyone is happy.

The 3D Printer

Remember the 3D printer? It’s come a long way, baby.

Today’s printer is not only affordable — not the $20,000 of the originals — but is being used for making cool stuff like food-grade art, ceramic pots, animal prosthetics, and titanium replacement bones. Who knew, right?

Believe it or not, 3D printers are selling for as low as $600. A decent example is XYZprinting’s daVinci 2.0 3D Printer. The reviews are good for this little unit. It’s size is 5.9″ x 7.8″ x 7.8″.

A higher-end mini unit being touted by techie magazines is made by Makerbot, the Replicator Mini. It sells for just under $1400. Dimensions are 3.9 x 3.9 x 4.7 inches. See, they weren’t lying about being mini.

The Replicator Mini’s big daddy weighs in at 35 pounds and measures 20.8 x 16.2 x 17.4 inches. For each inch you pay more. Makerbot’s Desktop Replicator has a price tag to go with its size: $2750.

Reviews for XYZprinting’s 3D printer are very good. Makerbot’s reviews vary. If you’re going to spring for one of these, do your homework.

Smartwatches

Did you know James Bond’s watch was destined to become a reality? It is. But the new smartwatches don’t allow you to remotely ignite torpedoes…or do they?

What exactly is a Smartwatch? It’s a wearable wrist device that keeps a near-constant connection with your mobile device, usually a smartphone.

Smartwatches allows you to receive notifications of text messages, phone calls, or instant messages. It also tells you if you’ve gotten any social media updates. Those are the — um, how can I put this kindly — non-life-or-death uses,

But smartwatches do have some truly great features. You can download apps to track fitness (e.g. total steps taken, calories burned, heart rate, etc.), GPS navigation, weather updates, daily planner activities, control the music or camera on your phone, and more.

With so many styles — everything from the futuristic looking iWatch to LG’s G Watch R whose best-selling point is its plain watch face — everyone should be able to find one to their taste.

Prices? Watches cost between $150 and $400, pre-Black Friday incentives.

Now for the bad news. This holiday season is won’t see the iWatch. You’ll have to wait until early 2015. Maybe you could ask for an Easter present instead?

From the looks of it, the iWatch will be worth the wait. It should be priced around $350.

And ladies, soon you’ll be able to buy designer bracelets with smartphone capabilities. It’s not expected for this holiday season. Let’s all say “aw” together.

Fitness Trackers

If you don’t really want all the bells and whistles of a smartwatch, but are totally in love with its fitness features, you can opt out and buy a fitness tracker. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and range between $50 and $150. Some are compatible with mobile devices while some even tell time. Oh, did I mention there are also fitness trackers for Fido?

Golf GPS

A few special individuals in my extended family are golf…um, connoisseurs. No, I didn’t even think “nuts”.

I’m sure they already know about this cool gadget, but I’ll mention it for those who don’t. Garmin makes golf GPS. It tells precise distances to greens, layups and doglegs. Some models will help you adjust your shot for uphill or downhill.

Did I mention it also comes in a wristwatch?

These will set you back $200 to $400. Golf isn’t a game for lightweights.

UV Tracker

Being a redhead, UV exposure is important to me. It’s also a hot topic now we’re learning the importance of Vitamin D in calcium absorption, against fighting arthritis and cancer, plus too many more health benefits to list.

Enter the UV Tracker. There are several different kinds on the market. Some are sold by independent distributors and some from places like Amazon. They generally cost $50-$100, but in my opinion are well worth it. Check ’em out.

FYI: a new Microsoft fitness band, a bit different from a fitness tracker, has a UV tracker in it already. Before you spring for a solitary UV tracker, make sure the fitness tracker you have or are considering doesn’t include one.

Noise Machines

I’ll leave you with one last item that’s been around for a while, but is definitely under appreciated: the noise machine.

I actually use one and own a couple. I love it. Let’s just say sleeping where I live is a challenge, and this little gadget makes my dreams come true.

Walmart has them for $25 to $30. Check the baby section, that’s where they’re usually stocked. And yes, I sleep like a baby with mine most of the time.

Noises on them include thunderstorms, rain, summer nights, white noise and more. Some have timers, some connect to your mp3 player, and include lullabies. Others let you count lighted cartoon sheep on your ceiling. No, mine does not.

If you have a loved one who struggles to sleep, this could be their ticket to dreamland.

Don’t worry if none of the above ideas fit your budget or grab your interest.
There’s always the old gift stand-bys.

Cameras and camcorders
Bluetooth speakers and headphones
Netbooks and notebooks
Tablets and smartphones
HDTV’s and movies
Gaming consoles and games
Gaming mice and keyboards
FOR KIDS: Radio Shack has tons of cool electronic building kits.

Plus what techie wouldn’t love a:

Back to the Future Flux Capacitor USB car charger
DC Comics coffee mug
Sonic the Hedgehog sweater
Dr. Who converse tennies
Minecraft plushy
Han Solo in Carbonite shower curtain

WHA!!? Nobody in your family wants these? You live a sad, sad existence.

Anyway, I hope I’ve helped add a few cool techie ideas to your holiday shopping list. Best of luck on your Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases.

Have a blessed holiday season, and thanks again for following Patti’s Pathways. 😀

Email: Turning off Auto-Complete

2 Replies

Sorry, my last blog wasn’t really as helpful as it could’ve been regarding remembered email addresses. Okay, I’m crying crocodile tears; I’m not really sorry.

Why? Because the last blog is very helpful if you need to remove individual cookies to discipline a badly behaving website.

Today’s topic should be more helpful in getting rid of remembered email addresses. We’re going to talk about turning off the auto-complete function.

In any email program, before you’ll see the fruits of your disabling-auto-complete labor, you need to clean out the wrong or old saved addresses from the address database. That’s Step Number One.

After you’ve accomplished that (or before, just don’t forget to do it later), turning off auto-complete will keep those pesky erroneous addresses from sneaking into your email address list.

NOTE: This should work for any email program. I’m only listing a few of the most used: Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo. If you don’t use one of these three, play with your email program settings until you find a box or radio button that automatically adds addresses to you contact list and uncheck it.

DISABLING AUTO-COMPLETE:

In Gmail:

1) Click the gear icon in the upper right corner, and go to Settings,

2) Under the General tab scroll half to three-quarters of the way down to the area that says Create contacts for auto-complete: and choose the radio button I’ll add contacts myself.

ADDING CONTACTS:

I know. I know. Now it’s work to add contacts.

Here’s a shortcut in GMAIL. Click on the dropdown menu arrow in the upper right of the email you want to save the address on, choose Add to my Contacts list.

In OUTLOOK, you need to 1) click on the top left grid, choose 2) People

In the dropdown menu by New, Add contact.

Let me know if you find a shorter way in Outlook.

YAHOO is the easiest to add contacts. Right click on any email in your Inbox list, and at the bottom of the dropdown menu it says Add Sender to Contact List.

Disabling Auto-Complete In OUTLOOK

1) Open Settings (gear icon in top right corner), then click Options

Click Advanced Privacy Settings

One last step. Highlight the radio button that says Only suggest people in my contact list, and Save.

In YAHOO Mail

1) Upper right hand corner, click the gear icon, click Settings.

Select Writing Email, uncheck Automatically add new recipients to Contacts and Save.

Technically, you probably won’t have troubles with misspelled addresses popping up in your Yahoo To: field, but this will keep old addresses from sneaking into your contact list.

Hopefully, this trick makes emailing easier for you and will help clean up your addresses.

Have a great week-end, and thanks again for following Patti’s Pathways. 😀

Browsers: Deleting Individual Cookies

DELETING INDIVIDUAL COOKIES

I’ve listed the how-to’s by browser. You’re welcome to read them all or scroll down to your specific browser. I’m using Gmail as an example, but you can do this for any problem site: Washington Post, Ebay, Amazon, etc.

TIP: Don’t save passwords for sites with financial consequences (i.e. Ebay, Amazon, your bank, your broker, and many others). Yes, you have to enter it each time, but trust me, if your computer is ever hacked, you’ll be happy you didn’t. So when your browser asks if you want to save a password at a site that has information on your money, say “Never for this site”. See my post Creating the Safest Passwords for help.

FIREFOX:

Open Menu (top right lines icon), then 2) Options

1) Click the Privacy tab, 2) click remove Individual cookies, 3) write “gmail” in the search box and highlight the first google mail cookie that appears, then 4) click Remove Cookie. The highlight will now be on the next cookie so if it’s gmail, delete it also. When you’re through with all the gmail cookies, close the window.

CHROME:

With Chrome, you also have the three-line Menu icon in the top right. Click it then go to Settings towards the bottom of the dropdown menu.

Now you’ve opened a window that looks like the one below…kind of. You still need to scroll to the bottom and click on Show Advanced Settings. Don’t be afraid; you won’t mess anything up, it just makes the Settings list longer.

Scroll down to the Privacy area and click Content settings.

If your next window doesn’t look like the one below, don’t worry. Just close it and try again. 😀

Click All cookies and site data…

Type “google” in the search area and find mail.google.com. Press the “x” to delete only that cookie.
You’re done.

INTERNET EXPLORER:

I must confess, I left IE until last of the PC browsers because I dreaded the research. To be honest, it’s the easiest and quickest of them all. Thanks, Microsoft.

Open the website you wish to delete cookies from; mine is Gmail. Then open Developers Tools (F12), click Cache, then Clear cookies for domain.

SAFARI for Mac

I don’t have a Mac, but since I mentioned it above, I researched how to remove individual cookies.

Open your Safari browser. In the top farthest left corner it says Safari. 1) Click Safari, 2) chose Preferences from the dropdown menu, and then — depending on your version — 3) click either Privacy or Security tab. 4) Click Details or Show Cookies. 5) Choose the website you wish to remove cookies from, and click 6) Remove. Click Done when you’re through.

Now you are a cookie aficionado. Well, maybe not quite, but you still know more than you did when you started reading this blog post.

A recommendation? Sure. I have a good one. I use a program called CCleaner by Piriform. It’s Free. It scans your computer for things you don’t need (cookies, surfing history, temporary internet files, Windows log files, recycle bin contents, and more). If your computer is slowing down, it could be due to miscellaneous saved stuff.

Now go have a cup of tea or something and relax. You’ve used a lot of gray matter today.

Have a great rest of the week, and thanks for following Patti’s Pathways. 😀

Help for Slow Websites on Firefox

2 Replies

I’ve many great tips to post so I’m prioritizing. Today I feel the need for readable websites as the most urgent. By “readable” I mean less lag and loading issues.

I like to view Daily Mail Online. Yeah, it’s tabloidesque, but America’s still a free country. This website (among others) lags badly. I suspect videos or ads are trying to load in the background.

I’ve remedied the jerky scrolling and the lag by enabling a Java Script blacklister add-on.

What’s Java Script? It’s a computer programming language that’s used by almost every website to make it interactive.

What’s a Java Script blacklister? It’s a mini-program that stops Java from running on selected websites. Most websites load and run just fine, but there are a selected few that do not. You add these to your blacklist.

What’s an add-on? Add-ons, also known as extensions or plug-ins, are mini-programs to enhance functionality. They’re usually independently created — someone had a problem and solved it quickly for everyone — and if the add-on works well enough the developers may include it as part of their main program.

I use Firefox as my internet browser. I have no problem with different browsers, but a few years ago an uncooperative update on a rival browser prompted me to go back to Firefox and I’ve never left.

Now for my recommendation on the Java Script blacklister. I’m touting “YesScript 2.0” developed by Jason Barnabe for Firefox. Don’t confuse it with “NoScript” created by Giorgio Maone that stops Java Script on all websites unless you allow them via a dropdown menu for each site.

The YesScript add-on lets you add specific websites to a blacklist. Unlike NoScript, its purpose is to lessen lag and freezing, not security.

Other browsers offer Java Script blacklisting add-ons. Chrome has NotScripts, and Safari’s is simply known as Java Script Blacklist. Those of you using Internet Explorer appear to be out of luck for now.

How to Find YesScript

1. Open Firefox, 2) select Tools, then 3) Add-ons from the upper-left menu bar.

Lost your Firefox menu bar? Don’t worry, it happens to me too. Just tap Alt to find it.

You can leave it hidden and click Alt each time to use it, or you can keep it visible by clicking View, then Toolbars, and chose which bar you wish to pin to your browser page.
Make sure there’s a check mark by the bar name.

4) Search YesScript under the Available Add-ons tab.

5) Select YesScript, and 6) click . Follow any further prompts.

Adding Websites to YesScript

There are a couple of ways to add websites to YesScript.

1) The easiest way is by opening the web page and clicking on the page icon in the top right corner of your browser.

2) The Hard Way.
Go to your Add-on page (Menu bar > Tools > Add-ons. The first illustration helps if you have trouble), choose 1) Extensions, 2) Options, 3) type in, or copy and paste in, the URL address you wish to blacklist, and 4) click Add.

What You Get with YesScript

UPSIDE:
Browsers, or websites, don’t freeze.
Less, or no, script-read errors or the dreaded crash icons.

DOWNSIDE:
No adding comments to sites you’ve blacklisted.
No viewing videos directly on the blacklisted website.
No sharing articles or videos on social media from the blacklisted site.

You can have all the up’s and downs listed above again if you remove the website from your blacklist.

Removing sites from your awesome new blacklist

Go to your menu bar on top of your Firefox browser window, click Tools, then Add-ons. There’s an illustration above.

In the Add-on’s area, click 1) Extension, 2) YesScript, and 3) Options. Highlight the website you want to remove, and click — you guessed it — 4) Remove.

See? Not hard at all.

I hope this helps your browser lag and freeze problems. It did mine. I’ve been using this add-on for a few months now and couldn’t be happier.

Have a great week-end! Thanks again for following Patti’s Pathways. 😀

New Facebook Settings

2 Replies

First…

let me show my appreciation to
the Facebook gods
for answering our prayers —

WOOHOO!!!

Disclaimer: as of this moment in time, my FB page hasn’t been updated—yes, I’ve tried relogging, no dice—so I can’t verify if the new Newsfeed settings work, but it’s too great a tweak to keep under wraps.

Yesterday Facebook informed the public that it’s updating Newsfeed settings. Why is this terrific news?

The update primarily affects the kinds of posts people wish to view on Facebook.

You’ll be able to specify what you see and from whom.

Yep, you won’t have to view the one hundred baby pictures your new cousin uploaded…unless you want to; you won’t need to read about the latest trip your neighbor made to the grocery store…unless you wish to; and you won’t find out who your friends are endorsing for Congress…unless you want to.

You’ll be able to personalize your Facebook Newsfeed and limit what you view without unfriending or unfollowing.

See? It is great news.

The below video gives great information on how to apply and utilize the changes. While they’re demonstrated on a mobile device, but is reportedly available for desktops as well.

Enjoy your new Facebook independence and have a great week. Oh, and as always, thanks for following Patti’s Pathways.

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Patti's Pathways

Life lessons and roads I have traveled.

Monthly Archives: November 2014

Facebook: Changes Coming January 1, 2015

The Good Stuff:

Neutral Stuff:

The Not-So-Good Stuff:

Have a Merry Techie Christmas!

Ho, Ho, Ho. Let’s go!

The 3D Printer

Smartwatches

Fitness Trackers

Golf GPS

UV Tracker

Noise Machines

Email: Turning off Auto-Complete

DISABLING AUTO-COMPLETE:

In Gmail:

Disabling Auto-Complete In OUTLOOK

Browsers: Deleting Individual Cookies

DELETING INDIVIDUAL COOKIES

FIREFOX:

CHROME:

INTERNET EXPLORER:

SAFARI for Mac

Help for Slow Websites on Firefox

How to Find YesScript

Adding Websites to YesScript

What You Get with YesScript

Removing sites from your awesome new blacklist

New Facebook Settings

The Good Stuff:

Neutral Stuff:

The Not-So-Good Stuff:

Share this:

Ho, Ho, Ho. Let’s go!

The 3D Printer

Smartwatches

Fitness Trackers

Golf GPS

UV Tracker

Noise Machines

Share this:

DISABLING AUTO-COMPLETE:

In Gmail:

Disabling Auto-Complete In OUTLOOK

Share this:

DELETING INDIVIDUAL COOKIES

FIREFOX:

CHROME:

INTERNET EXPLORER:

SAFARI for Mac

Share this:

How to Find YesScript

Adding Websites to YesScript

What You Get with YesScript

Removing sites from your awesome new blacklist

Share this:

Share this: