Technology Advisor Blog

Mark your calendars!  There's just one day and 15 hours left until "Pi Day".  Pi is the mathematical symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to it's diameter.  Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535…  (Get it, 3/14 in month/day format?).

We routinely attach documents when sending emails, but did you know that you can also attach calendars, other emails, and business cards?

The Microsoft Windows 8 consumer preview was released yesterday and the initial reviews look good.  You can download the beta release at the Microsoft Web site, or just get a tour.  ZDNet's Ed Bott has been testing Windows 8 on a tablet and calls it "the most important software release in almost two decades." In general, the tech reviews have been very positive.

February 7 is Safer Internet Day, which is organized by Insafe each year to help promote safer and more responsible use of the Internet and mobile phones, especially among young people.  There are events all over the world today with this year's theme focused on "Connecting generations and educating each other".  This is a great idea because we can all help each other - tech savvy young people can teach their grandparents about how to get around on-line, and grandparents have the wisdom to help their grandchildren stay safe.

A year ago I got rid of all the paper on my desk and every day it's a wonderful sight in the morning to see a clear desk!  Microsoft Outlook "Tasks" are a great way to stay organized, and by changing the font, size and color of overdue tasks, you can get even more organized! 

If you want to zoom in or zoom out of a web page to make the font bigger or smaller, a simple trick is to use the control key and the scroll on on your mouse:  Hold the control key (Ctrl) and then spin the scroll up or down.  The scroll wheel is located between the left and right buttons on the mouse.  Not every mouse has a scroll, so you can also use the control key with the plus sign and minus sign.  A third option is to hit the ALT key plus "P" to pull up the page menu and then select "zoom".

If you need to send an email to someone with a large file or perhaps with many smaller files, you can compress the files to save space and also save the hassle of attaching several files one by one by selecting a compressed folder.  The process is easy, and it doesn't require any extra software since the function is built right into Windows.  Simply find the file or folder you want to compress, right click on the file or folder and select Send To and then click Compressed (zipped) Folder.  The new file folder has a zipper on it to show its "zipped", and you can rename it to anything you want.

When I'm working on my computer I like to open up a LOT of windows at the same time.  With so many windows open, if I need to go to the desktop to open a new program, there's a lot of clutter in the way. 

One of the best ways to protect yourself from the common "fake" anti-virus malware that's all over the place is to spend a few moments getting to know your "real" anti-virus software.

This week, Wikipedia went dark and Google blacked out its logo in protest over two controversial intellectual property bills being discussed in Congress:  Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA).  The intent of the new laws is to protect authors and creators of intellectual property from getting ripped off.  However both proposed laws are seriously flawed.