With the massive number of computers we have here at Webster Thomas, as well as account restrictions, it’s almost impossible to get your favorite programs’ settings to stay exactly where you want them to, and have all your files where you want them. What do you do? Well, if you have a USB thumb drive, which many of us do, it’s about time you installed PortableApps. Portable Apps are versions of your favorite programs—web browsers, media players, games, office programs—which live on your thumb drive. All of the information to run them is kept on your thumb drive, so all of your settings are the same each time you plug it in and use them. There are a lot of programs out there that have been made into portable versions, so take a look at PortableApps.com.

A good friend of mine approached me the other day, asking me for an email address to submit his essay for the Cornell Essay contest. Now, the email address was on the Cornell Club’s website, but unfortunately, it was down! SO, what to do when you need to view a website, and it’s not working? Simple! Your best friend and mine, Google, offers the capability to view “cached” pages. It’s basically a snapshot of a webpage from the past. There are two ways to access it. One, by clicking on the “Cached” link next to a search result on Google, OR by typing “cache:” and the URL of the page you’re trying to access (without any spaces).

Imagine this: you’re one of the few people, these days, who don’t have a cellphone. Some of you don’t have to imagine this scenario, you live it! Consider yourself lucky. HOWEVER, suppose you absolutely HAVE to send someone a text message?!?! You’re practically up a river of alphabet soup without a dictionary! BUT, this is not true. TxtDrop.com is to the rescue: you provide your email, the phone number you wish to send the text to, and your message. And viola, it works! Your friend’s reply texts will be sent to your email, and that’s that. If you have Windows Vista, Mac OS X, or an iPod touch/iPhone, you can add a txtDrop widget or app to make it more convenient for you.

SO, here’s the scenario: you’re getting ready for school, listening to the radio, and a song comes on, and you think, “Hey, this is pretty darn decent!” By the time you get to school, it’s stuck in your head, and it stays there for the REST OF THE DAY, but what is it? This is where Midomi comes in… it allows you to hum or whistle a bit of a song into the microphone of your computer, iPod touch, or iPhone, and it will tell you the name of it! It’s basically voodoo magic. Again, Midomi.com is where you can find it, and you can help out to improve it by submitting your own recordings. Give it a shot!

With the release of Windows 7, many people are upgrading their computers and starting out fresh. So, you get your new operating system all installed, but there’s still the problem installing all of your favorite programs, a very time-consuming process. So, what to do? Try Ninite Easy PC Setup, available at Ninite.com. You simply select the programs you wish to install, and it bundles them all up into one, neat, quick installer. Download it, run it, and you’re all set, everything is installed, just as you like it! Again, Ninite.com is the website.

Hello all… I’m being told that the server that this website is on will be turned private after the first of the year. A little bit short notice, eh?

Anyhow, everything on here has been backed up, and so there may be a little bit of downtime following the first of the year until I move it someplace else. So… heads-up, guys, and I apologize in advance if it does happen.

Chances are, if you use a computer, you use one of these regularly. They allow you to view content from around the world, all at the touch of your fingertips. What am I talking about? A web browser, of course! And which web browser you chose can have a big effect on your Internet browsing experience. Many of us are obliviously happy with whatever installed on our computer, such as Internet Explorer or Safari, or what have you. This week, I encourage you to try and branch out and try others, such as Opera, Google Chrome, Safari, or… anything else you find! Have a fun time over our holiday break trying them out!

Mozilla Firefox – a classic alternative!

Google Chrome – a new kid on the block, it is very quick, speedy, and I like it! Give it a try. I DARE YOU.

Apple Safari – originally just for Macs, Safari is now for both Mac and PC, and brings the Apple browsing experience to everyone!

Opera – A underdog, Opera has been around for quite a while, but has gone unnoticed. Give it some due respect.

Flock – a “social web browser”… I think it lets you share stuff with other people more easily. I haven’t tried it yet, so why don’t you?

Seamonkey – a full internet suite, with webpage editing, email, RSS feeds, and all sorts of other stuff.

It seems like people are constantly asking me, “Hey Max, do you know a program to do this?” or, “Do you have a better program to do this?” Well, this week’s tech tip was suggested by Webster Thomas’ very own Mr. Tai. Download.com is a simple solution to many of these questions, and I could probably do a whole lifetime’s full of tech tips for all the pieces of software that they have on there. Again, the website is simply download.com, and has programs for EVERYTHING you could possibly want to do on the computer.

Secondly, Mr. Tai brings up a good point: If anyone has suggestions for what they want to see as a Tech Tip, or need a question answered, shoot me an email at max@maxkelley.com, or leave a comment on this post.

I know many people, including myself, sometimes find new Math concepts hard to understand, or you just don’t get it fully when the teacher explains it in class. Too busy to visit the math lab, or don’t understand the homework? It’s ok, try using Wolfram Alpha, a “computational knowledge engine”. What does that mean? Basically, you type in your math problem, and it will walk you through, step-by-step, how to get the answer. The address for Wolfram Alpha is simply www.WolframAlpha.com. And it’s not limited to just Math, in fact, it does almost EVERYTHING, from Chemistry, to Physics, to Statistics, to Biology, Earth Science… give it a try. If you’re not sure how, click on “Examples” on the homepage, and it will tell you exactly how.

This week, I’ve found a website that lets you print paper for free. Now, you still need to put blank paper in your printer, it’s not magical… What I mean, however, is that it has over 500 different kinds of paper designs that you can print, from your basic lined paper, to graph paper, to musical staff paper, to sports score cards, to blank tic-tac-toe, hangman, and battleship games!

PrintablePaper.net has, again, over 500 different kinds of paper in PDF format for you to print off at no charge. EVERYONE should take a look at this website, PrintablePaper.net, it’s really very cool.