Source of Free Templates for Use with Microsoft Office Applications

Do you find yourself creating, or recreating, a form for a memo or expense report and spending nearly as much time creating the form as you do entering data into it? Well it may no longer be necessary thanks to the hundreds of ready made templates available through the Microsoft Office Template Home Page. Read "Free Source of Microsoft Templates" to find out more about templates and where to access them.

Baby Name Wizard

Ever wonder how original your choice in a name for your child is? Now you can find out using the Baby Name Wizard at NameVoyager. This site allows you to type in a first name and find how it ranks in popularity. This is not just current rank, but includes over a century of rankings of each name. Along with this information you can find information about the name origin and more.

Some Word Shortcuts

Type "Mr. Mxyzptlk" 5 times as fast as you can. Did your fingers get twisted because of the unfamiliar character order? If they didn't you've been spending far too much time in the Superman forums. The point is that in today's culture, there are many names, companies, products and more that will be difficult to type accurately and in a timely manner. If you find yourself typing something like this on a regular basis you could benefit from the article: "Using the Autocorrect Feature of Microsoft Word." Those big name companies with unpronounceable named executives with even stranger spellings for their products can be typed swiftly and accurately with just a few keystrokes.

Edit Photos with Picnic

If your photo editing needs are simple, then Picnic may be the site for you. This site allows a user to upload a picture and then have full access to a wide variety of editing tools online.

Making Special Non-Keyboard Characters in Word

If you have need of the non-standard characters like ©, §, or €, then you will probably want to read the article: "Using Non-keyboard Characters in MS Word." There are thousands of special characters that do not appear on the keyboard but are available through the magic of the judicious use of ASCII and Unicode data. Find out how from this article.

Use Your Local Library's Website as a Starting Point for a Research Adventure

Perhaps you think that as far as research is concerned, libraries are passé. Well, you're wrong. By accessing your local library online, you may find you now have access to databases and websites that were only available for a fee. By going through your local library these sites and services are now free. Read the article "Libraries Online" for more information about this topic. What an appropriate article to read during Library Card Sign-up Month (September).

Instructions on Using Format Painter in Microsoft Word

My latest article, Format Painter in Microsoft Word, in Suite101.com discusses using the Format Painter command in Microsoft Word. While the article focuses on the use of the tool in Word, it is also available in other Microsoft Office programs. It exists in both version 2007 and earlier versions as well.

Twitter Apps You Should Know About

If you Twitter, you must read "20 Twitter Apps You Should Know About." It is from eWeek magazine. It posts 20 Twitter apps that may be of interest to Twitter users. The apps deal with TweetMeNews is a news personalization engine that sends latest news stories based on the twitterer's own interests. Twitvid lets users upload and tweet videos. Twtpolls allows you to create polls using Twitter. Along with these are seventeen additional Twitter apps. I didn't see URLs for the apps but was able to find the ones I wanted with a simple www.twitapp.com, where "twitapp" represents the app name.

Computer Training Classes

A little plug for computer classes taught by me. I teach a number of computer classes at Lyons Township Adult and Continuing Education in LaGrange, Illinois. There is quite an extensive lineup of computer classes, not all taught by me. There's a little bit of everything: Adult Keyboarding (Typing), Selling on eBay, Coding and Web Design. Then there are the classes I teach: Intro to Excel, Excel tips & tricks, Word Tips & Tricks, and Beyond Google (more than just searching). In addition to computer classes, there are dozens of classes in other areas like Fitness, Foreign language training, and Photography. If you live near LaGrange, Illinois, you owe it to yourself to look at the online catalog of classes they offer.

Computer Classes offered: http://tinyurl.com/qnler8

The Lyons Adult & Continuing Education Catalog: http://tinyurl.com/rbxf4u

25 Years of Cyberspace

Cyberspace is just one of dozens of new words that have entered our daily vocabulary over the last several decades as computers have become a bigger part of our life. Discover orgigins, meanings and other info about some of these terms by visiting Twenty-five Years of Cyberspace at http://internet.suite101.com/article.cfm/twentyfive_years_of_cyberspace

Warm up Batter

You may have to watch this video several times to realize what's so special about the way this batter warms up. Watch the bat very closely. It's not as easy as this guy makes it appear. Ever Seen A Baseball Player Do This? http://www.flixxy.com/baseball-bat-skills.htm

Tribune Tower Rocks

As I write this blog, Oprah Winfrey should be starting her two hour broadcast of her 24th anniversary season. The broadcast is being made from Michigan Avenue just north of the Michigan Avenue bridge. That's just outside of Tribune Tower, for those not from Chicago. Everyone knows about Oprah but not every one knows about Tribune Tower and the historic treasures embedded in its facade for public viewing 24/7. Read about this fabulous collection of geological, historical, literary, and architectural treasures in my article: Tribune Tower Rocks. http://modern-us-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/tribune_tower_rocks

Free Maps for Your GPS

I usually struggle around finding my own way or with a little preparation and planning I may use Google Maps or MapQuest. But for those that are a little more tech savvy, you might want to try OpenStreetMap. These are maps are free and have been created by people like yourself. They are in a format that can be loaded into most standard GPS units. The catch is there's a tech side. That's the part I can't help you with. Load these at your own risk. There is some tweaking of your system necessary and you are the one that has to do the tweaking.

Check Your Internet Access Speed

Maybe you know how fast your Internet connection is supposed to be. But this site will tell you how fast--or slow--it really is. It's called Speakeasy and it will run a test to a server of your choice and measure both download and upload speeds.

Computer User Groups

If you've never physically attended a computer user group meeting you should find one and attend it. At a good meeting you will find users with varying interests. There are hardware types and software types; system administrators and game programmers. Most meetings I have attended at the Chicago Computer Society have friendly and knowledgeable people more than willing to advise and teach folks how to use their computers more effectively. I've written an article on the topic with links to resources for finding a computer user group near you. The article is titled: Offline Computer Groups. http://computeraccessories.suite101.com/article.cfm/offline_computer_groups

Insights Into Google Insights

When do people start searching the Internet for Christmas gifts? Valentine gifts? The answer is a lot earlier than you think. The peak time is in December and February respectively but the hunt begins much earlier. Marc Bitanga, in his Suite101.com article "Forecasting Seasonal Demand - When to Publish Your Articles," suggests using Google Insights. This allows you to type in keywords and retrieve a chart of when search numbers are highest for that particular term. Marc discusses this in terms of writers preparation of seasonal articles. It can also be good for marketing to special populations. The search for wedding gifts drops to its lowest point every December... and then it begins to rise. A useful tool for those seeking insights.

Wireless Electricity--Believe It

Apparently there is a possibility of wireless electricity. No longer will you have to worry about your cell phone battery running dead. The new electronic cars will simply park on a mat and get charged with no fuss. Eric Giler demonstrates this "witricity" in this YouTube video.