Sync files to the internet and any computer with Dropbox [Programs I Like]

I've known more than a few people that have lost important data when their computer crashes unexpectedly.  It can be a sobering experience to loose pictures, music files, original documents and term papers the instant your computer hard drive decides to give up the ghost.

One solution is to make sure that your important files get backed up automatically somewhere safe.  Enter web application Dropbox.  Dropbox is a program that you install on your computer that creates a folder (usually in My Documents) that automatically synchronizes any file you place in it across the internet and to any other computers that you set up with your account.

To get Dropbox visit www.dropbox.com and sign up for a free account.  You get 2 Gigabytes for free (.25 gigs more if you sign up with my referral link).  You can pay for more space if you need it, but 2 Gigs is plenty of space to keep important documents, pictures, and files easily and securely backed up.

Once you install the program on your computer you need to log in or create your new account.  Next, start dropping files in your "My Dropbox" folder and they will automatically be uploaded to Dropbox's servers where you can access them on your online account through any web browser (in case you need to download a file from you account on a friend's computer).  You can also create share links to let others securely download files you upload.  Best of all, if you have 2 or more computers, you can keep your files in sync across all of them just by installing and running the Dropbox program in the system tray.

So do you need super easy free space to backup your files and/or share them across computers?  If so, give Dropbox a try!

Dropbox is a free download and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux

Sign up with my referral to get an extra 250MB of space, click here

How to reboot your iPod & iPhone and why

Everyone knows that Apple makes some great products. From the breakout success of the original iPod to the iPhone and now the iPad, Apple's hardware is solid and extremely popular.

But just like most electronics, the iPod and iPhone are actually miniature computers and sometimes they (*gasp*) mess up or freeze. If your iDevice is slowing down to a crawl or locks up you can reboot it leading to improved performance and that like-new feel.

Rebooting your iPod and iPhone/iPod Touch is completely safe and you will not loose your data. Think of it like rebooting your Mac or Windows machine.

Here's how you do it:

• For iPods, you hold the center scroll wheel button and menu button together until you see the Apple logo. Now wait for the device to reboot and you are good to go.
  
• For iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch, hold the home button and the power button on the top together until the Apple logo appears. Wait for the device to reboot.

I recommend everyone to reboot their iDevice (especially iPhones and iPod Touch) at least once a week to keep their device nice and peppy.

How to make your computer run faster part 1, it's all about the memory!

Today I am starting a new series on how to make your computer run faster.  These tips will work with any computer, old or new.  Most fixes I will be describing will be 100% free to you which is more than most computer "optimization" services can offer.

Recently, I was visiting a friend who was having a horrible time with his laptop.  It was feeling sluggish and would take for ever to boot.  Working with many friends with similar issues, I'm learning that this is a common problem.

The first thing I did (once I waited 5 minutes on the computer to boot) was open up Windows Task Manager.  You can do this several ways.  On Windows XP, you would hit CTL + ALT + Delete and select task manager from a menu.  On Windows 7 it's even more accessible by right-clicking the taskbar at the bottom of your screen and selecting the Task Manager there.  You can also click on START (or the Windows Key) and type in "task manager" to bring it up.  Once you get it open, go to the performance tab, it should look like this:

Notice the memory meter and the Total Memory sections.  If your memory meter is nearly or totally full and/or your available memory is near 0, "Houston, we have a problem."

You see your computer runs on two kinds of memory.  The super-fast RAM (Random Access Memory) and the not so fast but spacious Hard Drive.  For every process or program that your computer runs, it sets a portion of your super-fast RAM aside to temporarily hold that program's information.  Working this way, your computer runs the way it was designed.

But if your RAM is full, you'll notice your computer screeching to a halt and your hard drive light will be blinking like crazy.  This is because Windows uses something called a Page File to write program information that won't fit in your RAM to your hard disk drive.  The following illustration explains why having low ram slows your computer down.

A computer with little RAM will undoubtedly screech to a halt when you run out of RAM space.  Now if you have come to the sad conclusion that there are just too many programs running on your computer for it to handle, have hope!  Most of what your computer is running right now is utter garbage and it can be cleaned from your system (or at least from starting with Windows).

So what is the short term solution for your painfully slow computer?  Close some programs!  I know you think you might need iTunes, Firefox, Adobe Photoshop, Picasa, Internet Explorer, Adobe Reader, MS Word, and Tetris open at the same time but are you really working on all of those at the same time?  You can close some of these programs the traditional way (the red x of freedom) or use Task manager and close the programs for the "Applications" or Processes tab.

If you go the Task Manager route, you have the added bonus of taking a peek at each process' RAM usage. Check it out:

If you recognize any of these memory hungry programs and you're trying to free up enough RAM for your computer to breathe, you can kill these processes by right clicking them.  The number displayed is in Kilobytes (1,024 bytes).  Remember there are 1,000 KB in a MB (Megabyte).  So a program running 600,000KB (I'm looking at your Firefox) is taking up 600MB of your RAM.

Next time, I'll show you how to lighten the load so your computer won't load slower than a turtle with lead boots by uninstalling the junk you don't need.

Your programs at your fingertips with Launchy (Programs I like)

Today I'm starting a weekly series highlighting programs that I have come across that have made my computer life easier. This week I would like to introduce Launchy.

Launchy is a keystroke program launcher and a whole lot more.  Some of us like to keep our hands on the keyboard but sometimes we need to reach for that pesky mouse.  With Launchy, but simply holding the ALT key and pressing the space bar you bring up the Launchy window.

Just start typing your search and press ENTER, off you go.  By default Launchy searches your programs folders for links to items found in your Windows Start Menu, but you can configure it to search in a documents folder as well in the preferences.

But wait there's more, simply type "google" then the TAB key and then type a search.  You can do with with "weather" and a zipcode or "youtube" and a video search.  Launchy turns your keyboard into a shortcut powerhouse.  

So if you have windows, and a small aversion to your computer mouse, try the open source Launchy today. Your mouse will forgive you, someday ;)

How to search a website with Google

Here's a quick Google trick: you can use the super popular search engine to not only search the entire web, but you can also use Google to search a specific website.

Step 1: Visit Google.com or any other site with a Google search box in it (your web browser search bar would work).

Step 2: Type "site:yoursitename.com yoursearch" where yoursitename.com is any site (like cnn.com) and yoursearch is whatever you are looking for.  So if I wanted to search CNN.com for anything on the Gulf Oil Spill, I would type: "site:cnn.com gulf oil spill"

That's it!  You can use this trick to search your favorite websites as quick as a Google search.

What stuff of yours needs to work?

I'm new to this whole blogging for others thing and I'm looking for suggestions you might have for tutorials/articles.  Do you have something that you want to learn to do with your computer or some program that is just not behaving?  Anything you want to know about the internet?  If you have any ideas, please drop by the comments section and leave your thoughts.

How to create a blog that earns you money

Creating a blog that earns you money is easy with Google.  Here's an overview of what you will need to get started -

• A Computer with an internet connection (duh)
• A Google Account (sign up for one here)
• A new blog on blogger.com
• Your name address and a phone number (to get paid)
• A credit card to purchase your own domain name (optional)
• A subject to blog about

Step 0: Create Your Google Account

Many of you might already have an account with Google.  If you do, skip to step #1.

You will need a Google account in order to use blogger.com as well as sign up for AdSense - Google's advertising service.  To sign up visit google.com/accounts, once you've got your account you're ready to get started.

Step 1: Creating a blog on Blogger.com

• The way that you will make money is by hosting ads on your blog with Google AdSense.  To create a blog, visit blogger.com and sign up and create a new blog.
• Before you get started, make sure you've picked a theme you will be blogging about, I chose to blog about making things work, computer tutorials and such.  You can blog about anything that interests you.  This is important and will keep you coming back to create more content (making you more money).
• Create your new blog.  Make sure to give it a name that will be memorable both to you and your visitors.  You will want the name to be related to what you're blogging about.

• Choose your template.  The really doesn't matter all that much choose something your visitors will be able to read easily.  
• Finish creating your new blog and visit your settings.  

Step 2: Using a custom domain with your new blog (Optional)

If you would like to go the free route, skep to step 3.  If you're interested in purchasing a domain name to go with your new blog continue on. 

• Adding a custom domain to your blog can add an additional level of trust and professionalism for your visitors. If you will be directing people to your website (and not just search engine visitors), you will want an easy to remember domain.  You can sign up for a new domain without ever leaving the blogger webpage.  
• Under the publishing tab in your blog settings, select the "custom domain" option.

• You will be taken to a page where you can select your unique domain name (make it memorable!).

• Purchase your domain name and link it to your blog.  You will be using Google checkout to sign up and pay for your domain.  Currently domains are $10 a year, a great price.
• Once you are done linking your blog to your new domain, get your new blog monetized so you can make some money.  Note, your new domain will day a few days to become active, you can still visit your blog through the standard blogger address until then.

Step 3: Create your content!

You will never make any money on your blog unless you have content for your visitors to read.  So get creating.  Here are a few tips,

• Write often.  If you're new to blogging set aside a few hours a week to create new blogs.  You can even hammer out several blogs at the same time and set blogger to publish them at a later date.
• Make your content interesting with pictures.  Add images in your blog posts to illustrate what you're talking about.  You can even embed videos from sites like youtube.com.  
• Advertise your blog to your friends and through social networks like facebook and twiter.  The more people that view your blog, the more ad revenue you will be able to accumulate.
• Link to similar blogs with a sidebar widget.  Sometimes you can get the attention of other bloggers and they will add you to their blogroll.  This sends more traffic to your blog.
• Find a niché.  Try and think of content that you can create that will be something others are searching for.  Even better if there is not a lot of blogs or websites about your topic.

Step 4: Monetizing Your Blog with Google Adsense

Now we are going to set up your blog to make some money!  The way Google Adsense works is that it scans your blog content for key words and uses them to generate text and image ads based on your content.  When visitors stumble upon your blog and click on your ads, you make money (and no, you can't make money by clicking your own ads or getting others to do it for you, Google will find out and you won't get paid).

• In your blogger settings, visit the "Monetize" tab.  You will be asked to create a Google Adsense account.  Follow the tutorial to create your account.  You will need to enter your name and address so Google will know where to send the check.
• After you have successfully created and linked your Adsense account to your blog, you will be able to choose where to place the ads on your blog.

• Once you have selected where to place your adds, you can also set up ads in your website feed (RSS feed) and use Amazon's Associates program to make even more cash.
• If you are starting your blog from scratch, you will need to have a considerable amount of content to get started, Google needs context before it can place ads on your site.  
• After you submit your request, it will take a few days to get your Google Adwords working on your blog, so keep writing those posts.

That's it but you're not done.  Keep learning!  There are lots of tutorials available online that will teach you have to better optimize your blogger blog to make even more money.