Data Doctors Tech Tips

For those that have started their exploration of the complex world of wine, there's a wine club that was created just for you. The Tastingroom.com wine club is what I refer to as the Netflix of wine because you can sample so many different wines. They start with a tasting kit that helps you and them learn more about the types of wines that your palette enjoys. By starting with this tasting exercise which allows you to provide feedback via their website, their system can determine which wines are most likely to be pleasing to you. If you have an idea of what you like already, you can always make adjustments to what is going to be shipped to you as well. The best part is that every bottle is backed by their program so if it's not to your tastes, you can get it replaced. The more feedback you provide to them with each bottle, the more likely it is that they can start to nail down the best wines for you. Get all the details to this wine club for newbies at:and#160;https://www.tastingroom.com

One of the fundamental components of any business in the tech era is a website, and figuring out what technology to use for your web presence is critical.and#8232;and#8232;But how often are those with little technology experience tasked with making technology-based decisions?and#8232;and#8232;One of the best ways to gather intelligence on website technology is by seeing what others are using, especially your competition. and#8232;This type of information is very easily gathered through a tool located at Builtwith.comand#8232;and#8232;This web tool allows you to type any website address into their form and you'll get a detailed report on all the technology used by that site.and#8232;and#8232;The composite information on popular web tech is also available along with trending info to help you see what's becoming popular or losing favor.and#8232;and#8232;If you know anyone struggling with tough tech decisions for their website, give them this tip to make it a little more data-based!

DNS servers are computers that are behind the scenes but critical to our ability to navigate the Internet. The Domain Name System is essentially a routing mechanism that converts our www requests into the numeric address that's associated with it. By and large, you're getting directions from the DNS servers set up by your ISP, but there are specific advantages to modifying this hidden setting. One of the biggest reasons to make this change is that you can have better control over your entire network from one interface. It can also make getting to websites faster and provide better up-times in some cases. Our go-to DNS service, which is free, is located at OpenDNS.com. By changing the DNS setting in your router to point to the OpenDNS servers, you can lock down anything that anyone connecting to your wifi attempts to access. It's a parental control setting that can't be bypassed through a computer that's connected to it. If you're interested, you can get the instruction by going to: https://www.opendns.com/setupguide/#familyshield

The world wide web long ago replaced the encyclopedia as the go-to resource for knowledge of all types. It's likely that you can find information on even the most trivial of things, no matter how obscure or unusual. I love learning trivial things that come as a result of a conversation that encourages a web search, but if you want to learn useful trivial facts on a regular basis, there's a website for that! A research project turned website called Useful Science is a treasure chest of information that's not going to change your life, but you may find it very useful. You don't have to be studying to become a contestant on Jeopardy to make use of this awesome site. The topics range from nutrition and fitness to the environment and parenting. Having trouble sleeping? Chances are, they've found a study that could enlighten you as to why and maybe even provide some suggestions on how to deal with it. It's not a bunch of hearsay, as each entry has the link to the information that allows you to dig a little deeper into it. There is no better way to learn useful trivial information then atand#160;http://www.usefulscience.org/aboutand#160;or if you prefer podcasts, subscribe to their here:and#160;http://www.usefulscience.org/podcast

I love music and tend to have it playing almost all the time during the day. One of the great things that I love about music is how it can be a trigger for a poignant memory. I'm also always looking for new music through a variety of resources, but when it comes to finding the best of the best, there's an awesome website called The Top Tens. I was searching around for some old classics when I discovered this gem and it's sparked a rediscovery and introduction to lots of great tunes. This useful resource goes way beyond just music as it also has top listings for TV shows, movies, sports, books and so much more. What makes this site so valuable is that the lists are based on the wisdom of the crowds, as it's a compilation of millions of user's input. You can contribute to any of the lists by voting on them or start your own list if you want to create a new category. Any time you're searching for some new entertainment content, I'd highly recommend you check out https://www.thetoptens.com

We're all creating so many amazing images with our smartphones these days, but the vast majority of them will fade away unless we decide to print them and mount them on a wall. Standard picture frames are an obvious option, but if you really want to make the images stand out, consider printing them on glass! Those highly explosive looking images that used to only be seen in art galleries are a great and easy option for all of us. The company that I've used for creating special memories for myself or friends and family is called Fracture and they've made it easy and affordable to create pictures on glass. In just a few minutes, you can upload and crop your favorite images that can be as small as 5x7 up to really large options that start at under $20. Their process will print your image on the back of the glass, then apply a protective coating on the back and ship it to your in specially designed packaging. Any form of lighting, natural or from a fixture will make your pictures jump from your walls, so if you're looking for a unique printed picture option, learn more at: and#160;https://fractureme.com

Your smartphone is a treasure chest of personal information, which is why ID thieves love to steal them. If they can get to your email account, they can quickly and easily reset all your passwords and lock you out of your own accounts. That's why it's so important to set up some form of locking code or facial recognition to keep prying eyes out should your phone get lost or stolen. If you decide to sell, trade, donate or give away your smartphone, it's critically important that you perform a factory reset to remove all your personal info from the device before it leaves your control. If you phone has an optional memory card, be sure to remove it before getting rid of your phone or format it if you intend to give the extra memory to the next user as well.and#8232; Your wireless carrier's SIM card is also something you want to remove and throw away before parting with your phone. The factory reset is generally in the 'System' section of the Settings menu, but if you need specific instructions, simply do a Google search for your phone model and the words 'factory reset'.

If you're looking for something fun and creative for this weekend, this tip is for you! With all of the sophistication of our smartphones and creative apps, you'll have everything you need to create short, epic special effect videos in just a few minutes. This old-school effects app is one of our favorites for creating eye catching videos that you can record anywhere you go. The app provides some basic effects that are out of this world with the option to purchase additional effects if you really get into the movie making. They make it easy to know where the effects will appear by placing a wireframe of the effect on the screen so you'll know exactly where it will be on your movie. Your creative juices will start flowing as soon as your make your first UFO video with this easy to use app. Learn all about this clever movie making app at: https://www.fxguruapp.com

Games are one of the most popular apps downloaded to our smartphones, but most of them are pretty limited when it comes to stimulating your brain. So many of these games end up chewing up a lot of your time because they're pretty much endless in the way the game is played. For a change of pace that required a little more brainpower and isn't of the endless variety, check out a game called Quizup. They call their game the largest trivia game on the planet with hundreds of categories and a huge database of questions. The quiz categories are pretty standard, but also include things like logo identification and can be played with friends or random users of the platform. It's a shorter version of popular trivia game shows that won't become a huge time suck unless you want it to be. https://www.quizup.com has apps for both Android and iPhone users, so if you're looking for something a little different, give it a try!

The idea of going paperless has been around for about as long as we've all had computers, but the reality is that less paper is about the only feasible goal. If you just take a minute to think about the amount of paper that exists in your home or business, you'll probably realize that much of can be tossed or shredded. For those items that you do need to keep on hand, instead of stuffing them back into a filing cabinet, why not digitize those important documents? Not only will it free up space, it makes tracking down a specific document much quicker through a search on your computer or online storage site. Keeping the paper from ever getting to you is another great way to reduce the waste. Just about everyone you do business with offer a paperless billing option, which also makes the record-keeping much simpler. Finally, if you really want to get efficient with your incoming snail mail, have a professional service like https://www.earthclassmail.com scan everything for you so you'll only get sent the physical mail you really want.