Data Doctors Tech Tips

Any parent of a student that's in some form of higher level math has probably already run into the situation where you are asked for help on a math problem that's overwhelming. Any parent that wants a little assistance in explaining how to solve complex math problems should checkout an app called 'PhotoMath'.and#160; This amazing app allows parents to use the camera on their smartphones to scan a math problem, attempt to solve the problem and show the steps it takes to solve them.and#160; If you think that kids will simply use this app to cheat on their homework, think about what was said about the calculator when it first came out.and#160; There's no question that this app can be used to cheat, but it's truly a learning app that will teach kids how things are solved.and#160; Keep in mind that kids can use other tools like Wolfram Alpha to solve math equations, but they'll miss out on the explanation required to solve them.and#160; Don't let your fear keep you from using of this great parental teaching tool:and#160;https://photomath.net

Who among us doesn't live on email? We all spend way too much time getting interrupted by messages that aren't important because we're on so many mailing lists.and#160; Most of us don't even know how we ended on most of the lists, but because of the all-to-common auto opt-in lists, it's not going to go away any time soon. If you are overwhelmed with insignificant subscription messages every day, an awesome tool called 'Unroll' is worth a look.and#160; Once the system scans your inbox, it alphabetically lists your subscriptions so you can select that ones you want to keep, the ones you want to unsubscribe from or add messages to what they call a 'roll up'.and#160; It's a daily digest of your subscriptions that you actually want to see condensed into a single message, so you no longer see them all day long.and#160; You can mark important messages as 'Keep in Inbox' so that you see them as they come in.and#160; Unroll.Me works with with most major web-based email tools: and#160;https://unroll.me

Anyone that knows the life of the hard working working local musician, you also know how important tips from their audience can be as a sign of how well they are connecting.and#160; Throwing a few bucks into a guitar case or tip jar is generally the option, but how many times are you in a position that doesn't allow you to show your appreciation because you don't have any cash on you? Our society is practically a cashless one these days, so a lot of people in the service and hospitality world are making less because of it. An app called 'Bravo' is trying to help by making it super easy to tip out those in the service or entertainment industry that you are near. It makes it easy to tip tour guides, live musicians, valets or anyone that served you, electronically. I always tell musicians to consider making a sign for the Bravo app next to their tip jar, which could encourage their audience to download the app and send them tips throughout their performance.and#160; Whether you're the tipper or the tippee, Bravo makes it a lot easier: https://trybravo.com

Anyone that spends as much time in the great outdoors as I do is likely to find themselves without any sort of cell signal.and#160; In most cases, that's probably on purpose, but there are often times when having a communication safety net is desirable in case you get lost or need help.and#160; A handy device called 'goTenna' provides a communication option to connect with others whenever a cell signal isn't available. The device will allow you to send and receive text messages or share the GPS location where you are with someone that has the companion device. It can work from 1 to 50 miles, depending on your terrain.and#160; An area like a ski resort is likely to provide better range than any city setting that has lots of tall buildings.and#160; I just returned from a popular music festival that would have been a great place to have goTenna to contact my friends as the cell network was so jammed with traffic and virtually useless.and#160; Learn more at: https://gotenna.com

Any of you that spend a lot of time on the road are used to less than desirable Internet speeds from the available wifi options. It doesn't matter whether you are on a flight, in a hotel lobby or meeting at a coffee shop, everyone on the connection is sharing a slow data pipe.and#160; Airplane wifi can be especially challenging when you try to access all of the multimedia content that's so common on most to today's websites.and#160; There is an option to optimize whichever browser you're using for really slow connections, but then requires you to remember to put all the settings back to normal when you are back on a high-speed pipe.and#160; To bypass that hassle, I suggest road warriors think about using the less known Opera browser when you are on the go. The Opera browser provides a special mode they call 'Turbo' that optimizes all your content on the Opera servers before sending it to your device to reduce download times.and#160; In addition, by automatically blocking Flash content until you click on the container further reduces the load of unnecessary multimedia content.and#160; When you're on an extremely slow connection, you can even set Opera to not load images at all, which increases the speed of written content.and#160; More suggestions are posted at: https://www.datadoctors.com/help/columns/22011

Anyone that runs a small business that occasionally needs to invoice their customers has probably found that many of the popular platforms are overly complex or just too expensive.and#160; Generating simple invoices, estimates and POs doesn't need to be rocket science, so the folks at Invoice2go created a system just for micro businesses.and#160; Their tools will work on smartphones, tablets or computers and it will sync your paperwork across all those devices.and#160; It allows you to create customized invoices with your company logo or even create one if you don't currently have one which makes for a more professional appearance.and#160; They can even help your business track receivables, track expenses, time on a job and your customers can sign estimates or invoices using your mobile devices.and#160; You can use the free trial version to create a couple of invoices so you can test the system out. Invoices2go will work on either Android or iOS devices:and#8232;https://invoice.2go.com

The vast majority of email messages circulating the Internet are without a doubt junk messages generally trying to sell you special pills and lower mortgage rates.and#160; It has made processing our email messages a lot more work than it needs to be and now those spammers are taking aim at your smartphone.and#160; Text message spam is growing and no matter what rules are in place, the bad guys won't bother following them.and#160; But. did you know that you can help by fighting back every time you get spammed with one of those annoying messages? Each time you get a junk message, you should report it to your wireless carrier by simply forwarding the message to '7726' which is 'SPAM' spelled out.and#160; Be sure to forward the exact message in its entirety and don't add any comments of your own.and#160; If we all start doing this each and every time we get a junk message, we can all put a small dent into the problem so they don't ruin text messaging as well.and#160;

We've all found ourselves borrowing a friend's computer to check on something on one of online accounts.and#160; You need to log into Facebook to check on something and forget when you pop out to catch some dinner.and#160; This scenario actually happened to a friend of ours and what happened later was not good.and#160; The friends got into a heated discussion while at dinner and they both left the restaurant upset with each other.and#160; When one of the friends returned home, he found that his former friend was still logged into his Facebook account, which allowed him full control over the account and proceeded to wreak havoc.and#160; Did you know, there's a way to rectify this situation if you ever find yourself in it? Facebook has an option that will allow you to remotely logout of any computer or device using the account. You do this by going into your account settings on a smartphone or computer and clicking on the 'security' section.and#160; Towards the bottom of the page, look for the words 'Active Sessions' then click EDIT on your computer, or REMOVE on your smartphone.and#160; Computer will see a list of all the open Facebook sessions on any device which you can quickly choose to end, putting you back in the driver's seat.and#160;

So many people from other countries speak many languages, but we typically don't because new languages are hard to learn using traditional methods of learning. You can do minor translations on the fly with various apps and websites but you won't learn anything.and#160; There is an online resource that can make learning that new language a more social experience, because you get to learn with others and challenge them while you are learning.and#160; Duolingo.com takes learning a new language to a different level. they allow you to connect through Facebook or Twitter which will allow you to track your friends that are learning a new language with you. They use many pictures, words, sentences and more interactive methods for learning, so you can quickly learn basic lessons then move on to advanced levels.and#160; By simply dedicating a few minutes a day to learn the lessons, you will be speaking, understanding and possibly even writing in that new language.and#160; Give it a spin for yourself at: https://duolingo.com

How many times have you recieved an email that includes a file attachment but you don't have the proper program that will allow you to open the file.and#160; This can result in one of two scenarios: replying to the person requesting an alternative type of file or finding a program that will convert the file so you can open it.and#160; Not only can this make things inconvenient, there can also be a cost involved. Who needs to buy a program for a single use?and#160; If you find yourself with the need to convert any file in the future, just visit Zamzar.com. It's a free website that will convert just about any file type to another file type.and#160; Zamzar will convert ebooks to pdfs, mp3s to wave files, Quicktime to MP4; the possibilities are almost endless.and#160; To convert files, you simply drag and drop them on the conversion tool, then select the format you want the conversion to be and type your email address, before clicking on the 'convert' button.and#160; Zamzar will send you a link to download the file once they have converted it. http://zamzar.com