Data Doctors Tech Tips

Popular online shopping websites like Craigslist, eBay and Amazon are an excellent way to get good deals, especially when you're looking for something unique or used.and#160; But prior to making a buying decision, you'll typically end up going from site to site, searching for the best deals for those special items which is a big pain, not to mention a huge time suck.and#160; Even worse, when you live close to 2 metro areas, you have to go through two separate searches on sites like Craigslist to make sure you don't miss any nearby deals.and#160; But not anymore, because you can now quickly search all three of these popular sites and allows you to expand the radius beyond your primary metro area with https://SearchTempest.com and#160; The site allows you to search by radius, state or the entire country as well as filter results for those that have pictures or by minimum and/or maximum price.and#160; They can even include search results from https://Oodle.com which increases your efficient searching to even more options that might have your long lost GI Joe with the kung fu grip.and#160; https://SearchTempest.com is worth a look for any avid online shopper!

If you have a school-age student that tends to struggle with subjects such as math, science or history, we have a web resource that can make learning a whole lot easier for today's digital generation.and#160; It's called the Khan Academy http://khanacademy.org and it's simply brilliant! It's an absolutely free web learning tool that's excellent for students, teachers, tutors and parents because it provides the lessons in easy to understand short videos.and#160; Kahn Academy is a lot more than a site full of bunch of videos, because there are various interactive challenges, badges for achieving goals and assessment tools to see how your child's performing.and#160; Because it's a self-paced system that's designed to teach today's kids in a way that they like to explore... they can start with one pause one and make their way all the way up to calculus.and#160; It's the step by step assistance that they'll ask YOU for just a couple mouse clicks away.and#160; Parents and tutors of all types should be bookmarking this site!

The fax machine has become a bit of a communications relic, but every now and them, you might run into an organization that will insist on using the fax system to send them a document.and#160; In general, simply scanning the document and e-mailing it should be good enough, but when they insist on it being sent to their fax machine and you tossed yours years ago, here's a solution that should work.and#160; It's called Fax Zero atand#160;http://FaxZero.comand#160;and it will be free if you have 3 pages or less to send and don't mind a small ad on the cover page of whatever you're transmitting.and#160; For those with more pages, they'll charge $1.99 for up to 15 pages or you can opt to send it in 3 page pieces for free.and#160; All you do is upload your Word or PDF file, enter your recipient's information, tap out what you want on your cover page and off your fax goes.and#160; The next time you're forced to send something via a fax, remember http://FaxZero.com. and#160;

Anyone that travels on a regular basis knows how valuable it is to understand the ins and outs of various airports or airlines.and#160; Everything from flight delays to weather to on-time rankings are just the beginning of the info that can make a difference when you want the best option.and#160; Whether tracking a flight in real time or seeing a map of the various delays around the country,and#160;the website and apps at http://FlightStats.comand#160;do an excellent job of providing a solid picture of what's going on.and#160; Not only can you use all of the resources at their website, their apps offer features like an interactive terminal 'Airport Zoom' for the iPad or the 'Traveler app' for Android devices.and#160; It lets you setup flight alerts for incoming flights so you're alerted of any delays, diversions or cancellations along with getting arrival notifications when that flight that you're tracking arrives.and#160; http://FlightStats.comand#160;has gathered just about every type of data that impacts airlines and airports, so take a look before you book your next flight!and#160;

Yo Brandon, time to take a note with today's tech tip. For those that are still using a pencil and a pad of paper to make notes during meetings because they haven't quite found the right process for doing it electronically, we've got a suggestion for them.and#160; Instead of manually writing the notes by hand and then having to go back to your computer to type them at your desk so you can share them with everyone, go test outand#160;http://Minutes.ioand#160;for your next meeting.and#160; It a really simple put very powerful note taking web-app that can be used to track participants, assign tasks, document the decisions or gather ideas during the meeting and then easily distribute them after the meeting.and#160; The platform is also tablet friendly and can store the notes in a browser when you don't have an Internet connection.and#160; Anyone tasked with the note taking during meetings may likely find that Minutes.IO can make this important task a snap to execute and make them look like a super organized person.

Anyone that spends most of their day on their computer may find music helps you focus and possibly makes you more productive.and#160; For some, music can be a distraction depending upon what you're listening to, so there may be something a bit more soothing, like ambient noise.and#160; Anyone that finds the sound of a gentle rain storm to be soothing should checkoutand#160;the website at: http://Rainymood.com.and#160; There is nothing to download or setup; just land on the page and hit the play button to listen the recording of distant thunderstorm and gentle rain that loops until you turn it off.and#160; For those that prefer the sound of an ocean or a rainforest waterfall or birds in the trees over a rainstorm, checkoutand#160;http://calmsound.comand#160; If you like what Calmsounds.com provides, you can download an entire album of nature's soothing sounds.

Setting up a conference call or online meeting or even an in person meeting with a number of people outside of your company can be a bit challenging and time consuming when done in the traditional way.and#160; Anyone that's still manually e-mailing attendees to ask if they can meet on a certain day knows that they will end up spending way too much time trying to figure out everyone's schedule. Now you can streamline this common process when you go to https://ScheduleOnce.com and let their online system do the work.and#160; Schedule Once allows you to schedule group meetings, to accept appointments or offer multiple meeting types and even at multiple locations.and#160; It can work with your own calendar and it also takes care of time zone issues even when you are working with people from the other side of the world.and#160; It only takes a few minutes to setup your personal 'Meet Me' page that also allows attendees to select their preferred meeting days and times with their mouse or phone!and#160; http://www.scheduleonce.com

This tip shouldn't be something that you will use on a regular basis, but when you need to find a hotel room in a pinch, you will be glad you learned about this.and#160; The HotelTonight app specializes in last minute bookings for hotels, so instead of having to pay a huge bill because you didn't have the ability to plan ahead, find a room near you that's more of a deal.and#160; Remember, hotels all want to fill each and every room, every night so they offer last minute deals as a way to do just that.and#160; Whether you are unexpectedly spending the night in a strange town or are just spontaneous when you travel, using the HotelTonight app might save you big bucks.and#160; In our random tests of the app against the popular booking sites, Hotel Tonight was generally lower on last minute offerings and they also offer a price guarantee.and#160; The app is available for both iPhone and Android smartphones and can be used in the US, Canada, Mexico and many European countries.and#160; Just pick your city and the # of nights you want to stay to get their best deal on last minute options. and#160; http://www.hoteltonight.com

Here's a situation that's becoming much more common these days: you are killing it while playing Candy Crush and you get a call right when you are in the groove.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; Or even more importantly, you are in the middle of replying to an urgent email message when that incoming call disrupts your train of thought and typing.and#160; and#8232;and#8232;Well a developer that had enough of these types of disruptions on their Android smartphone created a simple free app that'll allow you to manage those disruptive calls while letting you stay in your current app.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; The app is called 'Call Popout' and it gives you total control over your phone calls that tend to come from out of the blue.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; Let's be real; we are using our smartphone far more for apps than we are for phone conversations, so setting up priority to apps makes a lot of sense.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; The app allows you to select specific apps or even all your apps to provide you with complete flexibility for when it jumps into action.and#160; and#8232;and#8232;A picture of the person that's calling along with a small blue circle will appear over the top of the app you are currently using, so you can decide what you want to do.and#160; and#8232;and#8232;For Android users in the Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootuninstaller.callpo

All you avid online shoppers know how easy it is to lose track of what you have spent and where you spent it throughout the year, unless you are very organized.and#160; For those that are that organized, bravo! For the rest of us, there is help from an app called 'Slice' which can take all the work out of tracking all your purchases.and#160; Slice is a free app that makes it a snap to store your receipts making returns easier while tracking your online spending and it can even track packages automatically.and#160; But unlike other tracking apps that require you to manually enter everything, Slice will scan your email messages to collect your online purchasing history auto-magically!and#160; The app will show you what you have on order, when it's scheduled to ship and what you have already taken delivery of all from a single interface.and#160; With Slice, you will never have to go searching through your messages to find an old receipt ever again; it'll just be waiting for you!and#160; Business users should think about how much easier your expense reports will be from now on! https://www.slice.com and#160;