Data Doctors Tech Tips

Today's tip is for anyone that likes some type of noise that will help distract their mind so they can go to sleep.and#160; I personally need something that helps my mind to slow down without waking up my wife.and#160; One of the more solid discoveries I've made is an app called 'Relax Melodies' because of it's flexibility in generating soothing sounds that may be the best I've ever found.and#160; It provides a variety of soothing sounds that can also be mixed together allowing you to create custom sleep inducing sounds.and#160; The app allows you to choose soothing sounds like a running river, ocean waves or waterfalls and match them with the crackle of a fire, birds singing or rain hitting on a tin roof.and#160; Finish it off with some ethereal piano or flute music and you have yourself a sleep-inducing background sound that helps you get to sleep much quicker.and#160; This free app is available for iPhone, Android and even Windows phone users: http://www.ipnossoft.com/app/relax-melodies https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/relax-melodies/9wzdncrfhv03

That iPhone you use every day is a pretty amazing gadget for everything from entertainment to communicating as well as capturing precious memories, but did you know that there is an accessory that can make it more amazing? It's called a tripod.and#160; If you think of how you use your iPhone; Facetiming, group selfies or just watching a video; you normally holding it with your hand.and#160; A clever tripod called the 'Kenu Stance' is a must have accessories if I've ever seen one for iPhone users.and#160; At just over an ounce in weight and a bit smaller than a pack of gum, this accessory can change how you use your iPhone.and#160; Whether it's watching a movie, taking pictures via your timer or engaging in a video, the Menu Stance makes it more efficient. and#160; Because it connects through the iPhone's Lightning connector, it can be helpful in both portrait or landscape mode, allowing you to position your screen or camera in the best way, every time! Check it out at: https://www.kenu.com/collections/compatible-with-iphone-8-iphone-8-plus-and-iphone-x/products/stance

If it seems that your mobile data usage doesn't seem to go as far these days, you may not be imagining things. Anyone that is actively using Facebook every day on their smartphones may find that it's a big reason why. If you've noticed that videos in your newsfeed automatically play as you scroll past, it can eat a hole in your data plan if it's not unlimited.and#160; Take a second to check the settings in your Facebook app specifically to check the Video Auto-play setting.and#160; When it is turned on, it is eating up your data plan when you are scrolling past the videos.and#160; If you enjoy the auto-playing of videos, you can change the setting so that it will only work when you are connected to Wi-fi only to preserve your mobile data plan.and#160; If you have no need to have videos ever auto-play, turn it off so that you have to tap the videos when you want to see them. Now if auto-play comes back, you will know that your default setting has changed.and#160; The link to change the settings is posted at: https://mashable.com/2017/08/12/how-to-turn-off-autoplay/#GNq1i6Azyiq8

A report by Kansas State University researchers has suggested that regularly taking really short breaks of a minute or so to switch your focus to a game or textng your friends may improve your productivity.and#160; With this in mind, the next time you're going to take a break, instead of reaching for a mindless game, try something that can distract your mind and educate you.and#160; Google's 'SmartyPins' game allows you to test both your trivia and geography during your break. They'll pop up a trivia question with instructions to place a pin in the location that is your answer in Google Maps.and#160; Trivia questions can be random or from specific categories such as science and geography, arts and culture or history and current events.and#160; When the question pops up, you will score bonus points when you answer within fifteen seconds.and#160; They also provide hints so you can click the button and place your pin. They spot 1000 miles as point, so every wrong answer will subtracts the actual miles between the correct answer and your answer pin.and#160; Enjoy educational break time at https://smartypins.withgoogle.com

A very common request for help I get from people of all degrees of tech knowledge centers around the constant issue of space on their smartphones.and#160; It is especially common with iPhone users because of the lack of a slot to expand memory that is common on most Android smartphones.and#160; Uninstalling any apps you no longer use is a good start, but getting rid of as many old images and videos will generate a lot more free space.and#160; Dumping videos especially can create lot of free space considering that deleting a 2 minute video can free up as much space as a large number of pictures.and#160; A lesser known area that most users may not think about are the endless number of old text messages, especially those that have images or videos attached.and#160; I was able to free up over 5Gbs on my wife's iPhone by going through all of her old messages that had tons of attachments.and#160; If you'd like more of my tips for freeing up storage on your phone, go to: http://www.datadoctors.com/help/kenscolumns/22055

Despite email's tendency to be an inefficient and even dangerous form of communication, it's still the primary method for most everyone in business.and#160; If you're not getting timely responses or responses at all to your business related messages, there's a possibility that when you're sending them may be contributing. A marketing firm called Yesware took the time to analyze 500 million messages and what they discovered was that response rates appear to be higher on weekends. This may be because weekend messages don't have to compete with nearly as many messages as they would typically on any weekday.and#160; They're also suggesting that messages sent between 6 and 7am or later in the night around 8pm will get higher response rates.and#160; You can easily test out these theories by learning how to set your messages to go out on a time schedule. Virtually every popular e-mail program has this ability or can be added through plug-ins so you can send your messages at a potentially better time. For complete details on this study, go to: http://www.yesware.com/blog/best-time-to-send-email

Google is by far the most sophisticated search engine which can also mean that you are going to be presented with millions of search results most of which aren't relevant.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; You can dramatically improve the quality of your search results using one of the many of what Google calls 'query operators' if you understand how to use them.and#8232;and#8232; One 'power tool' that few people know about is the operator for "range" which will filter results in a given numerical range.and#160;and#8232;and#8232; Just by using two periods between two sets of numbers, Google knows to limit your search results to links within those parameters, which it does very well.and#8232;and#8232; For instance, say you're doing a little research for a specific period in time you could type "Russian Revolution" 1800..1900 or when you're shopping for a used smartphone in specific price range, you can type "smartphones $250..$350".and#160;and#8232;and#8232; To further improve your results, try including specific formatting for your numbers (dollars or feet for example)!

When we get serious about physical fitness, getting with a personal trainer is certain to accelerate progress and the same will hold true for your mental fitness.and#160; As we age, we recognize some of our mental sharpness diminishing and it can become a regular irritation.and#160; If you're like me and have noticed this happening, you might be interested in trying out a personal brain trainer. An app called 'Elevate' for both iPhone and Android smartphones may be worth a look.and#160; The app uses games based on various scientific research designed in conjunction with various experts in neuroscience and cognitive learning.and#160; You begin by selecting what you want to work on; speaking skills, focus, comprehension, processing speed and more.and#160; The Elevate app will create your own customized 'daily challenge' based on your selection and tracks your progress for each section.and#160; The daily basic challenges in the app are free with an unlimited option that you can pay should you get into it.and#160; One user called the Elevate app a 'daily mental multivitamin', so for those looking for a better use of their spare time should checkout Elevate atand#160;http://elevateapp.com

Science fiction fans that want to create incredivle photos with their iPhones will think today's tip is out of this world! An inexpensive app called "Alien Sky" uses awesome space effects which can turn your images into something that will really stand out. The app allows you edit your images with futuristic effects using high resolution space objects or various lens flares to any picture on your iPhone. The space objects include moons, planets, suns, stars, comets or various galaxies to take your social media posts to another level. The Alien Sky app has more than 150 different effects that gives you total control over the customization; you can post fantastic other worldly photos that will stop your friends cold on social media. Now you can turn those old dull images on your phone and turn them into fantastic visual effects. The link to learn more is: http://www.brainfevermedia.com/alienSky.html

A friend recently asked for some help finding an online appointment setting system because they found themselves spending far too much time exchanging emails and voice messages. The wanted something simple, preferably free and with the ability for somewhere down the road for their customers to pay through the system as well.and#160; Based on those parameters, I suggested they take a look at and#160;http://www.acuityscheduling.comand#160; Anyone in any business that has the need to set appointments will find having a single point of contact where customers can schedule their own appointments like what Acuity offers is a big time saver The free service is really basic, so if you need to customize the system or take payments through the system, you will need to spend $15 to $25 a month.and#160; The simplicity of the tool allowed my friend to get setup quickly which meant they simply needed to create a "book an appointment" link on their website.and#160; Acuity syncs with lots of popular calendars, allows for group appointments and the system knows which time zone each party is in.