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Evernote: An Extra Brain for You!

Written by Chris Foley 0 Comments

How many times have you created a shopping list and then realized you forgot it at home, only after arriving at the store? Is your desk cluttered with Post-It reminders? Tired of wasting paper? Save some brain damage AND Go Green with Evernote®!

What IS Evernote? Evernote CEO, Phil Libin calls his product “your external brain.” In short, Evernote is a server-based note and clippings application, which syncs to client apps that you install on your Mac or Windows computer and on your iPhone, iPod touch, or BlackBerry. Yes, that’s right, it’s cross platform. Foley is finally writing about something that the Windows users out there can enjoy too!

Your Digital Camera White Balance Controls – A Tutorial

Written by Chris Foley 0 Comments

Here is a great tutorial from Macworld.com about how-to use your camera’s white balance controls. There’s a lot of color correction that can be done inside of your image editing software, such as iPhoto or Photoshop, but the best way to fix white balance issues is to have your camera setup properly before you shoot.

Moving to a New Hard Drive | How-To

Written by Chris Foley 0 Comments

There are many reasons you might want to move to a new hard drive. Perhaps your internal hard drive is starting to fail, or perhaps your replacing your internal hard drive because you need more storage space then your current one offers. Whatever the reason, there’s some planning that goes into replacing any hard drive, or making any data migration. Here are some Tech Tips to keep in mind if you’re planning on moving your digital life to a new hard drive.

Author Credit: Lincoln Spector

Joseph Blough Jr. plans to upgrade his hard drive. How does he move Windows, his applications, and his files to their new, larger home?

I’m not going to discuss the hardware issues of making sure your new drive is compatible or of physically installing it. See How to Install a New Hard Drive. If you have a laptop, read Mobile Computing: Upgrade Your Notebook’s Hard Drive, as well.

So let’s get on with copying everything from the old hard drive to the new one. You can’t just drag-and-drop copy the files, as that will miss your boot sector, important parts of Windows, and any hidden partitions. If your computer came with Windows installed, there’s a good chance that you’ve got a hidden partition that you’ll need on the new drive should you have to reinstall the OS.

There are two approaches here: Imaging and cloning. Imaging backs up everything on your hard drive to a single, very large file on a separate piece of media–usually an external hard drive. Cloning directly copies the contents of one drive onto another. I’m going to discuss cloning here because, for this particular job, it’s probably the better choice. See Should I Image the Hard Drive or Clone It? for more on these two approaches.

Five Reasons to Give Windows 7 a Second Look

Written by Chris Foley 0 Comments

Is Windows 7 the flop that many expected? Is Windows 7 simply a slightly more stable version of Windows Vista?

I’m a Mac user, through and through, so you might wonder what, if anything, could I possibly have to say about Windows 7, the latest operating system from our friends at Microsoft. I’ve never been a big fan of Microsoft products, and I hated Windows XP, and I hated Windows Vista even more. We found this great article at PC World online, and if you’re wondering whether or not to upgrade to Windows 7, you’ll find this article to be of huge value.

And remember, when you are ready to upgrade, Make It Work’s in-house technicians are available to make sure the transaction goes smoothly!

Author Credit: Julie Sartrain

Microsoft has sold 150 million copies of Windows 7 in nine months–that is, seven copies per second. It’s the fastest-selling operating system in history. Vista, by contrast, was such a flop that users couldn’t wait to get rid of it.

Many consumers just got stuck with Vista because new PCs, for a while, were preloaded with it, and there were no other options. Some vendors still offered new, coveted systems with XP, for a lot more money. Yet, in the beginning, retailers even told consumers there was no way to uninstall Vista and reinstall XP.

What does the new operating system mean for the business community, especially all the little guys and mid-sized companies that can’t afford to make another hefty investment in a rotten lemon?

Thankfully, Windows 7 is not the lemon Vista was, and its big, positive features are well-known by now. For example, multitasking makes it easier to navigate, and Windows 7 is more stable and secure. The new OS requires less memory and disk space. It has easier, more proficient file organization, less clutter and garbage, and more efficient networking setup and management. Windows 7 also touts a fancy new taskbar and system tray, better backup options, and some great entertainment features.

These five additional selling points of Windows 7 may surprise you.

1. XP Mode

One of the best features for companies who still want to use many legacy XP applications is XP Mode, which runs in the Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise versions. This was a lifesaver for me, because I have dozens of old graphics programs that I use several times a week.

Five things to do before leaving for vacation | Mac Users

Written by Chris Foley 0 Comments

I suffer from what the Germans call “Reisefieber,” which loosely translated, means pre-travel apprehension, or even anxiety. It’s a running joke around that office that I like to “have all of my duckies in a row” before I do anything. If you’re anything like me, this article may be for you.

There’s one point I feel that the author missed, and that would be to make sure all of your Mobile devices have been backed up and synced. He touches on this in #3. Let’s call this point #3b.

Enjoy!

Here’s how to prepare your Mac after you pack your bags

by Joe Kissell, Macworld.com

Whether it’s a week’s trip to the country or a three-month break from school, you’ll enjoy your vacation more if you take a few preliminary steps to ensure that things will run smoothly in your absence, and that you can handle any crises that may come up. Here are five things you should be sure to take care of in the hours before you leave your desk.

1. Update your backups

Murphy’s Law dictates that disaster will strike when you’re least prepared for it. Take out some extra insurance by updating your backups just before you leave. For maximum security, make a complete duplicate of your disk using a program such as SuperDuper , and store it in a safe, offsite location. That way, even if the building burns down while you’re away, you’ll be able to get back to work quickly without losing any data.

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Author Archive

Evernote: An Extra Brain for You!

Your Digital Camera White Balance Controls – A Tutorial

Moving to a New Hard Drive | How-To

Five Reasons to Give Windows 7 a Second Look

Five things to do before leaving for vacation | Mac Users

Here’s how to prepare your Mac after you pack your bags

1. Update your backups

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Author Archive

Evernote: An Extra Brain for You!

Your Digital Camera White Balance Controls – A Tutorial

Moving to a New Hard Drive | How-To

Five Reasons to Give Windows 7 a Second Look

Five things to do before leaving for vacation | Mac Users

Here’s how to prepare your Mac after you pack your bags

1. Update your backups

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