7 Mobile Apps for Editing and Enhancing Images
This article from Social Media Examiner not only has recommendations, it has instructions on how to use the apps for specific problems.
This is “must read” material for those of you who use candid shots for your social media posts and blogs. Professional photography skills aren’t required. Whew! But worthy subjects and legible photos are. So one little tweak like removing the ugly wall plug on your photo can make a huge difference.
Take your photography to a higher level!
Password Protection
Confession is good for the soul, they say. So here goes…
Last week I tried to log onto my 2 laptops and kept getting the “Invalid password” message. I type that password twice every morning. Pre-coffee! Of course, I knew what it was. I tried rebooting. I tried CAPS ON and caps off. Finally I called my IT support who was going to come with his reset software.
I finally quieted down enough to try the password on auto-pilot as I usually do. Oh… yeah… there are 2 more digits to it.
Later in the week, my sister wiped her iPhone because she got confused about her phone password. She never turns off the phone therefore she never uses that password.
I use a password protector software but I had left my Windows password out of it. My sister uses a password storage software but it doesn’t have online access, only phone access.
Confession over. Let’s talk about how you can prevent either of these scenarios happening to you.
You ABSOLUTELY can not use the same password for multiple accounts! This is a serious problem. Please! It’s worth the effort to make your data safer. A data breach at Dropbox was just to gather passwords, not for info in files. The hackers take the passwords, try them at banks, PayPal, Google, etc. to get access to your personal data.
Option 1 – I strongly recommend this!
Use LastPass.com to record and input passwords. LastPass will fill in the user name and password for you on website logins. You can see the list from your computer, your tablet, your phone. You can access it online. You can store other info like social security numbers, spouse’s auto license plate number. I will help you set it up if you need some assistance. Basic service is free. Premium is only $24 a year. Using LastPass on your tablet or phone does make it easier to access sites from those small screens. And if the phone is locked up, you can access the password list from your computer.
Option 2
Create a series you can remember but changes with each account. Should be at least 8 characters including a capital letter and a special character.
Example: Series is 125cHaracters34$% (3rd character is always capitalized)
Then for your Google account the password is 12goOgl34$%
for Southwest Airlines the password is 12soUth34$%
for Yelp the password is 12yeLp34$%
You can remember the series. Each password is different so that if a hacker gets the Google password they can’t access Yelp.
This is IMPORTANT! Call me if you have questions or need help getting set up.
Post update on 05/03/18.
Don’t Buy a Mac
I’m trying to do a new website for a MAC user. She’s not super computer literate so everything she tries to share with me takes her twice as long. Her Pages and Numbers files don’t convert to Word or Excel cleanly. What she thinks is a graphic file, isn’t.
There are 4 times more Windows users than MAC users. So chances are REALLY good that MAC users are going to need to share files with a Windows person.
Why make your computer life harder? Unless you are working in a graphics related industry and the only people you share files with are other MAC users, stay away from MACs.
Sure you get free support from the Apple store. How much time do you have for standing in line during regular business hours? But don’t try googling a question for a quick answer because chances are slim you’ll find the answer. Have a Windows question? There are hundreds of answers in blog sites, YouTube videos and forums.
Want some training on the software? There are hundreds of YouTube videos and articles about Windows. Not so much on the iOS.
So unless your goal is to be a full time computer whiz who can rock all those graphics programs, don’t buy a MAC.
Computer skills
CRM Help
Pamela Bir Interviewed by Operation Franchise
It was great fun to be on the other side of a technical article. I was interviewed for a computer skills article for Operation Franchise. The magazine focuses on helping military personnel transition to civilian jobs. The concepts apply to anyone in the business world. You have to get your computer skills up to speed and keep them up to compete in today’s job market. There’s a solution for every type learner and every price range.
Read the article.
There’s no such thing as a computer expert
Sometimes when I’m introduced the person will say “Pamela’s a computer expert.” I always try to quickly correct that misconception. There is no such thing as a computer expert. There are people who know more than you do. Maybe people who know a lot more than you do. But no one knows everything about computers. It’s such a huge topic and it’s evolving so quickly, that at best you can learn one little aspect and be an expert at that.
Any computer person I know will tell you they get frustrated with new software and new hardware set ups just like everyone else. Because it’s their job and maybe their passion, they just stick with it until they figure it out. That doesn’t mean you’re stupid because you can’t figure out why your all-in-one printer won’t fax. Or because you’re struggling to learn a new piece of software. Computer knowledge doesn’t come to you at birth or through osmosis. You have to work at it. It’s a skill that requires training like all other skills.
I’m learning two new software programs right now. Trust me, there have been plenty of calls to tech support or searches through my reference books to find solutions. Tech support is one of the most important criteria for choosing software, in fact. You have to have assistance.
You and all of the other “experts.”