Software: Android Users–Amazon Appstore Free App of the Day is Office Suite 5 Professional (10/26/11)

These days one of the most import things you will need is the ability to view and even edit documents sent to you in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel format. I know when I got my HTC Evo, all that I got was a very limited program (DocToGo) that would allow me to view files, but not actually do any editing. If I wanted editing features, I would need to pay to buy the full version. For various reasons, up to now, I have only kept the limited viewer, never bothering to do the upgrade.

Things changed today, as I discovered that the Amazon Appstore Free App of the day is Office Suite 5 Professional. Here is information on the app, from the (LINK) Amazon (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/gp/product/B0051UP5NQ/180-5621455-7084817?ie=UTF8&ref=mas_faad) page

Product Description

Just in case you need to bring the office home with you, OfficeSuite Pro is a complete feature-rich mobile office. When you can’t get it done between nine to five, OfficeSuite Pro makes your job as efficient and painless as possible.

Full-Featured Office

This office productivity suite has everything you need from mobile office software. With OfficeSuite Pro, access tools for word processing, developing spreadsheets, delivering presentations, and browsing PowerPoint and PDF files. Create, view, and edit Microsoft Word and Excel files.

Google Docs Integration

The software features the most commonly used desktop document formats and includes a File Browse. The integration with Google Docs allows you to access your remotely stored documents.

Compatibility

The program supports Microsoft Office 97 to 2010 text documents – DOC and DOCX (open , edit, and save), Microsoft Office 97 to 2010 spreadsheets – XLS and XLSX (open , edit, and save), opening PPT, PPTX, PPS, and PPSX presentations, PDF files viewing, and integration with Google Docs

I have been using the app this morning (I know not a long test period), and found overall that it works well both viewing and editing Word and Excel, and also works well

viewing a PowerPoint presentation with the app. The only thing I have noticed at issue (and I see it listed by a few people in the comments area) is that in Excel when using formulas in a cell, that the cell didn’t always show properly.

The Office Suite 5 Professional app is normally valued at $14.99, can be downloaded for free directly from your phone if you have the Amazon App Store installed, or by visiting the (LINK) Amazon (http://www NULL.amazon NULL.com/mobile-apps/b?ie=UTF8&node=2350149011) page**.

**Unfortunately the Amazon App Store is only available in the U.S.

Software: Happy 10th Birthday Windows XP

Happy Birthday Windows XP. Windows XP was released to retailers on October 25, 2001. Codenamed whistler, Windows XP development started in 1999 when the operating system was known as Windows Neptune.

(From the Microsoft XP (LINK) Wiki (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Windows_XP))

Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base. The name “XP” is short for “eXPerience.”

Windows XP, the successor to Windows 2000 and Windows Me, was the first consumer-oriented operating system produced by Microsoft to be built on the Windows NT kernel. Windows XP was released for retail sale on October 25, 2001, and over 400 million copies were in use in January 2006.

Software: Online Backup for your WordPress site data (Free)

One of the most import things to have when dealing with any kind of computer data is a GOOD BACKUP! Doesn’t matter if we are talking about your tablet, Windows PC, Mac, Linux pc. In addition, for those of us who run and manage online blog sites, backing up the site is also a necessary step to protect our work. A website can go down by many reasons from hardware/software issues at your host, to hackers trying to cause issues. Here is a solution to backup your site if you are a WordPress user, offered for Free by iDrive.

The best backup is the one that takes the least amount of work to complete, because the more you have to do, the more likely you are to skip doing it. Tech Geek and More has been using (LINK) iDrive (http://www NULL.idrive NULL.com) for a number of years now. In addition, iDrive (http://www NULL.idrive NULL.com/?p=techgeekandmore) is a (paid) partner for Tech Geek and More for the past year.

iDrive has now released a free plugin (and who doesn’t like FREE) for WordPress that will on a nightly basis, back up your WordPress account into an iDrive account with 5 GB’s of space.

From the (LINK) iDrive (http://www NULL.idrive NULL.com/wordpress NULL.htm) site

“IDrive Plug-in for WordPress is an easy to use backup utility, designed specifically to backup WordPress blog data into your IDrive online backup account. It provides scheduled as well as immediate backup of WordPress blog data including files and MySQL database dump”

Features

Immediate backup of WordPress blog data, both files as well as MySQL data dump, into your IDrive online backup account
Scheduled backups occur after 12 midnight every day
Immediate restore of backed up data from your IDrive online backup account
Smart backup – Only the first backup transfers entire WordPress content, subsequent backups are incremental where only the modified data is backed up
Automatic notification via email on backup / restore status
Secure transfer of data to IDrive server using SSL. Non SSL transfer option is also available for non SSL servers
Detailed logging of backup / restore operations

To install this plug-in just find it from your plug-in section in the dashboard section of your WP install and select install.

Once installed, you will need to sign up for a new iDrive account (did I mention this one is free). *If you already have an account with iDrive for your pc backup, that account will not work for the plug in.

Once the plug-in is installed and activated, just go to the plug-in and click where it says “Click here” (as shown below) to set up your account.

Once your account is set up, you have a choice of doing an initial backup at that moment or just waiting for the regular scheduled backup.

I ran the backup initially just after install, and I did not find any down time for Tech Geek and More, while the backup was running.

One of the biggest advantages of using iDrive is the snapshot feature. This is a feature that they also include in the regular PC/Mac version of iDrive.

What are snapshots? (From the iDrive (http://www NULL.idrive NULL.com/online_faq_wordpress NULL.htm#q10) site)

Your IDrive for WordPress online account retains copies of your WordPress data for the last 10* days using the snapshots technology. A snapshot is an image of the backup data taken at a particular point of time, once everyday.

What this means is that you will have the last 10* days of your WordPress data in your account in the form of snapshots. Each snapshot will have data from the last backup performed for that particular day. This is useful if your WordPress blog data is corrupted by any means (hacks, bugs etc.).

You can restore any file, database dump, or even the entire blog from any previous snapshot and start your blog again.

Snapshots show up as folders having names like ‘BackUp_nightly.0_*’, ‘BackUp_nightly.9_*’ etc. ‘BackUp_nightly.0_*’ represents yesterday’s snapshot. ‘BackUp_nightly.9_*’ represents the snapshot taken 10 days back.

The additional storage requirements for Snapshots have no impact on your account quota usage.

* The number of days for which Snapshots are stored may change without notice.

And lastly important information for those considering using iDrive

System Requirements

WordPress 2.8.5 or higher hosted on a Linux / Unix system. WordPress blog hosted on a Windows system is not supported
JavaScript enabled web browser – IE, Safari, Firefox, Chrome
Admin access to WordPress dashboard to activate the Plug-in
PHP 5.1 or higher

Auction: Tech Geek and More on eBay – U.S. Robotics Modem (NEW)

**Update (10/22) – Modem has sold

Another spare item has come up and is now for sale. I have a brand new (Factory Sealed / Box has never been opened) U.S Robotics 56K v.92 Modem (Model 5686E) now listed on (LINK) eBay (http://cgi NULL.ebay NULL.com/ws/eBayISAPI NULL.dll?ViewItem&item=300613150958).

The bid starts at $15.00 and if you just want to Buy It Now, it will cost $20 dollars (plus $10 shipping in both cases) . The auction starts today 10/21 and goes for the next 5 days. Additional Item specifics can be found on the auctions (LINK) eBay (http://cgi NULL.ebay NULL.com/ws/eBayISAPI NULL.dll?ViewItem&item=300613150958) page.

Auction: Tech Geek and More on eBay.

**Update (10/23) – USB 3.0 Interface Card has sold

From time to time, spare pieces come up during customer projects. Sometimes its something that was ordered and wasn’t needed, other times its just the equipment that was pulled and replaced. In an attempt to not get stuck with a lot of spare stuff, Tech Geek and More now has an eBay account, and will be putting things up for sale from time to time. For this 1st time we have a Buffalo USB 3.0 Interface Card (PCI Express)

The bid starts at $5 and if you just want it now, it will cost $20 dollars (plus $5 shipping) . The product is actually new, but the box is not factory sealed. If you are interested in checking out the bid, you can find it on (LINK) eBay (http://www NULL.ebay NULL.com/itm/300612480496?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984 NULL.m1558 NULL.l2649)

Web: How to Import an evite to Facebook Events

A question I’ve gotten a lot recently involves the ability to send out an (LINK) Evite (http://new NULL.evite NULL.com/#home) and then have that Evite show up in (LINK) Facebook (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/) under the Events category in your profile. (This is for you Suraya)

After a little looking around I have come across the answer. To accomplish this you will need a an evite account (duh!), Gmail (https://accounts NULL.google NULL.com/ServiceLogin?service=mail&passive=true&rm=false&continue=https%3A%2F%2Fmail NULL.google NULL.com%2Fmail%2F&bsv=llya694le36z&ss=1&scc=1&ltmpl=default&ltmplcache=2&from=login) account, Facebook (duh! again) and the Facebook app called .ics to event (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/settings/?tab=applications#!/apps/application NULL.php?id=164414672850&sk=info).

Steps to Complete the Import

1 – Complete your Evite. When you get the confirmation that says “Thank you, your invitation was sent!”, click on “View this invitation”.

***You will see a button for “Post to Facebook”, but that button only posts on your wall.

2 – Once your looking at your Evite, click on the “Add to Calendar”

3 – You will now see a pop up that lists 4 different calendars you can save to. Select Google Calendar.

4 – If you are already signed into Gmail or Google Calendar, it will go directly to your calendar. If you aren’t, you will be prompted to sign in. Once signed in you will see the Appointment. At this point click Save (from the top Left)

5 – Now go to the top right and click on the nut, then select Calendar settings

6 – In the Calendar setting, pick Calendars

7 – You will now pick the Calendar that has the appointment (In case you have multiple calendars created)

8 – Now scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see a Green Button that says ICAL. Click on the bottom Green ICAL button.

9 – You will now see the link for your calendar. (*Link shown has been edited, what you will see will be longer). You need to highlight and copy link.

10 – Now go to (LINK) iCalendar to Event (http://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/apps/application NULL.php?id=164414672850&sk=info) App on Facebook.

11 – Lastly under Name of Subscription, enter the title you want shown on your events page. Then paste the address you copied on Google calendar. REALLY BIG NOTE: You will need to remove the letter S from the http part of the address you posted. (Below is shown how it should look) Now click subscribe.

12 – If you see this green bar appear, you have successfully added your Evite to your Facebook Events.

Alert: Verizon Wireless has made changes to its Privacy Policy. Allows Verizon to monitor/share your mobile web habits (From Computerworld)

Verizon is making a significant change to its privacy policy for mobile users this week. By default, the company will now use a bunch of your info for “certain business and marketing reports” and for “making mobile ads you see more relevant.”

This info includes the URLs of websites you visit over Verizon’s network and also your device’s location data. Some of those details may be shared with outside companies as well. Verizon says none of it will personally identify you

If you don’t want Verizon to use your data in this way, you need to go to verizonwireless.com/myprivacy (http://www NULL.verizonwireless NULL.com/myprivacy) and opt out. The page has two different places where you can check “Don’t use my information” for any or all of your Verizon cell numbers.

By default, you will be opted in to this new program — so if that isn’t what you want, take a minute now and change those settings

**(Tech Geek and More Note) One of the comments on the original Computerworld post says “There’s also a 3rd area on that myprivacy page that’s hidden under the “Customer Proprietary Network Information Settings” section”. You should check and see if you have this setting as well.

Post Originally by JR Raphael at (LINK) Computerworld (http://blogs NULL.computerworld NULL.com/19089/verizon_mobile_web_privacy)

Shopping: Amazon is having a Penny-Pincher Sale on Verizon Phones (DOESN’T Include iPhone)

Amazon is having a “Penny-Pincher” sale on a large number of Verizon Cell Phones. The list which includes both Android and Windows Phones has the phones on sale for .01 cent.

From the Amazon site –

“For a limited time only, all Verizon phones with a new line of service are on sale for a penny and include FREE Two-Day Shipping. Offer valid between 5.00 p.m. PDT on October 11,2001, through 11:59 p.m. PDT October 17, 2011, while supplies last.

The offer is for new lines of service, which can be a new phone plan (for those moving from another carrier) or adding a new phone line to an existing plan.

The phone page with details can be found at (LINK) Amazon (http://wireless NULL.amazon NULL.com/f/pennypincher/ref=amb_link_357764002_2?ie=UTF8&pf_rd_m=A1HBSU70BXNZUG&pf_rd_s=left-1&pf_rd_r=1VT7EJ569JYWQ9FAP62S&pf_rd_p=1323371082&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=G001&tag=phandroid-20)

Thanks to Android News (http://android NULL.techhours NULL.com/amazon%e2%80%99s-penny-pincher-sale-gets-you-any-verizon-phone-you-want-for-a-penny/?utm_source=tf&utm_medium=twitter) for the head up.

Tech Geek and More Needs your Help

I started Tech Geek and More a couple of years ago as a way to communicate Tech issues and Tech suggestions to clients I work with, friends, and family. Since the start TGM has been a labor of love for me, and a way that I could help inform people about tech things in a simple NOT tech way. I think TGM has met and continues to meet the goal of “Tech Made Easy”.

In addition, I’ve also tried to focus on content for TGM not its advertising. No pop up/under ad’s or ad’s in the middle of story posts, or ad’s all around a a post so that you don’t know what’s the ad and what’s the post. Those are all things that drive me crazy when I visit other tech sites, and I have never wanted to do that to those who visit Tech Geek and More. Up until now, the donations that I’ve received plus those limited “sponsored ad’s” that I try and make as unobtrusive as I can have covered expenses for Tech Geek and More.

Unfortunately, another round of expenses is coming up (Domain and Hosting) for TGM and right now funds are low.

So now I have to if you like what we are doing with Tech Geek and More, and can spare a little change (or a lot) please help support Tech Geek and More.

I thank you for visiting and supporting Tech Geek and More

Sincerely

Alex

Head of Tech Geek and More

Facebook: Check your FB setting for the People, Pages, Places Directory

The Facebook People, Pages, Places directory feature (LINK) https://www.facebook.com/directory/people/ (https://www NULL.facebook NULL.com/directory/people/) has been out now a couple of weeks, however I still find people that don’t know about it. If you were concerned about (hoping for) privacy, well this feature just pretty much ends any and all hope. With the PPP directory Facebook has every user, page, place easily accessible to everyone.

All you need to know is a name (or you can just throw in a fake name if you want to meet strangers). The screen shot below is the current 1st page of the directory (as of 10/10/11)

Every user on Facebook is in this directory, and unfortunately (AGAIN!) Facebook does NOT give a way to completely opt out of being listed. However, there is something you can do to limit your visibility in the Facebook PPP directory.

There is now a setting (which seems to be set to Everyone by default) by going to your privacy settings (Top right of page) –> How You Connect (Bottom of page) as shown in the example below

Once you are in the “How You Connect” window, you will see as the very 1st choice “Who can look up your timeline by name or contact info?”

Any Facebook user who is still trying to hold out for just that little bit of privacy while still being able to use Facebook will want to change the setting to Friends only, or Friends of Friends if you are ok with privacy middle ground.

Making this change should limit your exposure from the PPP directory. As always its suggested that you look over all the settings under privacy (even make notes if you have a hard time remembering) on a regular basis, you never know when a setting could be changed or added “for your benefit” that you would rather not have.