As a journalist, I regularly record my interviews (with the interviewee’s knowledge and permission, of course). I’ve used several audio recording technologies over the years. Thinking through them all, I’ve come up with five that have proven dependable, if not always outstanding. They range from free to mid-range
Read more →When you double-click a file that ends in “.doc” or “.docx” you expect Microsoft Word to start, then the file to open. Do you ever wonder why that is?
Read more →As a freelance technology writer, I get magazine and blog post assignments in which clients ask I stick to a specific word count, or word count range (e.g. 400-600 words). I track word count using both the bottom frame of the Word window and a word count
Read more →Several years ago, I published a blog post that shows how to create sequential lists in a spreadsheet. Truth be told, you can use tricks like this to more quickly create many different types of lists in spreadsheets.
Read more →A 2002-vintage PC of mine resides in my parent’s basement. My dad boots it to check Italian newspaper websites, then shuts it down when he’s done. That PC runs Windows XP, which is fine for him. But lawyers whose computer use extends beyond my dad’s need to
Read more →You’re using your computer, everything seems to be running smoothly, and suddenly your computer slows to a crawl. What do you do?
Read more →I recently watched a podcast (embedded below) about syncing a phone’s contacts with Google contacts. It reminded me of what happens to people who: rely on their phones exclusively for contact information for hundreds, if not thousands, of people don’t back up their phones to their computers
Read more →Lawyers and government writers are often noted for needlessly convoluted writing. “Lawyers often believe they are different to other professions as they have to use language interpreted by courts over centuries as the template for all current writing,” says Nick Wright. “The result is often a series
Read more →Every day, people need to find things stored on their computers. Some people store them on the desktop, to the point that the desktop looks impossibly cluttered. Others put shortcuts on the desktop – same effect. I still keep files in my Documents folder so that it
Read more →Ever wonder why e-mail stresses people out? Maybe it’s the nagging feeling that somewhere among the hundreds or thousands of messages sitting in their inboxes are numerous scraps of information — from appointments to contact information to follow-up tasks to interesting reading and beyond — that they’re
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