Author Archives: autocreate740

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About autocreate740

I am a senior citizen retired after working for 50 years in various professions. I find social media intriguing, blogging uplifting, and technology in general a welcomed challenge. My newest interests are Aromatherapy and Essential Oils. I have recently acquired an Aromatherapist Certification from the New York Institute of Aromatics. I write about all of these interests as topics on my various blogs. I am hopeful that the posts I create bring information that is useful and moves my readers to explore more.

Celebrating Christmas & Kwanzaa with Technology!

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Well,  it’s down to the wire. December 25th is just around the corner.   Apple wants you to get in the mood. Here is a sample of what they’ve made available for FREE!

Christmas!!

Christmas!! [iTunes link] is an iPhone-specific app with all sorts of goodies packed into one little app. With a Christmas countdown, an Advent Calendar filled with surprises that you can unlock each day, including iPhone wallpapers, jokes and a gift list. The app is the perfect companion to get you into the Christmas spirit as you count down the days to Christmas Eve.

christmas iphone apps

Christmas Tale

An interactive Christmas story for kids of all ages, Christmas Tale is available in both iPad [iTunes link] and iPhone versions [iTunes link]- although it really comes to life on the iPad screen. Have the story read to your kids, or have them read it themselves, while also discovering little gems hidden in the gorgeous pictures on each page of the story from a Christmas wish list to helping Santa get the presents under the tree. via: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-free-christmas-iphoneipad-apps-festive-mood/

Kwanzaa Starts December 26th

Kwanzaa is a week long celebration held in the United States honoring universal African-American heritage and culture, observed from December 26 to January 1 each year. It features activities such as lighting a candle holder with seven candles[1] and culminates in a feast and gift giving. It was created by Maulana Karenga and was first celebrated in 1966–1967. via Kwanzaa – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

CHECK out this Free App from Apple!

Kwanzaa

By Stephen Jones

Don’t forget to view more by this developer 🙂

♦ Open iTunes to buy and download apps.

iPhone Screenshots

iPhone Screenshot 1

For those of you with Android phones, check out this free app:

Countdown to Kwanzaa 2011 is a FREE app that will help you keep track of how much time is left to Kwanzaa. Make sure to check out our other apps for cool content, movies, TV shows, Football and other counters…

Click the link to see the app via Countdown to Kwanzaa 2011 – Android app on AppBrain.

♦ Here’s another Free App from Apple!

Kwanzaa Puzzles

By RGA Creations, Inc.

Don’t forget to view more by this developer 🙂

Open iTunes to buy and download apps.

iPhone Screenshots

iPhone Screenshot 1
I hope this is enjoyable!  Happy Holidays!
See you at the next Post 🙂

Free SMS – Take advantage of what’s available!

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Short Message Service (SMS) is a text messaging service component of phone, web, or mobile communication systems, using standardized communications protocols that allow the exchange of short text messages between fixed line or mobile phone devices. SMS text messaging is the most widely used data application in the world, with 2.4 billion active users, or 74% of all mobile phone subscribers.[citation needed] The term SMS is used as a synonym for all types of short text messaging as well as the user activity itself in many parts of the world. via SMS – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Some common uses of SMS are things you may already be familiar with,  such as:   Twitter,  Reminders, and Calendar on your phone.

In last week’s post I asked you to think about your 2012 Technology Budget.  Many of you use SMS.  Some plans have unlimited texting, but what are you paying for that service a month? Are you paying separately for each message, or  (estimate for 100 messages @ 5.99/month), or maybe you are paying $30.00/month).  Either way, those dollars add up.  For 2012, think about whether in some instances you could use SMS from one of the free services listed here.  Maybe it will help you cut those costs.  I recently used  Textfree from Pinger.com, and was pleased  with how easy it was to set up an account. I also liked the support that was available. Below is a synopsis of what Pinger thinks about their service.

What is Pinger? Pinger makes texting and talking free. Our market-leading communications products have been downloaded by millions of iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android users around the world. Who is Pinger? Pinger is loaded with inventive people who enjoy creating consumer products and services that make a difference in people’s lives. via Pinger makes texting and talking free..

Here’s a tip: After you decide which free SMS service you want to use, tell your text community about your new telephone number.  Ask them to put that number in their Contacts folder so they will recognize your phone number by name when they receive a text from you.

Listed below are other sites I visited.  There is a brief synopsis, of how the service works, and a link at the end of the paragraph that you can click.  The link will take you to the sign up screen.  I hope this is helpful 🙂

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Free Text Messages

1) OnlineTextMessage.com allows free text messaging. You can send free SMS text messages to anyone with a SMS or text message enabled mobile phone. You no longer have to pay to send quick SMS or text messages as long as you have access to the Internet. All major carriers are supported: Verizon, AllTel, AT&T, Cingular, TMobile, Sprint, SunCom, and Nextel. Please bookmark our site and make us your home for free online text messaging and SMS services. You can also add it to your MySpace Profile or Google! Bookmark Us.via Free Text Messaging – Send Free Text Messages.

2) Text’em The messages that you send and receive using our website are free. Check with the recipients of the text messages, is it free for them?

Regular rates apply, please check with the recipients before sending a text message to them. You can send text messages to any of the major United States cellular services. Click the link.

via Free Text Messaging – Send and Receive Free Text Messages – Text’em.

3) MobiClient
 Broadcast One Message to Many Recipients.  Need to notify multiple co-workers of a change in plan? With MobiClient’s unique Broadcast feature, you can send one message to all those recipients at once.Learn More

via MobiClient – Free SMS Text Messaging from PC to Mobile Phone Software Online Service. Free download Sending SMS. –.

There are many of these free SMS services.  If you have one that you use and like, don’t hesitate to share.  See you at the next post!  🙂

Reviewing & Preparing Your Cell Phone Budget for 2012

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In these times  of economic challenges for many Boomers,  and their family members, it pays to check what options lie ahead to both save dollars in 2012, and still  have available to us the latest technology tools.

This week’s post provides  a synopsis of the descriptions for Roaming, and for Nationwide cell phone service from a  source I both support and use often: Wikipedia.  If you want more detail than I have given you here, please do not hesitate to click on the link after the Roaming description.

Roaming

In wireless telecommunications, roaming is a general term referring to the extension of connectivity service in a location that is different from the home location where the service was registered. Roaming ensures that the wireless device is kept connected to the network, without losing the connection. via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaming.

Roaming/Nationwide fees are:

  • Traditionally charged on a per-minute basis and they are typically determined by the service provider’s pricing plan.
  • All of the major carriers now offer pricing plans that allow consumers to buy “nationwide roaming-free” minutes.
  •  Carriers define “nationwide” in different ways. For example, some carriers define “nationwide” as anywhere in the U.S., whereas others define it as anywhere within the carrier’s network.

In addition

♦ Check out this  GREAT chart, which compares Cell Phone Providers, with reviews  in a side-by-side analysis at the link below.

Cell Phone Providers: Keeping in Touch

Cell phones keep you connected, always, to best friends and the latest news. Cell phone providers vary as much as your cell phones, offering everything from unlimited minutes to video calls to internet access plans. via Cell Phone Providers Review 2012 – TopTenREVIEWS.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

During the rest of  December, 2011, I will try to bring you information that may save you dollars, and may change the way you use the technology tools available to you.  Stay tuned for upcoming posts to get technology ready for 2012!

I hope this is helpful ! 🙂

Using Technology Positively with SocialVibe

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Tech4boomers  has available an extraordinary opportunity that I want to pause in this season of family gatherings, friendship cheer, and, above all, thanksgiving for our blessings – however generous or meager they might be – to ask you join ‘tech-forces’ with me to spread our thanksgiving beyond our ‘tech – enabled’ circle.

As you may have noticed, I have a new button to the right of my blog page.  That button allows you to help me to give resources to a cause that I believe in.  By taking part in clicking the socialvibe help button, you can take part freely to help the organization Dress for Success.

The mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.Founded in New York City in 1997, Dress for Success is “an international not-for-profit organization offering services designed to help our clients find jobs and remain employed”. Each Dress for Success client receives one suit when she has a job interview and can return for a second suit or separates when she finds work.via Dress for Success: What We Do.

What else does socialvibe do?  Find out at –  http://thevibe.socialvibe.com

Please take time to get involved.  Together we can use technology to make a difference 🙂 !

See you at the next post.

Thanksgiving APPS

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Before I get started with the APPS  I found for Thanksgiving,  I thought you might want to check out some history about the Thanksgiving holiday. Please take a moment to click on the link after the excerpt, as you share this holiday with your family.

Gathering of Nations Pow Wow

♦ Let us today be forever Thankful that the Native Americans that befriended the Pilgrims lived by their own beliefs and teachings of helping those in need. For without their aid, what would have become of the Pilgrims at Plymouth? via Native Americans and Thanksgiving.

They say there’s an APP for everything!  Well, check out the links below to some Thanksgiving APPs I thought you might like to know about.

♦ Best Thanksgiving Cooking Apps for iPhone and Android

It’s almost Thanksgiving, that time of year when cooking is almost mandatory—even for the most ardent restaurant patron. While some stick to traditional family recipes, others experiment with new dishes. Not unlike novels and newspapers, old-fashioned cookbooks seem to have been replaced by smart phones and tablets. So we’ve put together a list of the best cooking apps for every skill level, from the kitchen neophyte to the aspiring gourmand.via Best Thanksgiving Cooking Apps for iPhone and Android – The Daily Beast.

♦ Hot off the Cyberpress!
Top 9 Thanksgiving Apps for iPhone,  by Amy Burke via Top 9 Thanksgiving Apps for iPhone.

♦ Apps to help organize Thanksgiving, Sharon Machlis,via Apps to help organize Thanksgiving – Computerworld Blogs.

I hope this is helpful!  See you at then next post and on Twitter.
Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂


Are Echo Boomers Creating Social Change?

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There are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends, and commentators have used birth dates ranging somewhere from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s. Members of this generation are called Echo Boomers, due to the significant increase in birth rates through the 1980s and into the 1990s, and because many of them are children of baby boomers. via Generation Y – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

I am the lucky parent of an Echo Boomer  🙂 and I am wondering . . . Is Social Media … Social Change evolved?  If you’re curious about what our younger generation is thinking these days, read on.

Let’s look at some of the Baby Boomer history:

Cultural identity

Boomers grew up at a time of dramatic social change. In the United States, that social change marked the generation with a strong cultural cleavage …The Baby Boomers were the first generation, at least in Western countries, to grow up with television; some of the most popular shows during the Boomer era were … The Twilight Zone, The Ed Sullivan Show and Happy Days. via Baby boomer – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. It may refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by dialectical or evolutionary means…     Social change may be driven by cultural, religious, economic, scientific or technological forces. via Social change – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

What is Social Media?

Social media are media for social interaction, as a superset beyond social communication. Enabled by ubiquitously accessible and scalable communication techniques, social media substantially change the way of communication between organizations, communities, as well as individuals.  via Social media – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

You Decide
Check out a recent Post by Dina Spector about a Cisco study, and maybe it will give you some insight about what Generation Y ( Millennials) is thinking 🙂   See you at the next Post !

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Young People Think The Internet Is As Important As Breathing

November 3, 2011, By Dina Spector  – Internet Cafe

A new study by Cisco Systems reveals that one in three college students and young professionals under 30 believe the Internet is as important as air, water, food, and shelter (via CNNMoney).

The study, which polled 8,000 people in 14 countries, found that more than half of the participants said they could not live without the Internet, citing it as “more important than owning a car, dating, and going to parties.”

Here are some more study highlights:

* Many respondents cite a mobile device as “the most important technology” in their lives

* Seven of 10 employees have “friended” their managers and coworkers on Facebook

* Two of five students have not bought a physical book (except textbooks) in two years

* Most respondents have a Facebook account and check it at least once a day

o Half would rather lose their wallet or purse than their smartphone or mobile device.

o More than two of five would accept a lower-paying job that had more flexibility with regard to device choice, social media access, and mobility than a higher-paying job with less flexibility.

* At least one in four said the absence of remote access would influence their job decisions, such as leaving companies sooner rather than later, slacking off, or declining job offers outright.

o Three out of 10 feel that once they begin working, it will be their right — more than a privilege — to be able to work remotely with a flexible schedule.

via Young People Think The Internet Is As Important As Breathing | Embargo Zone.

Move That Email: Creating Folders

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Email Organizing

In the last Post I introduced you to the Sorting function in AOL mail. This organizational utility feature gives you an opportunity to prepare your messages  for a filing system of your choice.  Therefore making your messages easier to retrieve.

I’ve always found filing in general a fairly tedious chore.  However, once it’s done, locating information is a breeze.  Before we get started, I suggest that you decide which folder categories you are going to use for your filing system.  For example, will you file mails according to the subject, or name of the person, or month?  For this illustration, my folder group will be according to the month.

1)  I am first going to sort my mail by clicking the date column.  You will notice it has a small down arrow (↓) next to the date.  This indicates that the mail items will sort in descending order, which means the most recent date will be at the top of the list.

Sort/descending order

 2) Now look at the left side of the panel where it says My Folders, click the word Add. You will notice that the word New Folder appears.  At that point type a name for the new folder, then click the plus symbol to confirm the name.

Folder Creation

3) Now we can select the mail we want to move to the folder.  These are the steps:  a) Click the small box next to the first email you want to move.  b) hold down your shift key on your keyboard, then click the box next to the last email you want to move to the folder. c) find your Action icon, and click the down arrow. d) click the name of the folder you created to move those mail items.

Click Action, then Click the folder name to move the email message

Note: The folder you created will show how many mail items are in the folder.

7 emails are in the folder


Classic AOL Mail: Organizing – Folders and Filters – AOL Help.

I hope this is helpful 🙂 ….Please let us hear what your email tips are.  See you at the next Post!

Email Clutter: How to Organize and Tidy Up Your Inbox

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My Email Helper

Wouldn’t it be great if you had a tool that would take care of your Inbox email clutter automatically by filing it into categories so that you could find it quickly when you need it again?  I bet,  chances are your mail is removed from your Inbox automatically to your ‘OLD MAIL’ folder, and you still haven’t found a quick way of locating it.

If you’re a Baby Boomer you probably started out using AOL email and have not switched because you’re comfortable with, and understand how to navigate in the AOL mail environment. However, although there are tools to organize email, most of us are filing those ‘precious’ e-mail items  right there with the newly received mail. I looked at some of the Help Contents in AOL, and decided on  guidelines I think you might find useful.  At the end of this Post you can click the link provided in the Note box to get  detailed descriptions on how to do other sorting options in AOL email.

However, if you are not an AOL email user try applying the SORT technique shown below to your email program, or search your email Help for guidance.  I guarantee once you learn how to use SORT, your Inbox will be easier to manage.

 • Before I cover how to  file email items into Folders, I suggest you become familiar with the SORT option. Below is a quick tip on how to manage your mail items: Using Sort

For this example we will sort using the most often viewed columns when reading mail:  From, Subject, and Date:  Click the image below with your mouse  to see a larger illustration.

Click a column heading to sort by that category

After you complete those sorts, try  clicking the paper clip icon,  and see what happens. 

See you at the next Post when I will cover how to file those emails into Folders. I suspect by the next Post you will have learned other features about sorting your email.

I hope this is helpful 🙂

Note:  Sorting your email list makes it easier for you to prioritize your emails. You can sort the messages in your online mailbox by email address, time of arrival, subject heading, and type of email (email from people you know, from bulk senders, and unknown senders). Your emails in Classic AOL Mail are automatically sorted by date, but did you know you can also sort your messages by sender, read or unread messages, and emails that you’ve flagged?
For more detail click the link below.
via How do I sort emails in Classic AOL Mail? – AOL Help.

For Older Workers: How To Update Your Computer Skills

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What is your computer skills IQ?

Being an older worker does have some competitive advantages.  It also brings valuable resources to the working environment. However, as older workers we should  prepare to hone our job working skills for today’s job market. Many office environments use Microsoft applications. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook e-mail are just some of the programs used by office professionals today.

I have come to rely on some very helpful sites to aid me in acquiring competitive skills as an office professional. To support you in finding resources fordeveloping new skills, or upgrading your skills, I have connected my Blog to some of the best HELP around for developing computer skills.

Those sites are listed at the Blogroll on the right side of the screen. All you have to do is click the link, and you will be able to explore what the website has available to help you become proficient or even an expert using various software skills.

Below is a brief description of what those sites can offer.

Certiport.com

Certiport offers individuals current and relevant digital skills and credentials for the competitive global workforce. These solutions include the official Microsoft Office certification programs, the Microsoft Technology Associate certification program, the Adobe® Certified Associate certification program, the CompTIA Strata™ IT Fundamentals, the Intuit QuickBooks Certified User certification program and the Certiport Internet and Computing Core Certification (IC³®), delivered by more than 10,000 Certiport Centers worldwide via Certiport | Home – Certify to Succeed.

ShaunaKelly.com

I have found this word processing help the best of the many sites I visit frequently.  If you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced WORD user, I believe you will find this is a very useful resource.  Just click the link on my Blogroll to use the Word help.


Your body posture is important!

ERGONOMICS I have covered the reasons for having the correct body language at the computer.  Some of you may have already suffered from the stress of working at a computer device all day.  If you are new or an experienced computer user, it is important to have the correct posture when working. If you can’t manage the best posture, you may at least find the exercises provided at this site will help you with relieving some discomforts.  Just click the body language link on my Blogroll.

I hope this is helpful.  See you at the next Post!   🙂

A Tribute to Steve Jobs

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I should not  write my post this week without first acknowledging the passing of Steve Jobs.  I have often expressed my delight with the ‘i‘ devices. However, what I believe is most extraordinary about Steve Jobs  is that he connected an entire universe with his inventions. All over the world people enjoy Apple products.  He was Apple’s Rock Star.  Every time he brought us something new, the response was phenomenal!  We couldn’t wait to buy it, learn to use and enjoy it.  And, the newest invention was immediately at the top of the computer charts! 🙂

Steve Jobs infused his creations with love and care, and we were the recipients of that love, and care.  So, as I think about Steve Jobs, I’m feeling thankful that I have experienced his passion, his genius, his drive for perfection through his inventions.  Yes, there are other inventions, but the way I see it he was the first to take the computer experience and convert it to personal entertainment with a business component.
He engendered diversity on a grand scale:  young, old, various cultures, languages, professions.  The list goes on and on. His influences and his footprints will remain forever on our universe.

Thank you, Steve Jobs, for helping us to connect worldwide through your visions!

Some people positively change the Universe !