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Wonderful Websites – Technology

By Technology, The Web, ThinkingNo Comments
wonderful-websites-image This is the tenth blog post in a series titled Wonderful Websites. The first focused on general health and can be read here. The second focused on mental health and mental illness and can be read here.

The third post focused on shopping and can be read here. The fourth focused on money and can be read here.

The fifth focused on gigs, shows and theatres and can be read here. The sixth focused on paganism and can be read here.

The seventh focused on gay culture and society and can be read here. The eighth focused on TV, Online Streaming & Films and can be read here.

The ninth focused on music & radio and can be read here.

Here’s Wonderful Websites for music & radio:

1. WIRED – Is the website for WIRED magazine. It has some great content around technology, science, culture, gear, business, politics and more.

2. ZDNet – Has everything technology. It includes sections on hardware and software. On Microsoft and Apple.

3. How-To Geek – I love that this website explains everything about technology simply. I like their daily tech term explained section as well as the simple design of their website.

4. Tech Radar – I like this website for its reviews of all things technology.

5. Engadget – Has the odd good article on.

6. C|Net – Has a lot of great content, but the amount of advertising can be off-putting.

Are there any technology websites that you think are useful that aren’t on the list? If so leave a comment below and let me know.

In the next and final post in my Wonderful Websites series I will list great websites about Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Wednesday 18 July 2018

Essential Programs for a new Windows 10 PC or Laptop

By TechnologyNo Comments

I recently purchased this new Windows 10 laptop, which is brilliant:

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My new HP laptop from HP’s Online Store (1).
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My new HP laptop features a massive 17 inch screen, 1TB hard drive, 8GB ram and Windows 10.

I didn’t realised quite how big the 17 inch screen would be, it’s massive, I’ve never had one so big, oh err!

But having been Apple-based at home for the past several years I needed to get to grips with what essential programs I needed for Windows 10. I did a bit of research, made some decisions and came up with a quick list of essential programs.

Here’s my quick list of essential programs for a new Windows 10 PC or Laptop, these are all programs that I’ve installed on my new laptop:

Internet Browser – Chrome
Chrome is quick, easy and simple to use. It’s quicker than the default Microsoft Edge. The only thing I don’t like is Google tracking my every search.

So I’ve set the search engine to Duck Duck Go. Duck Duck Go doesn’t save any personal information, has no advertisement tracking or anything like that. In my experience they also offer a more varied search result than Google. This is because Google uses your personal information to exclude websites from your results.

You can download Chrome here.

Antivirus – Avira
I read countless reviews of Antivirus software for Windows 10. Avira came top in every review.

You can download Avira here.

Maintenance – CCleaner
CCleaner gets rid of unnecessary files that ultimately slow down you computer. If you don’t keep on top of the file maintenance, your new PC or Laptop could become as slow as a half-dead snail.

You can download CCleaner here.

Office – Microsoft Office 2016
There are a few well known free alternatives to Microsoft Office (2016). There’s also cloud-based apps. But I decided to buy in Microsoft Office (2016), mainly for familiarity reasons.

You can buy Microsoft Office (2016) on Amazon here.

Video & DVD – VLC
VLC is my all-time favourite video player…it just works. An essential program for me on my iMac, iPad and now on my Windows 10 laptop.

You can download VLC here.

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Images and Photo Editing – GIMP and Paint 3D
GIMP is a program I’ve used many times on my Mac to edit images and create infographics. It’s similar to Adobe Paintshop Pro but without the expensive price tag.

I’ve never tried Paint 3D. But so many articles during my research recommended it, that I’ve downloaded it to give it a try.

To me GIMP is essential as Windows 10 still has Paint but not much else.

You can download GIMP here. You can download Paint 3D here.

Music – iTunes or MusicBee
iTunes is the first choice for a music management library. However I was concerned that having iTunes on two computers (my iMac and my new laptop) might mess up the library and syncing.

So I went for a free alternative called MusicBee. MusicBee is a good piece of software and is very flexible to different needs of different users.

You can download MusicBee here. You can download iTunes here.

Gaming – Steam and Origin
I’m a casual gamer, but in order to play any games I’ve previously purchased I needed to install both Steam and Origin (I have bought games on both platforms in the past).

You can download Steam here. You can download Origin here.

Getting files and folders from Mac Formatted Drive to Windows 10 – HSFExplorer
This last program isn’t essential for everyone. But it was for me, having previously being Apple exclusive.

HSFExplorer allows you to view files and folders saved on a Mac formatted pen drive or external hard drive and copy the files over to Windows. A fantastic program that does require Java installed.

You can download HSFExplorer here. You can download Java here.

Unless stated otherwise the programs above are free. Some have to option to purchase more features, purchase other supporting programs or buy other programs within them.

I hope you’ve found this blog post useful. Are there any programs I’m missing? If so, please let me know what they are by leaving a comment below.

Blog soon,

Antony

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Thursday 31 May 2018

Import: Celebrities and Others Record Video Messages to Gay Teens to tell them: It Gets Better

By Gay, Inspiration, JournalismNo Comments

November is anti-bullying month. In 2010 there were a few high profile cases of gay teens committing suicide as a result of homophobic bullying both in school and in their communities in the USA. Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller uploaded a video on YouTube titled ‘It Gets Better.’ The aim of this video, as you may have guessed, was to encourage gay teens to hang in there, as it does get better.

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It Gets Better Logo


From this sprang the It Gets Better Project, an international campaign that aims to communicate the ‘it gets better’ message to gay teens to give them hope. The It Gets Better Project also aims to inspire and bring about change, so that there is less homophobia, more tolerance and more acceptance of gay teens.

Celebrities have voiced support for the It Gets Better Project with the likes of Zachary Quinto and Adam Lambert making their own ‘it gets better’ videos.

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Zachary Quinto Video Screenshot


Zachary Quinto in his emotional video said: ‘The are countless other teens and young adults that are struggling to find a sense of identify and belonging in a chaotic and often unforgiving world…and to you I say it gets better.’

Click here to display content from www.youtube.com

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Adam Lambert’s Video Screenshot


Adam Lambert in his upbeat video said: ‘You have to be strong…and you have to pay attention to the positive… and in doing so you will push through and you will rise up and you will live your life to the fullest. It gets better but its up to you.’

Click here to display content from www.youtube.com

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President Obama, other American politicians and employees from the likes of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Dell have added their videos. Employees and students from Universities, Sports Clubs and other institutions have added supportive videos.

Thousands of people have used their webcams, video editing software and internet connections to uploaded their own individual videos aiming to give hope to gay teens.

The success of the ‘It Gets Better Project’ has been phenomenal. Seth Levy, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the project says that they’ve had success, but recognises that there’s still much more work to be done:

‘The It Gets Better Project works globally to share message of hope with LGBT youth and to make things better for them. The Project has already had great success through its international efforts in the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and the Carribbean. We are now beginning to work in more regions where, at times, the circumstances for LGBT youth are especially challenging and LGBT-focused resources are scarce. Moldova has historically been such a place. We are very excited to have partnered with our local affiliate, Egali, to help improve things for LGBT youth in Moldova. ‘

To learn more about the It Gets Better Project, visit their website: http://www.itgetsbetter.org/ .

Published by: The Gay UK on Friday 8th November 2013.



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Friday 8 November 2013

My Visit to the Apple Store & Time Machine’s True Test

By Technology, Thinking2 Comments
Apple-logo After my iMac’s hard drive failed (see My iMac and The Blue Screen of Death), I was quoted 5-7 days for repair.

On Thursday (day 4) I gave them a call to find out if they’d had chance to take a look at it. The Apple Rep. said that it was still in the queue, that there was nothing she could do as it hadn’t been the 7 days quoted and that they would call me when it was ready to pick up. I thanked her for taking the time to check.

By Saturday (day 6) I still hadn’t received a call from Apple. I became increasingly frustrated at the lack of communication from Apple and the lack of a working iMac. I started to read reviews of bad customer service experiences and even thought about going back to Windows on the Lenovo Ideacentre A720 27 inch All-in-One PC.

Steve called Apple. The Apple Rep. said that it would be ready in a few days. This was outside the 7 days quoted. Steve asked why they hadn’t called to let us know, the Apple Rep. was unable to give an answer. The Apple Rep. sounded generally unconcerned and was generally unhelpful.

So Steve & I decided to go into the Apple Store (Trafford Centre) on the Sunday (day 7) and speak to them. We arrived at around two in the afternoon and headed to the Genius desk. They said that it wasn’t ready so I politely asked to speak to a Manager. The radioed Manager arrived, I explained my story and he didn’t look like he was going to help.

apple-mountain-lion-hard-drive-icon But then a second Manager interupted, spoke to the first manager and then addressed me. He said it would be repaired that day and advised me to come back twenty minutes before closing.

At five thirty Apple called to say my iMac was ready for collection. Steve & I went to pick it up. I spoke to the Apple Engineer who said he had replaced the hard drive. He said that as part of Apple’s new Quality Improvement Program he did a test and it had red flagged the graphics card, so he had replaced that as well. Both covered under the EU law. I thanked him and took my iMac home.

The repair being done on the day did restore some of my faith in Apple. However some of my disappointment remained and I realised it was because of the lack of communication when Apple knew they wouldn’t meet their quoted turn around time. I think because Steve & I turned up at the Apple’s Store they prioritised my repair; otherwise I could possibly still be waiting now.

I got my iMac home and Time Machine’s true test was about to take place. I set my iMac up as a new one and then restored from my Time Machine backup using Migration Assistant:

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The restore took time but worked perfectly and this rebuilt some more of my faith in Apple. I had to re-enter the product key for Microsoft Office and re-sign into a few other Applications, then I was back in business. Relatively hassle-free.

The lesson learned from this experience: don’t rely completely on one machine. I’m considering getting some sort of other computer/laptop so that I can continue as normal if my iMac goes down.

Write soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Saturday 24 August 2013
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