Say cheese!

I rarely take selfies.  Maybe it is because I don't usually post pictures of myself on social media?  Maybe it is because I'm not keen on viewing photos of myself?  Or....maybe it is because I usually look goofy in  my selfies?  For sure.

Do you ever want to take a selfie with a friend or family?.  Are you pleased with the way you look in the photo?  Are your eyes looking in the wrong place or is your inherited lack of chin very prominent?  Today's tip seems to produce a great selfie every single time! 

Here it is: When taking a selfie, hold your phone slightly above your forehead, then tilt it down at a 45-degree angle.

That's all there is to it! When you are stuck inside this afternoon because of the heat, give this tip a try.  :-)

10 Photos to Keep on Your Phone

Even if you don't use the camera on your phone very often, consider snapping these 10 photos to keep on your phone just in case you need them: 

1. Your COVID vaccination card
2. Your driver's license and other ID's
3. Your car's license plate
   
4. Your car's VIN number 
   
5. Automobile insurance card
6. Your Medicare card
7. Your supplemental insurance card
8. Your dental insurance card
9. Pictures of your rental car before and after
10. Your Airbnb or VRBO rental - before and after

Additionally, you might want to consider snapping photos of your prescription medications.

Concerned that this personal information might be accessed by anyone who has your phone?  Take a look at how to password protect these photos on either an iPhone or Android device.

Have a terrific Tech Tip Tuesday!  The weather promises to be pretty nice the next couple of days here in Kansas.  So, take photos of #1-8 today and possibly your medication bottles BEFORE you go outside to soak up the sun!

Wait to post those Facebook travel photos!

Facebook and Instagram are social media; we use both of these platforms because we want to share with others or want to keep up with what our family and friends are doing.  Spring and summer post-COVID travel photos have once again been populating the content on my News Feed.  I enjoy reading about people's travels and enjoy looking at their pictures, but it makes me worry about those people who are traveling because they are broadcasting to the world that their house is empty. Their posts and photos can invite would-be thieves into their homes while they are on vacation.

So, my tip today is just a reminder:  Wait until returning home to share on social media about your travels.  I encourage you, too,  to wait and share photos of any of your social gatherings until you are home, not while you are at an event.  Posting information in "real time" is fun but not always the safest thing to do. You may be sharing your posts only with "Friends" but there are many ways that those posts can make their way out into the public.

We've had the opportunity to travel to Pennsylvania several times this summer and were beginning to feel a little more comfortable with travel.  We planned a trip to Tahoe with family this coming Saturday but the smoke from the fires and increased concerns with the Delta variant caused us to cancel those plans yesterday.  I'm so ready for things to be back to "normal."  But until then, I guess I'll have to enjoy other people's travels on Facebook.......after they return.  :-)

Have a wonderful Tech Tip Tuesday!  Stay safe and try to stay cool.  

Jeline

Google Photos - changes are coming!

Google Photos is a tool I've recommended for several years as an additional backup for your photos and videos.  If you have a Gmail account, Google Photos can be accessed on the web at photos.google.com or by downloading the Google Photos app. Once the app is installed on your phone it runs in the background automatically uploading photos as they are taken. Those photos can then be accessed on any phone, computer, or tablet when you are logged into your Google account.  Google Photos presently offers free unlimited storage if you upload in "High Quality" but that is changing on June 1. 

What you need to know and do before June 1:
1)  All photos and videos uploaded before June 1 will remain in your Google Photos account after June 1.  They will not disappear.
2) I'd recommend uploading as many photos and videos from your devices (computer, thumb drives, external drives, etc.) as you have time to do before June 1.  Those will continue to be included in your free Google Photo storage if done before June 1 and not count against your total storage.
3) Read and watch the resources  below to learn more about the specifics of the changes being made to Google Photos.  The video will also show you the "how-to's".   
Read: https://learngooglephotos.com/free-no-more/ This is an excellent article that is easy to understand with ALL the information you need regarding your Google Photos
Watch at least part of this video; the link starts the video at the 10:59 mark:  https://youtu.be/ERUfY1aSk98?t=659

Google Photos will remain a great cloud storage solution.  If you decide/need to purchase more storage after exceeding the 17 GB of free storage provided by your Google account in the future, 100 GB of storage can be purchased for $1.99/month or $19.99/year, not really a bad price to ensure you have a backup of all your photos.  But remember - whatever photos are uploaded before June 1 will remain in Google Photos for free.

Interesting fact:  Over 1 billion people back up 28 billion photos to Google Photos each week.  No wonder Google can't continue to provide free unlimited storage!

Have a terrific Tuesday and, if you have time, start gathering all of your thumb drives, flash drives, external drives and get your pictures uploaded to Google.  :-)

New Year's Resolutions for Tech - Top 5 List of To-Do's

Do  you make New Year's Resolutions? I rarely do anymore but I always do make plans for doing some things better/different/more timely at the beginning of each calendar year. This year is no exception.  

Starting right now I plan to:
1)  Clean up my email Inbox. Although it works for me, my Inbox of over 16,000 emails drives others crazy when I'm using my phone for demonstration purposes during my classes. It's just a matter of me taking the time to do some daily maintenance, and time still seems to be in short supply even during this extended time of COVID.  But, this year I pledge to do better......little by little.

2) Review and change some of my passwords.  My phone keeps reminding me that I have passwords that have been involved in a data breach or are otherwise not secure.  I'm changing a few of those each day using the same pattern I began using a few years ago (same base password made unique by adding on the first three letters of the website name).

3) Share my passwords with my family.  Once my password review is complete, I plan to share the list with my family this year.  So much of our lives is online; it is important that someone has our login and account information even though it will continually evolve. 

4)  Organize my digital photos and make sure I have them all in at least 3 unique "places" - 1) downloaded from my phone to my computer, 2) backed up in both iCloud - yes, I pay monthly for adequate storage - and Google Photos which happens automatically, and 3) backed up to an external hard drive.  Note to self:  A few minutes each day helps get this formidable task under control!

5) Review the Privacy and Security settings on my Facebook account. It is a good idea to do this every several months; keeping ourselves safe online needs to be a priority.

So, what else should I add to this list?  Do you have things you do on a regular basis to keep your digital life organized?

Maybe today's tech tip is really just for myself; a reminder to hold myself accountable.  I'll let you know this time next year how that worked!  :-)

So, do at least one thing today to get started on organizing your tech.  But, also get out and enjoy this beautiful new day no matter where you live! 

Quickly digitize old photos, negatives and slides

Does the thought of scanning in old photos, negatives and slides give you a headache?  It just seems overwhelming to me.  Until now.

John has gone through most of our old photos (pre-digital)  and organized them the last several months, but our question throughout the process has been "how can we best keep them" for the future.  Should we scan them ourselves or have a company do that for us?  What should we do with the negatives?  What about slides (from the dark ages)?  :-)

This 8 minute video - "How to Quickly Digitize Photos, Slides and Negatives"  just popped up this morning on my feed and it may be the answer!  Using your phone along with setting up a little jig allows you to scan photos at a fairly rapid rate using an app called Photomyne.  There is a cost associated with using it, but you could pay for one month just to try it out OR to scan like crazy and get all your photos scanned!
Two additional apps you may want or need:
Filmbox for negatives
SlideScan for slides

For several years, I've been using Google PhotoScan which is a GREAT free photo scanning app for your phone if you just need to scan in an occasional photo. It's a great tool, but just not as quick as PhotoMyne and it doesn't do negatives and slides.

Happy scanning!

Share your vacation pictures online.....later

Want to share photos of special activities or vacation on Facebook or Instagram? WAIT until you are back home.

Social media allows us to easily follow our friends' activities and share our own special experiences, but when we do that we are giving out information that could compromise our safety.

If you are taking and posting a photo from 50, 100 or thousands of miles from home, you have just potentially told millions of strangers that you are not at home, your home is not occupied and that it will be awhile before you return home.  It creates an opportunity for someone to "help themselves" from your home while you are gone.

In addition, to reduce undue risk:
1) Don't post any status updates about your vacation or activity while you are still away.
2) Don't tag fellow vacationers; they likely don't want that information shared about themselves either. Wait until you are back home to share pictures.
3) Don't post upcoming travel plans on Facebook.  Your family are the only ones that need these plans.

Just remember, feel free to share your special activities online, but AFTER you are back home.