Did you ever wish you could quickly retract an email right after you sent it?

First, turn on Undo Send

1. On your computer, open Gmail.
2. In the top right, click Settings   Settings.
3. In the "Undo Send" section, check the box next to "Enable Undo Send."
4. In the "Send cancellation period" section, set the amount of time you want to decide if you want to unsend an email.
5. At the bottom of the page, click Save Changes.

Undo sending your message

After you turn on Undo Send, you can cancel sending an email.

1. After you send a message, you'll see the message "Your message has been sent" and the option to Undo or View message.
2. Click Undo.

If you use Outlook you can also unsend right after you send an email by following the instructions found here.

Quickly increase and decrease web page font size

If you spend much time reading on the internet, you may find that your eyes get tired of reading the small print.  There's an easy "fix" for that (most of the time).

Simply hold down the CTRL key and press the + to increase the size of the font on the page and CTRL and - to decrease the size of the font.  Pressing either of these keys while continuing to hold down the CTRL key will continue to increase or decrease the font until it reaches its maximum. (Mac users will need to use the Command (Apple) key instead of the CTRL key.)

To reset the font back to the default size simply press CTRL and 0 (zero).

Taking better photos with your phone

Did you take many pictures over the holidays?

I've been enjoying looking through photos from the holidays; the time with our family just went too quickly!  With so many phones in the family a shared photo album was created at the beginning of our time together so photos taken on everyone's different devices could easily be shared among all of us.

As I've looked through those very typical Christmas shots, the pictures from our younger son certainly stand out.  Yes, he loves photography and takes a lot of pictures, but what is it that makes his photos stand out?

In search of some answers, I found a really good article with some simple tips for taking better photos with mobile devices. As I read through it, I noted that our son's photos reflected several of these tips.  If you're interested, the photography tips covered in the article are:

1. Keep your photos simple
2. Shoot from a low angle
3. Show depth in your photos
4. Align your subjects diagonally
5. Capture close-up detail
6. Include shadows in your composition
7. Take silhouette photos
8. Photograph reflections
9. Use symmetry
10. Enhance your photos with VSCO filters

What to do when a document won't open

Happy New Year!  Did any of you get a new digital device for Christmas?

Sometimes you will get an error message when you try to open a document on your computer.  This may happen when you move from an older computer to a newer one and the program that created the document is no longer on that computer or is out-of-date.

You usually do not need to pay someone to "fix" this for you.  Below are several suggestions:

1) For users of Mac computers (although PC owners might want to try this tip, too), take a look at this video. It is a VERY simple fix.
Documents won't open

2) Open another similar application on your computer that is comparable to the application that originally created the document.  Once it is open, do a File - Open and locate the document that won't open.  This works sometimes.

3)  Or, try importing the document into your Google Drive.  It will convert the document to that format and it should then open.

Holiday Greetings Online

Are Christmas cards still on your "to do" list this week?  Relieve some stress and consider making your card online and sending it via email. OR consider sending out a "Happy New Year" card instead.

There are LOTS of online venues to help you accomplish this, but one I recommend that is FREE and pretty intuitive to use is below.  All you need are 1) a few minutes to design the card and 2) the email addresses of your friends/family!

Website is:  Canva.com 
Watch this tutorial for a quick-start - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAfVDqpPAu0

(I've also used this website to create online posters to advertise events for church).

Improving WiFi Strength

Does your wireless internet strength seem to vary from room to room in your home (if you have a wireless device that you use in different locations throughout your home)?

If so, you might find an article written by Kim Komando (komando.com) to be helpful.  Below is an excerpt:

It's important to remember that your Wi-Fi antenna is omnidirectional, i.e. the signal goes every direction. In other words, if you put your router along an outside wall, you're sending half your signal outside. That's fine if you run a coffee shop with a patio, but not great if your workers and visitors are indoors.

For the best all-around signal inside, place your router as close as possible to the middle of the office (or house). You should also pay attention to what's around the router. You might be tempted to tuck it away so it doesn't ruin the decor, but it's better to have it out in the open.

Putting it next to a wall or inside a bookcase can partially block the signal. And definitely keep it away from metal since that can absorb the signal. So, don't set it next to a metal filing cabinet or support beam.

You'll also want to keep it away from a microwave or a cordless telephone. Those put out 2.4 gigahertz frequencies, which is one of the main frequencies routers use. That causes interference, which can cause signal problems. If you have a newer router, you can turn on the 5GHz network, which will have less interference, although it doesn't go through walls and objects as well.

That pesky spam/phish!

During this past week, I've noticed an increase in the amount of "legitimate-looking" pop-ups.  John had one on his iPhone that would not let him "x" out of it; he had to shut down his phone then restart it to get rid of the popup.

I received a very "authentic-looking" text message from Verizon on my phone asking to verify some information, but the text message wasn't actually from Verizon.

The rule of thumb is ---NEVER click on links in pop-ups nor give requested information via a text message or pop-up on your phone or computer.  Never.never.ever!  If there is not a way to "x" out of a pop-up, just shut down your phone or computer by pressing and holding the power button.  Then when you restart, the pop-up should no longer appear.

When in doubt if the request is legitimate, always access the website of the company requesting the information by entering its URL in your web browser (Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, etc.) That is the ONLY way you can be sure that you are dealing with the "real" company.  If they have truly requested that you update your information, that request will be on their website once you have logged in.