Category: Tips

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Amazon Creates a Send to Kindle Button

I have a Kindle Fire and love it. Although I don’t typically read books on it, I may start reading articles I find on the Web now that Amazon has launched a new “Send to Kindle” button.

Send to Kindle Button
Send to Kindle Button

You can create your own button code from this special Amazon link to start allowing readers to send your own info to their Kindles. Although I haven’t seen many sites with this new button just yet, I am just starting to take a look and may very well tag my own blog with the code.The reason I like my Kindle Fire so much over other technology that I use is that it is small enough to fit in my purse, has a fabulous screen, is back-lit so I don’t need an accessory light and can read at night in bed while my husband is sleeping. However, I find I use it more for video and travel than article reading.

With the new ability to send articles from blogs and websites I like, I feel that I may be enticed to start reading the news on my Kindle Fire versus my smartphone.

The code looks fairly easy to implement and very straightforward to install, so check it out.

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April 8, 2013 is the Big Day for Skype and Microsoft

April 8th, 2013 will be a big day for Skype and Microsoft. That’s the day that Microsoft pulls the plug on Live Messenger and other Live products in favor of Skype. Personally I loved the Live products. I used Live Mesh and Live Messenger for business and found both easy to use. Plus I used Live Mesh remote desktop when I traveled to connect to my computer all for free.

I like Skype but have not used it much, however I have already started to move ahead of the April 8th deadline to embrace these new products. When you set up Skype you are now asked to login with your Live ID which then migrates all your Live Messenger settings.

Here are just a few things you will be able to do with the new Skype:

• Broader device support for all platforms, including iPad and Android tablets.
• Instant messaging, video calling, and calling landlines and mobiles all in one place.
• Sharing screens.
• Video calling on mobile phones.
• Video calling with Facebook friends.
• Group video calling.

You can read more about this important new update in this interesting article.

What I find very exciting is to consider what Microsoft will be doing with Skype in the future. Will we see Bing Ads integration for click to call options for advertising? Will we see Skype used on Facebook as Bing tighten their partnership? Who’s to say what’s in store, but this is just the start of an exciting new integration with Skype and Microsoft products.

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How to Sync Your IE Favorites between Computers with SkyDrive Using Vista

Live Mesh from Microsoft is going away in February. I have used this service from Microsoft to sync my IE favorites between four or five computers which I really love. With Microsoft dropping Live Mesh in favor of the new SkyDrive, I just had to find a new alternative way to sync my favorites between my myriad computers and screens.

This excellent video will show you how to set up this action to sync IE favorites using the new SkyDrive from Microsoft.

Here’s a special tip for Vista users:

These instructions work great for Windows 7 and 8 systems, but do not work for Vista. I have, however, found a work around for Vista users. If you follow the video instructions and are using Vista, when you try to open favorites in Internet Explorer, you will get an error saying that the favorites/favorites folder is missing and your favorites will not show.

To solve this problem, open your SkyDrive folder for your favorites and copy all the files. Then create a new folder called favorites inside of the favorites folder and then paste inside all the favorites you have just copied. I know this seems redundant, but it works. Now open IE on a Vista machine and you can now see all your favorites in Internet Explorer.

If you are syncing to a Windows 7 and Vista machine and you are saving a favorite, you will see that you have the option to save your bookmark now in two locations  the plain favorites folder and the favorites/favorites folder. Save your same URL in both and this way you can see your new bookmark on Vista and Windows 7 and 8.

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Help Me Support Legislation for Gun Control

Dear Readers,

I don’t usually write off topic on my blog, but I am so sickened by the events of Friday December 14 and the killing of young innocent school children that I cannot keep silent. Americans need to rise up to demand the control and licensing of guns.

Here’s how you can help.

Go to We The People create an account and sign the petitions you see to demand that our President work to enact effective discourse and changes on gun control and the right to bear arms.

This site is a part of the White House site. Many of the gun legislation petitions have received more than the needed number of 25,000 signatures in just a few days to demand a response from the White House on an action plan. Please join me in making a difference for our country and our children to prevent further incidents where mentally ill or temporarily deranged persons can access guns and subject our society to further terror and violence in places like movie theaters, schools, and shopping malls.

Although I am a gun owner myself, I recommend the licensing and required training of any gun owner. I recommend the total ban on automatic weapon sales and on assault rifles and military hardware to civilians. I would be willing to give up some of my freedoms to allow for a greater level of safety for our public benefit. It is shameful that we have allowed so many innocents to die just over this past year as our government has been paralyzed or held sway by lobbyists from enacting meaningful gun control reform. How many more must die, how many more families will suffer, how can we continue to allow the sale of automatic weapons to be in the hands of our populace where they can be legally used by unbalanced people?

I entreat you that your voice matters in this issue. Rise up with me and fight to demand that our government take actions to immediately prevent further violence and to protect the rights of families and children to be safe from fear in our schools, workplaces, and communities through meaningful gun control registration and legislation.

Nancy McCord
President of McCord Web Services LLC