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How are those New Year's Resolutions coming along? We're nearing the threshhold where they begin to lapse. The YMCA and Planet Fitness parking lots will start to thin out soon. If you are looking to become more organized this year, I have just the tool to help you be successful with that resolution. My work days revolve around Todoist, the task manager I've been using since last spring to keep me on task, and help those lingering tasks from falling through the cracks. Resolutions aside, there's something else you may need to think about this year. If you are using a Windows 7 PC, you have just under one year to either update or replace it. After January 2020 it will no longer receive security updates and will be unsafe for use online. In today's online environment, security is a must! In addition to these two tech news topics, there are several G Suite Updates, and assorted tips. Good luck with your resolution, whatever it may be.
Todoist is a fabulous tool for organizing your task list. I've been using it since last spring, and now I could not live without it! The best part? It's free! Of course there is a premium version with a few more bells and whistles, but the free app does everything I need. It's available via web interface for laptops/desktops or mobile app for tablets and phones. Not only does it allow you to make a daily "to do" list, but you can organize those tasks by project, by date and time, and priority. It's so simple when entering your new task to add "7:40 am tomorrow" and Todoist will take care of scheduling it. There are also extensions to link it to your calendar and email. You can also schedule recurring tasks, or add sub-tasks to organize your projects. Even better, you can share your task lists with others, and sync it between all your devices. For those of us who are a little competitive, you can keep score of your ability to clear your task list each day...either by moving tasks to the next day or completing them, and increase your skill level as you use it.
Here's a quick video to see how it works.
Windows 7 Only Has One Year of Security Patches Left, from How-To Geek by Chris Hoffman
You may recall we went through this with Windows XP several years ago. If you are using a device with Windows 7, and it cannot be upgraded to Windows 10, you have one year to find something else to use. Continuing to use Windows 7 after January 2020 will leave your device and information at risk. Find out why this is important, and what you should do in this article. Not sure what version of Windows your PC is using? When you turn on your PC, as it boots up it will display the Windows version. Missed it? Navigate to Start - Control Panel - System and the version will be displayed. Wait, you don't see control panel listed in the Start menu? You probably have a newer version of Windows if you need to search for control panel.
Why Does Wi-Fi Use the Same Frequency as Microwaves?, from How-To Geek by Josh Hendrickson
Have you ever noticed that when you use your microwave, sometimes you have trouble with your Wi-Fi connection? No, it's not a coincidence.
G Suite Updates:
Now, you can embed a Google Drawing into a Google Doc, and whenever you update the Google Drawing file, by clicking the Update button, it will automatically update the image in your doc.
This post from Free Technology for Teachers illustrates how to use this feature.
When you are in Sheets working on a chart, you can now change the color of any individual element in the chart. If you want to highlight one particilar bit of data, just change the color on that bar or pie wedge by clickin on it and selecting Format Data Point.
Here is a help article about working with charts or graphs in Sheets, including this update.
A New Look is Coming to Google Slides, Sheets, Docs and Sites, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
New look but they'll work the same. This is part of an evolution so G Suite apps look and feel the same no matter what device you are using. For example, Docs will look the same on your desktop PC, Mac, iPad and SmartPhone.
Customizing Fonts and Emojis in Google Docs, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Are you tired of all your Google Docs using 11 point Ariel? You can change the default font (so the font is changed for all of your new Google Docs), as well as add more fonts than those appearing in the list. There's also an instructional video for easily adding emojis to your doc.
How to Control Margins in Google Docs, from How-To Geek by Brady Gavin
Do you need an indented paragraph? That's controlled by margins. How about needing a narrower or wider space around your document? That's controlled by margins, too. Thankfully, they're pretty easy to adjust.
How to Share Links to Your Google Doc as a PDF, from How-To Geek by Marshall Gunnell
Yes, you can go through the steps to print your Doc as a PDF, but this tip is much quicker, and adapts to any changes you make to your Doc!
How to Add Footnotes to Google Docs, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
Oh yes you can create those reference papers in Google Docs.
How to Show a Portion of a Video in Google Slides, from Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne
This works for both YouTube videos, as well as videos in your Drive.
