For those using Gmail who wish they could schedule their messages for future delivery Boomerang is for you.  You can write that email now and schedule it to automatically be sent at the date and time you choose.  You do not need to be logged in to Gmail, the internet or have your computer on at the time scheduled.  An advantage of this is when sending an email to someone outside your time zone, you can make sure they receive the message first thing in the morning their time.  Say you're emailing a friend/customer in London during the early evening your time.  You can schedule the email to be sent 8AM their time so they receive it during the start of their day while you are asleep. It will be closer to the top of their inbox.

You can design a birthday card, anniversary card, etc. attach it to an email a few days prior and have the email sent to that person on that special day. You may forget to send it but Boomerang won't.

While you can use Google Calendar for reminders, you also can use Boomerang as an email reminder service. You can set an email to be sent to you reminding you of a meeting, to pay a certain bill, etc.  Further if you receive an email confirming an event, you have the ability to send it to Boomerang.  Boomerang will remove it from your inbox and put it there at the time you designate to remind you of the event. If the confirmation mentions a date and time, Boomerang will suggest a date and time to send the reminder.

You can also set up a reminder for you to follow up on a message you send. You can set it to remind you to follow up if the person you sent it to does not respond or regardless if the person responds or not. The reminder will go to your inbox at the top and is marked unread.  You also can use this feature for a cleaner inbox. Boomerang will store a message on their server and return the email to your inbox at the time you note that you need it.

Go to http://www.boomeranggmail.com/ to download the program.

Libraries are not only good for books, DVDs and reading magazines.  These days they also have a web presence.  While you can get local information by going to your local library's web site, the web sites mentioned offer a vast amount of information and you do not need to leave your home.

Our own Library of Congress (America's library) has a website that is also a good source of learning. On their site is a vast amount of information.  You can easily spend a day going through it and still have a lot to see all that is on it. You also can download and play podcasts and webcasts as well as viewing and downloading photographs from various collections. Informative transcripts and collections can be viewed. There are dedicated sections for kids, librarians publishers and teachers. Certain old newspapers are also available for viewing. There is a lot here related to American History. You also can order at a charge certain videos of historical significance.  Simply put there is more than I can ever say in a post of what is here.  By going to Thomas.gov which is a part of the Library of Congress you can find legislative information.  Status of bills, current activity of the House and Senate, searching the Congressional Record are just some of the things available here. 

LibrarySpot.com is largely a reference site. It also is a good gateway through links to other informative sites.  It is worth checking out.  Again, so much information is at your fingertips.  Links to dictionaries, almanacs, calculators, etc, are on this site.

My local library  Queens Library has a web site that for starters allows me to reserve books, movies and see the availability of these items at the various branches.  My library card allows me to research various databases online including encyclopedias. For example one can get information on companies that they are researching for a job interview or other reason by going to the Business and Company Resource Center available through NOVEL NY which my library is part of. Community information is also available on the Queens Library website.

So if it is 3AM and you cannot get back to sleep and want to do some research head out to the library.  The online library.

These days a lot is mentioned about Cloud Computing. In a nutshell cloud computing is another term for the internet.  When services like Mozy.com mention online backup what they also mean is that your data is backed up in the cloud. When you are on vacation and check your email, that email is stored in the cloud. If you are using a spreadsheet program in Google Docs and calculations are made to that file, the calculation is done in the cloud.  These are just a few applications that are done in the cloud.  Google has been designing a new operating system Google Chrome OS that will work exclusively with web applications. It is expected to be released later this year. 

The beauty of the cloud is that you are able to access your files anywhere there is an internet connection.  If you are halfway around the world and need to know where that Tuesday meeting after you get back is and with who, you can go to an online product like Google Calendar to find out. Items in the cloud do not take up space on your hard drive.

Needless to say it isn't perfect and there are issues and concerns the biggest being privacy and security.  Since you are trusting your data to a third party you want your information to be secure and not easily accessible to those you wish to keep it away from. You also want to be assured that the provider will not lose your data.  As we know Facebook has had security and privacy issues.  I believe that as we move more into the cloud, these issues will resolve themselves. Security and privacy will be much improved because of competition and technological advances. Another issue is the accessibility of the data.  What if the internet goes down or either you or your provider lose internet access?  The quick and short answer to this is unless you have backed up your data locally you have to wait until access is restored. That said, web services are continually improving as to access and security.  Like any service providers there are good and bad.  Keep in mind if your hard drive crashes or you cannot get on your computer for some other reason, having backups is important. Cloud applications do guarantee the safety of your data.  Any reputable company storing your data online will have backups of their own.  I will say this in closing for those of you who do online banking and/or get credit card statements online. The bank statements you see in your account where you do your online banking that saves you space(you do not need a hard copy of them) is in the cloud as are the credit card statements you see in your online account.  Businesses are starting to move their data into the cloud accessing and storing it there.

Due to the recent acquisition of by LastPass, Xmarks will continue on.  It is a great tool for backing up your favorites/bookmarks as well as for syncing them across browsers and other computers. You can sync your bookmarks currently among Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Safari browsers.  


You need to decide which computer and browser is where you will make initial changes to your bookmarks. Usually this will be the browser that you use most often on your main computer.  From here, you can sync across your other browsers and any other computers you have.  Xmarks allows you to merge bookmarks on Xmarks server with your browser, keep bookmarks on your browser discarding those on the server (main bookmark), keep the bookmarks on the server while discarding those on your browser.  You also can integrate passwords (not recommended), and open tabs as well as enabling automatic synchronization. This is a great timesaver that eliminates the need to do this manually. A feature of Xmarks is also that you can be away from your computers but can retrieve that necessary site that you wish to access but cannot remember the name by accessing the website and logging into it. I found the instructions easy to follow and the program is user friendly.


A paid version of Xmarks ($12 annually) allows you to sync between your smartphone and track and backup all changes to your bookmarks. My personal opinion is that this is not needed.  


While there are ways to save your bookmarks on your computer and sync using your saved bookmarks on your computer, Xmarks is a free way to do this saving time and aggravation.


I also want to extend my best wishes to those celebrating a very Merry Christmas and to all a very Happy and prosperous 2011.

ThisIn a previous blog, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps and Mapquest were discussed.  Google Maps is probably the most used online mapping service and understandably so because of the features and speed. 

One of the great feature of Google Maps is when you type the name of a location, Google predicts the results of your search as you are typing in a manner similar to doing a Google search.  Type your search in the search bar and you will see what Google thinks you are searching for.  This can speed up your search since if your result shows you can just click on it and the map will show the location you are seeking. The ease of zooming in and out using your mouse's scroll wheel is just another reason this a good map. 

Google Maps allows you to get directions by car, mass transit, walking or bicycling. Of the 4 maps that have been discussed it is the only one where you can get directions by all of the choices mentioned.  Bing Maps allows directions for all but bicycling.  Whether getting directions for a trip or navigating to an address, you can get both live traffic and the expected traffic based upon date and time of your expected travel.  The expected traffic is based upon past traffic patterns.  You will sometimes get more than 1 route when searching for directions.  On a long trip, the difference can be a matter of a few minutes but the longer route could be more scenic.  The choice is yours.

Google Street view is much improved but the picture quality still trails Bing Maps. That said, it is quite a bit easier to go to/from Google Street than going to/from Bing Maps Streetside view. What I personally like is the ease of navigation.  I was showing a friend of mine great vantage points NW of San Francisco to get great views of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Using the street view enabled me to give him a preview of what he would see in person on his trip. 

As you zoom in an area, you can see the location of points of interest.  Further to the right of the search bar is an option, "What's Around Here"? You will see letter codes that correspond to the listing on the left side of the map.

The others have their features (the quality of pictures when using Bing Streetside, the turn by turndirections using Mapquest).  The features of Google Maps such as its speed and ease of use  are why it is the preferred mapping site to use. is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.

As you probably know there is software that is available at no charge.  There are a few good sites to go to for recommendations notably  http://www.pcworld.com/ and http://www.cnet.com/.  Another not so well known one but very good one is http://www.techsupportalert.com/

Techsupportalert.com reviews and lists free software by category. Their primary function is dedicated to helping you determine the best freeware product for your needs. If you are looking for a free antivirus program there is a category where they rate the best antivirus software.  There are many other categories as well.  The home page is set up in a user friendly format and is easy to navigate.   They have an "Editor's Choice List" for their best picks in every category.  Further they have a category of "Best Free Online Applications and Services." These represent the best online available by category in the cloud.  For those not familiar with the cloud, think of having a personal storage site away from your home.  The cloud is storage on the internet. An example of this would be free online backup services.  This does not take up any space on your hard drive as the backup is in the cloud. There is also a forum where you can post questions or answer other's who have questions.

So the next time you are looking for a freeware program or free online service or application, give Techsupportalert.com a try.  I don't think you will be disappointed.

Twitter is a very prominent social networking and microblogging service. Those using Twitter have people they follow and people who follow them. 

There are those people who I will follow when I see that they are following me. There are those I will tend not to follow. The reasons I do not follow someone are entirely not personal.  The person could be a very good person. These reasons are not absolute as I have made exceptions. Some reasons for not following someone are:

1. They have less then 10 tweets. I like to get a feel for what the person is like before following. With few or none tweets of their own, I am unable to grasp what they are about. Do their tweets align with their profile? 
2. Someone not having a profile or the profile does not tell me about them. Who are you? What are you about? I would like to know about you if I am to follow you.
3. A person seems to be tweeting on an almost ongoing basis. There are those who it seems are constantly on Twitter tweeting what appears 200 times daily or so. Twitter is about conversation and in a conversation there is an exchange of ideas.
4. Tweets consistently showing the same link. The person is spamming on Twitter. 
5. Their interests do not match what I am interested in. Let's say a person constantly tweets about Newton's 3 Laws of Motion. This is a subject that would make me not inclined to follow. That said, I did once make an exception for a follower who I had no intent of following. They did however list me and mentioned me on a Tweet.  I must admit they charmed me into following them and I am glad to follow as whoever tweets for this Twitter handle is a really nice person.
6. Their tweets are all about them and trying to plug their product and/or themselves. Similar to #4.  
7. "Tips on making money" is in their bio. Again it is about them. We all want to make moneybut at least be subtle about it. 
8. Someone who follows many people and hardly anyone follows them. A lot of times this ties in to having few or no tweets.  
9. They do not have a link to their website or blog in their profile or just as bad the website link in their profile does not work.  
10. They seem to argue rather than discuss. Twitter is about an exchange of ideas and not I am right and you are wrong. Further 2 people can have different approaches to an issue and both be right.  

While there are other reasons, these are the main ones.  For those not having many tweets and/or no profile, I want to know more about you before I follow.  

One of the biggest products from Google is Google Mail (Gmail).  As of December 2009, Gmail had 176 million users on a monthly basis and with good reason. Once you are used to the interface which is a conversation type of view, Gmail has some very good features beginning with 7.5 GB and increasing storage. You also can attach up to 25GB of files. Where does one start?  Let's start with the contacts list.  You can sort by first or last name as you can do with most contacts.  What I noticed is for business contacts, not all webmail sorts correctly by business name.  Gmail's contact list sorts businesses properly regardless of the sort. 

Have you ever sent an email and right away realized that you forgot to include an attachment?  Enable "Undo Send" for Gmail labs and you have the ability to undo a sent email for up to 30 seconds after hitting "Send".  Recently, Google implemented Google Voice which enables free calling to the US and Canada using Gmails Google Chat interface. 

When composing an email, has there ever been an issue where your browser crashes?  The autosave feature of Gmail automatically saves a copy of the email you are working on.  It starts saving once  minute and then varies according to the size of the message.  No more having your browser crash and losing an email that you have been working on for the past 15 minutes. 

Gmail also works with your Google Calendar.  You can accept an invite received on a Gmail and post it directly to your calendar in Google. 

If you receive email from someone you do not wish to receive it from, you can easily set up a filter so that it does not go to your inbox (usually Trash). 

Searching within Gmail is very easy.  There is a search bar in the upper left of the Gmail page and put your search term in.  Searching for a person or an email address is done the same way and again very easy.

In all once you learn to use the interface, you will appreciate how powerful and good an email toolGmail is. 

A note that future blogs will look at the webmail for AOL, Windows Live Hotmail, and Yahoo.

For those wanting to learn a new subject or brush up on a new one, GCFLearnFree.org is a good site to start.  With courses on subjects like computer software (particularly Microsoft Office), everyday life, money, and career this is a good place to go to for free courses. You can study at your own pace and there are accompanying videos that aid in your grasping the subject and greatly support the content taught. You also can register for courses given online that are graded by instructors. These instructors also will also provide help and feedback as well. You can finish these courses in a few days or up to 4 weeks. Upon completion for these you are awarded a certificate of completion.  You are not awarded a certificate for completing the self paced courses. There are also some good GCF videos on YouTube as well.  See link:  http://www.youtube.com/user/gcflearnfree

Some of these courses are very basic like "Cash Back".  Others like the ones for the various editions of Microsoft Office Excel and Microsoft Office Access are more involved.  By creating an account you are able to see what courses you have taken or are in the process of taking.  Courses that are more involved have various sections and a challenge at the end of each section. What I like about the Microsoft Office courses are that they are not only offered for the current version but for several previous versions. It is not necessary to be using the current version to get instruction that is meaningful for you. For those who are beginners with regards to computers, their Computer Basics course is useful and informative.  Most of their courses are computer related. Their Facebook page notes that  they provide "innovative online learning opportunities to anyone who wants to improve their technology, literacy, and math skills."

You may wonder how are they able to do this for free. GCFLearnFree.org is supported by the Goodwill Community Foundation. GCFLearnFree.org serves to support the educational mission of the Goodwill Community Foundation which is "to create and provide education, employment, and life enrichment opportunities for people who desire to improve the quality of their lives" as per the GCFLearnFree.org site. It certainly is a good site to go to for your lifelong education.