These days it seems that Facebook, the social networking site, has become the “new MySpace” – a place where people and their friends can get together and have a good time. In fact, you more than likely have a Facebook account (over 200 million do) and if you don’t then get one, they’re free! If you’re a Facebook veteran you no doubt know about many of the cool things you can do with Facebook, however if you’re new to the Facebook community, then this Tech Tip is for you! We’ll look at some MUST DO things to do while on Facebook!

“Are you a writer or do you want to look like one?” If so, then welcome to the 21st century world of self publishing!  Yes, you too can produce good quality printed works for a pittance – especially with the advent of self-publishing the internet way.  On the Internet, there are a number of self-publishing or “publish-on-demand” sites available and in this week’s Tech Tip, we’ll look at some really cool things that you can do by self publishing via the Internet – the geeky way.

You might recall a previous TechTip that looked at software you can use to wrangle all of the passwords you have for your favorite Web sites and Web services. Those apps are a good solution, but what if there was a way to securely log into multiple sites using only one ID?

That’s not a pipe dream. And it isn’t a matter of using the same user name and password for everything (remember, I said securely). A technology called OpenID offers that promise, and is on its way to delivering it.

By this time in 2009, television as you know it will have changed. It’s not that the quality of what you’re watching will be any better or any worse (although you’d hope that TV shows will get better!). It’s how you’re getting those programs over the air that’s going to change.

This TechTip looks at the coming changes to the way in which you get your over-the-air TV and what you can do to adapt.

“Pi, Greek letter (?), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi = 3.1415926535…

Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th.” - Pi Day

Savant Daniel Tammet Is The Pi Master!

One of the great things about smaller consumer electronics is that you can take your entertainment anywhere, and not have to be worried about lugging a lot of hardware and cables with you. This is especially true of DVD video. A portable DVD player doesn’t take up much room and is quite light. But for a growing number of people, even a portable DVD player is a bit much. They want to be able to view video on a smaller device.

You get your shiny new PC delivered via FedEx.  As you start to unpack and assemble that puppy, you realize that the peripherals (if they even have any) are usually of the most basic kind. It’s then that you realize that you need to “Pimp Your PC” with peripherals.  In this Tech Tip we’ll look at two of the most basic of computer parts that will help you Geek out on your PC experience – yes, the lowly keyboard and mouse. 

One technology that refuses to give up the ghost is the fax. Businesses large and small rely on computer parts like the fax machine for exchanging documents and contracts and the like. And fax spam doesn’t seem to have decreased much, either.

I can remember my first encounter with a Web camera (or webcam, for short). It was in the early 1990s, and the item in question was perched atop the computer monitor of a friend’s desktop pc. It looked like a large, white, and evil eyeball. The video that the webcam picked up was choppy and in grayscale. But I can still remember how neat I thought that whole thing was.

You might recall a previous TechTip that looked at software you can use to wrangle all of the passwords you have for your favorite Web sites and Web services. Those apps are a good solution, but what if there was a way to securely log into multiple sites using only one ID?

That’s not a pipe dream. And it isn’t a matter of using the same user name and password for everything (remember, I said securely). A technology called OpenID offers that promise, and is on its way to delivering it.