tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56839637250410766892024-03-05T20:41:13.230+00:00FAQICAICT notes by Andrew HillAndrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-38275928054936381012015-11-02T16:27:00.000+00:002015-11-02T16:27:02.545+00:00Logic.
Google's doodle marking the 200th anniversary of George Boole's birth is a super example of the various expressions in action. I have to admit to not being aware of XOR :|
Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-55849439097012716692015-09-03T14:16:00.001+01:002015-09-03T14:16:31.559+01:00Free up some GMail storage space
GMail is great and I have been an admirer of the free service since first signing up as an early adopter way back in 2007. I haven't touched Outlook since and have found the whole idea of messages and attachments available anywhere so much better than having them downloaded and access restricted to one or two devices.
Over all the years, though, the volume had built up and, whilst well short ofAndrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-3857885924254666732015-08-11T10:17:00.000+01:002015-08-11T10:17:01.851+01:00200 TYPE is now 8-bit binary
I don't often have to bother UK2's staff with web hosting queries but whenever I do they have always come up with good answers and quickly too. I thought I'd write about this occasion though because it seems a bit odd and may have caused trouble for a few others.
Yesterday I was unable to upload files to update any web sites hosted with UK2.net via the built-in FTP client in Serif's Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-40145313992192403262015-07-31T19:41:00.003+01:002015-07-31T19:41:59.210+01:00Windows 10 (and The Return of the Back-up)
I thought I'd give Windows 10 a try. All I had to do was hit the little icon that had appeared a while ago as it seems the bulk of the download had already arrived.I started a few minutes before 7pm.
At about 7:30pm it was more or less complete.
7:35pm Windows 'welcomes me back'! Not that I had gone anywhere' I'd 'sat back and relaxed' as the previous screens instructed!
AAndrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-23481931094499932842015-06-12T17:02:00.004+01:002015-06-12T17:02:51.389+01:00If you have a problem deleting PDF files
This may seem a silly little problem but it confused me for a while and may bother you one day. In the good old days if you wanted to delete a file you just found it in the folder and either hit the Delete key or found Delete on a right click menu. That seemed to work for just about everything as I recall. In the course of tidying up some files today, though, I couldn't get rid of any of the Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-78591294329581697692015-05-02T16:17:00.002+01:002015-05-02T16:17:54.554+01:00Please Google. It's time to update Picasa / Photos to make what should be simple tasks less awkward.
After all this time Google Photos and Picasa are still not working terribly well together. For many tasks, I adore Picasa and find it suits so many of my day-to-day storage, editing and publishing needs.
I would like to see some updating of the slideshow feature which is very old-fashioned now and doesn't display on some mobile or tablet browsers but there are simpler things which just annoyAndrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-66822353885933901012015-04-16T10:36:00.000+01:002015-04-16T10:36:08.163+01:00There are other search engines
Google's excellent response to the EC moan about promotion of their own areas in searches, the Android-Google tie-in and other stuff, is on their general blog. (You may need to look back to 15 April). There are other search engines and phones and Brussels bureaucrats need to understand that most people are not stupid. Even if they are stupid there's no reason to impose massive fines on Google. Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-39932553698056260822015-03-12T17:53:00.000+00:002015-03-12T17:53:05.282+00:00Repairing Windows when you don't have the Windows DVD
Win8.1: A setup-disc or flash drive creation tool
Microsoft's Installation Media Creation Tool can download a complete set of Windows 8.1 installation files to your hard drive; it can then automatically set up the files on a bootable DVD or flash drive. Note: Although you're creating Win8.1 setup files, you don't have to run the easy-to-use tool on a Win8.1 machine; you can use a Win7 or Win8.0Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-12734109216049214812014-10-03T21:50:00.001+01:002014-10-03T21:50:28.880+01:00Failure configuring Windows updates reverting changes...
At 2pm I started tidying up a new Windows 8 laptop that I had bought for a friend in the village. After getting rid of a few trial programs that manufacturers insist of including, presumably in the hope that they'll get some commission when people forget that their trial has ended and the payments have started to kick in, I got Windows update under way.
It's now nearly 9pm. For several hours, Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-18084326087503180712014-07-09T11:47:00.001+01:002014-07-09T11:59:12.291+01:00Help needed for iframe code for embedding a spreadsheet
I need help. After days of trying to edit some <iframe> code, hopefully someone out there will come to my rescue before I need psychiatric help as well!
I want to display a section of a Google Sheet on a web page where someone can enter something in one cell and view some data related to that entry.
The Google publishing suggestion provides this code
<iframe src="https://Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-42977452599471223952014-06-13T13:28:00.000+01:002014-06-13T13:28:06.313+01:00Photos, photos everywhere but none to drop just here
I have just posted about this on Google+ but something else occurs to me and so I thought I'd write here too - sort of a frequently asked question that I can't answer!
I have a Google+ My Business Page about Corgi Toys and would like too add pictures to the Photos section. Even though it has the text 'Photos of you' which I think is a hangover from the normal user-type page it is clearlyAndrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-76715985329866959902014-05-29T13:43:00.001+01:002014-05-29T16:55:37.133+01:00Blue Screen Of Death prompts me to change
I have finally made the move to Windows 8. Well, I am about to; the machine is ordered and will be on its way in a couple of weeks. Several things made me go for the change. Seeing the good old Blue Screen Of Death was one!
I honestly can't remember when I saw that last on one of my own machines. It really must be very many years ago and I am not sure I have ever seen it on this desktop Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-29662652014504778552014-04-09T11:30:00.000+01:002014-04-09T11:30:33.594+01:00XP and from one scary message to another
OK. I admit it. I am still using Windows XP on a desktop. There, it's out now. I am so bad / lazy / unconcerned / old-fashioned / stupid [delete as appropriate to fit whichever news article you read]. Microsoft's support for the operating system stopped yesterday. I now get a warning when it starts and the Microsoft Security Essentials flag icon in my tray has turned red. Add to that a mass Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-60261778232053623632014-01-06T13:08:00.001+00:002014-01-06T13:10:03.039+00:00Return Of The Desktop
Both HP and Lenovo have new releases this month. Desktops. Desktops running Android operating systems. They may be seen as some as just large tablets with leads to keyboards and a mouse (although they do have touch screens so the mouse may be an option) but could be a sign of something of an unexpected change of direction.
We have been getting used to Chromebooks - getting very popular Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-47250654871160998962013-12-13T14:17:00.002+00:002013-12-13T14:20:37.794+00:00The Dour And Unfathomable Nandsi
Thought I'd buy some British Premium Bonds. With interest rates on deposits almost non-existent at the moment, the idea that my cash is safe while standing a chance of winning something is far more attractive than 2 or 3% at best! Even if I win nothing all year I'll have lost no more than the cost of a pizza or two for each £1000 invested.
But how difficult does HM Treasury (or whatever those Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-37242773703763119872013-11-01T11:13:00.001+00:002013-11-01T11:13:28.718+00:00Queued For Sending
SMS now seems so clumsy and slow to me. I am sure that if you live in an area where you have great mobile reception then text messaging is almost the default way to communicate with anyone. I do get a bundle each day myself. The difference is that replying is such a pain.
Actually typing the message is OK, thanks to SwiftKey, but then comes the really annoying bit. You hit Send. And wait. Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-37131631643119653242013-05-29T20:47:00.002+01:002013-05-29T20:47:41.844+01:00Life With A Chromebook, Six Months Later.It’s interesting to look back just six months when I was pondering a whole load of options for a new computer. I settled on a Samsung Chromebook, keeping my 4 or 5 year old Windows XP PC for whatever that wouldn’t do.I had looked at all the things I did and the software I used to do them, concluding that there was an on-line version of something that would suffice for all but a few activities. Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-66640073645917275532013-05-24T18:46:00.001+01:002013-05-24T18:46:41.932+01:00Microsoft's Word AppWe've had Office 365 for ages and its web versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint (and, yes OneNote, if you insist) but it is only recently that Microsoft have promoted these. They now call them their Word app (and presumably Excel app etc.)
Google really have led the way in this respect with their Docs getting better and better and considerable integration of Drive in Chrome. Microsoft have doneAndrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-90545908209506061762013-01-30T11:20:00.000+00:002013-01-30T11:20:29.007+00:00SD XC and XP
I got a new camera a week or so ago but it didn't come with a memory card so I bought the recommended SDXC type with a massive 64GB of memory and faster read/write speeds so that it could handle the big files created by the camera. Took a few practice shots and thought I'd have a look at how they turned out.
Unfortunately, my pc couldn't access the card data. It wanted to format the card. I Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-81080028763553789582012-11-05T22:34:00.000+00:002012-11-05T22:34:31.086+00:00Picasa Edit Picnik Google+ Photos Web Albums Local Confusion
Things are nice and simple in Picasa local. Here I have uploaded some photos to a web album and Picasa locally lists my albums and shows me what's in them. So far so good.
If I want to edit it then that's easy too, with a good selection of tools available. And if I clicked a sync control (not shown) then edits here would be reflected in the album on-line. However, if I changed the Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-65724648476985235042012-11-03T10:40:00.000+00:002012-11-03T10:40:08.518+00:00Short cuts and help with Windows 8
PCAdvisor have published a great list of helpful short cuts and ways to make Windows 8 do what you want it to. I'm adding them here because I just know I'll need quick access to many of them before long!
And, by the way, Windows 8 Pro is - at the time of writing - available for download from the Microsoft site for just £24.99 so don't get fooled by salesmen telling you it's worth more to Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-3306165672110834572012-10-26T15:03:00.002+01:002012-10-26T15:03:38.551+01:00Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga. Very cool but you just know it'll be expensive!
Lenovo's promo video for their great-looking IdeaPad Yoga range coming our way 'soon'. The 13" screen Yoga 13 will be the one to go for unless you're willing to take a chance on whether your favourite applications will run on Windows 8RT with the Yoga 11. The Lynx K3011 has the most boring name but seems to be the only model that splits so that it can be just a tablet, rather than folding or Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-74823908428955952672012-10-26T13:01:00.000+01:002012-10-26T13:01:27.373+01:00"So what's all this Social Networking stuff about, then", he asked
My older brother has managed to avoid getting involved with Facebook, Twitter, Google+ etc so far but now feels that he ought to make a bit of an effort and asked me for a quick summary. So these notes are written for someone who has heard the names but not really seen them in action, someone mostly looking for news on topics that interest him or to find old friends. I do hope he does use Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-9728651037311541482012-10-26T11:10:00.001+01:002012-10-26T11:11:20.706+01:00What's dat?
A friend called last night in a bit of a panic. She had to prepare something for a presentation the next day and include a verbatim script that someone had sent her. Unfortunately, for some reason best known to the sender, the text arrived in a file called something like whattosay.dat which Windows appeared reluctant to open.
Not being close to a computer at the time I had to guess this one butAndrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5683963725041076689.post-46015996281469142892012-10-23T15:30:00.000+01:002012-10-23T15:30:55.315+01:00The Chromebook. 100GB Free Storage. One Decision Made Easy.
£229. Includes 100GB of space on Google Drive. 11.6" screen. Nice keyboard.
This little notebook, netbook, laptop, call it what you like, is something I omitted from my First Thoughts article. It changes everything and has really got me thinking - second thoughts, of a sort.
It's actually the Samsung Chromebook and is a delightful device in many respects. First, the price. Andrew Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00976984938460821874noreply@blogger.com0