How Much is 1 Gig of Data Anyway?

I didn't need a smart phone for a long time. My old phone was working just fine for me, and I'm so connected at home and on free WiFi from other places that I had much better things to do with my money than spend it on more connectivity.

But, it got to the point that my phone threw fits over emoticons in incoming texts and we found a GREAT deal on phones in December. It became obvious that it was time to invest. So I'm now the proud owner of a Moto Z Droid, and I'm very happy with it.

Luckily it works pretty much the same as a tablet, so the learning curve was really low. And the texting is a million times better than it was on my old phone, even though it had a full keyboard. And I've used the GPS drive/mapping app, and it's pretty sweet.

Which brings me to one of the things that I've finally been faced with - just how does cell phone data work, anyway? I use WiFi whenever possible, of course (which is the vast majority of the time), but sometimes (like when in a car), you can't get around turning on the 4G.

So basically, with your plan you've paid to be able to download a certain amount of information a month over 4G, a.k.a. the same network you get calls on. Emails, video, songs, games, surfing the web, anything that you see on your phone that comes over the internet counts as data or information. And that counts as money spent. Here's a great article from Lifewire that explains how much data common tasks use as well as some other useful tips. (Further down the page are articles about specific cell phone plans. Use with caution; always check with the provider to make sure that you have up-to-date information.)

You can also use your phone as a mobile hotspot, also called tethering, which means your phone can take its 4G signal and translate it to WiFi for your laptop or tablet. WiFi where ever you go; how cool is that? So then you're paying for the data you're using on whatever you have tethered to your phone (i.e. your tablet or laptop); your phone just acts as a conduit. Because your tethered devices (especially laptops) might not designed to run on 4G, it's probably not as data-efficient as your phone. Be sure to check out this blog post from Here's the Thing about data hogs on your computer that might drain your data faster than you'd expect.

Also be aware of Airplane Mode, which turns off all connections, with one control. (Your phone fruitlessly searching for signal all the time can be a power hog.) It's really handy when you're out of range of everything, like on a road trip, or while flying. (Hence the name. :))

So, know how to use the WiFi, 4G, Hotspot, and Airplane Mode settings on your phone so you can control your data use while using it to the fullest. To find them, try swiping down from the top of your screen (you'll see notifications) and then again. Otherwise check your Settings app. That gets you into the guts of your phone and lets you set all sorts of technical and app related things.


Enjoy your tech!
Melissa.

Firefox 31.0 & NoSquint

If you're using both Firefox 31.0 and the NoSquint 2.1.9 add-on (which I highly recommend for its selective zooming capabilities), and websites aren't displaying properly - missing icons and/or lack of background color/images around the page - don't despair.

Under your NoSquint options (in your Add-Ons menu) check your settings in the Colors tab. Make sure NONE of these are checked: Text, Background, and Disable Background Images. Unless you need one of these to make things work for you, of course. But try without.

Also, Firefox took out the nifty Add-On bar at the bottom of the page with Firefox 29, which is where NoSquint gives access to their Site Settings, letting you set zooming specifics to your taste, which is the real power of this add-on. There's an Add-on Bar (Restored) extension which brings this back and restores the full functionality of NoSquint and other add-ons.

Google Cultural Institute

The Google Cultural Institute is a massive project to bring the world of art and culture to your screen. Google has partnered with art organizations and heritage sites from all over the world to digitize their holdings and assets and bring them, free, to the public in meaningful ways. There are three parts to the Institute – the Art Project, the World Wonders Project, and Archive Exhibitions.

The Art Project gives you access to works of art from around the world and lets you examine them in very fine detail. “The Peacock Mosaic from entrance hall of the Henry O.Havemeyer house, New York,” for instance, is very beautiful, and the site allows you to zoom in until you can see every tiny tile. You can search for works in a variety of ways, by museum collection or artist, medium or time period, for example. You can also tour the museums themselves, which is a real treat for places like Versailles and The Hermitage. The Art Project is also on YouTube, which includes interviews with artists.

The World Wonders project takes you to places of cultural or natural significance from UNESCO's World Heritage Site program. For Angkor Wat, a temple in Cambodia, you can tour through 14 Google Street Views (it's a huge site); photos of details of the artwork, including 1949 LIFE magazine photos that offer amazing crispness and detail, and animations and virtual models of what it might have looked like in its heyday. This project is also on YouTube, offering behind the scenes videos, as well as videos from other sources about World Heritage sites. 

Archive Exhibitions (also known as Historic Moments) are virtual exhibitions put together by museums to showcase related items in their collections or to tell an important story. "A Stampmaker Rescuing Lives" tells the story of a Jewish family in Budapest during World War II. Through text, pictures, and documents, you learn about the Arrow Cross rule, the importance of documents in everyday life, and the plight of the Jews, as well as the story of a man who saved lives through forgery. 

Each entry offers background information, including history, location, medium, and other applicable information. You can search by topic or location (there's a map showing the locations of all the museums or world heritage sites). Be sure to look for the links to more from the same museum or artist or of the same type. Anywhere you see a yellow pegperson there's something to see with Street View. You can build your own gallery, share links with others, compare two works of art side-by-side, or see similar works. You can also see other user's galleries.

This is a site you could happily (and profitably!) spend hours on, getting lost in art and history. Definitely another reason to cultivate a good relationship with your technology!

Using Libraries in Windows 8 and 8.1

Libraries are a great tool for finding and organizing your content in Windows File Explorer. They separate your stuff -- pictures, music, documents, etc. -- from the wilderness of information that makes up your computer systems. And they act like uber folders, offering one-stop-shop access to multiple folders that you see as related.  

For instance, pictures tend to be automatically saved to your My Pictures folder. But, perhaps you're also doing a spot of genealogy, and you're storing family pictures in your Genealogy folder that you'd like to make available with your other pictures. Instead of storing duplicates -- one set in My Pictures and one in Genealogy, you can have a Pictures folder in your Genealogy folder and then set your Pictures library to access your genealogy pictures folder as well as your My Pictures. 

If you don't see Libraries at all in the Navigation Pane of your File Explorer,   

choose View at the top of the screen to open the ribbon,

choose Options,

and then in Windows 8, you'll choose Change Folder and Search Options. For both Windows 8 and 8.1, under Navigation Pane in the new small window put a check in the box for Show Libraries, and click Apply.

There are four libraries that come with your system - Pictures, Videos, Documents, and Music. If you want something more personal (I have a Professional library, for instance, to keep track of my various money-making pursuits), you can create your own. Just right click or long tap* on the Libraries heading in the Navigation Pane on the left, choose New, and then Library.

To add a folder to a library, right click or long tap* on the name of the library in the Navigation Pane, choose Properties, and click Include a Folder (Windows 8) or Add (Windows 8.1). You'll be able to browse for the folder you want to add.

Libraries are also a feature of Windows 7, and work about the same, although the interface looks a little different. Play around with them and see what kind of order you can bring from chaos.


*Long Tap - This is a touchscreen technique that serves roughly the same purpose as right clicking with a mouse -- it brings up menus specific to where you are in a program, and offers options that aren't available otherwise. To long tap, hold your finger down on the screen until something appears and then let go. You will be left with your hidden options. If nothing happens, there's nothing there to be found by long tapping. Try this in various places as you use your tablet; you'll come up with some surprising hidden possibilities.