MyAnswers: How to make things look bigger on the Apple Mac Air.

The following MyAnswers solution 2410 is now available:

I have a new 11" Apple Mac Air. Everything on the screen is so tiny it is very difficult to read. Is there anything I can do to make everything look bigger?

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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Australian Dictionary site clobbered by Google.

Businesses often ask me for assistance on how to improve their presence on Google. I receive a large number of visits to my sites as a result of Google. I do however warn clients that Google can giveth, and Google can taketh away.

The following graph shows the traffic for my site www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au. As you can see the site was growing very quickly in terms of traffic. What happened you may ask. As best I can tell around the time of the drop Google changed their search engine algorithm. I don't recall making any significant changes. Traffic as you can see has fallen significantly.

Putting all your effort into promoting via Google I believe is a disaster waiting to happen. This has happened to me multiple times. Just as the momentum for a site is building Google flips and the traffic largely disappears. One person has said this may be a deliberate strategy on Google's part. The cynical suggest that by giving sites a presence and then removing that presence, the only option to keep a presence is paid advertising on Google. I'm not so cynical. Whatever it is that Google does it can make or  break you if you solely focus on Google.

Imagine if you've just paid a Search Engine Optimisation company a small fortune to gain you a presence in Google and then a few months later your online traffic dries up. All that money spent is down the drain and you're not going to get a refund.

When I talk with clients I give them the good and the bad. I've seen companies sell hype and promises. Marketing, advertising, branding and SEO companies. Their real interest is to make a sale. Make sure you look after your interests.

I share this experience in the hope that it assists other businesses make better decisions with their marketing dollar.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au

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Alert: Gmail users should be careful with spam emails sent by other Gmail users.

A strange thing has been happening lately. I'm currently testing Gmail with emails being forwarded to Gmail that are addressed to my business email address.

What I've noticed is I'm receiving a few spam messages a day from people using Gmail addresses. The one I just checked was sent using Gmail from someone based in India. Gmail catches quite a lot of spam and scams, but it doesn't seem to be capturing some spam emails from Gmail's own users.

If you use Gmail and receive an unsolicited email from a Gmail user you don't know, be very careful. It may be spam or it could be a scam. The spam emails really should be caught by Gmail's spam filter but they currently aren't.


Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

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MyAnswers: How I saved a family member $500 on a Dell computer after the special had finished.

The following MyAnswers solution 2409 is now available:

Saved $500 for a family member who wanted a Dell computer but the special had finished.

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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MyAnswers: Forwarding emails from Hostgator to Gmail and still get emails in account.

The following MyAnswers solution 2408 is now available:

Using Hostgator I forward emails to a Gmail account but I still end up getting the emails in my Hostgator based email account. Is there any way around this?

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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MyAnswers: Don't receive emails I send to myself using Gmail.

The following MyAnswers solution 2407 is now available:

I've forwarded my business email account to Google. I can send emails from Google using my business account email address ,but if I send an email to my business email address either form Gmail or my notebook, I don't receive the email.  

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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MyAnswers: How to activate a second computer to use your iTunes Store account.

The following MyAnswers solution 2406 is now available:

Apple enables you to use up to five devices on your single iTunes Store account. When using an additional computer I was prompted to activate the computer using the iTunes Store yet I could not easily find the option.

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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MyAnswers: How to watch a rented movie again using iTunes on a PC.

The following MyAnswers solution 2405 is now available:

I've rented and watched a movie from Apple using iTunes on a PC. Now I'd like to watch the movie again. I have 48 hours during which to watch a movie again but can't find the option.

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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Google announces end of support (Gmail and Google Apps) for Internet Explorer for Windows Vista users

Google has announced end of support (Gmail and Google Apps) for Internet Explorer 8 (used by Windows XP users) and now Internet Explorer 9 (used by Vista users). This means that an estimated 40% of Windows users are no longer supported using the Microsoft browser available with their operating system.

End of support for Internet Explorer 9... Read More

This shows how Microsoft have dumped on their existing user base in order to force users to upgrade and how Google is also prepared to dump on them in order migrate them to Google Chrome. Microsoft only have themselves to blame for their eroding user base and luckily for Microsoft the corporate world is largely locked into Microsoft products. This will I believe come back to bite Microsoft as the BYOD (bring your own device) approach means more people using devices not running Microsoft’s operating systems.

Google also isn’t the good guy in this scenario as they could easily continue to support Internet Explorer, but I suspect it makes better business sense to take advantage of Microsoft’s lack of customer support, and provide the ability for users to continue to use their Windows operating system by using Google Chrome.

Keep in mind you also have the choice of Firefox and Opera browsers should you require another browser.

- Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for help with your computer problem.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

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MyAnswers: After installing Windows 8.1 the CPU is running very high at 97%.

The following MyAnswers solution 2401 is now available:

Since installing Windows 8.1 I've noticed very poor performance in Internet Explorer 11. I've clicked on a button many times and waited for perhaps a minute or more before something happens. I decided to check and found the CPU was running at 97% so it is no wonder IE11 is running poorly. I've read many sites and lots of people suggest a virus infection which is not the case. The fan on the computer seems to also be running more. The computer is a Toshiba Satellite Pro about three years old.

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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MyAnswers: A secret that Woolworths and Coles online stores probably don't want you to know.

The following MyAnswers solution 2400 is now available:

A secret that Woolworths and Coles online stores probably don't want you to know. Knowing the secret can save you money.

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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MyAnswers: Spellcheck web pages using Opera browser

The following MyAnswers solution 2059 is now available:

This solution provides a handy technique to check the spelling in web pages on a site using the Opera browser.

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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MyAnswers: Internet Explorer 11 context menu scripts no longer work.

The following MyAnswers solution 2399 is now available:

After upgrading to Windows 8.1 scripts installed in the context menu no longer work in Internet Explorer 11. Selecting the menu option simply does nothing.

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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MyAnswers: IE11 Script Error - Unable to get property 'createRange of undefined or null reference

The following MyAnswers solution 2398 is now available:

When running scripts I've installed for use from the context menu since upgrading to Windows 8.1 I get the error: 'Script Error - Unable to get property 'createRange of undefined or null reference'. This is because what worked in Internet Explorer 10 no longer works in Internet Explorer 11.

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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MyAnswers: Free Wi-Fi at Townsville airport.

The following MyAnswers solution 2397 is now available:

Free Wi-Fi at Townsville airport.

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Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au/myanswers/
(An Online Connections service.)

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First impressions of Windows 8.1

I was away on holidays when Windows 8.1 was released so had to wait until I returned. Being in IT support I need to move ahead of my clients to ensure they make better decisions when it comes to upgrading or not. I go through the pain and clients can then learn from what I learn.

I installed Windows 8.1 and the experience was OK but not flawless. At one point I was asked for an account and I couldn't recall if I had one or what it was. It took a while but I eventually found the option to skip the account. When I set up Windows 8 I didn't want my settings synchronised between computers so didn't associate the computer with an account. But using the Windows Store to install Windows 8.1 implied I needed one. In the end it wasn't required.

My first impression once Windows 8.1 was installed was it had become ugly. There's now a large rainbox screen which appears at times which just looks unprofessional and is not crisp as I would expect of a main image. The tiles have changed so the background of some tiles look different. However to me there was just so much mismatching colour the whole Windows Start screen looked ugly whereas previously it looked OK. I've not generally found this in releases of operating systems. Each new release seems to focus heavily on look but this time it felt the technicians had been given more say than the designers. Not a major issue as like a bad hair cut, you get used to it in a few days.

The next issue I had is when I plugged in my all-in-one printer/scanner. I just wanted to scan both sides of a menu to add to my site (http://www.justlocal.com.au/clients/big-brothers-pizza-bulleen/). Windows wanted me to provide the disk to complete the install. Of course I couldn't find the disk. In the end I just said skip and everything ended up working. I noticed when I opened Windows Mail an installation screen appeared which made me shudder, wondering whether or not something would again go wrong, but this time nothing went wrong.

My biggest issue is Internet Explorer 11 which appears to go very slow at times and doesn't work on Blogger properly or cPanel for my site. I have Chrome installed for testing but finding myself opening Chrome to work around issues with Internet Explorer 11. A bit too buggy for my liking and hopefully something Microsoft fixes quickly.

Overall if you can put of the upgrade I'd suggest waiting a while. Let others experience the issues and then upgrade. If you're current Windows 8 system is stable and working fine perhaps keep using it for now. Internet Explorer is used as my main browser and application, and for it to be problematic so many times during the day is rather off-putting. I don't really have a choice with moving forward due to the needs to support clients. But if you can put off upgrading it may be worth thinking about.


Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

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Google Blogger error message - Possible problem with your *.gwt.xml module file.

Recently I updated my notebook to run Windows 8.1, and today when accessing Blogger I received the following message and found Internet Explorer didn't work properly. I suspect the reason is that since Windows 8.1 now contains Internet Explorer 11, Google hasn't updated their Blogger code at this point to correctly handle Internet Explorer 11. Some may think this is perhaps by design. The more Google makes it difficult for users to use Internet Explorer the more likely people are to convert to Google Chrome. However it isn't just Google sites, I'm also having trouble with other sites.

The following is the error message I receive when accessing Blogger.

To get around this problem the easiest approach if you've already updated to Windows 8.1 and thus Internet Explorer 11 is to install and use Chrome when required. By only using Chrome when required you minimise Google tracking your activities.

If you haven't yet updated to Windows 8.1, perhaps wait a while until more bugs have been identified and rectified by Microsoft.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.OnlineConnections.com.au 

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Alert: Adobe Customer Care - Important Password Reset Information

I received an email today from Adobe Customer Care regarding resetting the password for use of their site. From what I've recently read, Adobe has been hacked and possibly up to 38 million users may have been affected.

Even though this does appear as a legitimate notification, as is my usual recommendation, do not click on a link to go to a website. Open your browser and then enter the website address you wish to go to. Even though this email may be legitimate, the next could be a fake email from a scammer.

If you do receive an email from Adobe and use the same password across multiple sites, you should reset your password on all sites and where possible and appropriate use different passwords for each site. The reason is if hackers have obtained the password file, there is a possibility it will contain your email address and your password and that combination is now often used across multiple sites.

Kelvin Eldridge
Online Connections
www.OnlineConnections.com.au
Call 0415 910 703 for computer support.
Servicing Templestowe, Doncaster, Eltham and the surrounding area.

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