Ask Dave Taylor! :: Online Tech Support http://www.askdavetaylor.com/ Industry guru Dave Taylor answers questions about a wide variety of technical and business topics, including online advertising, Sony PSP, Web design, management, Linux, SEO, MySpace help, Mac OS X, shell script programming, Microsoft Windows and all the latest gadgets and mp3 devices. en Copyright 2012 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:39:46 -0700 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.37 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss How can I invite someone to join Pinterest? I've recently joined Pinterest and it's super fun. I'm becoming a pinning fool. At least, that's what my husband says. Still, I really want to get my sister and my mom hooked up. When they go to Pinterest, however, there's no sign up or register button, just a "request an invite" link. How can I get them on Pinterest directly, without them having to wait for an invite?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_can_i_invite_someone_to_join_pinterest.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_can_i_invite_someone_to_join_pinterest.html Computer and Internet Basics Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:39:46 -0700 How old does Google think I am? My friend - female, 22 - was telling me that she went to a spot on Google and learned that it thought she was a 30 year old guy based on its profiling of her searches and use of the different Google tools. Creepy. Interesting. How can I find out what Google thinks about me?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_old_does_google_think_i_am.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_old_does_google_think_i_am.html Computer and Internet Basics Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:39:45 -0700 Review: Sears Craftsman AssureLink 3043 Garage Door Opener The garage door opener in my house works perfectly well. It's a craftsman chain drive and it's a bit noisy but every time I push the button on the remote in my car, the door slowly moves upward and I can pull my car into the driveway. No worries, right?

One evening I pulled onto my street, however, and my garage door was sitting open for all to see, with bicycles, tools and an unlocked interior door that offered easy access into my house. It'd been that way for over six hours. Not good. But how do you know if you remembered to close your garage door every single morning? It only takes one forgetful departure to lose hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of household goods.

Enter the Sears Craftsman AssureLink communications system. It's a three piece solution that lets Craftsman sell Internet-aware garage door openers that can not only be accessed via the Web to confirm the door is properly closed, but that have a handy iPhone (or Android) app that lets you control the door too. Fabulous.

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/review_sears_craftsman_assurelink_3043_garage_door_opener.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/review_sears_craftsman_assurelink_3043_garage_door_opener.html Articles and Reviews Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:17:38 -0700 How do I loan someone a Kindle ebook? I really like my Kindle Fire and have found that I'm reading more now that it's so easy to carry even the longest book with me. Some of the books I read are okay, but there's an occasional ebook that's just terrific. When that happens, I'd like to loan it to my Dad so he can sample it and either read it -- he's a quick reader -- or buy it for himself. I remember reading that one of the features of the Kindle is that you can loan people ebooks, but I have no idea how to do it. Can you explain?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_do_i_loan_someone_a_kindle_ebook.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_do_i_loan_someone_a_kindle_ebook.html Computer and Internet Basics Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:50:47 -0700 Review: iHome / New Balance Fitness Evolved Headphones new balance fitness evolved headphones baseI wouldn't describe myself as a "gym rat", but I do go to the gym fairly frequently, and my routine doesn't vary much. Gym clothes on, sneakers tied, iPod Touch charged so I can continue listening to whatever audio book I'm in the middle of -- the current one is the Steve Jobs biography -- and my rather scroungy over-ear headphones so I can keep listening even as I move around and get into "the zone".

Keeping track of my time and performance on the various machines, monitoring my heart rate, and - hopefully! - seeing progress isn't something I've paid much attention to, so when the team at iHome offered to send me a pair of their new Fitness Evolved headphones (developed in cooperation with New Balance), I was intrigued. It'd track my performance and I'd even be able to graph things on my computer. Cool.

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/review_ihome_new_balance_fitness_evolved_headphones.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/review_ihome_new_balance_fitness_evolved_headphones.html Articles and Reviews Sat, 28 Jan 2012 08:56:23 -0700 Where's the closest pizza place? I know there are a zillion smartphone / cellphone applications that find food near you, but what if I only have a laptop and need to find something nearby? For example, what's the best way to find the closest pizza if I don't know my current address?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/where_is_the_closest_pizza_place_parlor.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/where_is_the_closest_pizza_place_parlor.html d) None of the Above Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:49:19 -0700 Copy Picasa Web Photo Albums onto my Computer? I heard from a friend that Google's going to be shutting down Picasa because of Google Plus and I'm kind of freaking out: I have hundreds of photos on the site and no idea how to save them from vanishing when they pull the plug. Help!

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/copy_export_save_picasa_web_photo_albums_onto_computer.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/copy_export_save_picasa_web_photo_albums_onto_computer.html Computer and Internet Basics Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:25:38 -0700 How can my Pinterest pins link to specific Web page URLs? Thanks for your earlier tutorial on how to upload images to Pinterest [ see: tutorial on how to upload Pinterest pictures or photos ] but I'm confused because some of my friends seem to be able to add photos and images to their Pinterest boards that actually click through to their sites, but I can't find the "link to" information when I'm uploading. What's the secret?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_can_my_pinterest_pins_link_to_specific_web_page_urls.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_can_my_pinterest_pins_link_to_specific_web_page_urls.html Twitter, LinkedIn and Social Network Help Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:52:41 -0700 How can you hack the LocalDictionary on a Mac system? Another question about the built-in Mac spell dictionary. (I did read the previous question How can I forget or edit a learned word in the Mac spelling dictionary?)

Under User>Library>Spelling> I have both LocalDictionary and en.

What is the relationship between these two? Adding a great number of specialized, technical words one at a time as they appear in my writing is taking a lot of time. Is there a way to add a great number of (specialized) words to one of these?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_can_you_hack_the_localdictionary_on_a_mac_system.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_can_you_hack_the_localdictionary_on_a_mac_system.html Mac OS X Help Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:06:25 -0700 How can I have Pinterest updates appear on Facebook? I'm a big fan of Pinterest [ I am too, you can find AskDaveTaylor on Pinterest as d1taylor -- Ed ] and recently noticed that some of my friends are having their Pinterest activities show up on their Facebook timeline. Nice. I want. How do I hook up Pinterest to Facebook and vice versa?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/have_pinterest_updates_appear_show_up_facebook_status.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/have_pinterest_updates_appear_show_up_facebook_status.html Facebook Help Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:28:18 -0700 Can I read Kindle ebooks on my Apple MacBook or Windows PC? Every time I go to Amazon.com I see that the Kindle version of a book I want to buy is less expensive than the print edition. Coupled with it being more environmentally friendly (no shipping, no printing, no hassle with it taking up space on my shelf) I'd like to switch over. But I don't want to buy an actual Kindle device. Is there a way to read Kindle ebooks on my Mac or PC system?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/can_i_read_kindle_ebooks_on_apple_mac_macbook_windows_pc.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/can_i_read_kindle_ebooks_on_apple_mac_macbook_windows_pc.html Mac OS X Help Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:05:58 -0700 How do I copy voice memos off my iPhone 4s? I've started using the Voice Memos app on my new Apple iPhone 4s and it's simple and darn useful. But if I want to share it with a friend or save it on my computer, how do I copy the voice memo recording from the cell phone?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_copy_voice_memos_off_iphone_4s.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_copy_voice_memos_off_iphone_4s.html iPhone and Cell Phone Help Fri, 20 Jan 2012 08:33:05 -0700 Parsing "id" strings in a Shell Script? Hello Dave. I need a Bash shell script that creates a directories with the group names automatically when user logs in to the system, in their home directory.

For example, user "sandy" might have the following set of groups from the 'id' command:

uid=10002(sandy) gid=119(rtkit) groups=119(rtkit),10001(admin),10003(pr007drdl)

and the directories "rtkit", "admin" and "pr007drdl" should then be created. How do I do it?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/parsing_id_strings_in_a_shell_script.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/parsing_id_strings_in_a_shell_script.html Shell Script Programming Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:49:18 -0700 How do I create a new Aperture library on my Mac? I take a lot of photos. So many that Aperture is starting to bog down. I was talking with a fellow photographer and he said that he splits his Aperture library every six months. Sounds like a good idea. How do I create a new Aperture library or, better, move a project into a new library?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_create_new_aperture_library_on_mac.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_create_new_aperture_library_on_mac.html Mac OS X Help Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:08:15 -0700 Dave's Best of the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show Last week marked the fifteenth time I've attended the always-amazing Consumer Electronics Show. With 158,000 attendees and 3,100 vendors exhibiting, it's a trade show like no other I've ever seen, and "massive" doesn't begin to describe it. In fact, this year I had a pedometer in my pocket and on the day I walked the most, I took 17,000+ steps, around nine miles. One day. Walking.

There are lots and lots of companies showing their wares in reasonably modest booths, 15x15 feet, 20x20 feet, and then there are the real consumer electronics powerhouses, companies like Samsung, Sony, Intel and Sharp, they have spaces that are larger than your local store. The Sony booth itself was 30,000 square feet and took a year to design and create.

So what was worth seeing?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/daves_best_of_2012_consumer_electronics_show.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/daves_best_of_2012_consumer_electronics_show.html Industry News and Trade Shows Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:49:25 -0700