Ask Dave Taylor! 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 2010 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:48:57 -0700 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=4.31-en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss How do I make my Facebook group or fan page interesting? I run a Facebook group and am considering switching it to a Facebook fan page, but I don't think it'll address my basic problem: how do I make a Facebook group or fan page interesting and lively to my online community? Do I need to have giveaways? Spend an hour each day making new postings? What's the secret, Dave?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_make_facebook_group_fan_page_interesting.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_make_facebook_group_fan_page_interesting.html MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and Social Network Help Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:48:57 -0700 How can I reorganize or reorder the apps on my Apple iPhone 3GS? Now that I have a bunch of apps on my new Apple iPhone 3GS, I want to change what's where in the most efficient manner possible: dragging back and forth isn't my idea of fun when there are three screens full of icons! What's the best approach for reordering my apps on the iPhone?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_reorganize_reorder_apps_apple_iphone_3gs.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_reorganize_reorder_apps_apple_iphone_3gs.html Cell Phones and Mobile Phones Sat, 06 Feb 2010 08:50:24 -0700 Can I connect my Gmail and Facebook accounts? Kind of a weird request, but I'm wondering if there's a way to minimize my logins when I'm at an Internet Café so that I can log in to one service, like Gmail, and be automatically logged in to Facebook?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/connect_google_gmail_facebook_accounts.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/connect_google_gmail_facebook_accounts.html MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and Social Network Help Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:34:36 -0700 Can I change my Hotmail theme or appearance? I still use Hotmail because it's what I am familiar with and it's what I've been using for years, but I'm starting to get jealous of my friends on Gmail because of all the cool themes they can apply to their mailbox to make it look cool. Is there any way to skin or otherwise tweak Hotmail to make it look a bit more cool?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/change_hotmail_live_theme_appearance.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/change_hotmail_live_theme_appearance.html Windows Help Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:37:58 -0700 How do I add a venue (my business) to Foursquare? My son and his friends are really into a iPhone program called Foursquare, and whenever they go somewhere, they "check in" so that they can find each other. Neat idea. Is there some way that I can add my own restaurant to the list of places where people can check in so that they'll see we're popular and perhaps check us out?

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_add_venue_business_foursquare.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_add_venue_business_foursquare.html Cell Phones and Mobile Phones Wed, 03 Feb 2010 10:19:08 -0700 Calculate your free disk space in Microsoft Windows 7, Vista or XP? How do I find the amount of free disk space left on my Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 machine? http://www.askdavetaylor.com/calculate_your_free_disk_space_microsoft_windows_7_vista_xp.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/calculate_your_free_disk_space_microsoft_windows_7_vista_xp.html Windows Help Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:29:04 -0700 How can I see the "full headers" of a Gmail email message? I've heard that I can view more information about where an e-mail message came from, by viewing the "full headers" of the message. How can I do that in Gmail? http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_see_full_headers_gmail_email_message.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_see_full_headers_gmail_email_message.html Computer and Internet Basics Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:07:10 -0700 Review: Blue Microphone "Snowflake" external mic As I have moved more into conference calls via Skype and am now involved in two podcasts on a weekly basis (Boulder Open Podcast (or in iTunes) and Three Insight (or in iTunes), you are listening to them, right? I hope so!) I'm finding that the built-in microphone on my MacBook Pro isn't the optimal audio quality. Worse, there's also a frequent feedback loop of it picking up the audio coming out of the speakers which leads to a sort of weird echo/reverb loop.

As a result, I've been on the hunt for a good, small, portable microphone that will offer better audio quality and still be compact enough that I can have it in my computer bag without adding weight and bulk. My ideal is a tiny lavalier microphone that can be clipped onto my shirt and plug into the "mic" input on my MacBook Pro, but so far I haven't found a single manufacturer offering such a thing. Oddly, but maybe it's a tough problem.

When my colleagues and I have all been in the same room, we've been recording our podcasts using the Blue Microphone Snowball, which is a nice microphone but pretty big and bulky. When Blue Microphone contacted me and asked me if I wanted to evaluate the Snowflake, what they call their "portable professional USB mic", I was most interested...

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/review_blue_microphone_snowflake_external_mic.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/review_blue_microphone_snowflake_external_mic.html Articles and Reviews Sat, 30 Jan 2010 08:02:13 -0700 How do I enable "emoji" on my iPhone? I got a text from a friend of mine, iPhone to iPhone, and darn if she didn't have all sorts of cute little icons in her message to me. When I asked how she did it, she said "emoji!" I have no idea what that is or what it means, but I really want to be able to respond in kind ASAP. Help?!

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_enable_use_emoji_on_iphone.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_enable_use_emoji_on_iphone.html Cell Phones and Mobile Phones Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:35:26 -0700 How do I de-dupe (remove duplicate) tracks in Apple iTunes? I don't know how it's happened, but I seem to have a bunch of duplicate tracks in my (huge) iTunes library and it's annoying as heck. I can remove them by hand, but it's tedious and I'm afraid of user error. I checked out the "Show Duplicates" feature in iTunes, but it seems to think that songs with the same name by different artists on different albums are dupes. Uh, no. So what's the solution, Dave? Oh, if it matters, I'm on an iMac.

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_de-dupe_remove_duplicate_tracks_apple_itunes.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_de-dupe_remove_duplicate_tracks_apple_itunes.html Mac OS X Help Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:09:46 -0700 Review: "Gold Strike" for the Apple iPhone Another game for the iPhone? I already have over a hundred games on my iPhone (one reason my kids are always stealing my phone!) so when my friend Gary dropped me a note to let me know that his long-time hit Gold Strike [iTunes link] was now available through the iPhone App Store, I was skeptical. He writes great games but still, another game? Fortunately, I sprang for the $0.99, dropped it onto my phone and am impressed!

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/review_gold_strike_for_the_apple_iphone.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/review_gold_strike_for_the_apple_iphone.html Articles and Reviews Wed, 27 Jan 2010 08:37:18 -0700 How can I sell my photographs online? Hi, my name is Viola and I'm going to be a mom, a single one but a mom and I am a photographer. I've had my own show for my photos and I was wondering if you can guide me to finding some websites that will buy my stock photos of Colorado and other places. I really need help so I am able to save money for baby stuff so if you can't I'm sorry for wasting your time, I just have a very strong passion for photography.

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_sell_stock_photographs_online.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_sell_stock_photographs_online.html Business and Management Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:39:19 -0700 Why is my MacBook Pro suddenly running hot? This is weird, but all of a suddenly my MacBook Pro is running really hot and the fan keeps turning on. Not a big deal, but I'm used to it being quiet and smooth without ever even being aware of its temperature. Is there a power supply problem, as my Dad suggests, or is it something else going on? I'm just afraid that my Mac is about to die and that'd be a disaster!

]]> http://www.askdavetaylor.com/why_is_apple_macbook_pro_suddenly_running_hot.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/why_is_apple_macbook_pro_suddenly_running_hot.html Mac OS X Help Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:32:15 -0700 How can I block Facebook apps from posting on my Wall? I keep seeing messages posted on my Facebook wall from friends of mine who are running Facebook applications like "Pillow Fight". How can I block these messages from being posted on my wall? http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_block_facebook_apps_posting_status_wall.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_to_block_facebook_apps_posting_status_wall.html MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and Social Network Help Sat, 23 Jan 2010 08:35:53 -0700 How can I delete my browsing history in Microsoft Internet Explorer 8? My mom keeps checking out what sites I visit and I want to clean up my tracks. It's not that I'm going anywhere I shouldn't - of course - but I just really want some privacy and just want to be able to wipe my MSIE8 (Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0) browsing history. How do I do that? http://www.askdavetaylor.com/delete_browsing_history_microsoft_internet_explorer_8.html http://www.askdavetaylor.com/delete_browsing_history_microsoft_internet_explorer_8.html Computer and Internet Basics Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:24:03 -0700