Tech Tips and Tricks

Explore our collection of practical tips to make technology work better for you.

• Quickly make a video from pictures of your event:

  There are programs dedicated to making pictures into videos, but most of them cost money and all of them have drawbacks one way or another. If you just have 10 minutes and a pile of digital pictures you would like to use to document say a trip your family just took then this is my suggestion. Open your favorite slideshow program (Open Office is free for example, more advanced ones like PowerPoint have more options.

  Select a template that works for you and import the pictures you want into the slideshow. You can then randomize transitions and even animations on the pictures if desired for flavor and save it real quick before something goes wrong!

  Finally, add narrations if desired so there is audio about the pictures too, this involves a microphone and you just talk for a bit about each slide and the program records it. Finaly export the slideshow as a video with options that match you distribution goal and your audio. I.e. upload to youtube and share with the rest of the family or coworkers? As is typical with these kinds of things you can take longer than 10 minutes getting little finer points exactly like you like them, but you can also just let it flow and get it done depending on the level of finish desired. Give it a go!



• Windows backup that is easy to test and makes sense to access. :

  Especially when you have a planned scenario that will be a major change to your Windows computer this is a simple method to backup your computer to make it easier to use the 'old system' in a 'complete' way. Make sure you are not using more than half of the space on your main disk (typically C:\).

  From the Microsoft download page download Disk2VHD part of Sysinternals suite of applications. Run that as administrator ideally pointed to another disk like an external disk and select the checkbox to prepare it for virtual machine. This can take a few hours depending on several factors. You already have a backup of your files, now just create a new virtual machine in Hyper-V (install is in settings (windows Add-ons) if not done already. Now the computer is a whole computer inside of your existing computer and you can access it and the applications in it just as you did before.

  There are a few things different with it being virtualized, but not many and it works fine for accessing things you might have forgotten like bookmarks or old programs that are difficult to find as files.



• Does your alert system notifications get buried in your other text messages or emails?:

  FITC is looking for beta testers for a notification plug in for these types of alert systems.

  Think of a custom API that can be called by a web call from Nagios or other monitoring applications directly followed up with client applications that alert you in specific and configurable ways. And right now, you can help shape and use without cost during the beta. Call or email me to get in on this!



• How do you want communicate?:

  I have worked with multiple system monitoring applications so when in came time to make a custom text application to aid in communication around the house I built a notification system with an API that we could build multiple clients for.

  The short story is this allows me to speak with other family members when classic verbal or text methods are not effective, and the long story is that we ended up with a enterprise class application that can be plugged into most monitoring solutions to make alerts more productive and distinctive.

  Interested in your own solution for home or work? Give me a call!



• Custom Application designed for long term use:

  Over two decades ago I could not find a money management program that was simple but still had the features I wanted, so I wrote my own.

  I have moved it into a newer version and newer language about two decades ago but still use it myself all the time.

  This is an example of building a tool to last, it is simple, but helpful and built to last. Windows 11 wasn't even thought of at that point but it still works in that Operating System for example. You can view a copy of that program on my personal website at: my $$PLUS page.



• Quick Desktop Access on Windows:

  Press Win+M to minimize all windows and view your desktop instantly. This works with default settings and uses the Windows key near the Alt key by the spacebar.

• Move Emails Between Accounts:

  Advanced email clients like Outlook allow you to drag and drop emails between accounts, such as from Gmail to Outlook.

  This is useful for consolidating data or managing storage limits. Note that corporate policies may restrict this for personal accounts only. Contact us for more email management insights.



• Undo and Redo Shortcuts:

  Use Ctrl+Z to undo and Ctrl+Y to redo in most applications.

  Toggle between before and after states in graphics or text editors by pressing Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+Y multiple times to compare changes, such as filters or drawings.

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