PC Doctor March 17, 2010
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Dear PC Doctor:
Someone gave me a digital photo frame for my birthday and I’m not really sure what the thing is for. Can you give me some ideas or should I just regift it to someone else?
Tom
Dear Tom:
If you take digital photos, these frames are a cool way to display them. Many businesses use them to advertise their services – it’s really like a mini slide show they create to scroll through automatically while you stand in line (for instance) and can see what they offer. I keep one on my kitchen counter and look through vacation pictures just to enjoy them while I am cooking dinner. Other friends I know have it in their living room and have a variety of family and friend pictures. They’re just fun – so if you got one, you might find you enjoy it.
As I said you will need to get the photos onto your frame. If you take digital photos from a camera with a memory card (checking to make sure that your frame will take your particular size card of course), you can just push the card into the proper slot in the back of the frame. Plug it in, turn it on and off you go. I would download the photos to my computer or where ever you save your pictures first just to make sure that you have a backup.
Many of the new ones can actually store photos on the frame itself so if yours is one of those, then you will need to organize the pictures you want to display on your computer, connect the computer and the frame with a cord and upload. Check your manual for your situation. If you didn’t get a comprehensive manual with it, just go to the website for the brand and look under ‘support’ or ‘documentation’ to find yours.
If you don’t have a digital camera or computer, you could have a friend scan some photos and upload them for you. If none of these methods appeal to you, then maybe it’s not for you and someone is about to get a great gift!
PC Doctor
Dear PC Doctor:
I know I’ve seen this somewhere before but I give up trying to find it. I need new glasses but can’t afford them right now so I need to make the text on the screen larger when I am searching the Internet. Can you help me?
Katey
Dear Katey:
There are a couple of ways you can do this. One is to hold down the Control (CTRL) key and hit the + (plus) key at the same time. If you get carried away and you made it too big, then just again hold the Control key and hit the – (minus) key.
The second way is to look at the bottom right of the Internet Explorer window and you should see what looks like a magnifying glass with 100% next to it. This is a zoom feature and if you click the down arrow next to it, a list of options for reducing or enlarging the text will appear. Just choose the one that fits you.
PC Doctor
Tip of the week: It’s tax time and we’re winding down to April 15th. If you need specific tax forms from this year and also past years, just go to www.irs.govand you can find what you need! Just click on “Forms and Publications” from the left hand column. In searching for previous tax years, just type in the search box the year and forms (2007 Forms for example). Find and print out the form you desire. You can also get the instruction booklet for each form online as well.
Until next time… happy computing!
