Techreluctant.com

There are lots of fun things out there in the tech world. Sometimes they just tickle you and you’re glad you found them. They make life easier, more pleasant or just more fun. For me, one of these things is the Analogy screensaver by Jesson Yip. It’s clean, it’s simple, it’s free, and it’s just great to look at. Described as a digital, analog clock, the analogy screensaver will liven up your screen from the flying windows or the 3D text that you may have on there now. Yip says that the screensaver “…presents an everyday object with a fresh twist” and that is exactly what it does. What more could you want?

You’ve probably heard about twitter. Another new thing to figure out. You just got caught up on this whole email thing, dipped your toe into the facebook world and now you’re hearing about twittering and tweets and all the associated puns. But just what is twitter? To explain, most places define it using that now tired phrase “social networking” and the new phrase “microblogging”. But I like to compare it to the old days when we telephoned one another and you would ask the other person on the other end of the phone, “what are you doing” and they would say “oh, just doing the dishes,” or “watching TV” or, if they’re a smartypants like my husband, “talking to you on the phone”. Well, that is exactly what twitter does. It is simply a place for you to answer the question “what are you doing?” And you better make it short and sweet because twitter posts can be no longer than 140 characters. Now, your next question is why would you care if someone is doing their dishes or watching TV and you would be right to ask it. Some posts are as mundane as what’s for supper and some could be as interesting as announcing a divorce. Others, like me, try to use it as a bit of self-promotion and tell you when there is a new blog post or that they will be at a book-signing or on the radio. I subscribe to (or follow) twitters that give away free iPod Touch apps and they let their followers know of new giveaways. As twitter is developing, more and more people are including links to websites and twitpics (links to pictures) in their tweets (the twitter posts one makes on twitter) . Although I am only mildly interested in twitter, all the links and pictures make me even less interested because they defeat the whole idea of brevity which is the backbone of twitter.

The truth is, if you’re really tech-reluctant, twitter is probably not your cup of tea. But, as I always tell my son, you won’t know if you don’t try. So, if you’re interested, you could just check out a few accounts on twitter to get an idea of it. You can find me at my techreluctant account  or my tchaulk account. There’s also one from CBC NL you might want to check out. And even Jane Fonda (or one of her staff) is twittering. But if you don’t understand what the big deal is, maybe you’d like a laugh at twitter’s expense. Check out the recent Doonsbury cartoons about twittering. Here’s the first of them and you can just click next to follow them.

Maybe you’re a bit thumbs-challenged and can’t type very well on your cell phone. But maybe you like the idea of sending a quick message to a friend who’s on the go or to your husband in order to remind him to pick up milk or you just want to send your text message for free. Well, you can send text messages to a cell phone from the web. Most cell phone companies provide online text messaging (see a short list below) or you can go somewhere like txtdrop.com and text message away. If your provider’s link is not here, just google your providers name and “online text messaging”. If txtdrop.com is not your cup of tea, just google “online text messaging”.

Bell

Rogers

Telus

Verizon

You know it’s Monday and all that email at work has piled up over the weekend. Lots of spam and a few messages with a dozen fwds in the text as they’ve been passed on from person to person. But should you be the one to pass this one on? Chances are the answer is no because most of these emails that ask you to forward them so that someone can get money or so that some wish can come true are actually not true. Sometimes it is simply an annoyance that you keep the message going and going and going. But sometimes it can be dangerous and sometimes it can be damaging to a company, a person, or an organization.

One such email I received recently is about a dying child who wants to receive money from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The names change. I’ve received them about children with different names but mostly Amy Bruce. They vary a little from message to message but one such email is:

Hi, my name is Amy Bruce.

I am 7 years old, and I have severe lung cancer . I also have a large tumor in my brain, from repeated beatings. Doctors say I will die soon if! this isn’t fixed, and my family can’t pay the bills. The Make A Wish Foundation, has agreed to donate 7 cents for every time this message is sent on. For those of you who send this along, I thank you so much, but for those who don’t send it, what goes around comes around. Have a Heart, please send this.

Please, if you are a kind person, send this on.

PLEASE HIT FORWARD BUTTON NOT REPLY BUTTON.

YOUR’S FAITHFULLY,
AMY BRUCE
amy.bruce@[removed]

Nice people receive this email and immediately forward it, thinking they are doing something good. But the truth is that these emails have caused a lot of hardship on the Make-a-Wish Foundation. As the organization says on its website referring to this matter and the many inquiries they receive about these emails, “the time and expense required to respond to these inquiries distracts the Foundation from its efforts on behalf of children with life-threatening medical conditions…”

So next time you receive an email like this, just delete it and refer the sender and all the others who were sent the email, to the Make-A-Wish Chain Letter page (Canadian version here). If you want to help, there are ways to do so. Find out more at the Make-A-Wish Foundation or the Make-A-Wish Foundation Canada.

If you’re like me, you are sometimes at the computer while holding a kid in your lap and typing with one hand. At times like that, you might think, as I do, that it sure would be easier if I could use my mouse to type. Well, you can. Just press your Windows Logo Key and the R key at the same time (don’t worry, mouse instructions are coming, I know you have that kid in your lap). That brings up your Run screen. Now type “osk” (minus the quotes) and voila, an on screen keyboard. Now, if you want to go the mouse way, it’s Start–>Programs–>Accessories–> On Screen Keyboard.

Seriously, you’re not too sure about all this technology stuff. Everyone is telling you to get on facebook, your kids type text messages to each other faster than you can turn on your phone, your boss tells you that the company is providing a blackberry to you so you can keep up on the emails you’ve fallen behind in, and sixteen of your friends just replied back from an email you forwarded onto them to let you know it was something you shouldn’t pass on. You don’t hate technology and you don’t love it but it’s part of your life. You’re tech-reluctant (or TR for short) and you need some help. Well, here it is. You’ll find shortcuts, tips, the very basic basics, trends you need to know about, definitions, free stuff, hoax email info, news, and anything else that can help the TRs of the world. Make techreluctant.com your regular stop to find help, info, tips, and more to make your technological life easier.