Ask Mr. Modem
Q. How can I upload a video from my iPhone or iPad to YouTube? Do I have to save it to my computer first and if so, in what format?
A. If you create a video using your iPhone or iPad, you do not need to save it to a computer in order to place it on YouTube. Simply tap the Send button (the square with a little arrow), then tap the YouTube option.
Q. Sometimes I long for the days of the floppy disc because they had labels on which I could write the disk’s contents. These days I use several USB flash drives which are too small to write anything on. How do you keep track of the contents on your flash drives, Mr. M?
A. I use different flash drives for different purposes so I don’t really have any need to label the contents in any specific manner on the exterior of the drive. For example, I have one flash drive that I use for backing up documents, one that I use for Quicken backups, a drive that I use for photos and one for music backups. When I insert a drive into a USB port, I can then easily view its contents.
Because I primarily work with documents, that’s the flash drive that I leave plugged into the USB port most of the time. I use Quicken on another computer, so that flash drive resides in one of that system’s USB ports. The photo and music flash drives I insert as needed. Some “experts” recommend that flash or thumb drives not be left in a computer when not being used, but having used flash drives since they first arrived on the digital scene, I have never experienced any problem leaving them inserted. And that way I know where the drive is, as well.
I generally purchase different color flash drives or at least flash drives that don’t look identical, which makes it even easier to keep track of what’s what.
Q. When I move the cursor on my laptop over the icon that lets me know whether the laptop is plugged in, a bubble pops up that shows “94 percent available. Plugged in, not charging.” Shouldn’t the battery be charging?
A. It’s possible that your particular battery won’t begin to charge until it is at a certain level, such as below 50 percent or 25 percent capacity. Plus, depending on the type of battery, you may not want small, partial charges because the battery may only have X number of charging cycles. If that’s the case, it doesn’t matter whether you charge it 10 percent or 90 percent, both count as one charge cycle, so the fact that it’s not charging could be to protect you from wasting finite charge cycles.
For a truly definitive answer as it relates to your specific computer/battery, I would recommend contacting the manufacturer of your laptop through its Web site Support area. In the alternative, look at your battery, note the brand, type or model number, then go to the manufacturer’s Web site where specific charging details and recommendations will be available.
Mr. Modem’s DME (Don’t Miss ’Em) sites of the month
CRAYON
The acronym CRAYON, stands for “CReAte Your Own Newspaper,” the name of one of the longest running sites on the Web, having made its debut in March 1995 — long before many people even heard of the Internet. To get started, I’d suggest going to the Help area, which will guide you through the process of creating your own newspaper with step-by-step instructions. If you have ever experienced the desire to only get the parts of a newspaper you enjoy reading, CRAYON can make that happen.
Jamie’s Home Cooking Skills
Whether you are a college student or single senior who has just entered the world of having to cook meals for yourself, someone who wants to learn more about cooking, or want to teach children or grandchildren how to cook, this site (created by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver) is for you. The site was designed for people with a desire to obtain their home cooking certification (who knew?), and to help enlist schools to provide the appropriate educational courses. Use the Index to select a course from the drop-down menu. It will display the recipes, skills, fact sheets, videos and images that go with that course. You can also head directly to Recipes, Skills, Activity Sheets or Fact Sheets from the navigation menu at the top of the page.
http://www.jamieshomecookingskills.com
NIH Senior Health
The National Institute of Health’s site for senior health information. I particularly like this site because it was designed for mature eyeballs, meaning the font is easily changed to something more readable. You can even change contrast colors to make it easier to read. The menu at the top of the page contains Health Topics A-Z and Video A-Z, from which you can select subjects or videos of interest.
