Web posts - How To- Page 67

How to use Yipit on your iPhone

Just in time for Black Friday and the holiday-shopping season to follow, Yipit has released an iOS app that aggregates offers from Groupon, Living Social, and over 800 other daily deals sites. Like most daily deals sites, the Yipit app works best if you live in a major metro area. The app is free, however, and lets you select categories so that you get a manageable list of deals to sift through.

After you launch the app, it'll ask you to allow it to know your location. If you allow it, you won't have to then select your city (or the nearest large city) from the list. In my case, I'm located in Concord, NH, and the closest city to me that Yipit listed was Boston. (One reason I signed up for Living Social is that it has a Southern New Hampshire category, which will occasionally surface a deal in my town or the surrounding area.)… Read more

How to get more work done in Google Docs

Not many people use only one computer. In fact, most of us hop from machine to machine in the course of a workday.

The best way to make sure you can access your important files from any of the various machines in your digital life is to store the files online. If you use Google Docs as your online file repository, these tips will help shorten your workday.

Send a zipped copy of all your Google Docs files to your hard drive Most PC users back up their important files by copying them to an optical disc or USB storage … Read more

How to mute background tabs in Chrome

Sometimes we leave tabs open on YouTube videos, Flash games, or other sites that pipe tunes or other noises through our speakers. This can be incredibly aggravating when starting up Chrome, as many of these will start to play over each other, and over music we want to listen to.

There's an easy alternative to muting everything or hunting through every possible tab: MuteTab. This extension is a great way to zap offending tabs; here's how to use it:

Install the MuteTab extension here. It may be a good idea to restart Chrome afterward. Click the … Read more

How to get the new YouTube layout right now

The new YouTube design is slowly rolling out to users, but if you aren't the waiting kind, there is a way to enable it right now. … Read more

How to listen to Web sites in Chrome

Text-to-speech can assist people with disabilities in using computers or read documents to people while their eyes' attention is needed elsewhere.

Chrome Speak, an extension available for Google Chrome, offers the ability to listen to text on any Web site. The extension doesn't require any Internet connection, making it a bit faster than many other TTS extensions. Here's how to get started with using it:

Step 1: Install Chrome Speak from the Google Chrome Web store.

Step 2: Right-click on the headphones icon to adjust the extensions settings. Here you can tinker with how … Read more

Which music service should you use?

You just want to listen to some good music.

At this point, music lovers and listeners now have 10 scrillion ways to listen to music online. But where to start? Do you patiently upload all your music to Google Music? Do you check out what your friends are listening to on Spotify? Rdio? Mog? Pandora? Which ones are free, and which ones cost money? Or do you just forget about online music and just go back to listening to CDs (assuming they'll even be around in a couple of years)?

I'll be focusing on on-demand music services where … Read more

How to get Twitter SMS alerts for retweets, follows and favorites

Twitter recently started rolling out the new Activity Stream to reveal more information about what the people you follow are doing on Twitter. … Read more

How to play videos from Google Docs on Android

Since Google Docs doesn't require you to sign up for yet another cloud storage account, it's the perfect place to host some of your files.

And what better files to host than videos--ones you can play on your mobile Android devices? Here's how to get started:

Step 1: Log in to Google Docs and upload a video or two for later watching. Keep in mind you will need to adhere to the storage limits of your Google Docs account.

Step 2: Install the Google Docs app on your device and check that you have a decent Internet … Read more

How to get on a sold-out flight

If you've got a little flexibility in your travel schedule, you can try to hit the optimal flight even if it's booked. Cancellations happen more frequently than you may realize, but it's crazy-making to keep checking back with the airline's Web site. ExpertFlyer lets you select a flight, then sends notifications if a seat opens up. Here's how to use it:

Head over to the ExpertFlyer Web site and sign up. The free version lets you keep one seat alert active at a time. Once you've validated your account, click "… Read more

How to create a banner photo for your Google+ profile

Google+ has a cool five-photo lineup near the top of your profile page, so why not utilize it for something awesome?

Bored of five random images? Then it's time to try this free Web tool. You don't need to install any fancy programs; all you need is a Web browser, a large picture you like (of yourself or anything else), and a few minutes of your time.

Step 1: Head to this site and click on the Upload Your Picture button.

Step 2: Locate the picture you want to use for the banner. This image should be at … Read more