Common Air Conditioning Mistakes, Ejecting USB Drives, Files Backup, Homezada and Software Tips
John Vrooman | July 11, 2019
I think most people would agree that working in a hot and humid environment is likely to negatively affect one’s motivation, concentration and productivity. To help with this, I would encourage everyone to review an article titled “11 Air Conditioner Blunders to Avoid on Hot Summer Days” that’s available at the makeuseof.com website. Personally, I found a couple of tips within the article that has helped me better manage my air-conditioned home and work environments. I’m confident that many of you will also find a tip or two that will help you to better use and manage your air-conditioned space(s), too. Here’s a link to the article…www.tinyurl.com/y275smts
Portable Storage Devices
I’m confident that many (most?) Windows computer users will eventually find themselves needing to use a portable USB drive for one reason or another. I’m also confident that most people don’t properly eject these devices, prior to removing them from their computers. What you need to know is that you risk data loss/corruption if you don’t properly eject your USB drives. How do you properly “eject” a USB storage device before removing it? For the answer to this important and possible data-saving question, please visit the online-tech-tips.com website and review the article titled “Do You Really Need to Eject a USB Drive Before Removing?” Here’s a courtesy link to the article…www.tinyurl.com/y2rxyefu
Backing Up Your Important Computer Files
If you don’t have a regular computer backup solution, it’s time to implement one! While there are many computer backup solutions available, I came across an easy one at the helpdeskgeek.com website. The easy solution I found involves the use of a free Windows utility and a backup drive (like a USB flash drive). The free software utility is called “SyncToy 2.1” and it’s available for download at Microsoft’s website. The following link leads to an article titled “The Easiest Way to Back Up Your Windows Computer.” If you follow the article’s step-by-step instructions, you should end up with a backup of your important files. Here’s the link…www.tinyurl.com/y26662ap (Good luck & consider doing this NOW!)
HomeZada
HomeZada is a “digital home management platform” that can be used by both homeowners and professionals. A good way to familiarize yourself with HomeZada is to 1) explore the service’s website, and 2) review the videos that are available on its YouTube channel. Home Improvement, Home Maintenance, Home Inventory, Home Finances, Maintenance Checklists and Remodel Templates are the major components of the service, but there are some additional features as well. To learn more, here’s a link to the service’s website (www.homezada.com), and YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/HomeZada).
Tip: Consider introducing HomeZada to previous and future home buyers and sellers as a touchpoint, or as a thoughtful closing gift.
Some Free-to-Affordable PDF Tools
For various reasons, I come across and collect a lot of PDF files. Frequently, I find myself wanting to delete, re-order, add, mark-up, etc. pages from many of these files. Fortunately, there are software tools available that enable me to do these tasks. An article I found at askbobrankin.com titled “Free Tools to Manage PDF Files” highlights some handy PDF tools that you can learn more about, download, and test out yourself. To get to the article, please visit www.tinyurl.com/y4ns55db (The article contains links to several handy PDF tools)
Fitsmallbusiness.com
“40 Best Real Estate Software & Tools for Top Agents in 2019” is the title of an article that I came across at the fitsmallbusiness.com website. While some of the software tools mentioned in the article weren’t new to me, a surprising number of them were! (So, I think there’s a good chance that some of the tools will be new to you, too.) Here’s the link to the article…www.tinyurl.com/yxskjk3v
Tip: If you decide to visit fitsmallbusiness.com, I would encourage you to explore the site a bit. If you do, you’re likely to come across numerous articles on a variety of topics that may interest you.
If you have comments, suggestions, tips, questions or just want to say “Hi”, you can contact me at john@johnvrooman.com. I always enjoy hearing from you!
John Vrooman keeps an eye out for cool new hardware, software, apps, gadgets; SaaS solutions; social media developments, trends as well as personal/SMB productivity and related solutions. He gathers information for his column from a diverse range of resources and he enjoys sharing his discoveries with others. He has been authoring this column since August 2000 and welcomes feedback from his readers.