Google Voice, Revisited

I wrote about Google Voice several months back, but they have so many new features that I knew it was time to share again!

Google Voice is yet another amazing and free tool that, once you start using it regularly, you will never know how you lived without it before! The service provides you with a free virtual telephone number that you can forward to any phone number or straight to an email address if you choose not to take calls.

Here's an example: You spend the weekdays at work where you have bad cell reception, so during the weekday work hours, you can forward your Google Voice (GV) number to your work phone. After work, you can forward your GV number to your cell phone. And at night when you are sleeping, you can forward your GV number straight to email so that you will not be interrupted.  You distribute your GV number, and you decide when, where and how you are contacted each day.

How I Use Google Voice:

• I give my GV number to those businesses that I want to contact me again, but I don't want them to have direct access to me.  I want to choose how and when we communicate. For example, when I give blood, I give the agency my GV number because I don't want to answer their weekly calls requesting more of my blood for the rest of my adult life! I still would like to know that they called and that they have a shortage of my blood type, but I much prefer they just leave me a voice mail that I can hear later.
• My high school students who want to use me as a reference for a prospective job. I really don't want to give them my cell phone number, but I don't mind giving them my GV number since all calls and voice mails are sent directly to my email account.  No prank calls at 2am!
• Sign up to get text messages from my stores and other businesses. Some of my favorite stores have text message sign ups, and I want to be included on their text messages including sales and coupons, but I don't really want all of their advertising to clutter my text message inbox. 
  

(Note: I use GV as my secondary phone number as you see above, but Google now offers number porting, so you could move your cell phone number into GV if you want to use it in that way.) 

All of these calls, voice mails, and text messages go straight to my GV account then I receive an email notification. The great part about GV is its ability to personalize. You can receive calls to any phone number at specific hours of the day or never at all.

After you have created an account, you will be amazed at all of the ways people use GV!  They have a YouTube Channel with more ways to fully utilize their service.

I would love to hear how you are using Google Voice!

Join.Me for Free Remote Screen Sharing

A few weeks ago, I showed you how to send videos to your parents (and others) about how to do simple things on the web, like copy and paste, change your homepage and attach a picture to an email.  But sometimes, my parents have a problem with their computer, that despite all of their efforts to explain it to me, I can't seem to diagnose by phone. 

I have found several options to be able to be able to remotely view their computer screen, but none of them are free, and that fact was holding me back from using them.

Last week, I stumbled upon a tool that is easy to use, web-enabled, and FREE!  It's called Join.me and requires no registration.  The software runs through your web browser and works very well!  The site itself is simple, reminds me of Bing.

To begin, the person who needs help clicks the orange "Share" button and receives a number on the top of their screen. You type that number on the Join.me site in the green section, and you are connected. It's just that easy!  And your mom and dad will be forever thankful to you for fixing their computer!

Try Join.me today, and let me know how it works for you.  Do you know of any other free remote sharing applications?

Online Photo Journals

In looking back on my life, the parts of my life where I kept a journal are the ones where I feel like I made the best choices and was confident in those choices later. For me, there is something beautiful and beneficial in looking back and looking forward through words and pictures.

Over the years, I have tried many types of journals -- pretty pink diaries with locks, simple spirals from the drug store, leather bound journals, online blogs, and more recently, photo journals.

Sometimes I take pictures with my phone, other times with my camera. Either way, it's quick and easy to upload pictures to any of these sites. Currently, I use: Shuttercal as my photo journal, but I'm planning to test each of these out until I find out that fits me.

http://shuttercal.com/
http://www.loggel.com/
http://dailybooth.com/
http://www.plurk.com/
http://280daily.com/

Do you keep a photo journal?  Or another type of daily journal?

Source: http://www.makeuseof.com/

Teach Parents Tech

If you know a little more about tech than your friends and family, there's a good chance that you are their lifeline when they are in times of dire technological need!  I know that I have spent time on the phone, in my parents' study, at my coworkers' desks, and in crafting emails to answer common techie questions.  Some questions are very specific and need my personal response, but other questions are common to most computer users who are still learning the basics.

Google feels your pain, and has created a new site called Teach Parents Tech that allows you to send your parents (or anyone else) a "tech support care package."

You begin by addressing the letter to your loved one, choosing an intro then selecting the videos (max: 12) that you think your friend or family member will enjoy watching.  There are about 50 videos in all.

After you have chosen your videos and a clever closing, you can preview your email, and off it goes!

Most videos are 30 seconds to 1 minute in length and are very clear and simple to understand.  If you would rather not send an email through their site, you can click View All Videos, click on a video and find the direct link to that video on YouTube.  Then you can send your own email with a more personalized response.

http://www.teachparentstech.org/

Google Translate on the web and on your smart phone

Online translation tools have come a long way in the last several years.  Though they still aren't perfect, they do a much better job than in the past.  My favorite tool for translation is Google Translate and is available online so it can be used on several different platforms...PC, Mac, smart phone, inside email, etc.

Google Translate does a great job of translating for you as you type on their site, and it remembers the last languages you used for translating, in case you frequently translate between the same two languages.

Google suggests downloading their own browser Google Chrome for automatic translation, but I haven't used it yet.  I do use Gmail for my personal email and love the integration of translation into email.  If I open an email that was written in Spanish, Google automatically translates the email to English for me.  And I can switch back and forth between English and Spanish with one button click. 

Google highlights words in both languages as you roll over them with your mouse to better understand which words coordinate in both languages.

Google will even read your translated text to you with a "Listen" link!


Try out Google's free translation tool and let me know what you think, or let me know if you use another online translation tool that I have missed.

http://translate.google.com/

Update: Google Translate now has its own iPhone app.

8 Ways to Use Evernote

Evernote is best friend, technologically speaking.  Each week, I find another way to use Evernote to remember something, keep a list, track items, and so on. Once you start using Evernote, you will most certainly wonder how you ever remembered anything without it!

8 Ways to Use Evernote:

1. Grocery list: I keep my grocery list in Evernote and update it regularly.  I usually have my phone in my pocket, so I can add items while I'm cooking in the kitchen and find that we are out of a certain item.  (I also make lists of items that I want for other places like the library, my Netflix queue, and the hardware store.)
2. Blood pressure stats: High blood pressure runs in my family, so I keep an eye on my blood pressure by checking it occasionally in the pharmacy. I keep a list of my stats including date and time I took my BP.  The complete list is ready to show my doctor at my next checkup.
3. Recipes: I keep all of my favorite recipes in Evernote, so they are always at hand.  If I'm at the grocery store and decide to make my Dad's Chicken Stew, I can quickly pull up the recipe to see if I need to buy any extra items for the stew.  If I'm at a party and a friend asks me for Dad's recipe, I can email it to her with one click right from my phone.
4. Bits of Information: I can't find a better way to explain those little things that you always want to remember when you are out and about. It might be the name of a store I'd like to visit or a TV show that a friend recommended while we were having lunch.  It could be a website that I saw on a billboard or a reminder to myself to check the smoke detectors when I get home.  I have a catch-all list that I update throughout the day then act on the items when I'm in front of the computer later in the day.
5. Pictures of Items: I take pictures with my phone all the time and import them straight into Evernote for quick access later.  Items like...an idea for a birthday present for my nephew, a price tag for a food processor that I'm considering buying this month, the odd-shaped light bulb for my lamp that just burned out, and a book that a friend brought to lunch that I would like to find at the library next week.
6. Journal: I use Evernote to keep my daily journal. Because I type much faster than I write, I can quickly reflect on the day using my computer or my phone.  For a journal to work for me, it needs to be easily accessible, and nothing is easier for me than Evernote!
7. New Year's Resolutions:  This one couldn't be more timely!  I keep my resolutions for the new year on Evernote, so I always have them to look over.  On a monthly basis, I refer again to my resolutions and reflect on my progress so far.
8. Bucket List: My FAVORITE note in Evernote is my personal bucket list -- things I would like to do before I die. I love reading over the list, considering how I might accomplish those items, and on a rare occasion, actually marking an item on the list as "Complete!"

As you can see from the list above, using Evernote from my phone is a critical part of its success. When I'm at work and my phone is tucked away in my desk, I use the web version of Evernote to update my notes as necessary.  I love that everything syncs right after I hit save, so I know I always have the latest and greatest! 

And Evernote is fully searchable, so if I know that I wrote something about roasted vegetables a couple months ago, I can quickly for the terms and find all of my notes that mention "roasted vegetables" in a matter of seconds.

I hope that you will use Evernote to stay organized in the new year and stop by here to tell me about your success!

Evernote is available on PC, Mac, iOS, Android, and in your web browser for web clipping.  You don't have any excuse to get started!

http://www.evernote.com/

Blogs and Websites to add to your RSS Reader

I have been using an RSS reader for several years now.  I started with Bloglines, and about two years ago, I switched to Google Reader.

If you have never used an RSS reader to stay informed on what's happening in the news, with your friends, and in your industry, check out my previous post about using Google Reader.

Once you are setup with an RSS reader, it's time to find some great blogs to read!  I have compiled my favorite blogs in several different categories. 

Technology
Mashable
How-To Geek
Digitizd

Personal Finance
The Simple Dollar
Get Rich Slowly
Frugal Dad

Food
Kath Eats Real Food
Bakerella
Cooking Through Life Together

Coupons and Deals
Hip2Save
Groupon Girl
Dealusional

Miscellaneous
The Pioneer Woman
Dooce
Lifehacker

Feel free to chime in with your favorites in the Comments section below!

How to use Google Reader to stay informed

I use Google Reader everyday to stay informed with what's happening in my industry, with my friends and family, and to read my favorite blogs about cooking, photography, technology, and entertainment.  If you aren't currently using an RSS reader to read your favorite websites and blogs, take a look at the videos that I made below to get you started.

Part 1:



Part 2:




Get started with Google Reader today!

http://www.google.com/reader

Free food at restaurants during your birthday month

Did you know that you can eat for free during your birthday month?

Restaurants would love for you to celebrate your birthday dinner with them, but if you have a lot of favorite restaurants, you can eat for free all month long!

Check out the restaurants in the list below.  Join their Email Club, and you will receive a coupon for signing up or for your birthday.  If you don't want all of the emails to clutter up your main box, you may want to start a separate email account just for your coupons and offers.  I suggest Gmail.  Here is the current list:

AMC Theatres
Benihana
Blue Mesa Grill (Dallas/Ft. Worth area)
Buca di Beppo
Buffalo Wild Wings 
Dairy Queen
Dickey's Barbeque
Freebirds
Great American Cookies
La Duni (Dallas/Ft. Worth area)
Macaroni Grill
McAlister's Deli
Melting Pot
Mimi's Cafe
On the Border 
Qdoba
Raising Cane's
Santa Fe Cattle Co.
Starbucks
Sweet Tomatoes/Souplantation
Taco Bueno
Texas de Brazil
Texas Land & Cattle
TGI Friday's
Wendy's 

This list is only a start.  Find the website of your favorite restaurants and look for a place to sign up for email promotions.  Free food is coming!

Get that song out of your head!

It drives me crazy when I have a song stuck in my head, and nothing will help me to forget it!

Cue UnHearIt. It's a website whose sole purpose is to get that song out of your head!  The only problem with the site is that the new song in your head might be just as bad as the old one.

http://unhearit.com/