Posts Tagged ‘internet’
Question Asked: How Do I Create A Filter in Gmail?
Creating a filter is a quick and easy way to do a number of things, such as; auto-tag messages based on who they came from, auto-archive things you don’t necessarily need to see, or auto delete messages when they come in.
To create a filter, do the following:
- Click Create a filter (next to the Search the Web button at the top of any Gmail page).
- Enter your filter criteria in the appropriate field(s).
- Click Test Search to see which messages currently in Gmail match your filter terms. You can update your criteria and run another test search, or click Next Step.
- Select one or more actions from the list. These actions will be applied to messages matching your filter criteria in the order in which the actions are listed — for example, you could choose to Forward matching messages to a specific email address, then Delete the messages.
- If you’d like to apply this filter to messages already in Gmail, select the Also apply filter to x conversations belowcheckbox.
- Click Create Filter.
Repeat the steps for each additional filter you want to create.
Question Asked: Can I Listen to my iTunes Songs Away From Home?
There’s nothing built into iTunes that will allow you to stream your music to somewhere you aren’t. You can stream music to other rooms in your home, on the same wi-fi network, with Airport Express, which I talk about here.
However, there is a number of solutions that will let you stream music over the internet from iTunes. A co-worker recommended Simplify Media to me a few days ago. He was using it primarily to stream music from his iTunes library to his iPhone while he was on the go.
The reviews I read of the iPhone app were less than desirable, mainly because of a strain on battery power. So I skipped that aspect of their application.
I installed the PC software at home, where my library is. Then installed it on my iMac at work.
I logged in and it told me it’d take a bit to process my library because it was so large. Once done, the library I named “Home” showed up in my iTunes Shared Library list. Along with all my playlists.
And the best part: the audio quality is perfect. There’s no compression or loss of quality as far as I can tell. It sounds as though I am sitting at home and listening to the tracks on my computer.
Also, Simplify Media also does photos over the same process. So you can get access to all of your photos as a shared library in iPhoto, as well.
This answer pertains specifically to iTunes. However, Simplify Media also works with any media player of your choice that supports shared music libraries. It’s not limited to iTunes, though that is what it was designed for.
Question Asked: What Is FTP?
If you’ve been reading any of my answers to website and Internet related questions, you’ve probably figured out that I know a fair amount about those things, and thus enjoy answering them. Needless to say, I don’t have to do much research when these questions come in.
FTP is yet another acronym, which as you can see – the Internet technology folks love acronyms. FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. What it basically means, in layman’s terms, is a way for you to connect to a web server with no command line knowledge to upload your files to the web.
Pretty simple really.
All you need is an FTP enabled web server (99.99999% of them are) and an FTP client on your computer. There’s a zillion FTP clients for your computer. My only advice is that if you have to pay for it, it’s no good. I use FireFTP, which is a plugin for FireFox. That way I don’t need to open another application, I can do my uploading right from FireFox, which is convenient.
Wikipedia defines FTP as:
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a network protocol used to transfer data from one computer to another through a network such as the Internet.
FTP is a file transfer protocol for exchanging and manipulating files over a TCP computer network. An FTP client may connect to an FTP server to manipulate files on that server.
More or less a more confusing way to say what I said. FTP is absolutely necessary if you have, or want to have, a website on the internet.
Question Asked: How Do I Register A Domain Name?
Nowadays, registering a domain name is super easy, and pretty inexpensive. Whereas, years ago, it was a complicated process, and could cost as much as $100 direct from a registrar.
There’s a number of companies that sell domain names (they also sell web hosting, too, but that’s not what your question was about. If you need to know about web-hosting, check here.)
I’ve been a fan of DomainSite.com for a number of years, namely because their prices are good, and they don’t try to oversell you with services that you don’t need (like some other companies.)
The domain name will cost you $7.88 for one year. There’s a cheaper option, but it doesn’t come with a lot of features that you need, to utilize your domain name correctly.
Keep in mind, there’s literally tens of thousands of companies out there that sell domains. And there’s no difference between a company that sells the domain for $5, versus $50. Domain names are the same, don’t be duped into paying $34.95 to Network Solutions, just because they come up highly in search engine rankings. Their domains are no different than anyone else’s.
Question Asked: What Is An RSS Feed?
RSS Feed Icon
An RSS feed, generally indicated by the image to the right there, is known as a Really Simple Syndication.
What that means is, you can “subscribe” to this RSS feed via an RSS feed reader (built into Outlook 2007, Google, etc.), and automatically get updates from that website, without having to go there.
In many cases, you can avoid the tons of ads that sites put up to make revenue.
Often times, publishers (site owners) opt to not put the entire content of their posts into their RSS feeds, as an enticement to get you to come to visit their site, and potentially click on ads, or at least see them.
I’ve just started subscribing to RSS feeds myself, for sites that I gather facts, news and information from, without having to go searching for sites, or remembering what sites I often visit. Having the RSS feeds right there in my Outlook is beneficial.
For more information on what RSS is, and how to use it, check out whatisrss.com