Social Networking….It’s Nothing New

There is certainly nothing new about social networking. It’s being going on since the beginning of man. It would take many forms, sitting around a fire, gathering at a feast, it could be families getting together or members of other villages.

As societies developed, social organizations came into being, with various clubs, church groups, and civic organizations. My own personal networking would be my membership in a veteran’s organization, meeting friends and coworkers at a café for breakfast, coffee shops or occasionally at the local bar.

So social networking has always been around in some form. Now with technology as advanced as it is, social networking has taken on a whole new structure. The computer and internet has brought people together like never before. We can connect with others with our smart phones, tablets and computers from anywhere we might be.

My first introduction to social networking through technology was MySpace (does that even still exist?). It was something my niece would get on after school each day. I never really paid any attention to it, just that she’d be on it for hours with her friends each day. This apparently was just something for the young teenagers. I would just continue working with the CAD program on the other computer while she did her MySpace thing.

I later heard about Facebook when some family members started hounding me to get an account so we could stay in touch. Well, I finally caved after a lot of resisting. So what did I first see? Everyone was playing games! That’s all there was and now they were after me to play games with them. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with games, it’s just not my cup of tea. Slowly there started to be some interaction with some real posts…but the games still plagued the news feed. I learned to stop them for awhile, but now they’re coming back again, if only they could be stopped for good. My experience with Facebook has been limited, with a few pages that I’ve subscribed to and posting and poking. All this interaction is only between existing friends and family. And of course the occasional tirade by some (family members) who just can’t agree with anything some of us have to say. So the Facebook networking still continues although it is very limited to just a few friends and family members. I’ve tried in vain to get my own children involved so we could interact, but that will never happen so I don’t push for that anymore.

There is also Twitter, one that I never got into. Some I know tweet about every little thing that goes on throughout the day. There are many who do use it productively in their every day business. Since I don’t use it and am not familiar with all the in’s and out’s of Twitter, I won’t comment on it any further. We’ll leave that up to those who use it and know it well.

Now there’s a new one, Google+. You might say it’s still in it’s infancy (being around less than a year) but growing up fast! I joined Google+ once it went public, thinking it was maybe a Facebook clone, but with out all the clutter. Oh, but I was wrong! Google+ has broken down all the barriers of social networking through the internet! Since joining Google+, here’s what I’ve found.

The obvious was that lack of all the clutter. I really liked the idea of the circles. You can organize all your people you have in your circles in a way that is meaningful to you. Create a new circle, give it a name and put the people you want in that circle. Each person you have in your circles can even be in more than one. It’s a great idea for complete control of where your people are and who you share things with. And as far as sharing goes, it’s easy to share with just who you want.

And there are the Hangouts. I only recently joined a Hangout and it was an awesome experience! You can hangout with up to 10 people at a time. Then what Google did was to give us the ability to share a document during the hangout. Now you can do even more! You’ll really need to check this feature out.

And now you might say, but all my friends are on Facebook and there not going there so I won’t either. Well, when I started on Google+ my friends wouldn’t join either. Some did and never used it, but others just refused. So if they don’t go, and you want people in your circles to interact with, there is an answer.

Public Circles. Yes there is such a thing. There are thousands of public circles that you can add, and many of these people will add you back. Now you have a start to make new friends with Google+. Now here’s the really neat part, you’ll meet people from all around the world! Oh, but now you say, “I don’t know their language”. Well, there’s an answer to that too, Google Translate.

A simple right click on the page and choose Translate to English and viola! you have it in English.

I could go on with much more, but I’ll let you explore for yourself.

The bottom line…if you wish to socialize on the internet, there are many options available to you. I only talked about a few here, but there are many more. So choose one or two or maybe even three. They are all different and all serve a different purpose. Get active and go out there and make some new friends or just stay in touch with the ones you have. One more thing I’d like to note. This is particularly helpful to those who may be physically or emotionally disabled to where they can’t get out every day to be with people. I personally am glad for it myself. Since I’ve been dependent on a wheelchair I can’t get around like I used to but I can still stay in touch people and make new friends everyday!

-Ed

Android OS is Seriously Fragmented….Really?

I just read another article about the seriously fragmented Android OS. Really? When is this insane rhetoric going to stop? Sure, there are many versions running on many different devices out there. Many of the older devices are not capable of running the new ICS and will never be upgraded.

So wouldn’t it be nice if we could all have the latest and greatest of everything? Sure it would, but that’s not even practical (unless we’re millionaires).

Here’s my point. How many of us are still running Windows XP, or maybe even an older version? I still have an XP machine, I only recently bought a laptop running Windows 7 (I missed Vista) and now Windows 8 is just around the corner. And then there are the suite of Office programs. My older machine still has Office 2003 installed, I then used 2007 and now I’m using 2010. Where are all the articles claiming that Microsoft is “fragmented”? Or Apple? Might there not be older Apple iOS machines still running out there?

I’m also the owner of a 1994 Chevy van. My budget doesn’t allow me to buy a 2012 model, especially since I also need one with a wheelchair lift. My TV’s are still the older tube type. A new LCD one is on my wish list and when I can budget a new one I will have it. The same with my cell phone. When I can I will move from my Rumor Touch to a new smart phone (hopefully running ICS) I will buy that also. Are all my things I need and use everyday “fragmented”?

I’m a NASCAR fan too, and I have never seen everyone cross the finish line at the same time….only one! Everyone else is behind the winner. Some are way behind….maybe 70 laps or more….and some never finish.

Isn’t it that way with technology too? All of technology is moving at such a rapid pace, how can everyone keep up the pace? Whenever there is a new release there is another one right on it’s heels! Should all the manufacturers stop and let everyone catch up?

I hope I’ve made my point here. There are going to be devices still running the older OS no matter who’s they are. Technology is advancing at breakneck speed. So let’s not even expect that everyone is going to be using the latest and greatest of everything. Let’s stop the BS already!

Android is not “fragmented” in my mind. There are just many older versions still running out there. I know what your probably going to say. It’s fragmented because some devise manufacturers are making changes to the OS to run on their devices, like Amazon’s Kindle Fire for example. There will we find some variations, sure. But when these people argue about all the versions that are still running, (and call it fragmentation) just consider the race. It’s fast moving and impossible for us all to keep up.

Just saying……..

Feel free to comment.

-Ed

All My Journals: Review

I’ve been looking for a journaling software program for quite some time now. To me it seemed awkward to use some of the office software I have installed on my computer. These programs did not quite fit right as a journaling software. I just wanted  to be able to open and start writing my thoughts and notes for the day without going through any formatting or anything.

Then I came across All My Journals by Bad Wolf Software. I downloaded and installed the free trial version of the program and started using it. This is the one I needed. It’s simple,clean and is not overloaded with features I will never use anyway.

The free trial version is just as it says…a trial. It doesn’t include all the features available in the licensed version and just one journal is available. The licensed version is the full version with all the features unlocked and you can have an unlimited number of journals.

Some may think, well, I never keep a diary so what would I need something like this for anyway? There was a time I thought this way too. Then I became disabled and had to start making regular visits to my doctors. They would ask questions and I didn’t have all the answers I should have. I would not think about asking the questions I should be asking…until I’d get home again. That’s when I realized that I needed something I could keep a journal with.

Let’s think for a moment what you might use All My Journals for. As I mentioned earlier, I use mine for notes to my doctor that I write right away when there is something she or he should be aware of. I’ve also been using it to keep a diary. I don’t write in it every day, but when there is something significant to write about. Perhaps you might want to use it to keep agenda notes for an upcoming meeting. Or keep minutes for your meetings. Maybe keep a diary of your golf games, fishing or hunting trips. Ladies can write about their ladies groups, knitting, book clubs or whatever. The ideas are endless, I could keep going on with more ideas, but I think you get my point. It’s for everyone, men, women, children, students and businessmen and businesswomen. You will find many uses that will be unique to your needs.

When you open All My Journals, it will open to today’s date and the last used journal. Just start writing, or chose the journal you want and start writing. You can choose from a list of fonts in preferences and you have all the basic formatting tools available to you. To make it easy to read your journal there is a reader built into it. You can print your journal and specify the range you want printed. It includes a search feature making searching for a particular entry easy. The Save As and Export allow you to export your journal that can be read by any word processing software. Backup does just as it says by backing up your journal for data recovery should you journal become corrupted or lost.

The program will always give you the choice to choose the current year or the next couple of years. But that does not mean future years are not available. As the years pass, future years will always be shown. It is a perpetual calendar so you’ll be able to use this for many years to come.

Do you have a need to take it with you to use on another computer? All My Journals can be installed on a thumb drive with the data saved there also so you can take it with you to use wherever you are.

One more thing I’d like to mention about Bad Wolf Software is their tech support. I’ve rarely had to use tech support with any software I use. I read their blog and they said they were working on a new feature and an update would be soon released. I thought I’d take a chance and contact them to find out if indeed it was on track to be released as planned. I received an immediate reply that it was expected to be released the following month. To my surprise, shortly after, I received an e-mail that the new version had been released that day and they included a link to go to their site to download the updated version! I was impressed! All to often I read of complaints about tech support. In this case I’m happy to report that their tech support is responsive to their customers. I put a lot of value in that.

In conclusion, All My Journals is a simple program that will do what you want, no more, no less. I highly recommend it and encourage all my readers to check it out for yourself.

Happy Journaling,

-Ed

Targeted Ads……Opt-Out?

 

We’ve all visited websites displaying numerous ads. These same ads seem to be popping up from places we’ve been around the internet. And yes, they are following us. Recently, this all came to a head when on my Facebook page the ads went way over the top with the flashing and the audio screaming at me. I couldn’t leave my Facebook page open any longer. I’d open it only to check it, then close again.

That’s what finally got me started investigating where these were all coming from. It seemed that some friends were not getting the same activity that I was. I started by clicking the link below one of the ads that read “about this ad”. Here is what I learned….

The link directed me to the website Pulse 360, an advertising agency who is a leader in content targeted advertising on the internet. Once here I first learned that I could opt-out of their tracking my movements around the web and they would no longer target ads at me when I visited any of the sites where they were posting ads. I opted out!.

While on their site they also had a link that would direct me to the Network Advertising Initiative website. The NIA helps protect our privacy online. When I clicked on their Opt-Out link I was directed to the Opt-Out page and was surprised to see the long list of active cookies that had been installed on my computer. I chose to ‘select all’ and then ‘submit’ to Opt-Out of all of them. However, there was one that is no longer with the NIA so I was provided a link to go to that site to opt-out. That one is Quantcast.

I then went to the Quantcast website and found they also had and active cookie on my computer. I opted out of that one too.

Now maybe my Facebook page was cleaned up and I would no longer have all those obnoxious ads running on my page. I was wrong! They were still all there. I then thought that if I cleared my cookies they would go away. That turned out to be a mistake. You don’t want to clear your cookies after you opt-out, as what opt-out does is to install cookies on your computer that disables any active cookies placed there by the advertiser. And, the ads on Facebook were still there anyway. I had to go back  through the process to opt-out all over again.

I continued my research to find out why I was still getting those ads. I don’t recall how I came across this next site, but this one is Plural Media LLC. They are yet another one of those advertisers on the web. As I read to the bottom of the page I saw they had a link to disable Page Rage. An application that will put a neat wall paper background on your Facebook page. That’s right, I had it on mine. Having seen it on a friends computer I wanted it too. So maybe if I disabled it the ads would go away. I went to http://www.pagerage.com/disable/ and disabled Page Rage. When I went back to my Facebook page it was refreshingly clean. No more ads.

I can now go to any favorite sites and not be bombarded with a lot of targeted advertising. Yes, there are still a few, I didn’t get them all. But my web experience is a lot more pleasant now without the ads following me around.

If your having the experiences I was having, or if you just want to have a higher level of privacy while web surfing, you know one more step you can take, Opt-Out of targeted advertising. It’s easy to do once you know where to go.

One more thing I should mention is that if you’re using more than one browser, I have four installed, you will need to go though the opt-out process for each one of them as the cookies will be installed on each browser.

I hope this gives you, the reader, a greater sense of control over the internet and you have a greater degree of privacy when using it. I know I do.

-Ed

Cloud Computing

 

Cloud Computing? When I first heard the term I had no idea what Cloud Computing was. It sounded like something very mysterious. How could one compute in a cloud? I started researching what Cloud Computing was. I read everything I could find and, well, I’d started doing it myself a few years before when I started my Windows Live account. I discovered that it came with a Windows Live Workspace which is now called SkyDrive. I could upload documents to it and I could even edit them right there in my browser.

I now also have my Google account. Have had for quite some time now. I love the fact that I can upload documents to my space on Google docs and edit them there also. I can upload my photos to my Picasa account and use them here in my blog and my family website.

Cloud computing is simply creating and saving your work on servers somewhere on the web, rather than just on your computer at your desk at home or work.

I think cloud computing is the wave of the future. It won’t be long before you will not even have any productivity software on your computer. Microsoft has this already with 360. All you do is subscribe to the service rather than buy and install all this software. Another example is on the computers that we buy today. Microsoft’s Word starter and Excel starter is preinstalled on your computer when you buy it. Or is it? It isn’t. Try using it when you’re offline. It won’t work, you have to be online for it to download to your computer each time you click the icon to use it. Then when you shut down your computer it’s gone. It will download again the next time you call for it.

One advantage I see to subscribing to a service rather than buy and install the software is that you’ll never have to buy the latest and greatest version every time they come up with one. It’ll be there when they release it automatically. No more worrying about updates, licenses and all that. It’ll always be there when you need it.

Collaborating on projects is another clear advantage with Cloud Computing. When you collaborate in the cloud, there aren’t documents floating around in everyone’s inboxes in various stages of revision. You have one. And that one document is in the cloud where all revisions also reside. A nice orderly place. A place where everyone working on a project can go to work on it.

The only disadvantage to Cloud Computing is that you must always have access to the web to use it. If you’re offline, you’re out of luck. Being able to be online at all times is getting much easier now and much more reliable. Not only do we have the broadband service with our cable companies, dsl  with phone service, but G3 with cell phone companies is now in stages of being replaced with G4 which will prove to be much faster and compete with cable broadband.

Another place we my have been working in the cloud is at our workplaces. All of our data was saved to the company’s servers and not on our workstation. The company had their own network and maintained all their own servers. We were computing in the cloud before the term was even coined.

As we continue to watch computing evolve, I think we’ll see some real dramatic changes coming really quick. We’ll have to adapt to subscribing to a service to use their software, saving all our documents somewhere else, etc. It sometimes makes one feel as though we’ve lost control of what we do somehow.

Another point I would like to make while I’m here. We are always concerned about security while working on the internet. Is our data safe? Well, I might suggest that is safer there than in your home. Or on your computer. You and I are always being reminded to backup, backup and to backup some more. And we don’t do it. At least most of us don’t. And what about theft, or fire or flood? I guess from that point of view I would rather my data be tucked away safely on the web. No matter what happens at home, or to my computer, my data is safe, and I can get a new computer and get to my data.

I just set up my cloud printing with Google Cloud print. It was easy to do. The main reason I did it was to be able to print from my tablet. I was having difficulty printing from my app on my tablet and found Google Cloud Print to be an excellent work around. I can see a lot of uses for cloud printing. You can print to your office printer no matter what your physical location is. Print photos to your home printer or have a friend print to yours while on vacation. Maybe you want to print to a clients printer, the possibilities are endless.

The more computing I do in the cloud the more I’m liking it. I think as you start exploring  Cloud Computing you will too. So you might say I’ve got my head in the clouds. Cloud Computing that is. Go ahead and get your head in the clouds too. I would recommend starting with Google docs. Save your work there and you can edit and collaborate on projects right there in the Google Cloud.

I think that’s enough said about Cloud Computing. Maybe I’ve convinced some of you to give it a try. Those who are already using it, I’m sure would agree. It would be interesting to hear from some of you using it to let the rest of us know how it has helped you. Maybe you can give us some unique ways to make use of it.

-Ed

e-Sword Bible Study

When we want to do a bible study we get out our bible, our Strong’s reference and all the other reference books we may have, if we have any at all. Then we start searching the Bible from one Scripture to another to another. And we write notes in a notebook with scripture references that we have to look up later unless we copy it into our notes…….and we don’t do it because it’s too much like work. And we don’t study, just leave it on the shelf…..maybe later when there is more time.

Well, that’s why I want to write this. Because there is a better way and it’s free.

The Bible study program e-Sword, written my Rick Meyer, is distributed by him for all to download, share and use freely.

Besides the program itself, there is an enormous wealth of reference works that you can chose to download as well after installing the program.

The program has many useful features. For your note taking, there are Study Notes, Topic Notes and a Journal. Rick has made it easy to paste a selection into any of these notes with just the click of the mouse. Any notes that you write in your notes or journal, you can format just as you would in any word processor.

Searching the Bible is equally as easy. Just select the book and chapter you want to go to and your there. To search a specific scripture you can use the search tool.

There are many other features that you can benefit from, such as memory verses, daily Bible reading and prayer requests.

Many downloads are available directly through the program. There are many versions of the Bible that are free. Others are available at a small cost. There are books that are also free to download to e-Sword.

Besides books, Bibles and commentaries, there are also maps and such that you can download and view with the graphics viewer.

I hope this little review of e-Sword has stirred up your curiosity enough that you’ll click on a link and go there to investigate this more and download and install this wonderful software on your own computer.

Once installed, I’m confident you’ll find reading and studying your Bible will be a much more satisfying experience.

-Ed

Acer Iconia A500

Early in June, after researching and reading reviews on a number of different tablets, I finally bought myself a new tablet, an Acer Iconia A500.

Previously I’ve been using only my desktop and laptop computers for all my computing needs. Reading e-books on Kindle, Nook and other e-readers, internet as well as everything else we typically use our computers for. So did I really need a tablet too? I thought maybe not, I just wanted it; I could afford to buy it so why not?

I do enjoy reading and to sit at the computer and read for hours becomes uncomfortable so I haven’t been doing much reading lately. Now with my new tablet I find that’s not a problem at all. Whether it’s in my recliner, sitting on the couch or lying in bed, I can read until my eyes get too blurry to see anymore.

I have my Kindle and Nook apps installed and there is also LumiRead that was already preinstalled . It also came with an Adobe app which I activated with my Adobe account so I can download and read the ePub books also. These are available from the local library and other sources as well. Now I have no shortage of sources for books, magazines or newspapers to read on my tablet anytime I want something.

I have my tablet right by my bedside when I go to sleep at night so in the morning before I get up I can check my e-mails, read the NY Times or any other paper that I wish to read. How nice is that to not have to go out to get the paper!

I have to get up eventually to make my coffee, but then it’s nicer to sit with my tablet in my lap rather than sit at the computer.

I do use it for making notes, keeping a journal, writing e-mails and things like that. I haven’t found it that practical yet for any extensive word processing or spreadsheets, (at least for me) but then again I’m still exploring what I can do with it. I installed some apps, but I’m still researching what is out there before I make my choices as to what I want to install.

You can find many more apps for the A500 on the Marketplace. There are apps for every category including business. So if your thinking it’s only to play with, you’ll be happy to know that it can be a great business tool as well.

Besides using it for reading, I can load any music that I want on it. I can use the built in speakers, or of course use headphones for a better quality sound. It will play video clips with Flash installed, unlike the iPad which doesn’t support Flash. I can connect it to an LCD TV (when I get one) with an HDMI cable, thus using the TV to watch videos.

It has both a front facing and a rear facing cameras. The cameras do take very nice stills and videos.

Here’s another fun thing to note. It has GPS capability. I can go outside and navigate anywhere I want to go with the GPS and Google Earth! I should never got lost now. I was surprised as to just how accurate it is.

Staying on the fun stuff, there are some games preinstalled also. You’ll also find a ton of stuff on the Marketplace. There are more apps than you could possibly imagine available there.

This tablet is a nice addition to by electronic toys. I’m enjoying it quite a lot and finding it very useful. If you bought one for yourself I think you’d find it worth the investment. There are many others out there and I found the one that I thought would be right for me. The one you choose for yourself should have the capabilities you need to do the things you want to use it for.

-Ed

Efficient To-Do List Review

I’ve been disappointed by the limitations of the typical to-do lists found in calendars, e-mail clients and such. So I went searching the internet the other day to try to find something better, yet a program that is also affordable. I found what I was looking for when I came across Efficient To-Do List by Efficient Software.
Efficient To-Do List is a stand alone software program that enables you to create to-do lists for any project at home, work or your small business. You can set start dates and due dates. It allows you to show the progress of the tasks also. You can set the priority of each task and you can also color code the task to define a category. There is also a window for writing your comments for each task that you add.
The free version does have some limitations. In the free version you cannot create groups with tasks, subtasks and siblings. If you want that option you’ll have to buy the Pro Version. That isn’t a problem though, as the program is very affordable. I would certainly recommend it.
If you’re like me, staying organized in your daily life is the only way to get things done and stay on top of it. By using Efficient To-Do List at home you can keep your daily life organized and teach your children how to do the same.
Use it for work and keep yourself organized to improve your on the job performance and impress your employer. If you run your own business, using Efficient To-Do List will increase your profitability.
Students also will find this application handy to organize their time and get their assignments and projects done in timely manner.
I found their help files to be informative and easy to understand. The software itself is intuitive, with a short learning curve. You’ll be up and running right away after you install it. The UI is that of a typical Windows UI and easy to navigate. Different skins are available also so you can customize the appearance of the window. By default Efficient To-Do List is set to open when you start your computer. When it starts, any reminders for tasks due will pop up. Any reminders are optional of course and if you didn’t want it opening on start up, that option can be changed also.
I’m running the program on my computer with Windows7, 64 bit. So far I’ve had no problems at all. I will be using this app for a long time and I’ll be looking at their other products as well.
Another thing I should mention, is that they also have a portable version available for free download. This one you can install on a flash drive to take with you to the office or home and use it on any computer. Now, how handy is that?
So go get your copy and get organized! You’ll be glad you did.
-Ed

Free Kindle

Yesterday, I just got my Kindle, for free! No, I'm not kidding, this is not a joke. I received an e-mail from Amazon announcing a new free Kindle application for the PC. That's right; Amazon has now offered the free Kindle application that you can download and install on your PC running XP, Vista, or Windows 7. Anyone with an Amazon account can now have the Kindle on their PC to download their books and have their library with them where ever they go.

 
I'm really excited about mine. I right away went to Amazon's Kindle store, searching the catalog for books that I may be interested in. To my surprise, I found hundreds of the great old classics that are totally free. Others that are in the catalog are greatly discounted for the Kindle. I quickly 'purchased' three of the free ones for my Kindle that I had read as a youngster. How nice it is to find these books and read them again. When you go to the Amazon Kindle store I think you'll be surprised at the selection of books you can purchase for your Kindle.
The Kindle for PC doesn't have all the features of the actual Kindle reader; but who cares? You won't be able to download magazines or newspapers, or be able to print out selections. But for reading your books, highlighting text, and bookmarking pages, I think this will serve you well. Although I don't own a Kindle reader, they say if you have one, you can even synchronize you Kindle reader with the PC one.
Now that you know it's there, if you have an Amazon account, get yours. If you don't have an Amazon account, I'd recommend that you open one and get yours too. Amazon is probably my favorite online store where I make many of my purchases. I've never been disappointed.
Now that I've got you to thinking, I have to go to my Kindle and continue reading an old classic that I hadn't read since childhood, 'Treasure Island'. It's still a good read.
-ED

Where is that File?

Have you ever looked for that elusive file on your computer and not been able to find it? You can't remember what folder it's in. You've searched, and searched some more and still can't find it. You're ready to pull your hair out because you don't know where it is! Well, I have the answer for you.
Just as you would search the internet, you can search your computer hard drive as well. In fact, you can search your entire network. Google has an application that is a free download called Google Desktop.
I just downloaded and installed it myself, and I love it! With Google Desktop I can now search my computer for that lost file as easily as I search the internet.
Once you've installed Google Desktop it will index all your files the same way Google indexes the files on the internet. This will take some time, maybe a few hours, depending on how many files you have on your computer's hard drive. If you want to search your entire network, you'll have to install Google Desktop on each computer to have Google Desktop index those files as well. While it's doing the indexing you can use your computer as usual. You can start doing searches, but you'll see a notification that it's a partial listing and the percentage that has been completed. Once the indexing is complete, you will no longer see the notification.
When you do a search for a file, you will enter a key word or words in the Google search box at the bottom of the side bar that Google Desktop installs on your computer. As you type you'll see some suggestions pop up above the search bar. Don't see the one you're looking for? Then click on "See all ….. in a Browser" and your browser will open with all the search results that Google Desktop has found. Is this cool or what! Now you'll see all the files that match your search criteria. You'll also see an icon before each file indicating the type of file it is, be it a PDF, Word, Excel, E-mail or whatever.
Now some of you may not want another sidebar on your monitor. I use mine because I like the gadgets that can be added to it, and I use dual monitors as well. You don't have to use the sidebar. You can place the search bar in the task bar, or if you don't want it there either, just click control twice and the search bar will appear in the middle of the screen, and there you'll have it to do your search. It seems Google has thought of everything.
Now, you might ask, but is there one for my computer? I don't run Windows. The answer is probably yes. Google has a version for Linux and the Mac also. So, give it a try, it only takes a few seconds to download and install this great application. And then take a look at all the other free apps that Google has to offer. You may find one that you just can't live without.
-Ed