With the help of my Flip camera, I’ve recorded a video showing how to do a basic mindmap. Once you have the video done, it’s a simple matter to upload it to youtube for the world to see. So if you’ve got something you want to teach or share, go ahead and try it and let us know how you did!

Oh, and don’t worry about getting it perfect first. As you can see with mine, there’s a shine because I had the lighting wrong. But I’ve learned that perfect=never done. Unless I want to pay big bucks for a professional video -- which I don’t.

Technorati Tags: how to video, create a mindmap, youtube

I have had some of my domains registered with Godaddy for years. The rest are registered with Netfirms. Until lately, I somehow overlooked the fact that Netfirms rate includes their privacy function and Godaddy doesn’t. So being the paranoid individual I am, I immediately signed up for Godaddy’s privacy option. Lo and behold it wasn’t free. And not only that, but the price for the number of domain registerations I have was a fair bit of extra money per year. (Sorry, I’m a recovering domainaholic)

I decided that when the domain names were set to expire, rather than renew, I would transfer them to Netfirms. Sounds simple, right? Not!
continue reading "Transferring a Domain From Godaddy"

I’ve just come across an email system that sounds terrific for those older members of the family that want to keep in touch by email, but are intimidated by all the options available. I remember when I was hesitant to hit the wrong button in case I lost all of my writing, or even worse, my pictures.
continue reading "Easy Email For Older People"

This week I started volunteering one afternoon a week with a local literacy group. They are teaching fundamental computer skills to adults and I’m helping out when needed. We spent our first two hours talking about the parts of a computer and learning to turn it on and off properly. A little boring to my mind, but the five people attending were all excited and can hardly wait until next week.

One thing I was more than a little surprised at was the instructors’ advice about identity theft. She’s an older lady, and told the participants that they should never use online banking or make any online purchases. Since I do both all the time, I don’t really understand her logic.

That’s like saying don’t drive a car because you could get into an accident. Yes, you could, but not taking any risks for fear of harm doesn’t allow for a very fulfilling life. Instead, you need to be careful when doing anything – from driving to banking.

So tell me, what do you think? Is there such a thing as being too careful?

Technorati Tags: identity theft, online banking, online purchases

I had a little problem with my PayPal account recently. I had some money in my PayPal account, but I had been paid in Canadian funds. And then I bought something on eBay. I had to pay it in American funds. I’d thought that the money would just come out of my PayPal account. But since the money was in Canadian funds, they wouldn’t take it. Instead they took it from my bank which took two weeks. If I had realized that, I could have had the funds changed into American. That would’ve solved everything. Now I know for the future. Thankfully, the eBay seller was more than accommodating.

Technorati Tags: eBay, Paypal, converting funds