Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Reclaim Smartphone Space



These are horrible messages that can make your anxiety go through the roof. What should you do?



My "goto" solution for reclaiming space on your smartphone (Android or iPhone) is to get photos and videos off the phone and into the cloud.



Sure, there are other things one can do: removing unused or little used apps, etc.



But I like the cloud for photos and videos for more than recovering space--photos and videos are safer and can automatically go to your computer as well.



Once the photos and videos are in the cloud, delete them from your smartphone. That's it. Don’t' worry, they are still safe and sound in the cloud and safe and sound on your computer.



Below are a variety of cloud services to choose from. I won't go into the directions except to say that they are straight forward and work surprisingly well. Many of the services are free or have an introductory amount of cloud space that is free with pay options.

Ddropbox
Microsoft OneDrive
Google Photos

Amazon Cloud Drive
Apple iCloud
I have been using a few of these services for many years and even pay for two of them because it is worth every single penny to know my photos and videos are automatically sent to the cloud and down to my computer with no effort on my part. 
 
There are a few more but gosh, who wants to read about all of them. Take a gander and get those photos and videos safely off your smartphone and get needed space back.

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Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Windows 10 Upgrade Now Recommended says Microsoft - What Should You Do?


The short answer, you don't have to do anything! NOTHING is required of you. Keep on keepin' on as they say. If you wish anyway.

Image: ZDNet

You can upgrade when you want to and NOT when Microsoft says or 'recommends'. You have until July 28, 2016 to upgrade to Windows 10 for FREE as long as you have Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or Windows 8.1. If you are not ready now, stay where you are.

In October of last year, Microsoft shared that they were increasing the intensity of encouraging folks to upgrade to Windows 10.

Previously, if you had Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 or Windows 8.1 you would see a small Windows icon in the lower right portion of the Task Bar where you could click to 'reserve' your Free  Windows 10 upgrade. Easy, right?
Start Icon
As time progressed this icon began to pop up messages about upgrading to Windows 10 and many felt this was a nuisance.


As Microsoft promised, the 'reservation' stage is moving to the 'recommended' stage starting February 1.

Full disclosure here, I have already upgraded the three computers in my household to Windows 10 and am quite happy. The upgrade was not without complaints but the upgrades were done in August of last year and have calmly survived the process.

In fact, many friends and relatives my age and older have upgraded and all of survived fine.

Purchasing a new computer with Windows 10 is terrific. It works well with any of the new PCs now and there are a lot of them.

Below are some very good articles describing this 'recommended' phase for Windows 10 Upgrading.

Microsoft startspushing Windows 10 as a 'recommended' update by Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet
Windows 10 is now a'recommended' update for Windows 7 and 8.1 users by Dan Thorp-Lancaster of Windows Central
Windows 10 Becomes aRecommended Update on Windows 7 and 8.1 by Paul Thurrott of Thurott.com

Do you have stories to share about your upgrade to Windows 10? Write a comment below. Thanks!

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