yay for voice recognition!

 

I just want to say “yay!” because I found another technology fix that really makes my life easier. On my phone, I use the voice-to-text often. Up until now, most times it took a <long> time for the voice recognition to initiate. It would hang on “initiating” and about 70% of the time, not actually initiate and start the voice recognition.

Here is the fix I asked the Google search, “why does initiation Google verbal take so long?” The oracle offered this, among other things: go to apps, choose assistant, change from using the AI Gemini to Google Assistant.

That one change now means that almost instantaneously the voice recognition initiates/ starts with no issues. Wow. Yay.

Wonderful Wide World Web Wonders How to Do it..

 

It’s amazing what one can learn by a couple of simple web searches. I wanted to create a (what I consider) more complex thank you card or letter for people that gave us stuff for the new baby. It involves curved text and fading an image into the background with some fancy rainbow work. Here are the web sites I found. And here is the final product. It didn’t take too long..probably because I already have a pretty good understanding of Photoshop, which helps.

https://designpanoply.com/blog/how-to-create-a-custom-text-box-shape-in-photoshop

https://enviragallery.com/how-to-blur-edges-in-photoshop/

https://pixabay.com/photos/rainbow-color-prism-colors-261419/

Matt's technology experiences

 

Here is a bit about my technology experiences:

My undergraduate degree is in electrical engineering. I worked on programming and basic design of digital circuits.

In college I was an assistant manager of the student computer labs. During this time I was the team lead for the Computer Services web site. I worked with 3-4 other students to redesign the web site and also co-authored a paper on web usability with the computer lab manager. I have since done two other web usability studies. I also taught classes to students and staff for Photoshop and MS Office software.

While I was an AmeriCorps member, I was the manager of a computer lab/project at a homeless newspaper. I did all aspects of refurbishing computers and printers.

As the CyberY Developer at the YMCA association in Boston, I worked with six different YMCA branches to make a dark room with computers a place with working computers and internet, volunteers, computer classes, and we even raised some money.

In Peace Corps I was a computer teacher and maintained a room of about 15 computers and printers in very hot and humid conditions. I taught some basic programs including MS Office and MS Paint.

I worked as an assistant at an elementary school, and also taught an afterschool program using two different kinds of Lego Robotics.

I have been a volunteer with Olympia Indivisible, where I was part of the Facebook team and communications team.

I am a volunteer with Works In Progress newspaper, where I help to maintain the web site built with WordPress.

I do all troubleshooting for my old laptop that runs Windows 7.

I have set up my home surround sound stereo system and use a projector and laptop to watch movies.

I like to edit music, mainly with software called Audacity.

I am teaching myself to make simple movies with Adobe Premier. Here is an example of something I made.

crazyloveministries.org  (the video on the first/front page)

I have three Facebook pages: my personal page, North Coast Drum Circle, and MRC Math.

I also have a rather out of date web site:

mattcrichton.weebly.com

For me, technology is just a tool, sometimes a useful tool, sometimes a frustrating tool. I believe I can figure out the solution to most technology challenges..

 

Another fix I believe..

Symptom: When the cell phone is connected to computer/laptop, and the small thumbnail icons of the  pictures will not show in Windows Explorer on the computer, and "transfer files" and/or PTP option is chosen in the "connected devices" option on the phone.

fix: I think downloading and installing the drivers from this web site fixed it. (well, I have a Moto G6, so your specific drivers will probably be from a different source. You just have do an internet search for it.)

download and install: Motorola_Mobile_Drivers_64bit 
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=24269982087010424

restart computer
restart phone
...
..
.

I also tried the below, but it didn't work:

Developer Options:

1) USB debbuging - ON

2) Revoke access to USB debugging - tap OK ***************** worked for someone...

3) Scroll down and select Select USB configuration - MTP

4) Connect to a different USB port on your computer

You may need to enable the USB Debugging in the Developer Options  for you to see the USB configuration selection. To enable the Developer Options (Settings > System > About Phone > Tap "Build Number" 7 times consecutively). Once done, you'll see a prompt message. Go back to Settings > System > Developer Options > Enable USB Debugging. Once enabled, try connecting your phone again. Let me know how it goes.

Another win for me when trying to figure out computer quirkiness. My software program MSWord was opening and operating very slowly. I did a bit of Google searching, and found the web site below. Important text is also copied below. Delete the Word normal template and restart Word. It opened MUCH faster. yah;)


https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/windows-7-not-responding-message-often-when-using/4dc7cf6a-cea1-4f99-9618-739d0603a44b?auth=1

If you cannot open Word, try the following: in the Search box off of the Start button, enter "winword.exe /a" without the quotes (Note the space before the "/a") and press Enter. This will start Word with a new copy of normal and not your copy. If things work properly now, your copy of normal is corrupt. With Word closed, find and delete it. Word will create a new copy when you restart it.

https://answers.avira.com/en/question/having-problem-with-avira-update-since-9mar2015-32952

Trouble with the auto-update feature/function in Avira antivirus software.

I got it to work! Download the zip file, unpack the zip file, run the .exe file. Allow it to fully finish running. The process will add many files to your folder.  The trick I think is that I had to manually highlight and change the new .zip file (added after running the .exe file) to this name: vdf_fusebundle.zip. Then I did the manual update within Avira, using the file whose name I just changed, and it worked. This seems harder than it should be.

To download the update go to this web site:
http://www.avira.com/en/support-vdf-update-info

windows 8 to windows 7 conversion

windows 8 to windows 7 conversion

I recently bought a laptop with Windows 8 installed. I have read that Win8 is a big change from Win7. Win8 has a lot of features for touch screen devices. My new laptop is not a touch screen, and I like the layout of Win7. I messed a little bit with the new Win8, and didn't like it. I wanted to put Win7 on the new laptop. I thought this would be easy. No. Not with Microsoft. Here is what I found that worked on my laptop.

**This is a bit technical.

You will need to have a copy of a bootable Windows 7 DVD.

First web page with steps to do(copy and paste this web site address):

https://aps2.toshiba-tro.de/kb0/TSB2C03F80002R01.htm

1.changing UEFI to CSM boot
2.disabling secure boot

Second web page with steps to do:

http://tinyurl.com/7w6xaxa

This is what it does: In order to successfully install Windows 7, you need to remove the existing GPT partitions during Setup and create new ones. which will be MBR-based.

Two different methods. Try both if first one doesn't work.

Method #1:
1. Boot up to installation DVD/CD.
2. Click install but don't follow through.
3. Press SHIFT-F10 to bring up console.
4. Type "diskpart"
5. Once inside diskpart type:
  -> list disk (find the one you want to convert)
  -> select disk 0 (select the one you want from the list)
  -> convert mbr (should take a second or two)
  -> quit
6. Continue with install

Method #2:
1. Boot up to installation DVD/CD.
2. Click install but don't follow through.
3. Press SHIFT-F10 to bring up console.
4. Type "diskpart"
5. Once inside diskpart type:
  -> list disk (find the one you want to convert)
  -> select disk 0 (select the one you want from the list)
  -> clean (wait an hour or so until its done)
  -> quit
6. Continue with install

I have also read that reinstalling the drivers (software that helps the hardware talk to other hardware and software) are not easy to find.

There are insufficient drivers at the site above for 64-bit Windows 7. But you are in luck. The European site for the equivalent part-number family (PSPLTE) has them. They are here.

The order of installation matters. Install the Intel chipset software followed by the Intel display driver. Then install the nVidia display driver and the other Intel software prior to other drivers. Install the Value Added Package before other Toshiba utilities.

A web site very helpful in locating the exact drivers you need if you are getting the yellow triangle exclamation icon next to your device.

https://aps2.toshiba-tro.de/kb0/HTD0302U00000R01.htm
instructions

http://www.pcidatabase.com/
database of driver info..rocking!


Hopefully this works for you.
MRC