New Modem, New Router? Things Here May Never Be the Same, Coping With Transition Fears

When I heard the voice on the phone tell me that my problematic modem was from 2004, "and no, it was not under warranty", I reacted with mixed emotions. The idea that my difficulty had a diagnosis and could be fixed was pleasing, but the thought of a disruption in a system that was "still working" was not.

  

A trip to Walmart for the modem left me empty handed. They had not a single one in stock. So, off I went to Staples... thinking that that delay should have been avoided. Staples was well-stocked and with some helpful advice I had a modem in hand. I purchased the Motorola SURFboard SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem for $89.99. Installation was quick, like five minutes, with no disruption in service.

But, my problems didn't go away. Things on the network were moving very slooooowly. Apple TV and Slingbox, in particular, were skippy. And just forget about the computer, I would literally count the minutes waiting to open a program... if you're reading this then you must have had the experience.

So, six weeks later, with serious trepidation, I find myself at the threshold of a new ROUTER. Yes, many fingers had pointed in that direction and I had to put my fears aside and face the task. My fears of having to set it up with a new password. To have to type in a new network key and password for three Apple TV's, Slingbox and a multitude of WiFi accessories was causing me to tremble.

So, I did what needed to be done. A call to our IT man got me a qualified recommendation. The TL-R600VPN 4-Port Gigabit Broadband VPN Router, from TP-Link for $61.99 at Newegg. Really? really.

The installation was no big deal to get done. I had absolutely no reason to be fearful of a system collapse. In fact, I can see the difference in performance - a huge change in speed and function.So, all-in-all a smart and easy upgrade.

Need Help Syncing Movies From Your iTunes Account to Your iPod? How to Make the Transfer in One Easy Fix.

I've had an annoying problem with my iTunes library lately. The trouble starts when I sync my iPod the night before a trip. I select the movies I want to sync from my movie section; but they don't all sync, one or two stubbornly stay back. I waste precious time trying to troubleshoot my way through iTunes help archives with serious tension. Then I end up giving up on the whole idea in favor of getting finished packing and sleeping. A few weeks later I find myself in the same cycle. And again today.

So I dipped my toe into the Apple Tech Support Pool with a phone call for help. At first my Applet didn't seem to know any more than I did, but soon enough we had chatted our way around the account and found a way to correct the problem.

So, if you find yourself needing this, or shall I ask, when you find yourself needing this, it is a very easy fix.

The first thing you need to do is stop trying to sync the movie from your account. Start by clicking the iTunes Store "home" button. Now click "Movies" from the header. Click "purchased" from the bottom of the Movies Quick Links column on the right side of the page. This should open your list of all purchased movies in your iTunes account. Notice: the small check-box at the bottom right of page, "Download HD When Available", make sure it is NOT checked.

Next, select the movie you are having the problem moving to your iPod. It probably has a little cloud next to it which means that you never actually downloaded it to your computer, you've been watching it from the cloud. Click to download. This will take approximately ten minutes for the average movie...

After downloading is complete you may click the iPod from your Devices on the left page menu bar. Make the movie selection now and "sync" as usual. You will have your movie on your iPod.

Google Plus Profiles - Child's Play Goes a Long Way in Validation

Who am I? A simple question, and certainly one that only one's self
is best suited to answer.

Much to their disappointment folks often find that their net forward self appears distorted. Search results leading to them or their online comments and posts are a rat's nest of snippets.

Google Plus is a great way for them to make their online posts, comments and reviews legitimized by their true identity as verified by Google. Your Google Plus Profile pulls all of those scattered tidbits together into a neat home-camp, so to speak.

The easiest way to do this is to log-in to your Google account (like where you get your Gmail) and open your account profile. From there you will go through the necessary upgrade to transform your old Google account and to help Google shake hands with you. From there it's just child's play. Enjoy!

Linda Maintanis

Get Google Rewards - Add an About Us page to your blog

Google is a glutton for information. It has a ferocious appetite for quality material. The more (great) content you load up and diversify your pages with the more likely that the big g will reward you with higher page ranks.

This should be no surprise to bloggers, yet it appears to be. Why should you expect that your blog will be treated any differently than any other webpage? With rare exception most blogs fall flat. And then they wonder why. If you're in it for the page ranks then listen up. This simple trick will get you started. Create an About Us page for your blog.

Enhancing your blog with some text and image links on an About Us page is like a mating call to Google's crawlers. I wanted to put the idea to the test; but it also seemed like a big waste of my time. An About Us page? On my blog?Linda Maintanis? which already has a link to my Google+ profile?...they know who we are, or I am, so why be redundant? To be specific.

The answer. To be specific. A validation, a declaration you might say, of who you are and what your intent is. That's all. Simple. Oh, and did I say Simple? Yes, keep it short and simple.

So how and where do I do this? I begin by "googling" the subject. A little research sums up the project and produces a few decent links to some instructions. Try reading Derek Halpern, How to Create an Amazing Blog About Page for a step-by-step guide to create a page that resembles a mission statement. A straightforward approach for an About page with original content can be found on Mashable's list of 21 Creative Blogger Bio Pages . You'll see here that practicality should govern common sense. Points here are to be humble, honest and humorous so as to provide transparency to your readers.

Lastly, you'll need some technical support, if like me, you're on your own. This page, How To Create Static Pages in Blogger, from HelpLogger is a no-brainers guide to perfection in one try.

It only took about fifteen minutes per blog to add the page, I will make note of today's date and monitor my Google Page Ranks for any change.