New Computer and Technology Help and Tips - MalekTips.Com
Microsoft Word 2010 - W0rds w8th Numbers Pass the S0ellchecker!
Prevent potentially embarrassing mistakes by turning off a Microsoft Word spell check "feature"
5his s3ntence c0mpletely pass3s the sp3llchecker in M8crosoft W0rd...
That's right - type the above sentence in Microsoft Word 2010 and note that none of the 'words' contain red squiggles underneath. That's because Word's spell checker, by default, ignores any words containing numbers. ...
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Google Gmail - Automatically Archive a Conversation you Respond to
Respond to a lot of email in Gmail and need to keep your Inbox clean? Send your e-mail and archive the conversation in one step.
Are you a very popular individual or work a job such as customer service that requires sending a lot of e-mail via Gmail? Or are you just looking for another way to keep your Inbox clean? If so, you may often find yourself replying to e-mail conversations and then immediately archiving them.
With the "Send & Archive" feature in Gmail Labs you can do both in just one step by adding a "Send & Archive" button below your composed messages....
Read more at MalekTips.
[MODIFIED] Digital Photography - Did Someone Get in the Way While Taking a Photo?
Don't immediately delete digital camera photos if an unwanted element or person got in your picture - here's why.
This tip is geared towards beginners. While reviewing vacation or other pictures, if you find images where an undesired subject moved barely into your digital camera's viewfinder, don't fret - these photos might not be a total loss!
Most of today's digital cameras take photos containing more than enough megapixels needed for high-quality printouts. Depending on the image subject and location of the unwanted element, you can crop (digitally cut) out what you don't need and still have a great image. This is done by creating a selection rectangle inside your photo; everything outside of this rectangle gets removed....
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Google Chrome - View Kittens and Pandas Everywhere!
Replace ugly images on webpages viewed in Google Chrome with pandas and kitties.
Have you visited a website inside Google Chrome and found that the images got you down? Wish you saw something cute instead?
The Cutify extension lets you replace photos on webpages with images of baby goats, bunnies, kittens, red pandas, and sloths. That's right - if you'd rather not see an image of a reality TV star, political figure, or arrogant athlete you can right-click on their photo and choose "Cutify" - "Cutify to Cute Kittens". It's that simple....
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Mozilla Firefox - Plugins and Extensions - Automatically Store Selected Text in the Clipboard
The AutoCopy plugin for Mozilla Firefox automatically places selected webpage text into the clipboard without you having to do anything.
Let's face it - most of the time when you select text inside a webpage viewed via Firefox, your next step is to copy it to the clipboard for pasting inside another web page, word processing document, e-mail message, etc.
If you copy a lot of text, why not skip the copy step? Automatically have Firefox place selected text in the clipboard without you having to do anything with the "AutoCopy" plugin....
Read more at MalekTips.
Google Maps - Map of the Dead, so You can be Prepared for the Zombie Invasion
Find food, weaponry, pharmaceuticals, hardware, and other essentials to help ward off the coming zombie invasion.
There are many interesting uses of Google Maps available online. This one may actually save your life.
... when a horde of flesh-eating zombies is on your tail and you've got to find food and ammo, that is. The "Map of the Dead" bills itself as a "Zombie Survival Map". Enter your location (or let the map find you), and quickly see if doctors and pharmacies, police and military installations, or shopping facilities are nearby. Turn on the "Danger Zones" map to look for areas containing "man-made structures" that may hide a greater number of zombies....
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Microsoft Word 2010 - Allow the Insert Key to Overwrite Existing Text
Overwrite existing text in Word 2010 documents simply by pressing the Insert key.
Normally when you type inside pre-existing text in a Microsoft Word 2010 document, your new text pushes existing text to the right. This "insert" mode is the default and lets you easily add text to pre-existing paragraphs.
In some cases, however, you may want your text to overwrite what is already in the document. Perhaps you have written a word and transposed a couple of characters. You could carefully highlight the offending characters and then type the correct order. Or, move your cursor to the right of the offending characters, press Backspace twice, then type the correct characters. However, with an "overwrite" or "overtype" mode you can move your cursor directly on top of the first offending character, press the Insert key, and then start typing - your new characters will overwrite the existing text....
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[MODIFIED] Digital Night Photography - Reduce Camera Shake with Special Lens
A special lens may help you take better night photos by reducing 'camera-shake'.
Obviously a tripod or other stabilizing device makes taking digital photographs at nighttime much easier. With a stabile digital camera you can take longer exposures that make up for the reduced lighting, and these photos should not suffer from the dreaded "camera shake". The built-in or a shoe mount flash can also help in some situations.
However, there are times where your subject is too far away and too large to be affected by flash. Perhaps you are shooting panoramic photos on top of a skyscraper, and your flash unit is simply not going to illuminate buildings miles away. Or, you may be taking photos in an urban environment and tripods may be bulky or simply not allowed. ...
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Google Chrome - Major League Baseball Scores Instantly from the Source
Can't watch baseball at the office? Grab the MLB.com Scoreboard Extension for Google Chrome and keep up with your favorite team.
You're toiling away at the office on another bright, sunny picture-perfect day while the Yankees / Red Sox / Braves / Cubs / your team of choice is playing a nine-inning slugfest or pitcher's duel. First place is on the line; you need the latest scores and you need them now!
With the "MLB.com Scoreboard" extension for Google Chrome, baseball info is just a click away. Click the MLB logo in the toolbar for instant access to scores; click on a game to open up more information in a new tab. And if you do have a MLB.TV subscription and are at home (or have a very forgiving boss)* there are quick access links to listen to or watch the game as well....
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Google Gmail - Stop Automatically Adding New Addresses to Autocomplete List
Prevent Gmail from remembering everyone you send e-mail to and displaying them in the autocomplete list.
Gmail assumes that if you e-mail someone once, you're likely to do so again. Thus it adds new addresses to your "Other Contacts" list, and if you start typing their e-mail address into a "To" or related field, Gmail will helpfully offer the address in a popup list so you don't have to type it in completely.
Helpfully, however, may be subjective. Perhaps you work customer service or IT support and receive a lot of e-mails every day with quick requests and you do not plan on e-mailing people back over and over again? If you fall in this category, having Gmail automatically add all these addresses can be a nuisance. Thus, this feature can be disabled....
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Microsoft Word 2010 - Make Sure Others Can See Your Fonts
Embed fonts inside your Word 2010 documents to ensure others can see your texts as designed.
If you plan on exporting a Microsoft Word 2010 document to an earlier format for those with older versions of Office, or if you use non-standard fonts in your documents, others may not be able to see them as designed.
By default, Word 2010 does not include copies of fonts inside document files. If you send a file to a friend, co-worker, or family member, and they do not have the fonts referenced in the document, their copy of Word will try to substitute alternate fonts. Thus, your documents may not display as designed. However, this setting can be changed:...
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Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 - Animations or Video Displaying Poorly?
An old graphics card or poorly-implemented driver may be causing display problems for your PowerPoint 2010 presentations. Learn how to switch to software-based rendering for increased compatibility.
In some situations, a complex Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 presentation with videos, transitions, and animations may display poorly on a computer with an older or non-standard video card. This may be due to the fact that PowerPoint is trying to use the graphics card's hardware-based acceleration features, but these are not implemented correctly.
If updating your video card's drivers (if applicable) does not solve video and animation problems, you may wish to turn hardware acceleration off in PowerPoint. Note that doing so may slow down videos or animations, especially if you have other processes running....
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[MODIFIED] Google Chrome - Report a Malfunctioning Web Page, Crash, or Other Issue
If you are experiencing crashes in Google Chrome, pages that are not displaying correctly yet work fine inside other browsers, or if you have run into a suspected phishing site, report your findings to Google.
If you're having trouble with a particular web page while browsing the web in Google Chrome, and if the page displays and works correctly with Firefox, Internet Explorer, and other web browsers, you can report the problem to Google.
Or, is Google Chrome crashing often? Are you having difficulty with syncing preferences across machines? Have you run across a potential phishing webpage (a site that looks official but you can tell is trying to steal your personal information)? You can report these issues to Google as well....
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Google Gmail - Show Unread Message Count as an Icon
Glance at your web browser's Tab Bar to see how many new messages are in your Gmail Inbox.
Do you keep a web browser tab or window open all the time waiting for an important message in your Gmail Inbox?
One way to more easily see at-a-glance whether or not new mail has arrived inside your Inbox is to place the number of new messages directly in the browser / tab icon - see the below screenshot for an example:...
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Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 - Fade an Image to the Background with a Soft Edge
Apply customizable soft edges to photos and clip-art inside PowerPoint 2010 presentations.
Instead of simply placing a picture inside a Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 presentation, one option for stylistic effect is to apply a soft edge. This makes the picture seem to fade to the background around the edges, a sometimes pleasing effect. See the below screenshot for an example.
1. Select an image to modify....
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Microsoft Publisher 2010 - Save AutoRecover Information More or Less Often
If you're worried about program crashes and power outages, you may want Publisher 2010 to save AutoRecover information more often to reduce the chances of losing work.
By default, Microsoft Publisher 2010 saves AutoRecover information for open publications every 10 minutes. So, if a program / operating system crash or power failure shuts down Publisher before you forget to save your open files, upon restart of the software you may be able to recover some of your editing.
10 minutes may be too long an interval; a theoretical crash 9 minutes and 59 seconds after the latest save or AutoRecover save can cause you to lose a great deal of work. Reducing this interval may cause less work to be lost due to catastrophic failure. On the other hand, you might find it quite annoying that Publisher pauses so often to save the information and decide to increase this interval....
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Microsoft Word 2010 - Remove White Space Between Pages in Print Layout View
In Word 2010, if there is too much white space between pages when viewing documents in Print Layout View, here's how to reduce it.
When viewing Microsoft Word 2010 documents in "Print Layout" view, a small amount of space is added between pages, presumably to make the separation between pages more clear-cut onscreen.
If you perform document editing where you need to look at the bottom of one page and the top of the next page, you might find these few pixels a waste of space, especially on smaller monitors. Thus there are a couple of ways you can reduce the space between pages to only a couple of pixels:...
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Microsoft Excel 2010 - Filtering Data in a Worksheet, with an Example
Instructions on how to filter data in an Excel 2010 worksheet, with screenshots showing filters performed on an example worksheet.
When viewing a worksheet in Microsoft Excel 2010 with a large series of data, it might prove useful to only display a subset matching desired criteria. Examples may include only showing salespeople with over $25,000 in monthly sales, budget items costing $5,000 or more, or students scoring at least an 80 on a test.
To display this subset you can use Excel 2010's Filter tool. ...
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Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 - Toggle Gridlines, Guides, and Rulers When Designing Slides
Use rulers, drawing guides, and / or gridlines to arrange objects inside slides in PowerPoint 2010 presentations.
Designing complicated slide layouts in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010?
It might prove useful to show items to aid in arranging text, images, graphs, and other objects on a slide. With a couple of clicks you can view horizontal and vertical rulers, gridlines on which objects are aligned, and adjustable drawing guides....
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[MODIFIED] Mozilla Firefox - Plugins and Extensions - Generate Passwords Automatically with pwgen
If you're tired of creating passwords every time you log into a new web service, the pwgen extension can generate passwords for you.
Although some web services let you logon with a preexisting Facebook, Google, Twitter, or Yahoo account, many still require generating user accounts where you need to enter passwords. Required for security, good passwords should include a variety of characters including lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and punctuation symbol. However, generating these passwords can be cumbersome.
The "pwgen" extension for Mozilla Firefox can help reduce some of the annoyances when signing up for new accounts by creating passwords for you. New passwords are automatically copied to the clipboard so you can paste them into websites and (optionally) password management applications. And if you don't like a password or don't find it tough enough for your needs, just click the "P" again to generate a new one....
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Computer Repair
About ExpatTech
At ExpatTech, we realize that finding quality computer repair services in Budapest is about as hard as finding a decent cheeseburger. That's why we specialize in laptop and desktop computer repair that doesn't leave you wondering if you were misinformed or swindled.
From PCs to Macs, we offer the highest quality computer repair service and outstanding customer care in several languages from our Budapest office. We understand the importance of clearly explaining in layman's terms not only the computer's issues, but also the repair options available. Our aim is to help you make the best decision in fixing your laptop or desktop computer.
We not only repair computers, we can also upgrade your hardware and software to fit your specific needs whether you are a growing business or an individual PC or Mac user.
Also, we have a new service available - building custom desktop computer configurations. We can put together a desktop computer from the empty tower up, and install the exact components that suit your particular computing requirements. Prices range from 55,000 to 555,000 forints - you can also specify a budget, and we will put together a computer to suit!
Click here to request desktop or laptop service!ExpatTech Computer Service Points
- We speak English, Hungarian, Japanese, and Italian
- Impeccable customer service and communication for computer repairs
- 24 hour turnaround time on initial diagnosis
- 1-2 day turnaround time on all minor repairs
- Global notebook and desktop computer parts procurement, independent of brand or type
- Competitive prices (6000 HUF/hr)
- Computer pick-up and delivery (5000 HUF)
- Drop-off service center in central Budapest (Ráday utca 32, ground floor, flat #1)
- On-site repairs also possible, at your home or office
- Access to precision motherboard repair equipment
Free Diagnosis of Computer Problems
In general we offer a free diagnosis of the problem(s) with your laptop, netbook, or desktop computer. This is one of the main advantages of coming to ExpatTech instead of the bigger computer repair companies or the brand service centers. In general our policy is that you only need to pay for the repair and parts required for it, there is no automatic or minimum charges just for looking at your machine.
There are some exceptions to this rule, if a laptop needs to be totally disassembled, or several hours spent on a computer to work out what's wrong, we need to charge something to cover our time. We only charge half to one hours worth of work for these cases, meaning 3,000 - 6,000 HUF, and we always tell you BEFORE spending this amount of time. This is particularly true if you decide NOT to get your computer repaired - in general we will only charge the cost of the repair when the client pays us to have their computer fixed.
Laptop Repair
It may be an understatement to say that currently laptop repair service that is available in Hungary is not the best. Very few brands have chosen to invest in building service centers here. Lenovo/IBM is one exception to this rule, but taking a laptop to a brand's service center might turn a 25 dollar laptop repair into a $250 repair! There are also no parts distributors for most laptop brands in Budapest or Hungary. This fact means that unless used parts can be located, parts have to be ordered from abroad which can mean slow service.
Generally, laptops present more of a challenge for repair, because access to the components is more difficult and components are many times located directly on the motherboard. Laptop motherboard repair work requires very expensive precision equipment. Through our computer repair partners, ExpatTech has cut rate access to over $20,000 dollars of such equipment. If it's possible and worth it, we will get your laptop fixed!
click here to submit a repair form
Desktop Repair
Desktop computer repair is significantly simpler than laptop or notebook repair. Components are very modular within the case. In general the parts are easy to access and easy to replace if they can't be fixed. For instance the power supply to the computer is a separate box that can easily be replaced in case it fails, compared to a laptop computer that generally has the power connector soldered onto the motherboard. Similarly desktop computers have removable video cards and sound cards, components which are typically integrated chips on laptop motherboards.
If you are bringing a desktop computer to our repair and service center, we only need the computer tower itself. We do not need any peripherals like the monitor, keyboard, or mouse, or power cords, as we have these available.
click here to submit a repair form
Laptop and Desktop Computer parts
We don't carry a stock of specialist laptop or desktop computer parts at ExpatTech, however this doesn't mean we can't provide what you need straight away to repair your computer and get it running again!
We have several different sources of parts for the notebooks, netbooks, laptops and desktop computers that we repair. These fall into two categories, common or universal parts, and computer specific parts.
For the most common parts, such as hard drives, memory (RAM), desktop computer power supplies, DVD/optical drives for both notebooks and desktops, we have sources for immediate purchase from wholesalers here in Budapest. We even have a relationship with a computer "wreckers" who take apart old computers, and can get even the most ancient parts for your old faithful and revered computer!
The other category is computer specific parts, and these are not often readily available in Budapest or Hungary. We can order replacement parts from Asian factories or original computer parts from the US and the UK, for any type of PC or Apple Macintosh computer. Delivery time is dependent on international shipping, but we can get practically any part required. If you have broken your laptop hinges, need a replacement LCD, a new fan/ventilator, or even new motherboards are available at rates that are much more economic than replacing your whole computer. We require pre-payment for these items and others such as laptop chargers/adapters, but at least we can get them for you!
Apple Macintosh / Mac Computer Repair
Apple brand computers, in particular their Macintosh or Mac laptop/notebook computers are in many ways similar to their PC equivalents. They all use third party components, and then assemble them under their own brand name. Similarly, insde the new iMacs you will find the same Intel processors as many PCs, as well as the same Seagate or Toshiba hard drives.
Of course the Mac operating system and architecture differs from PCs, but the most common problems are the same, and ExpatTech can help you out with your G3, G4, iBook, PowerBook, MacBook or MacBook Pro. The most common issues are hard drive failures, memory failure, broken LCD screen or display, problems with the ventilator or fan, and ExpatTech has experience with repairing all of these in Apple Macintosh computers. We also have access to very detailed disassembly guides for virtually all Mac notebook and iMac computers, and using these can fix problems like broken hinges and other vital parts.
We are also thoroughly familiar enough with the Mac OSX operating system and environment for troubleshooting a range of issues. In the event of a hard drive failure, we can reinstall your system for you, either OSX 10.4 Tiger, OSX 10.5 Leopard, OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard, and get your Mac notebook or iMac up and running again.
NEWSFLASH! Apple has now released the latest OSX 10.7 Lion, and at ExpatTech we can upgrade your Mac to this newest version of the Macintosh computer operating system. Call now for details!
We do not do motherboard repairs on Macs ourselves, but we have a partner who has the specialist equipment to repair the delicate circuitry on Apple Mac motherboards. Alternatively we can help any resident or visitor by overseeing the repair of Apple Macintosh products through the use of an Apple certified service center. We will coordinate everything on your behalf and keep you thoroughly abreast of the details.
click here to submit a repair form
When and Where
ExpatTech is open on weekdays from 10am-6pm.
Our phone number: (06-1) 215 1143
Customers looking to save some money may drop their computers off at our service location in Pest.
Laptop Rental
Attention!
Bring your computer into ExpatTech for repairs and get a 25% discount on a great rental laptop. For more information on our notebook hire service in Hungary, our our Laptop Rental page.
In Closing
We know from our own experience how important it is to have our laptop and desktop computers functioning at their peak. Originally at ExpatTech we focused on providing web design services, but when we needed to fix or upgrade our own computers we quickly realized that existing laptop and desktop computer repair options in Budapest were over-priced. But more importantly, we found it hard to identify service repair companies whose staff was client-centered, spoke English, and had the skills to fix both PCs and Macs.
For any general questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us!
