Google’s 2-step verification adds an extra layer of security to your Google Account. Why am I concerned about this you might ask? Well, I’ve seen several of my friend’s accounts get hacked recently…and on top of that, two of the smartest people I know said I should - Nick Such and Tommy Crush.
Setting it up is a synch. It literally took me 3 minutes. Here’s how it works:
When you sign into your Google account you will enter your password like normal.
Then you’ll be asked to enter a code that will be sent to you via text or voice or mobile app.
Then you’re signed in like normal. You can set it up so that you are only asked for a code whenever you sign into a new computer. This is what I did, that way I don’t have to enter a code every time I sign into Google on my own computer. I’m still covered since most hacks come from people attempting to sign into your account from remote computers.
One more thing - don’t forget to setup your “application-specific passwords” for other apps using your Google account such as your phone or Adwords, etc. This took an additional 60 seconds.
For about a year now, I’ve been doing a “picture a day” project. It’s where you take a picture every day and post it to the internet. Kind of a picture journal of your life. It was inspired by my friend Luke Murray - you can read about it here.
I had been using Posterous to do this. But since that service is shutting down, I’ve switched over to My365, an iPhone app designed exactly for this type of project. It’s actually easier and more convenient than using Posterous for the “picture a day” project.
Speak Selection allows you to select text on your iPhone and then have it read aloud to you. This is great for when you are driving or doing something else and you want to listen to emails, articles or other content. To enable it, go to your settings, go to general, go to accessibility, and select speak selection. Turn it on and select speaking rate.
Here’s a video that shows you exactly how to enable and use it.
I often want to capture a screenshot of the website I am displaying and then save it as an image to send to someone else to view. I used to do this by hitting the “print screen” button, opening up a graphic design program (such as Photoshop or Paint), pasting the clipboard into the program and then saving it as an image. Then I found a much easier way to do this. Google makes an extension tool for Chrome called “Screen Capture” which can be downloaded here. This tool allows you to capture the entire page or a custom section of the page and save it as a .png file.
There is a tool for Firefox as well which can be downloaded here.
Cool internet tool of the week - MyRegistry.com. One of the more fun parts of wedding planning is registering for gifts…except it’s actually not that fun to take the time to walk through a store and be limited by the selection of that physical store. Myregistry.com lets you setup an online registry where you can add gifts from any site. They have an easy to use “Add to MyRegistry” button that you can install to your browser and quickly add any item you find online.
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