Today’s Tech Tip Home // Today’s Tech Tip

We had two frantic calls for help in a single day from clients who couldn’t find their Internet Explorer browser after upgrading to Windows10.  “My bookmarks are gone!”  “I don’t like this ‘Edge’ browser!”  And so on…

Relax – despite Microsoft’s attempts to get you to use it’s new “Edge” browser, your trusty old IE is still there.  In this post, we’ll show you how to access it, and create a shortcut in your task bar (that small horizontal bar across the bottom of your Windows screen) so it’s only 1 click away.  Not only is IE there, your bookmarks and other settings will be there as well.

Start by simply typing (without quotes) “Internet Explorer” into the search box at the bottom, left (small rectangle that’s usually pre-populated with “Search the web and Windows”).  At or near the top of the results, you’ll see the familiar logo and the words “Desktop App.”  Simply right-click on that logo and select “Pin to Taskbar.”  You’ll then see it, along with other shortcuts, along the bottom of your screen:

Pencil Sketch Photo (example of new photo templates in latest Android update)

I finally caved and accepted the persistent reminders to upgrade my (android) phone.  And just noticed that it includes some new photo editing templates. After snapping a photo and opening your pictures folder, tap it once to open an editing toolbar.  You can experiment with different settings and templates and save them to the studio folder while retaining the original photo. Kinda cool..

Faux Pas #1 – Ignoring voicemail messages.

If someone who is trying to reach you leaves a voicemail, it’s better to listen to it before having this conversation:

“Did you get my message?  I left you a voicemail.”
“No, I just saw a missed call from you..”

After all, they took the time to listen to the ringing, your greeting, and then to leave a message; and, frequently, it wasn’t one that even required a call-back.  How do you feel when this happens to you?

Faux Pas #2 – Jumping from one platform to another.

Unless you and the other person agree beforehand, it’s much better to complete a conversation where you started it.  Replying to a Facebook message via email, replying to a Tweet via a post in a Google+ group, replying to…well, you get the idea.  We all use (abuse) caller ID and we can see who sent messages on social media, do we have to also use a hodge podge of platforms to avoid actually talking with one another realtime?

Faux Pas #3 – Not sweeping the front porch.

By this, I mean keeping your voicemail greeting short, sweet, and current.  And please, please don’t let your mailbox (email and voicemail) fill up.  What kind of message does that send about you?

A man flying in a hot air balloon suddenly realizes he’s lost. He reduces height and spots a man down below. He lowers the balloon further and shouts to get directions, “Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?” The man below says: “Yes. You’re in a hot air balloon, hovering 30 feet above this field.” “You must work in Information Technology,” says the balloonist. “I do” replies the man. “How did you know?” “Well,” says the balloonist, “everything you have told me is technically correct, but It’s of no use to anyone.” The man below replies, “You must work in management.” “I do,” replies the balloonist, “But how’d you know?” “Well”, says the man, “you don’t know where you are or where you’re going, but you expect me to be able to help. You’re in the same position you were before we met, but now it’s my fault.”

It’s easy to highlight a couple of adjacent cells and click on the merge icon to make the two become one.  Using this method, you’ll end up with only the data from one cell.  But, what if you want the contents of both cells to be merged? (example – a column of last names and a column of first names merged into a single column that shows “last name, first name”)  Here’s how:

1. Select the cell in which you want to combine the contents of other cells.
2. To start the formula, type =(
3. Select the first cell that contains the text that you want to combine, type &” “& (with a space between the quotation marks), and then select the next cell that contains the text that you want to combine.
   To combine the contents of more than two cells, continue selecting cells, making sure to type &” “& between selections. If you don’t want to add a space between combined text, type & instead of &” “&. To insert a comma, type &”, “& (with a comma followed by a space between the quotation marks).
4. To finalize the formula, type )
5. To see the results of the formula, press ENTER.

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