5 Apps That You Will Find Useful in Your Mac's Menu Bar

The Mac's menu bar is the place where you can quickly access different functions on your machine. From here you can easily connect to various WiFi networks, check how much battery power you have left, adjust the volume control, and determine your iChat, Sync, and VPN status as well. One great thing about the menu bar is that it can be accessed no matter what application you are currently using. It also does not interrupt your work and lets you accomplish your task.

So below is a collection of apps that will make your Mac's menu bar even more useful and interesting.

Loading

The Loading app allows you to see what apps are currently accessing your network connection. This app with a sun's ray-like icon sits on your menu bar, which shows you all the apps that are currently or have recently used your network connection. This will help you determine which apps are using your bandwidth and uninstall them accordingly.

This is a great tool to help you easily identify the apps that are wasting your connection. The Loading app can be downloaded from its official website for free.

Clip Menu

Clip Menu is an app for Mac that extends the default clipboard limit to eight items instead of one. It keeps the most current eight items in it, and then you can paste them where you need it. This may be considered as an enhanced version of clipboard that most of us would be delighted to see in the next version of OS X.

You can get the Clip Menu app for free from its official website.

Ejector

Do you find the usual process of ejecting on a removable disk drive (right-clicking on it then selecting eject) from your Mac somewhat tiring or inconvenient? Well, the Ejector app can solve that trouble for you. Whenever you want to eject a drive on your Mac, simply click on the Ejector icon on your menu bar, then select the drive you wish to eject, and it will be safely ejected from your Mac. The app also gives you the option to eject all drives off your machine, which is convenient especially if you have multiple drives connected to your Mac and you don't have the time to eject each one individually.

The Ejector app is available for free on the MacUpdate website.

Tomighty

This is an app that lets you set a timer straight from your menu bar so you can monitor of how long your break was or how long you have been working on your machine. To use it, simply click on the app icon on the menu bar, select the break type, and then the timer will start. The timer will keep on counting until the time you have specified is up.

Tomighty can be downloaded for free from its official website.

Bartender

Bartender for Mac lets you organize the menu bar icons so that they are in good shape and do not overlap. It allows you to rearrange the menu bar icons, place them according to your preference, hide icons that you don't want to see, and so on. As for the functionality, this app does not affect how the app works even if you have modified your menu bar.

Try the Bartender app free of charge for four weeks, and then you can upgrade it to the paid version.

Must-Have Apps for Techie Teachers

Aside from students, other people like custodians, nurse, security guards, and especially teachers also bring electronic devices to school. Because of the growing BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend today, most people in the corporate world are utilizing their own gadgets to get their work done. For teachers, they don't actually need a pen, paper, or laptop in order to accomplish their daily tasks should they have the proper devices.

Some famous apps that fit this description includes Google Drive for document collaboration, Dropbox for file synchronization between devices, Keynote for creating presentations, and Evernote for storing almost everything that your students submit in its searchable online database. The list could go on, targeting teachers and school staff, with tasks ranging from grading and taking attendance to simplifying presentations or perfecting their use of the whiteboard.

If you're a faculty staff and would like to take your teaching methods to the next level, check out our list below for more apps that will guarantee to suit your needs.

Edmodo

Edmodo is a full content management system for educators that allows you to easily disseminate assignments and receive submissions. With the newest version of the app, teachers and students now have the ability to like posts in their stream and get a quick glance of who else liked a particular post. Users will find threaded discussions in this app enjoyable because of its Facebook-ish layout.

The app is free to download for iOS, Android, and Windows 8 users.

EduBlogs

EduBlogs is a blogging platform that is designed for teachers to get the word out to students. School educators and teachers alike can use this mobile app to create blogs, post updates, moderate comments, and upload multimedia. The app also has privacy control that provides options to make blogs private or public, teachers can also leave private comments on student writing, organize students in groups and lists, and monitor progress with detailed user reports.

EduBlogs is free for both iOS and Android users.

ShowMe

ShowMe is an app that lets you turn your iPad into an interactive whiteboard. It allows you to record voice-over whiteboard tutorials and share them with your students online. Anyone can use it if they want to create presentations using images, drawings, text, and audio voice-over recordings. You can keep your presentations private or shared with limited groups only, if you prefer it that way. ShowMes are categorized by topic, so users can explore other people's ShowMes to find unique lesson resources. Teachers can pay $4.99 for a monthly groups subscription to share ShowMes with a class. The ShowMe Interactive Whiteboard is a collaborative tool for digital lesson-sharing that can work for parents, teachers, and students.

Teacher's Assistant Pro

Teacher's Assistant Pro is an app for iOS that tracks student behavior and achievements, including searchable demographic info on each student. It's easy to communicate later with parents or administrators about what's happening with each student or the entire class. You can send reports via email, text, or make a call directly from your iPhone -- it's an app that thousands of teachers around the world is already using.

Other tasks that you can do using this app -- filter your students by class, action, or just about anything you need, use random student lists and groups for class participation, send announcements to all or some of your students or classes using Email Blast, store parent names and student contact information including a photo, phone numbers, email addresses, and unlimited custom information such as student ID, and many others

You can get Teacher's Assistant Pro for $4.99 for Mac OS, $5.99 for iOS Pro version or Free; Android version is TBA.

Teacher Aide Pro 2

The Teacher Aide Pro 2 is an app for teachers and professors who would like to keep electronic records for classes, with just a touch away from their Android phone or tablet. Instead of being tied to a desktop device, teachers can now enter and access data anywhere in the room. All data is stored in the device locally, so there's no need to have Internet connection in order to access the data you need. However, you also have the option to back up your students' data in the cloud to provide extra security in case your Android device gets lost or damaged. Other features that Teacher Aide Pro 2 offers are Attendance Tracking, Gradebook (Categories and Weighting), Seating Chart, Random Student Caller with text to speech, Student group generator, Easy 1 tap communication with parents, students, and advisors, and Progress report feature.

You can get the Teacher Aide Pro 2 app for $19.99 (Android).

SlideShark

SlideShark is a free app for viewing and sharing PowerPoint presentations on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch the way they are meant to be seen -- with animations, fonts, colors, and graphics intact. It also has the ability to broadcast slides via the Web in real-time, which is useful especially when you have sick students at home, and play embedded videos from your PowerPoint presentation. Some of the key features provided by SlideShark include: File management with your own secure, cloud-based account, plus option to import from leading cloud storage providers, offline access to presentations (requires no Internet connection when presenting), iPhone remote control and laser pointer capabilities when projecting from your iPad, and more.

The free version of the app offers only 25MB of online storage, but if you're willing to pay $8 a month for the Pro version, you'll get 1 GB of online storage or more. You can download the SlideShark app for iOS here.

Messing up Your Computer Can Be the Best Thing to Happen to You

In summary, these are the hard lessons people learn because of the mistakes they made on their computers. It could be out of curiosity; it could be out of pure ignorance; it could be the desire to fix something in a hurry even if the user has no knowledge on how to fix the computer; and sometimes it’s just because of plain and simple stupidity. Whatever the reason, let’s hope these hard mistakes serve as a lesson when handling computers.

Not having an antivirus program

No matter how careful we all are with our computers, if you surf the net, chances are something will want to enter your machine and infect it with god-knows what it is. Always have an updated antivirus program. It’s no good if it’s not updated. You don’t even need an expensive one. In connection to this, even if you are running an antivirus program, don’t ever attempt clicking on links and e-mails that you don’t know about or try to click from the darkest corners of the net. These are where you pick up those nasty viruses.

Lifting a laptop by the screen

Doing this can be lumped into the category of ignorance or stupidity, or both. But logic tells us that the base of a laptop is heavier so always lift it from the base. Lifting by the screen will exert pressure on the hinges and will break the TFT-LCD or the CCFL lamp on the top portion of the LCD.

Not regularly cleaning your PC

Dust builds up inside of your PC’s case over time. This dust clogs up fans, reducing air flow, and increasing the temperature inside your PC. A large amount of dust build-up can result in problems with cooling, which could lead to system crashes as your CPU’s temperature increases. Take time to regularly clean out the dust, not only in your PC, but also from your laptop. Canned compressed air is useful for these cleaning tasks. While it’s understandable that we are all busy working, a damaged PC or laptop will render all your work useless.

Not using a surge protector

If you don’t have your computer plugged into a surge protector, you are putting your computer in great risk. Should there be a power surge or power outage, this can damage your equipment. A good surge protector will absorb the power surges and keep your equipment safe. It will also protect your PC against lightning strikes, but in connection with this, it’s always best to err on the safe side and turn off your laptop and PC during a lightning storm. Don’t ever think that just because your laptop is running on batteries it won’t be damaged by lightning. Ever heard of EMP? That’s what lightning can do if it strikes near enough.

Yanking cables out from a PC

Be sure you gently remove any cable that is attached to your computer. Some cables have screws that hold them in place. Some have plastic tabs. If you just yank the cable out, the cable can break or the computer port can be damaged.

5 Helpful Tips to Enhance Your Skype Experience

Making expensive international phone calls are now history, and we have to give the credits to apps like Skype, Hangouts, Viber, WhatsApp, Line, and WeChat just to name a few. Whether you're using a data plan or connected to a Wi-Fi network, you have the liberty to take calls wherever you may be. And although some may have additional charges for availing the advanced features, it would still be considered cheaper compared to the traditional overseas phone calls. Skype is a great help for businesses whenever the need for meetings, conference calls, and chats arise.

But would you like to have a better Skype experience? Check out these 5 simple tips and tricks that you can apply so that you can use Skype to its fullest.

Access and Backup IM Chat History

When you switch to another PC, you'll definitely won't find your previous chat conversations with your family and friends on Skype. However, there is a way to create a backup and explore your history if you're using a Windows computer. This feature can be useful especially if you want to keep your chat conversations for recordkeeping and/or documentation.

To do this, press the Windows key + [R] to launch the Run box. Then type the command "%appdata%\Skype" then press [Enter]. When the File Explorer window shows up, choose the folder labeled as your Skype username, and then look for the "main.db" file. That particular file is your IM chat history.

Alternatively, you can create a backup using the directory "C:\Users\YOURWINDOWSNAME\AppData\Roaming\Skype", which you can copy and then save to an external USB device. You can copy and then save them later on if necessary.

Mute the Mic During Group Calls

During conference calls, it is advisable to mute your mic so that you can hear the voice of the person you're talking to loud and clear. Just imagine if there are ten people in a conference call and each of them have their own background (a dog barking, a crying baby, an ambulance passing by, car honks on a busy street) -- that would be a complete chaos. So if it's your turn to talk, then that's the time to unmute your mic. Don't worry because unmuting your mic will not actually disconnect you from the call and you will still hear the other person/s talking.

Get a Backup of Calls Using Online Dial-in Conferencing

If in case you are experiencing an unstable line connection on the other side (from some of the team members) or others can't access their computers, you can set up the online dial-in conferencing that everyone can access. Although this option is premium, this will ensure that everyone in the call will be kept in-sync with your meeting. The dial-in for US is (641) 715-3580. Participants will be given the conference codes, PINs, and local dial-ins in each country.

Share Your Screen Easily with Join.Me

During a Skype conference call, you have the ability to share what's going on your computer screen among with the rest of the participants. However, there are times when doing this is a challenging to almost impossible due to low bandwidth or intermittent connection. You can solve this problem by using Join.Me. Simply send the link to the person or to the chat box (during conference calls), and they will be able to view your screen in no time once they click on it. This is most useful for participants who are non-Skype members since only registered users can make use of the screen sharing and file sharing options.

Use Skype Wi-Fi on Mobile Devices and PCs

Are you using a mobile device to make your Skype calls? You can download the Skype Wi-Fi app where you can check out the Skype Hotspots where you can connect to within your area by viewing its worldwide map. Skype boasts of having more than 2 million public hotspots all over the world.

5 Credit Card Reader Apps That Are Perfect for Small Businesses

For small business owners, investing in a mobile credit card reader is considered a smart decision nowadays because it gives your customers more payment options, especially if you are travelling and are usually involved in outside sales. Businesses are rarely cash-only and it can frustrate your customers if your business only accepts limited forms of payment. There are apps designed to make it easier for customers to pay how they want, even for small purchases, and will help boost customer satisfaction and retention. When comparing mobile credit card reader apps, there are several factors that a small business owner must consider, like ease of use and compatibility with a wide range of mobile devices and phones.

Check out some popular mobile credit card reader apps on the market now.

ROAMpay

The ROAMpay app is unique among its competitors because it is one of the few on the market that offers a combination card swiper that works with Android phones, iPhone, and BlackBerry. It is also compatible with some flip phones and older mobile phones. The app provides end-to-end encryption when transactions are made as well as a secure PIN-based user authentication, ensuring the highest level of data security possible. ROAMpay is a great option for small business owners because of its ability to work with so many types of devices. For this reason, having this app will surely provide convenience to your customers and higher possibility of sales increase.

Square

Square is currently one of the most acknowledged and popular apps. It charges 2.75 percent per swipe, but you can get both the device and app for free. It doesn't require any contract, and the money will be deposited directly to your bank account right after a transaction. What makes the app attractive is its ease of use, as well as the sleekness and the small size of the app. Simply plug it into the audio jack of your mobile device. The only downside of the Square app is that it is only compatible with Android and iPhones.

PayAnywhere

One of the least expensive you can get for a mobile credit card reader app is PayAnywhere. The reader is free and accepts most major credit cards, including MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover. It charges a low rate of 2.69 percent per card swipe. With its basic features and free from any setup costs, hidden fees, or minimum monthly payments, the PayAnywhere app is one of the best solutions you can get.

Intuit GoPayment

Intuit GoPayment is somehow similar to Square because it works with Android, iPhone and other Apple products, as well as BlackBerry devices. It's startup is free and simple -- all you need to do is sign up and install the free app. Enjoy rates as low as 1.7% per swipe, with no setup fees, no commitment and the ability to cancel anytime. With Intuit GoPayment, you can have safe and secure payments because it has two levels of security to ensure that all of your transactions are safe and secure with the encrypted card reader. Intuit GoPayment is compatible with major credit cards, including VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express with authorization in seconds.

PayPal Here

This mobile payment solution is part of the overall PayPal package and connects with your PayPal debit card and online account. One cool feature of the PayPal Here app is that you can use your GPS signal to attract buyers, who can search for local businesses that accept PayPal or use PayPal Here. This also means you can simultaneously accept payments by credit card or online through PayPal's payment service. However, just like Square, it only works with Apple and Android devices. PayPal Here offers different types of payment plans, so you can choose a package depending on how advanced your business is or you can tailor a package that will perfectly fit to your needs.