November 2020 News: Old phone as webcam, Getting rid of passwords, Google Photos and Snapseed

  November 2020 | Issue 159  | Archives
What’s Up with Jim and Chris – the Geeks?
We actually got out on the road for a couple of small trips in Florida during October. The photo above was just snapped out the window as we drove through the Northern Florida countryside. The original photo isn’t so pretty. I used Snapseed to enhance it
and create the picture you see here. See the article in this newsletter on Google Photos and Snapseed.
Have you checked out our new YouTube channel specifically for Google Photos? You’ll find it at YouTube.com/LearnGooglePhotos. Go watch a few tutorial videos and be sure to subscribe because next week we will start our monthly Live Q&A for Google Photos.
Did you know that Chris has been writing a technology newsletter since 1983?!? She’s been feeling a little nostalgic lately and pulled out her archives of old issues. See the article and read her newsletter from Spring of 1989 all about WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3 and Corporate Computer Training.
Would you like to get rid of passwords? Hang in there, because that is the direction things are going. Learn how to use “Sign in with Google” now and be prepared for passwords to become a thing of the past. See the video below.
What’s coming up – Our Calendar Nov/Dec 2020
November Workshops for Google Photos
We have scheduled Google Photos workshops for Nov 10 and 21, and Dec 2. If you purchased our Book Launch Special with the 2 hour Google Photos workshop, please click here to register for the date you would like to attend.
If you didn’t sign up during the special, but you want to register for a workshop at the regular price of $49, click here.

We’re Presenting LIVE – online!

November 7, 2-3pm ET Google Photos APCUG exclusive Computer User Group presentation for member clubs.
November 10, 7-9pm ET Google Photos Workshop $. Must pre-register.
November 16 at 3pm ET  Google Photos Live Q&A streaming to Facebook and YouTube. Chris will demo and take questions.
November 21, 2-4pm ET Google Photos Workshop $. Must pre-register.
December 2, 10am – noon ET Google Photos Workshop $. Must pre-register.
Live YouTube Shows Sundays at 2pm Eastern time “The Button Show” about every other week. Check our Home Page at GeeksOnTour.com where we post a yellow note about our plans for the upcoming Sunday.
If we don’t do a live Button Show, we’ll do a Member Zoom at 2pm Eastern.
Live Zoom meetings for Premium Members after the live shows. Watch your email for announcements of scheduled shows, or check the message on our home page.
Stay safe. Wash your hands. Wear a mask.

Ask the Geeks Q&A forum. Anyone can read the forum, only members can ask questions. This is a valuable benefit of membership. Join Today! Here are some recent discussions:

  1. External Drives
  2. How to delete a Group Album
  3. One-Drive wants Money for Storage
  4. Editing Photos in Albums
  5. Force Photos Upload

Need a new webcam? Use an old phone.

When you get a new phone, do you keep the old one? I want you to know that the old phone is still a great camera. Add a stand, and a little software app and you get yourself a high quality webcam.

I use my old iPhone and this $20 phone holder stand as a “Document Camera” for recording demonstration videos.

This same setup can be used as a camera for video conferences like Zoom. This article will show you how.


Sign in with Google

This video is about using Sign in with Google. The time is coming when you don’t need to set up accounts with their own password. Start learning to “Sign in with Google” now. See Episode 202 for more info on passwords.Sign in with Google


Make your photos beautiful with Snapseed

Snapseed is a free app from Google for either Android or iOS mobile devices. It is almost PhotoShop-like in how much it can improve your photos, but it’s a lot easier. Just a tap here, and a swipe there, and you’ll have a photo that people say “Wow” when they see it.

The great thing is, you can get to it right from Google Photos. First you need to install the app. It’s a free app from Google, get it in your iOS App store or your Google Play Store. All my photos are in Google Photos, so I can just open any one of them, then choose to edit in Snapseed. The process is slightly different in Android
and iOS.

  • Android: tap the Edit button, Choose “More” at the right end of the list, choose Snapseed
  • iOS: swipe up on photo, Choose Open in Snapseed. If you don’t see that option, you need to force quit your Google Photos app and restart it. See video in this article.

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MrsGeek