Author Archives: MrsGeek

Traveling the country in an RV with her husband, Jim. We present seminars at RV rallies and computer clubs all over the country and run this website.

Jan 2020 Newsletter: Google Maps for Food, Google Photos updates, Decade of Geeks

Geeks on Tour

January 2020 | Issue 149  | Archives

What’s Up with Jim and Chris – the Geeks?

Denver airport for Google Product Experts Conference

Happy New Year everybody. And, Happy New Decade! The 2010s saw the smartphone transform our world – what’s next?! 5g, IoT (Internet of Things), Artificial Intelligence, and virtual reality, promise to be even more transformative. Hold on to your hats.

The photo above is at home having a rare New Year’s Eve party. Thanks to our friends who helped us make this decade changer a memorable one. No, we didn’t make them stay till midnight, we followed the countdown from Rio de Janeiro and made midnight be 9pm our time! See our December Google Photos album for lots more pictures.

Now we’re home for the holidays. We wish all the best of the season for you and your families as well.

What Does This Button Do?

We delivered two of our YouTube “Button” shows this month:

We also posted lots of new short, tutorial videos:

What’s coming up – Our Calendar

Back at it for the New Year. Everything is in Florida. We’ll be visiting the Tampa RV Show, too. It’s always entertaining and we see a lot of our friends.

Ask the Geeks

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. Fixing Not Red-eye, but White-eye
  2. Printing from Google Photos
  3. Albums
  4. Signing in to MyMaps
  5. Make iPhone Ring Longer

Try Google Maps for Restaurant Delivery

Restaurant Delivery by Google Maps

You’ve probably heard of DoorDash, or Uber Eats? Well, there’s another one called Postmates. And then there’s Google Maps, where Restaurant listings may connect with any of the delivery services.

Read the Article

Lots of Google Photos updates in 2019

Image

We keep up with them all! And, we’ve written them up in one place for you to read:

  • Snapseed has moved
  • Account and backup status has moved
  • Manual Face Tagging
  • Pick a frame from a Live or Motion photo
  • Google Drive no longer syncs with Google Photos
  • Get prints made straight from the app
  • Photo Frames
  • Markup and Text on photos
  • Crop Document
  • Edit movies on computer

and MORE!

Read the Article

Decade of the Geeks

Image

It’s hard to believe that it was only 10 years ago that we bought our first smartphones. Now we’ve taught 183 episodes on how to use them!

On the other hand, it seems SO long ago that we were teaching Picasa. That was our most popular topic EVER – with a live audience of over 700 people. That all ended when Google Photos was released in 2015 – and we jumped right on that bandwagon. Cloud-based storage is definitely the way to go!

Read More

Leave us a Review

Review

Have you learned something from Geeks on Tour?

If so, we’d love to get a review from you. Click on this link

If you like this newsletter, please forward it on to your friends! If you received this issue forwarded by a friend you can subscribe to get your own copy delivered to your in box – it’s free. You can also visit the archives of past newsletters. If you’ve learned something from us along the way, we’d love a Google Review from you!

Jan 2020 Newsletter: Google Maps for Food, Google Photos updates, Decade of Geeks

Geeks on Tour

January 2020 | Issue 149  | Archives

What’s Up with Jim and Chris – the Geeks?

Denver airport for Google Product Experts Conference

Happy New Year everybody. And, Happy New Decade! The 2010s saw the smartphone transform our world – what’s next?! 5g, IoT (Internet of Things), Artificial Intelligence, and virtual reality, promise to be even more transformative. Hold on to your hats.

The photo above is at home having a rare New Year’s Eve party. Thanks to our friends who helped us make this decade changer a memorable one. No, we didn’t make them stay till midnight, we followed the countdown from Rio de Janeiro and made midnight be 9pm our time! See our December Google Photos album for lots more pictures.

Now we’re home for the holidays. We wish all the best of the season for you and your families as well.

What Does This Button Do?

We delivered two of our YouTube “Button” shows this month:

We also posted lots of new short, tutorial videos:

What’s coming up – Our Calendar

Back at it for the New Year. Everything is in Florida. We’ll be visiting the Tampa RV Show, too. It’s always entertaining and we see a lot of our friends.

  • Jan 3  Deerfield Computer Club 10am Here’s the Seminar
  • Jan 14-16  Roadtrek Rally in High Springs, FL – Just for fun
  • Jan 28- Feb 2 Discovery Owners Rally in Seffner, FL.
  • Feb 4-7 Riverside RV Resort in Arcadia, FL
  • Feb 12-16 RVillage Rally Spirit of the Road 2020
  • Feb 26 Sun City Center Computer Club Seminar
  • Feb 27 Golden Gate Computer Society Remote Seminar on Snapseed

Ask the Geeks

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. Fixing Not Red-eye, but White-eye
  2. Printing from Google Photos
  3. Albums
  4. Signing in to MyMaps
  5. Make iPhone Ring Longer

Try Google Maps for Restaurant Delivery

Restaurant Delivery by Google Maps

You’ve probably heard of DoorDash, or Uber Eats? Well, there’s another one called Postmates. And then there’s Google Maps, where Restaurant listings may connect with any of the delivery services.

Read the Article

Lots of Google Photos updates in 2019

Image

We keep up with them all! And, we’ve written them up in one place for you to read:

  • Snapseed has moved
  • Account and backup status has moved
  • Manual Face Tagging
  • Pick a frame from a Live or Motion photo
  • Google Drive no longer syncs with Google Photos
  • Get prints made straight from the app
  • Photo Frames
  • Markup and Text on photos
  • Crop Document
  • Edit movies on computer

and MORE!

Read the Article

Decade of the Geeks

Image

It’s hard to believe that it was only 10 years ago that we bought our first smartphones. Now we’ve taught 183 episodes on how to use them!

On the other hand, it seems SO long ago that we were teaching Picasa. That was our most popular topic EVER – with a live audience of over 700 people. That all ended when Google Photos was released in 2015 – and we jumped right on that bandwagon. Cloud-based storage is definitely the way to go!

Read More

Leave us a Review

Review

Have you learned something from Geeks on Tour?

If so, we’d love to get a review from you. Click on this link

If you like this newsletter, please forward it on to your friends! If you received this issue forwarded by a friend you can subscribe to get your own copy delivered to your in box – it’s free. You can also visit the archives of past newsletters. If you’ve learned something from us along the way, we’d love a Google Review from you!

You don’t need Google Maps to give you directions to a restaurant when it can deliver your food to you.

Both Jim and I were relaxing at home when we started to get hungry. We didn’t feel like cooking and we didn’t feel like going out. I had recently tried using the DoorDash food delivery app, but couldn’t find any restaurants in their list that I liked, so I just opened Google Maps on my phone and started exploring the restaurants.

Pretty soon I ran across an old favorite eatery and I notice a button that read, “Order” – so I tapped it. I could see the complete menu and choose whatever I wanted. I handed the phone to Jim and let him make his own choices. I tapped on Deliver and checked that they had our address correct, then I checked out with my credit card – already on file with Google Pay.

45 minutes later, we were sitting at the dining room table enjoying our hot meal.

Amazing.

182. Happy New Year-2019 Good, Bad, Amazing



 

Everyone can view any episode for free. Just click on the play button above.

Scroll down to see the show notes, these will be available for all for one week after the webcast. Then it goes back to Members Only.

Members get access to the extensive show-notes Chris writes up after each show. Read them online and follow links directly to the parts you’re interested in. We recommend you print them out and keep them in a notebook. It’s a great way to learn.

Not a member? Join here. This episode covers:

  1. Tip of the Day: Changing dates of photos
  2. Beginner’s Lesson: Chris and Jim’s Good, Bad, and Amazing of 2019
  3. App of the Day: — none
Continue reading →

181 Video calling with Google Duo

Everyone can view any episode for free. Just click on the play button above.

Scroll down to see the show notes, these will be available for all for one week after the webcast. Then it goes back to Members Only.

Members get access to the extensive show-notes Chris writes up after each show. Read them online and follow links directly to the parts you’re interested in. We recommend you print them out and keep them in a notebook. It’s a great way to learn.

Not a member? Join here. This episode covers:

  1. Tip of the Day: Copy and Paste using smartphones
  2. Beginner’s Lesson: Video Calling with Google Duo – Guest Michael Daniels
  3. App of the Day: — none
Continue reading →

180. Making great gifts from your photos.

Everyone can view any episode for free. Just click on the play button above.

Scroll down to see the show notes, these will be available for all for one week after the webcast. Then it goes back to Members Only.

Members get access to the extensive show-notes Chris writes up after each show. Read them online and follow links directly to the parts you’re interested in. We recommend you print them out and keep them in a notebook. It’s a great way to learn.

Not a member? Join here. This episode covers:

  1. Tip of the Day: Use Panorama for Group Photos
  2. Beginner’s Lesson: Making photo gifts
  3. App of the Day: — Jib Jab
Continue reading →

December 2019 News: Blogs and Maps, Google Calendar, New Feature in Google Photos

Geeks on Tour

December 2019 | Issue 148  | Archives

What’s Up with Jim and Chris – the Geeks?

Denver airport for Google Product Experts Conference

We started November at home, then flew to Colorado for the Google Product Experts conference in Boulder. Chris learned a lot and had great fun with her fellow Google Product Experts. Then we went on to Denver and presented a couple of Google Photos seminars at Senior Planet.

The photo above is at Denver airport – quite a sight. We were lucky to be flying back home to Florida well before the snow became a problem. See our November Google Photos album for lots more pictures.

Now we’re home for the holidays. We wish all the best of the season for you and your families as well.

What Does This Button Do?

We delivered two of our YouTube “Button” shows this month:

What’s coming up – Our Calendar

Ask the Geeks

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. Changing the Date in Google Photos
  2. Picasa in Windows 10 ​​​​​​​
  3. Apple Catalina​​​​​​​
  4. Albums
  5. Sorting Albums

They moved it! Using Google Photos and choosing to edit in Snapseed is still there.

Snapseed is my favorite way to edit photos on my phone. It’s a free app that you need to download and install on your phone. It’s available for both iOS and Android. Once it’s installed, you can use it with any photo in Google Photos.

The way to access it from Google Photos has recently changed, here’s how to get there now.

On iPhone, swipe up on the photo and you’ll see “Open in Snapseed” as an option below the photo

On Android, open the photo, tap the edit button, tap the 9-dot grid, then you’ll see Snapseed as an option.

Read More

Travel Blogs and Travel Maps go together

Image

My blog is where I tell our travel stories, but I need the maps for the visual reference.

The map can even act as a kind of table of contents for the blog. Each marker is clickable and contains a link to the blog post where I have the story about that place.

We can teach you how to make both blogs and maps.

Read More

Using Google Calendar to remind you before you miss appointments

Image

Don’t you just hate it when you see your friend and they say, “Where were you last night? We missed you at the party.” When the only reason you missed it was that you forgot!

If you have your settings right, you will get a notification one hour (or 2 hours, or 1 day – whatever you choose) before every event entered on your calendar.

This article tells you how.

Read the Article

New Feature in Google Photos: Share photos with a conversation just like sending a text.

Share photo with Conversation

Have you ever shared a picture using Google Photos and the recipient says they never got it? Did they tell you to send it in a text message instead because they like how a text message keeps a running conversation along with the pictures?

If so, you’ll love this new feature in Google Photos – it makes sharing any photo(s) from Google Photos act just like text messaging. It’s rolling out now on iOS, Android and Web!

Read More

If you like this newsletter, please forward it on to your friends! If you received this issue forwarded by a friend you can subscribe to get your own copy delivered to your in box – it’s free. You can also visit the archives of past newsletters. If you’ve learned something from us along the way, we’d love a Google Review from you!

How Google Calendar can keep you from missing an event by setting your default notifications.

Don’t you just hate it when you see your friend and they say, “Where were you last night? We missed you at the party.” When the only reason you missed it was that you forgot!

I’ve been using Google Calendar to notify me of upcoming appointments ever since I started using a smartphone, and yesterday I found it especially useful. I want to make sure that all of you know how to set the default settings so that you get a notification before any upcoming event.

I had completely forgotten about my Yoga class at 10:30. I also completely forgot about a dinner party we were going to at 6pm. Because of my default settings in Google Calendar, I get a ringing automatic notification an hour before any appointment. Whew! I made it just in time. Thank you Google Calendar!

You can even set your default to give you two notifications if you want, like one at 2 hours and another at 1 hour before any event entered in your calendar. Here’s how:

  • Open Google Calendar (on Android or iOS – just make sure it is the Google Calendar, not Apple or Samsung.
  • Tap the 3-line menu at top left
  • Scroll down and tap on Settings
  • Tap Events (under your account)
  • Tap Notifications
  • Select your choice
  • You’re done, just tap the Back arrow at top left

Never miss a party, or a dentist appointment, or a meeting – ever again!

How to combine Travel Blogs and Travel Maps

A travel blog without a map is like cake without icing!  It’s good, but not as good as it should be.  And, sometimes don’t you just want the icing!  A travel map can give your readers everything they want to know.  Then, if they want more, they can click on a marker and follow the links to your blog posts!

When we started our fulltime RV travels back in 2003 I wanted some way to keep track of where we’d been so I started a blog, using the free tool from Google called Blogger.com. Nearly 2,000 posts later, I’m still writing in that blog. I even have a hard-bound book made of each year and they sit on a shelf in our living room now – a constant reminder of all the adventures we’ve had and a great way to spend a lazy afternoon. See this past article about how to make books from your blogger blog:  Save your Blog! Get a Printable Copy

Blog posts are where I write our stories, but maps are essential for the visual experience of where we traveled. I make a map for each year of our travels and I put them on a separate page of the blog. Using the free MyMaps tool from Google, each marker on the map is interactive. When you click on it, you can see photos and/or text.

Using Maps as a Blog Navigation Tool

Map markers can contain text. In addition to writing a short description of the spot, text can be used to insert links. Those links can be to your blog posts about that place. If you use this feature a lot, your map can become a table of contents for your blog.

For example, if you click the map above, you’ll be taken to the full interactive map. See the gold marker in North Florida? Click that and you’ll see some photos about the place. You should also see a link to our blog post. Click that and you’ll be taken to our blog and the post about our stay at that place. Many markers on this map link to a blog post. Try #3 in Raleigh, NC, or #6 in New York City.

You might say that this sounds like a lot of work. It certainly does take some time, but if you love looking at your photos and your maps as much as I do, it is truly a labor of love. If you want to learn how to make blogs and maps using the tools we recommend, we have Learning Guides for Geeks on Tour members. We have also covered these topics in our free YouTube show, “What Does This Button Do?”

Member Learning Guides

Here’s the first Blogger lesson, for free:

Free “Button Shows” on these topics:

179. Google Photos 2019 – What’s New?

Everyone can view any episode for free. Just click on the play button above.

Scroll down to see the show notes, these will be available for all for one week after the webcast. Then it goes back to Members Only.

Members get access to the extensive show-notes Chris writes up after each show. Read them online and follow links directly to the parts you’re interested in. We recommend you print them out and keep them in a notebook. It’s a great way to learn.

Not a member? Join here. This episode covers:

  1. Tip of the Day: Support.Google.com for help
  2. Beginner’s Lesson: Google Photos – what’s new
  3. App of the Day: — Tunity
Continue reading →