Category Archives: Newsletter

January 2021 News: Use Google Photos for free, Make your own maps, Year of Zoom, 2021 Survey

January 4, 2021

January 2021 | Issue 161 | Archives

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

2020 – the year that Zoomed right by

The world stopped for a pandemic this year. We stayed home. The photo above is from last weekend when we couldn’t stand it anymore and made camping reservations at a wonderful county park, just 4 miles from our house!

With no travels to mark the passage of time, the year went quickly. Luckily we had the Zoom meeting software to hold our Google Photos workshops, Club meetings and other workshops were also delivered over Zoom. So many people have gotten comfortable with Zoom that we are starting a new, monthly “Member Orientation” to welcome people to Geeks on Tour and answer questions about our website.

We even used Zoom for various social events, birthdays, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and a memorial service. In looking forward to 2021, we count our blessings that we are healthy, financially stable, and able to continue our work and passion for teaching technology – by using technology!

See our tutorial videos on using Zoom at this playlist page. Learn Zoom

What Does This Button Do?
Note – we took December off from our live YouTube shows. See you again on January 10.

New Tutorial Videos

What’s coming up – Our Calendar Jan/Feb 2021

We’re Presenting LIVE – online and in person!

Lots of stuff on our calendar this month!

January 5, 7pm: Presentation for Sterling Heights Computer Club “How do I make my own custom Google Map” will be live on our YouTube Channel
January 10, 2pm ET – Episode 204 of What Does This Button Do?
January 10, 3pm ET – Backstage Pass for Members Only Zoom meeting
January 13-17 Florida RV Supershow Live Seminars 10am Daily
January 18 at 3pm ET – Google Photos Live Q&A streaming to Facebook and YouTube. Chris will demo and take questions.
January 20, 11am-1 ET – Google Photos Workshop 1 $49. Must pre-register.
January 24, 2pm ET – Episode 205 of What Does This Button Do?
January 24, 3pm ET – Backstage Pass for Members Only Zoom meeting
January 29, 3pm ET – Member orientation via Zoom
January 30, 3-5pm ET – Google Photos Workshop 2 $49. Must pre-register.
February 4, 9pm ET – Wisconsin All Computer Users Club Presentation
February 7, 2pm ET – Episode 206 of What Does This Button Do?
February 7, 3pm ET – Backstage Pass for Members Only Zoom meeting
February 10, 11am ET – Google Photos Workshop 2 $49. Must pre-register.
February 15, 3pm ET – Google Photos Live Q&A streaming to Facebook and YouTube. Chris will demo and take questions.
February 15, 8pm ET – Tucson Computer Society presentation via Zoom
February 21, 2pm ET – Episode 207 of What Does This Button Do?
February 21, 3pm ET – Backstage Pass for Members Only Zoom meeting
February 26, 3pm ET – Member orientation via Zoom
February 27, 3pm ET – Google Photos Workshop 1 $49. Must pre-register.

Live YouTube Shows Sundays at 2pm Eastern time “The Button Show”

January 10th and 24th

February 7th and 21st

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:

Google Photos Workshops

Did you notice the Google Photos workshops in our calendar above? These are 2-hour classes delivered over Zoom with no more than 8 people.

Workshop 1 = Getting the most from Google Photos using your smartphones
Workshop 2 = Gathering photos that were not taken with a phone. Computers, USB drives, other cameras, prints and slides.

The classes are taught by Chris Guld, a Google Product Expert for Google Photos. These 2-hour Workshops include a printed handout and several hands-on exercises. See more detail at GeeksOnTour.com/Workshops

You can still use Google Photos for Free

There has been a lot of outcry over the Google announcement that Free Unlimited storage for all your photos and videos will be ending on June 1, 2021.

Three things to know:

All photos and videos uploaded in “High Quality” before June 1 are stored for free and will be grandfathered in beyond June 1. (So upload everything NOW)
Even after June 1, Google will still offer unlimited storage for all photos and videos – there just may be a fee.
Even after June 1, Google will still offer Free storage for all photos and videos – it just has a limit of 15GB.

In other words, even after the change, Google will still provide unlimited storage and they will still provide free storage. They just will not provide unlimited free storage. If you upload everything you have now, then starting June 1 you keep your new uploads under 15GB, it’s still FREE!

2021 Learning Survey

We may be old dogs, but we learn new tricks every day. And we’re going to keep learning in the year to come.

How about you?! Learning keeps you young y’know. We have a long list of topics, and we want to know what most interests you.

Just click this link and then choose your level of interest for each topic. There is also a space where you can write in any other topics that we don’t mention.

Take the survey

Make a map for your 2021 travel plans

Most people have not heard of Google My Maps. It is different from Google Maps. My Maps is just that – it is for your maps. The base map comes from Google Maps, but you mark the places you want to go. You can also add lines, routes, comments, links, and photos to your places. You can get to
My Maps by going to MyMaps.Google.com. Make sure you are signed in to your Google Account, then you can begin to Create a Map. You can also get to My Maps from Google Maps – click the 3-line menu at top left, select Your Places, then you’ll see a tab for “Maps” at the left.

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Have you learned something from Geeks on Tour?

If so, we’d love to get a review from you. Click the link below and you should see a right sidebar with all Geeks on Tour stuff, scroll down a bit and you should see Reviews and Write a Review.

Geeks on Tour google review

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!

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

November 10, 2020

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 Does This Button Do?

We added two new episodes to our YouTube “Button” shows in September.

Tutorial Videos – for members

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:

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.

Read the Article

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October 2020 News: Google Photos Workshops, Self-Publishing, Blog2Print

October 4, 2020

October 2020 | Issue 158 | Archives

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

Her book is done, Chris relaxes. Jim took this photo with his Pixel 4XL. It does such a nice job in portrait mode. Notice the blurred background. Then Google Photos automatically copies the photo from Jim’s library to Chris’ library because of our shared library settings to save photos of each other.

Our book launch special is over, but you can still get the book from Amazon, or the special spiral bound book from LearnGooglePhotos.com

What Does This Button Do?

We added two new episodes to our YouTube “Button” shows in September.

Tutorial Videos – for members

We also added several new short show-me videos for Google Photos. See the complete list here.

What’s coming up – Our Calendar Oct/Nov 2020

October Workshops for Google Photos

We have scheduled Google Photos workshops for Oct 4, 5, 14, 17, and 24. 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!

October 16-18 Roadtrek Rally in N. Florida. Seminars on Google Photos and Blogger. Attendance is closed.

Live YouTube Shows Sunday at 2pm Eastern time 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:

This video is about updating your apps. Specifically your Google Photos app, but all apps work the same way when it comes to getting the latest update on your phone.

Is yur Google Photos app up to date? 652

How to self-publish your book

I have now self-published my fourth book, Learn Google Photos. I am no expert on self-publishing but I do know how easy it is and I wanted to tell you about it. We use Kindle Direct Publishing for both the printed paperback as well as the Kindle eBook. There is no charge for the publishing process and all you have to do is provide a Word document or .pdf file of your book.

Our friend, Nick Russell has self-published 42 books, all listed on Amazon.com. Read the article to learn more, then watch the YouTube show to get step-by-step instructions as well as an interview with Nick about how he makes his living with his self-published books.

This video is about how to print a hard-bound book from blog posts you’ve made in a blog. I use Blogger, but this works with WordPress as well. I love having my personal memories in a beautiful coffee table book – it’s easy!

How to Make a Blog Book Tutorial Video 602

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August 2020 News: Google Photos 2020, Chromebooks, Using our Website

August 8, 2020

August 2020 | Issue 156 | Archives

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

July was yet another full month of self-isolation, but we got away on the first day of mini-season for catching lobster. Here’s our album all about Kayak Diving.

Just because we’re stuck at home doesn’t mean we’re not teaching. We presented two remote seminars over Zoom

What Does This Button Do?

We added two new episodes to our YouTube “Button” shows in July.

Tutorial Videos – for members

We also added several new short show-me videos for Google Photos. See the complete list here.

Members Only Zoom meeting with David Lieb from Google

We had a very special members-only meeting with the head of the Google Photos development team at Google. David Lieb was a joy and answered all our questions. See the replay video here.

What’s coming up – Our Calendar

Sunday, August 9 2pm ET What Does This Button Do?
Social Media tips for clubs and groups: Guest – Martin Brossman

August 9 3pm ET Backstage Pass Zoom for Premium Members

Sunday, August 23 2pm ET What Does This Button Do?

August 23 3pm ET Backstage Pass Zoom for Premium Members

Wednesday, September 2 Sarasota Computer Club remote seminar

We’re still isolating at home in Fort Lauderdale.

All personal public appearances are cancelled for the foreseeable future.

Live YouTube Shows Sunday at 2pm Eastern time. Most weeks.

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.

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:

Learn Google Photos 2020

First came the book “Mrs. Geek’s Guide to Google Photos”, then came “Mrs. Geek’s Guide to Google Photos – Second Edition” Now, we are announcing “Learn Google Photos 2020” The book will be available for purchase by September 1.

Here is a list of the chapters:

Introduction
Chapter 1: Your Google Account
Chapter 2: Getting started on mobile devices
Chapter 3: Collecting the rest of your life’s photos and videos
Chapter 4: Getting Around in Google Photos
Chapter 5: Exploring your photo library
Chapter 6: Keeping your memories safe
Chapter 7: Editing to improve your photos
Chapter 8: Organizing with Albums and Favorites
Chapter 9: Sharing
Chapter 10: Surrounding yourself with your photos and creations
Chapter 11: Troubleshooting and getting help
Chapter 12: Apple Photos and iCloud vs Google Photos

Using Chromebooks for photo editing

I have now bought my third Chromebook, ASUS Chromebook Flip C302. It cost $600. It’s fast. It boots up in a split second. The battery lasts all day. All I have to do is log in with my Google account and I have all my stuff. My Google Photos, Google Drive files, Gmail, and anything I can access from a web browser is all there. My
Chromebook is my “couch computer” – I especially like it for all my entertainment channels. I find shows to watch on Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO etc. and use Chromecast to watch them on the living room TV.

Because the Chromebook can run Android apps as well as browser-based apps, it is perfect for editing photos with Google Photos and Snapseed.

How to use our website to learn smartphones

The GeeksOnTour.com website is like a large library. We have archives full of 45 minute YouTube Shows, 5 minute tutorial videos, and 13 years worth of newsletters and articles.

This article is all about how to find what you need.

Let’s say you want to learn more about your smartphone. First of all, Chris has compiled a checklist of the things that are important to know about your phone. She calls it the Smartphone Skills Checklist – it’s a 2 page handout. The first page of the handout explains how the website is organized; what parts of it are free for all, and what parts are for members only. The checklist is
the 2d page. For most every skill she has listed one of our YouTube shows (s) or Tutorial videos (v) or articles (search for it). That will help you learn that skill.

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July 2020 News: Google Photos Redesigned, Mobile Internet Update, Shaky video

July 4, 2020

July 2020 | Issue 155 | Archives

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

June was another full month of quarantine, but we got away for a couple of days during the last week. Our dive club arranged for a day trip to the keys to paddle kayaks around in the mangroves. We jumped at the chance to get away and took our camper van a couple days earlier. Ahhhhh – such beautiful sunsets. We continued our Zoom meetings and added paid
workshops on Google photos. We got some great feedback, so we plan to make these online workshops a regular part of our schedule. See our June Google Photos album for some more pictures, and our blog for the rest of the story.

What Does This Button Do?

We added two new episodes to our YouTube “Button” shows in May.

Members Only Zoom meeting / classes

We did not have any separate meetings or classes for our members in June, but we did hold after show “Backstage Pass” meetings after both of the button shows.

Tutorial Videos – for members

We also added several new short show-me videos for Google Photos. See the complete list here.

What’s coming up – Our Calendar

Sunday, July 5 2pm ET What’s New with Google Photos Episode 194

July 5 3pm ET Backstage Pass Zoom for Premium Members

Monday, July 6 12pm ET Chris will be a guest on “Tech for Seniors” with Ron Brown and Hewie Poplock. Here topic is Sharing with Google Photos

Friday, July 17 1pm ET Google Photos Workflow Workshop

Monday, July 27 10:15pm ET! Golden Gate Computer Society remote meeting. Google Photos presentation.

We’re still under stay home orders.

All personal public appearances are cancelled for the foreseeable future.

Announcing!! Google Photos Workflow: a hands-on workshop with Chris Guld, a Google Photos product expert. Chris will show you how best to work with Google Photos. You’ll even have exercises to do on your own device with Google Photos.

What: a 2 hr workshop held over Zoom with maximum 6 attendees
When: 1) Friday, July 17 at 1pm Eastern to 3pm
Cost: $49 per person
How to sign up: Click Here

Live YouTube Shows Sunday at 2pm Eastern time. Most weeks.

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.

Stay safe. Wash your hands.

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:

Lots of Changes for Google Photos

Google Photos turns 5 years old and gets a facelift. The next time you open the app, you may feel a bit lost because the 3-line menu is gone, as are the Albums tab and the For You tab. Don’t worry, everything is still there, it’s just all been rearranged.

This article includes images of the old app, the new app, and where all the commands have been moved. If you want to learn more about how Google Photos has changed this week, We will be live on YouTube this Sunday at 2 p.m, Eastern explaining the redesign of Google Photos.

Read the article

Staying Connected on the Road – anything new?

Yes, and no. 5G is coming but it’s not here yet. Starlink is covering the globe with Internet from Satellites but don’t plan on using it for at least a year. The cellular carriers have some great unlimited data plans that have been discontinued, but Visible is still a good option.

If you want to know what the best data plan is today, and you want to be able to take advantage of improvements tomorrow, you want to listen to Chris Dunphy and Cherie VeArd of MobileInternetInfo.com. They were our guests on Episode 193 of our YouTube show. You can watch the YouTube video here, and notice that we’ve marked the chapters so you can quickly jump to where they discuss the
different topics: Starlink, Unlimited Data Plans, Streaming options, 5G, and more.

Google Photos can stabilize videos

All you have to do is open the video, tap the edit button and then the stabilize icon (it looks like a skewed rectangle within a square) and Google Photos does all the rest. You must be using Google Photos on an Android device to have this feature.

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June 2020 News: Google Photos Workshop, How your phone can run your TV, Oura Ring

June 6, 2020

June 2020 | Issue 154 | Archives

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

May was another full month of quarantine. Our new normal is full of social activity, it’s just all online. The screenshot above is one of our Geeks on Tour members-only meetings. We did our YouTube shows on scanning photos, and on the weeks that we didn’t do a live show, we held class on Zoom for our members only. See our May Google Photos album for some more pictures, and our blog for #stayhome daily diary.

What Does This Button Do?

We added one new episode to our YouTube “Button” shows in May.

191. What is Google Photos and how do I use it?

Members Only Zoom meeting / classes

We held 2 classes for our premium members using a Zoom meeting. See all replays here.

Tutorial Videos

We also added a few of our short show-me videos. See the complete list here.

What’s coming up – Our Calendar

Not much.

We’re still under stay home orders.

All public appearances are cancelled for the foreseeable future.

Announcing!! Google Photos Workflow: a hands-on workshop with Chris Guld, a Google Photos product expert. Chris will show you how best to work with Google Photos. You’ll even have exercises to do on your own device with Google Photos.

What: a 2 hr workshop held over Zoom with maximum 12 attendees
When: 1) Wednesday June 10 2pm Eastern to 4pm
OR 2) Tuesday June 23 7pm Eastern to 9pm
Cost: $30 per person
How to sign up: just reply to this email and we’ll send you the link

Live YouTube Shows Sunday at 2pm Eastern time. Most weeks.

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.

Stay safe. Wash your hands.

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:

Your Phone can make your TV look Smart

Does anyone watch network TV any more? The evening news is about it for me, and then the commercials drive me crazy. When I want entertainment I get it from streaming services like Netflix, HBO Go or Amazon Prime. Sometimes I even get my news from streaming services like YouTube, CBS, or PBS. But, how to accomplish this? I don’t have a smart TV, but I do have a Chromecast on the TV which means I can bring up a show on my computer or phone and “cast” it to the TV as
long as the TV input is set to the correct HDMI port. I’ve discovered that my phone is the best way to provide programming to the TV.

Read the Article

Oura Ring

If you like smart watches, get ready for a smart ring! This Oura ring is something different. It’s a lot smarter than the watches I had even though it doesn’t tell time. It’s jam-packed with sensors. There are two infra-red LED emitters and an IR detector that samples your heart rate 250 times per second. There are 3 temperature sensors, an accelerometer, a gyroscopic sensor, memory, and a battery, all in a
ring that fits on your finger!

Read the Article

How Google Photos can Scan a QR Code

All iPhones and many Android phones can now scan these codes with just the camera that came built in with the phone. Simply open the camera app and focus on the code, you will see a link pop up that will lead you to where the code goes.

But, what if you see a QR code that you want to keep and scan later? That’s where Google Photos comes in.

Read the Article

Show your Google Photos like a screensaver on the TV and other Photo Frames

We no longer turn our TVs off except for overnight. The rest of the time, if we’re not watching a show, they are displaying our chosen Google Photos albums. We just love that our house is filled with our travel photos, especially in this time of the CoronaVirus when we’re stuck at home.

What you need

You don’t need a fancy TV, any TV with an HDMI port will do.

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May 2020 News: Blogger Basics, Blogger and PDF files, Scan photos, 10 uses for Albums in Google Photos

May 9, 2020

May 2020 | Issue 153 | Archives

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

April was a full month of quarantine. We didn’t leave the house except to walk around the block, and we obviously did not get haircuts! All is well with us, we get food delivered from Publix and Jim had lots of opportunity to hone his cooking skills. We did our YouTube shows on scanning photos, and on the weeks that we didn’t do a live show, we held class on Zoom
for our members only. See our April Google Photos album for some more pictures, and our blog for #stayhome daily diary.

If you need to learn how to participate in Zoom meetings, check out our course.

GeeksOnTour premium members get the course for free with a coupon code found at GeeksOnTour.com/School.

Everyone else – the course cost is $20

What Does This Button Do?

We added two new episodes to our YouTube “Button” shows in April:

189. Digitizing your old photo albums and showing them on TV with Chromecast and Google Photos
190. What is a blog, and how does Blogger work?

Members Only Zoom meeting / classes

We held 2 classes for our premium members using a Zoom meeting. We had a class on Scanning photo albums and a class on Blogger. See the replays here.

Tutorial Videos

We also added a few of our short show-me videos. See the complete list here.

What’s coming up – Our Calendar

Not much.

We’re still under stay home orders.

All public appearances are canceled for the foreseeable future.

Live YouTube Shows Sunday at 2pm Eastern time. Most weeks.

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.

Stay safe. Wash your hands.

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:

How to write that book of yours, one blog post at a time.

You know that book you have in you? The one you keep telling yourself you’re going to write someday, when you have time? It might be a travelog about your RV travels. It might be a novel based on your family’s experience. It might be your life story. Whatever the nature of your book, the way to get started is to … get started.

April 2020 News: Zoom online meetings issue

April 9, 2020

April 2020 | Issue 152 | Archives

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

March started out normal with a short trip to Sarasota to present a Google Photos seminar to the Sarasota Technology User Group – STUG. Within 2 weeks, the world simply stopped, due to the CoronaVirus Pandemic. We cancelled our big dive trip to the Maldives and shut the house door. We
will #StayHome for the foreseeable future. See our March Google Photos album for some more pictures, and our blog for #stayhome daily diary.

We are busier than ever while we’re stuck in our house because we are in Zoom meetings, sometimes several a day. We’re using it and we’re teaching it. Not since 2010 when Facebook caught on like wildfire, have we been so involved in one product. Everyone we know is joining online meetings and Zoom is the tool of choice. We’ve made videos, written
articles, held practice Zoom meetings, and even made an online course for Zoom. We are dedicating this issue of our Newsletter to covering Zoom.

What Does This Button Do?

We added four new episodes to our YouTube “Button” shows in March:

185. How to make a custom map for dive sites
186. How to use Zoom for online meetings
187. What does a Zoom meeting look like? A real meeting with 50 participants and lots of How-To.
188. How to get your old slides into Google Photos

Tutorial Videos

We also added a few of our short show-me videos. See the complete list here.

What’s coming up – Our Calendar

Not much.

We’ve been staying at home for the past several weeks.

Our big dive trip canceled and we are using the time to work.

All public appearances are off for the foreseeable future.

Live YouTube Shows Sunday at 2pm Eastern time. Most weeks.

Live Zoom meetings for Premium Members after the live shows.

Stay safe. Wash your hands.

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:

Zoom – a short history

I think it sheds light on a product to learn a little about the people behind the product. Zoom is the brainchild of the CEO Eric Yuan. He grew up and was educated in China. After graduation he wanted to move to the US so he could work in the Internet field. It took 2 years and 8 tries to get a visa, but he finally accomplished it in 1997. He went to work for WebEx which was bought by Cisco, and he became Cisco’s Corporate VP of engineering, in charge
of collaboration software. He knew a thing or two about developing online meeting software when he left Cisco to start Zoom.

He left WebEx to start Zoom in 2011

Many of his fellow engineers left with him in 2011 and they launched the Zoom Video platform in 2012. The company was successful and they went public in 2019. If you want to buy stock in Zoom, please be sure to choose the right one. Stock symbol ZOOM skyrocketed in price after Zoom Video went public in March of 2019. The problem? That’s the wrong Zoom. Zoom Video is stock symbol ZM.

He’s a good Dad

Yuan has an impressive personal story as well. I’ve read that he never misses one of his kid’s basketball games and often helps out at practices. At the office Yuan has a 99% approval rating from employees based on workplace review site Glassdoor who named Yuan its Big Company CEO of the Year in 2018.

He’s addressing the problems

Then came the Corona Virus pandemic and everyone needed online meetings. Zoom went from 10 million daily users in December to over 200 million daily users today. That kind of stress is bound to show some cracks in the system. There have been many articles about privacy and security problems experienced by Zoom, but instead of denying it or stonewalling, Zoom is closing down loopholes, adding security features, and holding webinars to address everyone’s questions.

We watched the webinar “Ask Eric Anything” where he addressed the security concerns. They’ve removed the problematic Facebook SDK software, they’ve added a security button in the online controls for meeting hosts, and they’ve put all feature updates on hold for the next 3 months to focus on privacy and
security.

That’s enough for me. I think we are very lucky, in our time of need, to have an online meeting system that works so well and is so affordable. Thank you Eric Yuan.

What is Zoom meetings?

With orders to stay at home during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, meetings are going virtual, and Zoom.us is quickly being adopted as the tool of choice for friends, families, businesses and organizations to hold online meetings. Whether you just want to get together with a few friends for happy hour, keep
your Book Club going, or manage a community meeting when no one can come to the Community Center, Zoom might be your answer.

This article answers some Frequently Asked Questions like:

What is Zoom meetings?
How does Zoom meetings work?
How much does Zoom meetings cost?
Does Zoom meetings really work?
Is Zoom safe and private?
What does a real Zoom meeting with 50 participants look like?

Read the Article

Practical Tips for Running Online Zoom Meetings

We’ve been involved in a few different groups that meet online using Zoom over the last several years. In the last few weeks, due to CoronaVirus quarantines, we’ve attended and hosted many more. OMG, the things we didn’t know it could do! To learn the details of everything it can do, the best place is to go to the source – the Zoom.us website Help Center. The purpose of this
article is to give some practical tips that we’ve learned along the way.

This article includes tips about:

Have at least one co-host
Audio etiquette
Video Etiquette
Scheduling
The Waiting room
Calling on people
Recording meetings

Read the Article

Step by Step course to learn how to use Zoom.

The reason that Zoom has skyrocketed to the top of the online meeting providers is because it’s easy and it just works. But there’s still a lot to learn. This course starts out with the very basics of how to join a Zoom meeting, then continues on to explain the different meeting controls, on computers as well as mobile devices. You will learn when you need a Zoom account and how to set one up, and how to schedule Zoom meetings and invite others.

GeeksOnTour premium members get the course for free with a coupon code found at GeeksOnTour.com/School.

Everyone else – the course cost is $20

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Mar 2020 Newsletter: Map of Dive sites, Text on Photos, Google Photos Book

March 4, 2020

March 2020 | Issue 151 | Archives

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

February was a busy month, we’d just finished the Discovery Owners rally in Tampa, then went to Riverside RV Park in Arcadia to teach more smartphone photography and Google Photos. We were especially happy with our hands-on workshops there on editing photos and making albums. This was the 4th time we’ve been invited to teach at Riverside since 2013.

Next up was the RVillage rally in Live Oak, FL. Wow! It has really grown since last year – over 1,000 RVs there. Lots of energy and lots of fun. We taught 2 seminars: Maps and Apps for RV Trip Planning, and Google Photos: What to do with all those photos. We had 200+ attendees for each seminar. Then, we ended the month with a short dive trip to the Bahamas with our USA Dive Club. See Jim’s video here. See our February Google Photos album for lots more pictures.

March is going to be a catch up month as I am way behind on updating my Google Photos book, and I’m starting to hear about it from our readers! Yes! Keep bugging me. I have set a launch date for May 1 now and am determined to get it done. See article later.

What Does This Button Do?

We added one new episodes to our YouTube “Button” shows in February:

184. What is Google Lens and how do I use it? Scanning items in the real world.

Tutorial Videos

We also added a few of our short tutorial videos. See the complete list here.

What’s coming up – Our Calendar

We’ve had a busy January and February.

Only one Technology Club presentation in March.

We have a big personal dive trip planned, though.

There is a Roadtrek rally after we return in April and nothing in May.

Mar 4 Sarasota Technology Users Group in Sarasota, FL
April 21-24 Roadtrek Meet and Greet in Bushnell, FL

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:

Make your own map of scuba diving sites

Jim and I are scuba divers and I’ve come up with a way of plotting dive sites on a custom map. This same technique could be used for RV boondocking sites, or backpacking campsites, or fishing sites. These are all places that need GPS coordinates in order to locate them.

How to add text with a solid background to a photo using Google Photos

It was a long time in coming, but Google Photos now can add text right to a photo. At least, the Android version of Google Photos can do that. It’s called the “Markup” tool and it’s pretty simple.

Even if you know how to add text to photos with Google Photos, you should watch this short video because I add a very important little tip!

Mrs. Geek’s Guide to Google Photos – an update

Have you been waiting for the next edition of Mrs. Geek’s Guide to Google Photos? I had hoped to have it out before now, but it’s not. There’s still time to let me know what you hope to see in the book. You can just reply to this email, or read the article and leave a comment.

I have now set a launch date of May 1.

Meanwhile, check out my online course below.

Read the article

Step by Step course to learn the right way to use Google Photos and never lose your pictures.

As long as everything is set up right, you can just sit back and relax while Google Photos does all the work to store and organize your lifetime of photos.

How do you be sure that everything is set up right? Take our course.

Read all about it at GeeksOnTour.com/School.

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February 2020 Newsletter: RVillage Rally, Google Lens, Remote presentations with Zoom, Snapseed course

February 9, 2020

February 2020 | Issue 150 | Archives

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

This January we actually went camping! We attended a Roadtrek group rally just for the fun of it. See our January Google Photos album for lots more pictures. We also presented seminars at the Discovery Owner’s rally at Lazy Days in Tampa.

What Does This Button Do?

We added two new episodes to our YouTube “Button” shows this month:

What’s coming up – Our Calendar

We’ve had a busy January and February.

The only thing left this month as we send this newsletter is the big RVillage Rally up in Live Oak, FL. We have some personal dive trips planned, though.

Feb 4-7 Riverside RV Resort in Arcadia, FL
Feb 12-16 RVillage Rally Spirit of the Road 2020

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:

Using Google Lens to identify items in a photo

When you open any photo in Google Photos, you will see a button at the bottom meant to look like a camera lens. That is Google Lens and it is amazing. Open any photo, using Google Photos, and tap that button – it will analyze the current photo and tell you all sorts of things! Identify flowers, birds, insects. Translate and copy text, scan QR codes, identify products and give you links to buy them. And much more.

We’ll see you at the RVillage Rally

This week, from Feb 12-16, we will be in Live Oak, Florida for the RVillage rally.

If you’ll be attending, please come visit us in the Vendor Village – we will be offering free half-hour Smartphone Help Desk sessions.

We are also presenting 2 seminars:

MAPS AND APPS FOR RV TRIP PLANNING WITH GEEKS ON TOUR
Thurs. 12:00pm – 1:00pm / Music Hall
Jim and Chris, of GeeksOnTour.com have been RVing since 2003, mostly full time. They will share their current list of the most useful apps and maps including step-by-step demos of how they plan their trips.
GOOGLE PHOTOS: WHAT TO DO WITH ALL THOSE PICTURES
Sat. 2:45pm – 3:45pm / Music Hall
You will learn how to privately store your thousands of smartphone photos, and videos, for free, with Google Photos. You can find any photo from your past just by searching: “kayaking in La Jolla” or “alligators in Okefenokee”. Taught by Chris Guld – a Platinum level Google Product Expert.

Geeks on Tour offer Live Remote Seminars using Zoom.us

As we travel the country, we’ve presented seminars from Southern California to upstate New York, and all points in between. But, what if your California group wants us to present a seminar and we happen to be in Florida at that time? That’s when we use an online meeting software called Zoom. It allows the audience to see and hear us and we can see and hear the audience. We can display slides as well as demonstrate on our smartphones. In some ways, it can be even better than being there in person.

Step by Step course to learn photo editing with Snapseed

You may have heard about the free app called Snapseed and how it can improve your photos. You want to learn how to do it, but you don’t know where to start. We now have a standalone course on Snapseed.

The course will take you about an hour or two and it costs $30. If you are a GeeksOnTour.com premium member, you get the courses free.

Read all about it at GeeksOnTour.com/School.

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