35mm Slides and Negatives of Any Size

I have a new piece of equipment that will scan slides and negatives of any size and create digital images. It is pretty amazing how it makes these old media forms come alive and become sharable on social media or printed and framed.

If you have any in the closet that you would like to see live again please contact me. My rates are very reasonable. I guarantee you will like the results or there's no charge. It's not too late to have them before Christmas.

I also transfer cassette and vinyl to CD, as well as VHS, VHS-C, 8mm, and Hi8 video to DVD. I can even transfer reel-to-reel audio to CD.

Contact me for a quote.

dudley.m.harris@gmail.com
256.366.4201

Media Conversion

I'm working on another video conversion project; transferring VHS tapes to DVD. If you have any tapes that you would like to have converted let me know. I can convert. VHS, VHS-C, 8mm, and Hi8.

I can also convert cassette tapes to CD or mp3, record (33 and 45), and even reel-to-reel tapes to CD or mp3.

Let me know if I can help you.

Dudley Harris
dudley.m.harris@gmail.com
256.366.4201

More Media Conversion

More Media Conversion.

I just helped preserve some precious memories that were on a VHS tape that had been damaged. I was able to salvage the video and get it transferred to DVD.

Also, I'm putting the wraps on a huge CD duplication project. I transferred about 40 cassette tapes to CD and made 5 duplicate sets. A long project but much appreciation from the customer. These one-of-a kind cassettes can now easily be shared, but more importantly, are on a much more stable media that the magnetic tape.

If you have any conversion needs let me know.

Dudley
256.366.4201
dudley.m.harris@gmail.com

Media Conversion

I just finished a major media conversion project. I copied about 40 cassette tapes to CD. These were priceless one-of-a-kind recordings and the customer was very happy to have them preserved. Also, they can now be shared with friends and family very easily.

If you need help converting any media please contact me. Prices are very reasonable and quality is guaranteed. Media formats include:

Cassette to CD

Hi8 or Super8 to DVD

VHS or VHS-C to DVD

I can also duplicate CDs or DVDs for you.

Let me know if I can help.

Dudley Harris

256.366.4201

dudley.m.harris@gmail.com

Free (Almost) Software

Whether you have a Mac or PC you need software apps to be productive. The perennial favorite of most is Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.). Unfortunately, this comes with a pretty nice price tag, depending on the level you purchase (Home, Student, Professional, etc.).

There are equivalent packages available for both Mac and PC that are basically free: OpenOffice for PC and NeoOffice for Mac. The document types are interchangeable so it makes sharing things very easy. The last time I upgraded NeoOffice I had to make a one-time "contribution" but it's worth it. Check them out to see if they will work for you.

If you need any help getting these downloaded and installed on your computer give me a call. I'd be glad to help.

Kurios Consulting
Dudley Harris
256.366.4201
dudley.m.harris@gmail.com

Windows On a Mac

There are still a few applications that will not run on a Mac. If you are a Mac owner but need to run, for instance, Quick Books, you are not without hope. There are a couple of ways to run Windows on a Mac. The first is through BootCamp, which comes with the Apple OS. Another way, and my preference, is using VMWare.

With BootCamp you can run your computer as a Mac or Windows machine, but not both at the same time. With VMWare you can run Windows and still use your Mac without having to reboot each time you swap from one to the other.

I helped a client set this up on an iMac tonight. It is very quick and easy to do. If you have Windows applications that you need to run, but like Mac computers, give me a call and I'll get you set up.

Happy computing!

Dudley Harris
Kurios Consulting
256.366.4201
dudley.m.harris@gmail.com

Security Issue with QuickTime for Windows

I received this from a friend today. Thought some of you might want to know about it.

Personally, I believe they are painting a worst-case-scenario, but nonetheless, the threat is real. You can read more HERE if you like.

The bottom line is this: Apple no longer supports QuickTime for Windows. Because of this, security vulnerabilities could develop over time that would allow uninvited access to your PC computers. Macs are not an issue because QuickTime, an Apple product, is still being supported on their own computers.

The resolution is simple. Uninstall QuickTime from your PC. There are many other PC alternatives to QuickTime. If you need any help with this feel free to contact me.

Until next time ... safe computing!

Dudley Harris
256.366.4201
dudley.m.harris@gmail.com

How Much Memory Is Enough?

How Much Memory Is Enough?

Since the days of Windows XP and Mac Mountain Lion, operating systems have expanded at a nearly exponential pace. This is good in the sense of being more robust and feature-rich, but it has taken it's toll on many machines, forcing folks into upgrading before the usefulness of the machine had been maximized. That may be part of the plan, but I'll refrain from conspiracy theories at the moment.

Another factor in the need for more internal memory, or RAM, is moving from 32-bit to 64-bit processors. This was necessary to handle the ever-increasing storage capacity. It is common now to see 1 TB (terabyte - that's 1,000,000,000,000 bytes of data) disks as part of the standard configuration. We used to think 1 GB (gigabyte - that's 1,000,000,000 bytes of data) was huge.

At any rate, bigger has become better and the need for more internal memory is greater than ever. Unfortunately, to keep the "base system price" low, the computer manufacturers continue to load the "minimum requirement" of RAM on the systems they sell. This has settled in at about 4 GB. Unfortunately, this is really not even enough for the casual user. Because of the added stress of the larger operating systems and larger processors, I recommend a minimum of 8 GB.

My rule of thumb when asked the question, "How much is enough?", my reply is the same. "Buy as much as you can afford."

The one redeeming factor in this issue is RAM is relatively cheap. A 4 GB stick of RAM is around $20 - 30 for most machines. If you are not sure how much memory your computer has, there are several ways to find out. Because the method varies so greatly I won't try to tell you here. You can Google the method for your particular device, or you can go to www.crucial.com and use their tool to scan your system. It will tell you how much you have, and how much your machine can hold. If it is user-replaceable, it will even give you pricing on purchasing additional memory.

If you have any questions about this process, or if you would like assistance upgrading your computer, let me know. I'll be glad to help.

Dudley Harris
256.366.4201
dudley.m.harris@gmail.com

Tip of the Day: Pre-loaded Software

Tip of the Day: Pre-loaded Software

When you purchase a PC from any of the major vendors, Dell, Toshiba, HP, etc., it comes with pre-loaded software. Much pre-loaded software!

Because today’s PCs come with such large hard drives this is usually not a problem. However, many of these programs are also set to load at system start-up and can have a major impact on the processing speed of your system.

Vendors have greatly increased the amount of software that is pre-loaded because they are trying to “help” you. Much of it can be helpful … if you know how to use it! Most, if not all, of it is superfluous for 99.9% of PC users. You can uninstall this software through the Control Panel\Uninstall Programs feature.

Be careful. You can also uninstall some really important stuff there as well. If you computer is not running as fast as you expect it to, let me help. It doesn’t take long to do this and is not expensive, but can get you additional life out of the machine, which will delay having to replace it.

When you purchase a new printer this can also occur. Printer companies add so much unnecessary software when all you need are the drivers. This can occupy valuable disk space, but can also cause slower response times. Most of this can also be uninstalled, or never installed in the first place. Again, I can help.

Reach out if either of these situations sound familiar.

Dudley Harris

256.366.4201

dudley.m.harris@gmail.com

No Job Too Big or Too Small

I have been helping folks with computers for quite a while. If you have need of anything computer related, I'm your man. I can't do everything, but I can certainly do a lot. And, I know folks that can do the really hard stuff. However, most of it is not really hard, and I can save you a lot of money in the process.

This past week I helped upgrade memory on 3 laptops which greatly improved their performance. I also did some optimization on them to keep them safe and running at peak efficiency. I can do the same for your machine.

Also, I am very capable of writing, or proofing, technical documents for your business. I can help with process evaluation and optimization within your operation. I would welcome the opportunity to help you.

I can also train on the Microsoft Office Suite of products: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. I can also show you some free software that will do all of this and save you lots of money!

If I can assist in any of these areas please contact me.

Regards!

Dudley Harris
dudley.m.harris@gmail.com
256.366.4201

Leap Year

Leap Year

Since we just experience Leap Day (2016 is a leap year) I thought I would give you some info on the origin of Leap Year and some helpful information on how to determine which years will have an extra day.

Why and When We Have Leap Years

by Borgna Brunner

2016 is a leap year, which means that it has 366 days instead of the usual 365 days that an ordinary year has. An extra day is added in a leap year—February 29 —which is called an intercalary day or a leap day.

Why is a Leap Year Necessary?

Leap years are added to the calendar to keep it working properly. The 365 days of the annual calendar are meant to match up with the solar year. A solar year is the time it takes the Earth to complete its orbit around the Sun — about one year. But the actual time it takes for the Earth to travel around the Sun is in fact a little longer than that—about 365 ¼ days (365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, to be precise). So the calendar and the solar year don't completely match—the calendar year is a touch shorter than the solar year.

It may not seem like much of a difference, but after a few years those extra quarter days in the solar year begin to add up. After four years, for example, the four extra quarter days would make the calendar fall behind the solar year by about a day. Over the course of a century, the difference between the solar year and the calendar year would become 25 days! Instead of summer beginning in June, for example, it wouldn't start until nearly a month later, in July. As every kid looking forward to summer vacation knows—calendar or no calendar—that's way too late! So every four years a leap day is added to the calendar to allow it to catch up to the solar year.

A Quick History Lesson

The Egyptians were the first to come up with the idea of adding a leap day once every four years to keep the calendar in sync with the solar year. Later, the Romans adopted this solution for their calendar, and they became the first to designate February 29 as the leap day.

But Wait! It's Not Quite that Simple!

The math seems to work out beautifully when you add an extra day to the calendar every four years to compensate for the extra quarter of a day in the solar year. As we said earlier, however, the solar year is just about 365 ¼ days long, but not exactly! The exact length of a solar year is actually 11 minutes and 14 seconds less than 365 ¼ days. That means that even if you add a leap day every four years, the calendar would still overshoot the solar year by a little bit—11 minutes and 14 seconds per year. These minutes and seconds really start to add up: after 128 years, the calendar would gain an entire extra day. So, the leap year rule, "add a leap year every four years" was a good rule, but not good enough!

Calendar Correction, Part II

To rectify the situation, the creators of our calendar (the Gregorian calendar, introduced in 1582) decided to omit leap years three times every four hundred years. This would shorten the calendar every so often and rid it of the annual excess of 11 minutes and 14 seconds. So in addition to the rule that a leap year occurs every four years, a new rule was added: a century year is not a leap year unless it is evenly divisible by 400. This rule manages to eliminate three leap years every few hundred years.

It's Smooth Sailing for the Next 3,300 Years

This ingenious correction worked beautifully in bringing the calendar and the solar year in harmony, pretty much eliminating those pesky extra 11 minutes and 14 seconds. Now the calendar year and the solar year are just about a half a minute off. At that rate, it takes 3,300 years for the calendar year and solar year to diverge by a day.

Rules for Determining a Leap Year

1. Most years that can be divided evenly by 4 are leap years.

(For example, 2016 divided by 4 = 504: Leap year!)

2. Exception: Century years are NOT leap years UNLESS they can be evenly divided by 400. (For example, 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, but 1600 and 2000, which are divisible by 400, were.)

Life Hacks

Hacking is quickly becoming a household word. This does not just apply to someone gaining unauthorized access to your computer, bank accounts, or social media accounts. There is a whole new set of “Hints From Heloise” being shared and the name for these shortcuts is “hacks.” The following is list of sites that can provide you with a wealth of information and short cuts, and they’re all free.

1. BugMeNot

Are you bugged constantly to sign up for websites, even though you do not wish to share your email? If yes, then BugMeNot is for you. Instead of creating new logins, BugMeNot has shared logins across thousands of websites which can be used.

2. Get Notify

This nifty little website tracks whether the emails sent by you were opened and read by the receiver. Moreover, it also provides the recipient’s IP Address, location, browser details, and more.

3. Zero Dollar Movies

If you are on a constant lookout of free full length movies, then Zero Dollar movies provides a collection of over 15,000 movies in multiple languages that are available to watch for free on Youtube. It indexes only full length movies and no trailers, or partial uploads. In addition, it has a clean interface, contributing to a good movie watching experience.

4. Livestream

Livestream allows you to watch and broadcast events live to viewers on any platform. For the next time when you want to share your company’s annual CEO speech live to employees who are on remote locations, Livestream serves as a perfect platform.

5. scr.im

scr.im converts your email address into a short custom URLs, that can be shared on public websites. This prevents your email id from getting picked up by spam robots, and email harvesters who are on a constant lookout from your email id.

6. TinEye

TinEye is a Reverse Image search tool which is as accurate as Google’s Reverse Image search tool. As opposed to Google, TinEye provides a set of APIs that can be used for personal and commercial purposes, which makes it very useful for developers.

7. Fax Zero

Fax Zero allows you to send faxes to US and Canada for free. Additionally, it enables you to send faxes to countries outside North America at a fixed pay per use cost.

8. Snopes

Do you believe that fingernails and hair continue to grow after death? Why don’t you check out if this is true, along with thousands of other urban folklore out there, at Snopes?

9. Stickk

Is it difficult for you to stick to goals ? If yes, then let Stickk help you reach your goals. It makes use of commitment contracts to empower you to better your lifestyle.

10. Boxoh

Boxoh can track the status of any shipment package on Google Maps.

11. PicMonkey

PicMonkey is an online Image editor, that allows you to touch up your images. Also, you can apply different effects, fonts, and designs to your images. It is a perfect tool to create pins for Pinterest and  awesome looking Facebook covers.

12. Trello

Trello is a great online tool for organizing just about anything using Kanban style cards. It provides a highly visual way for Online Collaboration, and is a simple free tool for Task and Project Management.

13. Short Reckonings

Short Reckonings is an online tool to keep track of shared expenses. It is deceptively simple, easy to use, and allows you to enter expenses with the fewest possible clicks. A clean, ad-free interface adds to the charm of this simple website.

14. Memrise

Do you fancy learning new things in small byte sized packages? If yes, then Memrise is for you. The additive nature of gaming combined with memory improvement makes this an excellent resource.

15. Instructables

Instructables provides instructions to help you build just about anything you can imagine. It provides a platform for people to explore, document, and share their creations.

16. join.me

In today’s world, where collaboration across multiple stakeholders is key, join.me provides an online platform to share desktop screens. Record audio for meetings conducted with participants not in the same room. In addition, it is a simple tool to share your screen with just about anybody on the web.

17. Sync.in

Sync.in allows multiple people to edit documents and notes in real time. It is a great tool for online collaboration.

18. Privnote

Do you wish to share notes and information that self destructs immediately after it is read ? Privnote does exactly that.

19. ScribbleMaps

Have you ever wanted to place your personal markers, shapes, and scribbles on Google Maps? Even though Google Maps does not allow that, ScribbleMaps does, and it does a great job at it.

20. TripIt

TripIt is a painless way to organize all the details of your vacation or business trip. Forget your flight time? Can’t find the e-mail with your hotel’s address? That won’t happen with TripIt, which keeps your itinerary in one place.

21. Skyscanner

Skyscanner is a leading global travel search site, providing instant online comparisons for millions of flights on over a thousand airlines, as well as car hire and hotels.

22. Hostel Bookers

Hostel Bookers is one of the best search engines to search for cheap hostels and hotels while backpacking or traveling around the globe.

23. Fitday

Fitday allows you to track you diet and weight loss through its journal. The personal dietician and free articles on nutrition and weight loss on their site are a great bonus.

24. Endomondo

Endomondo is a mobile app that allows you to track your workouts. The website allows detailed analysis of your training, that makes it a valuable tool to understand and plan your workouts.

25. My Fitness Pal

If counting calories is your main goal, then My Fitness Pal is the best web and mobile application out there. The service has a massive database of meals and exercises to make it easy to accurately count calories.

26. Fuelly

Fuelly tracks the gas mileage for your cars and helps you to analyze, share, and compare your vehicles fuel consumption.

27. 3-Minute Journal

3 Minute Journal is different than most other Journals out there. This application allows you to track your moods, achievements, failures, and moments of gratitude. In addition, it does great analysis over these parameters.

28. 750 Words

750 Words is based on the idea of “Morning Pages”; that advises aspiring creatives to start each morning with three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing to clear away the mental clutter, leaving you with a clearer mind to face the day.

29. Kiva

Kiva is a micro finance website, that attempts to leverage the Internet and a worldwide distribution of micro-finance institutions. It alleviates poverty by connecting lenders to people in need.

If you know of others not included here then leave a comment so others can glean from your experience. If you have tried some of these then leave a comment and share your experience with them.

Life is tough. Keep hacking!

Dudley Harris

dudley.m.harris@gmail.com

256.366.4201

Free Cloud Storage

One of the many challenges in our data-driven life is sharing large files. Some e-mail servers will allow rather large files to be sent, but many limit you to as few as 1-5 MB. That's barely one high resolution picture.

Fortunately, there are some very inexpensive options available in the form of cloud storage that allow you to share pictures or videos with family members, or collaborate with colleagues on projects. The following is a list of "free" cloud storage services. As with most "free" things they come with a catch.

ADrive: 50GB of free cloud storage.

Amazon Cloud Drive: 5GB free in S3; free unlimited photo storage for Amazon Prime customers.

Apple iCloud Drive: 5GB of free cloud storage.

Bitcasa: 5GB of free cloud storage.

Copy: 15GB of free cloud storage.

Cubby: 5GB of free cloud storage.

Dropbox: 2GB of free storage.

DumpTruck: 5GB of free storage.

Google Drive: 15GB of free storage.

HiDrive: 5GB of free storage.

Hive: Unlimited free storage.

IDrive: 5GB of free storage.

Mega: 50GB of free storage

Microsoft OneDrive: 15GB free storage

pCloud: 20 GB of free storage.

SpiderOak: 2GB of free storage

Syncplicity: 10 GB of free storage

All offer more storage, or even unlimited storage, for a monthly fee. Most of the “free” options are ad-financed, meaning you will have to endure advertising on the site or app used to access your information. Most likely you can live with the ads unless you are using this in a corporate setting or for your own business purposes. In this case you can either pursue a subscription to a service or create your own domain with as much storage as you have on your server.

Happy sharing to you! If you need any assistance in setting any of this up give me a call.

Dudley Harris

256.366.4201
dudley.m.harris@gmail.com

Welcome!

I have embarked on a new phase in my career. It is something I have done for a very long time, but until now, always while working for a specific company. I'm now available to provide these services for anyone that needs them. By way of this blog I would like to introduce you to me, and my company, Kurios Consulting.

Others have said about me that I am an indispensable part of the organization. I attempt to add value in every way possible. I constantly look for ways to improve processes, even if they are not directly under my supervision. I spot problems quickly and find solutions equally as fast.

Jokingly I have told others that I want to be a "they"! You know what I mean. "They" say that we should ... "They" got this accomplished. "They" fixed the problem. "They" always know what is going on, and what should be done about it!

My daughter was sharing some information from one of her college classes recently and mentioned one of the tips the instructor gave that could be useful in a job interview. He advised the candidate to be ready to say something about themselves that would be memorable so they would stand out in the decision maker's mind.

I came up with something that I believe defines my career up to this point. When asked, "What can you provide that no one else can?", my response will be, "I want to be the person that, if my friend was on 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire', I would be the 'Phone A Friend' for the final question."

I love learning. I love helping. When those two things intersect it provides me with a most enjoyable experience. I like providing needed information in a timely fashion.

I hope you check back in from time to time and see what I've been learning. I'll share things that hopefully will be of some help to you, and to your enterprise, whatever that may be.

Until then ...