Slide Shark Presentation App

SlideShark

Hi Everyone,
This week's iPad challenge was to find an App for presenting a PowerPoint slide show.  While I tested many, the one that stood out due to easy of use, cost, and storage was Slide Shark by Brainshark, Inc.  Some of the key features include: works with PowerPoint files; preserves animations, fonts, graphics and colors; Tap or Swipe technology; no internet connection required when presenting, presentations are downloaded to the device; share presentation via email or social media.

1.  Locate and download Slide Shark from the Apple App store
2.  The first time you open Slide Shark you will need to create an account
3.  Upload your presentation from your computer using your free online account at www.slideshark.com
4.  Or email the PowerPoint presentation to your iPad or iPhone
5.  If you do not see your presentation in the preview pane, tap the Syncronize button at the top of the screen
NOTE: For an iPad or iPhone you will need a special adaptor for projector viewing

NOTE: Before starting, I recommend taking the short tutorial by Slide Shark.  It will really show you Slide Shark's special features.

Improve Your iPhone/iPad Performance

Have you noticed your iPhone or iPad being a bit sluggish lately?  You might be chewing up memory without even realizing it.  You see, on iPhones and iPads, even when you "quit" an app, it continues to run in the background.  This is wonderful for easy access, but if you have too many apps running at once it could slow down your device.  And if you have never properly shut down an app, it's possibly every single app you have is still running and using memory.  Luckily, closing your apps is a simple process.




1) Press your Home key twice quickly to bring up all your apps that are currently running.  This feature puts your apps in order of most recently used, so you can jump between them quickly.  It is also how you close apps that are running in the background.

2) Press and hold one of the app icons until they all start wiggling and red lines appear on each icon. It should only take a second or two.

3) Tap the red line on each icon until every icon disappears

You have now closed all your apps!  Press the Home key once to get back to your main screen.

Turning your iPod Touch into a Level

Hi Everyone,
I thought I would pass on this little tip about turning your mobile device into a working level (a device used for determining or adjusting something to a horizontal surface).  I know I have had this happen to me many times.  There I am holding a picture up to a wall trying to adjust it.  I know I need a level but it is all the way downstairs.  What I do have is my iPod or cell phone in a pocket or in the kitchen.  Why couldn't it be a level?  Well, it can.


Tim O's Studios Level App

Tim O's Studios Level

There are many free apps for your mobile device including apps that will turn your mobile device into a working level.  Go to the app store for your device, in the search box type "Level."  You may read about the app before downloading by tapping on the icon instead of the Install button.  When you find the one you would like to use, tap on the Install button.  To use the app, tap on the icon that is now on your device.  When the level appears on your screen, use it as you would any other level.  Just be careful, it is still an electronic device.

Deleting Books from Your Kindle Home Screen

One of the many awesome things about checking out a library book for your Kindle is that it is "returned" automatically.  So not only is the book free, but you never have to worry about getting late fees.  However, all those "Your Loan Has Ended" notices can be very pesky on your home screen.  Luckily, they are pretty easy to get rid of.

For Kindles with a Keyboard:

On your Home screen, select the title you wish to delete, as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is selected here.  Using the square arrow key in your keyboard, click the right arrow once.

You will be taken to this screen.  Using the same square button, scroll down to "Remove from Device" at the very bottom and select it.  The title will now be deleted from your device, as easy as that!



For Kindle Touch:


 

On your home screen, touch the title you wish to delete like you would to open it. However, instead of just touching it, you need to touch and hold it for 2 seconds.  Don't lift your finger!


You will see this screen pop up.  You can lift your finger, and this time touch " Delete this Notice" at the bottom of the new box.

Finally, you will see another box up asking you to confirm that you want to delete the notice.  If you are sure, press delete.  Your expired title will disappear!

If you don't know how to get free public library books for your Kindle or Kindle apps, check out this video tutorial created by Stark County librarians:





iPad: Changing your email signature

Have you changed your signature on the email account that you use on your iPad?  Or are you sending items with a signature "sent from your iPad"? 
It is easy to change the signature to something a bit more personal or professional. 
1.  From the Home Screen, locate Settings
2.  Open the iPad settings by gently double tapping on Settings
3.  Tap on the Mail, Contacts, Calendar option from the Settings options list
4.  Tap on the Signatures options found at the bottom of the Mail, Contacts, Calendar options

5.  A keyboard will appear, type the signature that you would like others to see when you send an email.
Now you may press the Home button to go back to your iPad's Home Screen.

Using LinkedIn and Twitter in Your Job Search

It is often said that when it comes to finding a job, it's not what you know, but who you know.  With the explosion of social networking in the past few years, the pool of people who know you, and what they know about you, is expanding everyday.  If you are not already out there on the Internet networking for a job, you should be.  Not only does it help you find jobs, but getting your name out on networking sites and blogs will help you meet people and is an opportunity to show off what you know.  Here are a two helpful networking websites and tips for using them:

LinkedIn

     LinkedIn is a social networking site that allows you to connect with people you know on a professional level.  In the past year LinkedIn's company recruiting feature has seen a huge expansion in usage.  LinkedIn's recruiting revenues are now greater than Taleo and could reach the size of Monster.com within a year (forbes.com).  You can upload job skills, work experience, education and a resume. From the information that you upload, the more than 9,000 corporations on LinkedIn can recruit you.  Some tips:

• The more compete your profile, the more likely it is that an employer will find you.  This means you should include education, experience, skills, current job title, career goal, a profile picture, and get a few recommendations if possible. 
• LinkedIn is NOT Facebook.  Everything you put on LinkedIn should be as professional as possible.  This means no check your spelling and don't use slang,
• Make sure you add an e-mail address and a blog or Twitter is you have one and they are work-friendly.  This will give a chance to show what you know.

If you don't want to wait around to be recruited, LinkedIn also makes it possible for you to search for jobs.

Twitter

     Twitter is a great forum to search for jobs, network with people in your field and stay informed.  Some tips for using Twitter as an engine for job searching:

• Make sure your profile and usernames are professional.  This should really go without saying
• Don't misrepresent yourself. 
• Use hashtags (#) so people that are interested in your field can find you.
• Follow online job boards for constant updates on new positions and general job searching tips. Try:
• Indeed (@indeed)
• Simply Hired (@simplyhired)
• Upload a tasteful profile picture so your profile looks professional and complete.  Customize your profile design to show that have savvy with navigating websites.

Good luck!

Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org) is a website dedicated to making public domain writings (generally anything published before 1923) freely available as ebooks. Founded in 1971, it is the oldest digital library, as well as the largest, with over 38,000 items. Books are available in various open formats, including EPUB for Nook and other ereaders, as well as MOBI for Kindle. To help ensure accuracy, Project Gutenberg ebooks go through a lengthy proofreading regimen provided by volunteers at Distributed Proofreaders. Downloading these books to an ereader is a simple process of just a few steps.

1. Go to the Project Gutenberg home page and search for a book by author or title.

2. Click on the title and format to be downloaded.






3. Click on the desired format to download it to your computer. Use EPUB (no images) for Nooks and Kindle (no images) for Kindles.

4. In Internet Explorer, there will be a popup box that gives the option to Save as so that the book will be easier to find later when transferring to the ereader.

5. Connect the ereader to the computer with the USB cord. Then click on the Start menu and go to Computer. The ereader should show up as a device. Drag and drop the book to the ereader. If you're using a Nook, you're done. There's one more step for Kindle users.

6. Double click to open the Kindle. Drag and drop the book into the documents folder.

Always remember to safely eject your ereader from the computer before you start reading!