Category: Podcast

Articles that contain video, audio, or files that are part of the VitaminCM.com podcast.

How to Set Up a Dual Monitor Desktop – Windows

Add More Screen Real Estate to Get More Done

Overview: See how to boost your productivity by setting up a two monitor desktop on your Windows computer.

how to set up a dual monitor desktop

If you have a laptop, or a desktop with a dual-port video card, you can stretch your desktop across two monitors. This is an extremely easy way to boost your productivity when working with multiple documents and applications.

Frequently, you need to constantly jump back and forth between multiple windows on your computer. This becomes confusing, because one of the windows is always hidden behind the other. When you need to make comparisons or analysis, it is easy to miss small details.

Why not have two monitors and view both windows side-by-side at the same time, like you would do if you were comparing two printed documents.

This is a very quick and easy process.

What you will need:

  • One external monitor
  • One laptop or desktop computer
  • Two minutes

Optional: If you have a desktop, you can still do this. You will need to get two external monitors and make sure that you have a dual-port video card. The diagram below shows what a dual-port video card will look like on your computer.

video ports on desktop computer

Setting up the Hardware

Start by plugging the external monitor into your laptop’s monitor port.

laptop monitor connection port

Turn on your computer and log in.

Configuring Your Settings

Minimize any software that you have open until you see your desktop.

Right click on your desktop to open an options menu.

right-click-desktop-properties

Select Properties from the options menu.

The Display Properties menu will open.

desktop properties menu

There are five tabs on this menu. Click the Settings tab.

The settings tab will allow you to control how the monitor(s) on your system work.

display-properties-settings-tab.jpg

If you have the external monitors hooked up, you will see two boxes in the top portion of the menu. (Numbers 1 and 2 represent your two monitors.)

By default, they will both have the same exact information. This is so that if you ever hook up a projector, you and the audience will see the same thing.

Spilt the Two Monitors

Now, you want to make the second (external) monitor act independently of the laptop’s monitor.

Click on the “2” icon to view and edit the second monitor’s settings.

enable second monitor

The last checkbox at the bottom of the screen will allow you to split the monitors in two. Check the Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor checkbox.

Do not close the Display Properties menu yet.

Arrangingthe Montitors to Match their Physical Locations

Depending on how you have your laptop and monitor positioned on your desk, you may need to adjust the arrangement on screen.

By default, the laptop’s monitor (1) will be to the left of the external monitor (2). If you don’t have your desk set up this way, you will need to click and drag them to match your setup.

arranging mulitple monitor alignment

Identifying your Physical Montiors

You can always see which monitor is which by clicking the Identify button at the bottom of the Display Properties menu.

A giant number 1 and 2 will appear on each monitor for identification purposes.

identify monitors

Moving Applications Between Monitors

Now that you have both of your monitors set up and working properly, you can separate windows into whichever one is most convenient.

You cannot move a window if it is maximized on one monitor. You will need to “un-maximize” the window before it can be moved.

Click the resize window button  button to un-maximize the window.

resize window

Click on the Title Bar at the top of the window and drag it from one monitor to the other.

Click and drag the bottom corner of the window to resize it, or just click the maximize button to re-maximize the window.

Final Step:

Sit back and bask in the glory of your super-terrific multi-monitor wonderland.

See How it’s Done in this Video Tutorial

The following video tutorial shows you how to set up a two monitor desktop on a windows computer.

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Share Files Between All of your Computers

Sharing Files Between Any Devices in your Home

OVERVIEW: You will learn how to share folders and file on your Windows, Macintosh, and Linux computers on your home netork.
share files between windows linux and mac

This is the first article in a three part series on Sharing Files Between Any Devices in your Home.

You Can Get there from Here

Your home has any number of “connected” devices (Computers, Video Game Consoles, Phones, Portable Media Players, Televisionss, DVRs, etc.). Are they all really connected? Here are some simple (and not so simple) steps to get all of your devices singing in harmony.

Sharing Files on your Computers

If you’re like me, the bulk of your media and files sit on one or more computers. You may even have more than one Operating System to further complicate the business of sharing information. Here is how you can share your files between computers runing Windows, Mac, and Linux.

NOTE: This article only addresses sharing files between devices INSIDE of your home network. While connecting to devices on your home network from the outside world (internet) is possible, it will not be covered here.

Sharing the Files on your Computers

IMPORTANT: The following set of instructions shows how to share ALL of the files on your computer. This is not the most secure approach to sharing. You should determine which folders you want to share (for example My Documents or My Music) and perform the following steps at that level.

Sharing Files on a Windows Computer

Windows allows you to share an entire hard drive or select specific folder to share. You can choose the drive or folder to share from Windows Explorer.

Open Windows Explorer (Windows Key + E)

You will see all of your computer’s drives (C, D, etc.)

windows explorer share files

Browse to the entire drive or specific folder that you would like to share.

Right click on the folder that you want to share and select Properties from the options menu.

windows explorer right click menu

The Properties menu will open.

Go to the Sharing tab

windows sharing menu properties

Check the Share button.

Optional: You can also apply finer controls to the sharing priviledges from the Advanced Sharing menu.

Click the OK button to close the Properties menu.

Now, users on your network will be able to access the files on this compter.

Sharing Files on a Mac Computer

You can also share folders with other computers on your Mac computer. You need to go to the System Preferences menu to configure sharing (Applications> System Preferences).

Mac system preferences panel

The preferences are grouped by topic on this menu. Click the Sharing icon under the Internet & Wireless heading.

This will open the Sharing panel.

Mac sharing panel share hard drive

You can share several of your Mac’s resources from here.

Check the resources that you want to share and close this menu.

Now, other computers on your network will be able to this compter.

Sharing Files on a Linux Computer

One of the best and easiest ways to share folders between Linux computers and machines running Windows is using Samba. Samba is a suite of applications for Linux that provides connectivity between Linux and Windows machines. This will allow a Windows machine to interact with it just like another PC.

NOTE: This example uses Ubuntu Linux. If you use a different distro, just Google for the specific instructions.

Start out by installing Samba on your Linux machine. Go to the terminal and type the following command:

sudo apt-get install samba smbfs

Samba is installed now, but you need to configure it so that it is accessible. Run the following command to open Samba’s configuration file (smb.conf):

sudo gedit /etc/samba/smb.conf

Scroll down to this section in the file:


samba configuration file

Uncomment the security line (delete the number sign), and add the following line below it, so that it look like this:

security = user

username map = /etc/samba/smbusers

Now, Samba will use the smbusers file to look up the user list.

You need to creat a user that can access the Samba server.

There are two steps to creating a user.

Run the smbpasswd utility to create a samba password for the user. Type the following command (substitute a real user name for “username”):

sudo smbpasswd -a <username>

Next, open up the smbusers file and add that username. Type the followng command:

sudo gedit /etc/samba/smbusers

When the smb users file opens, add the following line, (substitute a real user name for “username”).

<username> = “<username>

The format is <ubuntuusername> = “<samba username>”.

Telling Samba to Share a Linux Directory

Now you can create Samba shares and give access to the user(s) that you create here.

Reopen Samba’s configuration file (smb.conf) by typing the following command:

sudo gedit /etc/samba/smb.conf

Scroll down to the Share Definitions section of the file, and make it match the following:

#======================= Share Definitions =======

# Un-comment the following (and tweak the other settings below to suit)

# to enable the default home directory shares. This will share each

# user’s home directory as \server\username

[homes]

comment = Home Directories

browseable = yes

# By default, \server\username shares can be connected to by anyone

# with access to the samba server. Un-comment the following parameter

# to make sure that only “username” can connect to \server\username

valid users = %S

# By default, the home directories are exported read-only. Change next

# parameter to ‘yes’ if you want to be able to write to them.

writable = yes

Now Windows machines/users will be able to map a drive on windows using the following share format:

\ubuntumachinename\username

For example, if the Ubuntu machine is named linuxshare, and the username is chris, your share path would be \linuxshare\chris

samba shares from windows

Connnecting to a Shared Computer

Now that you have the files on all of your machines shared, you need to connect to them from another machine. You can even “map” these shared drives permanently so that they are always available, just like your computer’s Hard Drive or CD/DVD Drive.

Connecting to a Shared Computer from a Windows Computer

You can locate shared computers on your network from the My Network Places section of Windows Explorer.

Open Windows Explorer (Windows Key + E)

Click the “+” icon to the left of My Network Places in the folders panel. (View> Explorer Bar> Folders)

Click the “+” icon to the left of Entire Network

Click the “+” icon to the left of Microsoft Windows Network

Look for the name of the shared computer/drive Drill down on that compter as if it were a folder on your computer.

Find shared drives in windows

Permanently Mapping to a Shared Drive in Windows

If you want to Window Explorer to remember this shared folder and give it a drive letter (like your C or D drives) you need to “Map” it.

Select Tools> Map Network Drive

Select a letter for this share from the Drive dropdown list

Click the Browse button to the right of the Folder dropdown list

Use the steps above to locate the shared drive/folder that you want to map

Check the Reconnect at Logon box (this will remember the letter/drive mapping)

Click the Finish button

Now, the next time you start the computer the shared folder will appear just like your local hard drive or CD drive with the letter you assigned.

Connecting to a Shared Computer from a Mac Computer

You can locate shared folders on other computers on your network using the Finder application on your Mac. (Applications> Finder)

Click on your Mac, so that you can see the local drives and the Network icon.

mac connecting to a shared drive

You will see any computers that have shared drives/folders on your network.

Click on the shared machine to access its files.

Permanently Mapping to a Shared Drive in Mac

If you want Finder to remember this shared folder just like the ones on your local machine you need to “Add it to the Sidebar”.

Browse to the shared folder and click File> Add To Sidebar.

mac permanently mapping a shared folder

Now it will show up under the Places heading on Finder’s sidebar.

Connecting to a Shared Computer from a Linux Computer

You can locate shared folders on other computers on your network using one of the many file manager applications available in Linux.

NOTE: This example uses Dolphin to navigate Linux’s file system.

Open Dolphin and click the Network icon in the Places panel.

You will see a list of ways to access your Network and the shared folders located on its machines.

linux locate shared folders

Click Network to locate Linux and Mac machines. Click Samba Shares to locate Windows machines.

Permanently Mapping to a Shared Drive in Linux

If you want Linux to remember this shared folder just like the ones on your local machine you need to “Add it to the Sidebar”.

Browse to the shared folder and click File> Add To Sidebar.

Linux map a shared drive

Video Tutorial – See it in Action

See how to perform each of the steps listed above in this video tutorial

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Updating Multiple Social Media Services Doesn’t Have to Take Forever

Updating Everything at Once Using Pixelpipe

OVERVIEW: You will learn how to use the free service PixelPipe.com to upload files to multiple social media sites from one location.

pixelpipe-tutorial.gif

Reclaiming Some of your Precious Time

I create a lot of images and videos for the articles on VitaminCM.com. I also am active on a number of Social Media sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, etc. When I publish a new article it can take a very long time to upload videos to YouTube, 5min.com, Vimeo, and the rest. It also takes a while to update my status on Twitter, Facebook, Plurk, and FriendFeed. Thankfully, I discovered a way to save a ton of time that I used to spend doing all of these separate tasks.

PixelPipe.com is a free service that allows you to publish photos, videos, audio, files, and status updates to over 100 places at once in just a few seconds. What type of places you ask? How about Flickr, Picasa, Snapfish, Photobucket, and TwitPic for images? You have videos? Try YouTube, Vimeo, Metacafe, Blip.tv, and 12sec. Want to update your status on one of these: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, FriendFeed, or FourSquare. Do you have a document or note to upload? Try Google Docs, Acrobat.com, Box.net, Drop.io, Evernote, or SlideShare. Did you want to publish a blog post to multiple places? Try Blogger, Wordpress, LiveJournal, and Drupal. These are only a few of the numerous choices in each category. If you’re using a service, it’s there. Trust me.


How PixelPipe Works

Start by signing up for a free account at PixelPipe.com.

pixelpipe.gif

Then, set up your “Pipes“. Pipes are social sites that you want to update from PixelPipe. Here is a full list of services that PixelPipe can update.

add_pipes.gif

Uploading Files via PixelPipe

Once you set up your pipes, you are ready to start uploading files. Follow the steps below to upload a file to multiple sites from PixelPipe.

  1. Select Quick Post
  2. Choose the file to Upload
  3. Enter information for File
  4. Select Services to Upload to
  5. Click the Upload Button

quick_post.gif

Updating your Status on Multiple Microblogs

If you want to update your status on sites like Facebook and Twitter in one shot, you can use the Status/Microblog tag of the Quick Post screen.

  1. Select Quick Post
  2. Click the Microblog tab
  3. Type your update in the Status field
  4. Click the Update Status Button

pixelpipe_updated_microblog.gif

Posting an Article to Multiple Blogs at Once

If you want to post an article to multiple blogs, use the Blog tab of the Quick Post menu.

  1. Select Quick Post
  2. Click the Blog tab
  3. Type the title for your post in the Title field
  4. Type the contents of your update in the Body field
  5. Click the Make Blog Post Button

pixelpipe_blog_update.gif

See the Video Tutorial for Uploading Files with PixelPipe

Other Resources

You can get handy applications for your computer or mobile phone right from PixelPipe’s large collection of Free Software.

They also publish news and cool tips on their blog.

Create a Portable Document Scanner for your iPhone

Getting All of those Scraps into your Computer

Overview: You will learn how to turn your iphone into a portable document scanner for free in under 15 minutes. This will all be done using one piece of cardboard, a ruler, a utility knife and a pencil.

build-portable-document-scanner.jpg

Getting Things Done With Creativity and Elbow Grease

Occasionally I need to get digital copies of papers into my home and/or work computers. I don’t feel like having two full-blown scanners wasting space on my desks, nor do I feel like buying them.

What’s my quick, free, space saving solution? Build a stand that allows me to use my iPhone to make quick images of documents.

I have a few simple requirements for this document scanner:

  1. Must be able to be assembled quickly and easily
  2. Muse capture 8.5″ x 11″ documents perfectly (no cropping)
  3. Must be able to be disassembled, and stored quickly and easily
  4. Must be cheap (better yet, FREE!)

I searched for a few alternatives and found this really cool option by Kyle Koch.

kyle-koch-scanner-stand.jpeg

He sells them for $15 here. This is an awesome idea and $15 is very fair price. But what fun would that be? I decided to try to build my own for free.

This is my finished prototype:

portable-document-scanner.JPG


I place the document on the tray and the phone on the top supports with the camera application running. Then, I just press the “shoot” button and have a decent scan of the document. The key is to have the USB cable plugged in so that you can just grab them using the computer’s file manager. Also, the better the lighting, the happier you’ll be.

With a little bit of practice, I was able to get acceptable results on each documents first try.

Here are some of the document scans that I produced: (scaled down for this article)

scanned-docs.jpg

Not bad for $0 and 20 minutes time.

Instructions for Building your iPhone Document Scanner

I know, you want to build yourself one of these handy gadgets, right? Well believe me, it’s very simple.

What you Will Need

Supplies: Utility Knife , Pencil, Ruler or Yardstick, piece of cardboard (15″ X 30″), scissor.

Instructions:

Print out and assemble the Templates diagram

instructions.png

Trace two Stand pieces on the cardboard

template2.jpg

Cut out the Stand pieces using the Yardstick and Utility Knife (be very careful)

template3.jpg

Trace and cut out the two Bottom Brackets

Trace and cut out the two Top Brackets

Cut the notches into the Stands and Braces as shown on the diagram

packed.jpg

Insert the notches on top and bottom to assemble the Stand

insert-slots.gif

Place the rectangular base into the stand

portable-document-scanner.gif

Place a document on the rectangular base

document-on-scanner.jpg

Turn the phone’s camera application on and place it on the top braces so that the document is in the picture

Take the picture.

scanned-docs.jpg

Portable Document Scanner Video Tutorial

The following video tutorial shows you how to perform all of the steps necessary to make your scanner.

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