20 Tech Tips

I was inspired by a post over on reddit about cheap options for websites so today's post will be all about cheap tech options...

1. This is the reddit post about using GitHub for hosting free static websites.  I have never used this service but some people love it.  It does look a bit technical for beginners though.
2. I buy all of my domain names through NameCheap.  It's simple, cheap, and better than buying the names through your hosting service IMHO.
3. I host all of my websites at InMotion.  I use the bulk hosting plan so it is a flat rate no matter how many websites I host and how much bandwidth they use.
4. I use WordPress for designing my websites.  It is simple and best of all free to use and has oodles of free templates which are simple enough to tweek.  Plus I remember the days of expensive web design software such as DreamWeaver and am super happy this free design option is available.
5. Some people use Amazon Web Services (AWS) for hosting their websites.  I have never used it but it is yet another option.
6. If you often connect through the internet through public wifi consider getting a VPN service (that you pay for, not the free ones).
7. Reddit also has regular posts about the best free websites.  Here's an example.
8. If you work for an non profit, you/your organization can save lots of money on great software (MS Office Pro, Adobe Suite, etc) through TechSoup.
9. My favorite tablet is the Samsung Galaxy S2 8" tablet (model T713).  I had the older version of this tablet (model T710) but wasn't happy with the battery life, then I bought the newest version, the Tab S3, but I didn't think it was much faster and it only came in the larger 10" size which was too big so I bought the 8" T713 version of the S2 and am totally happy with it.
10. I love my Dell XPS 13" laptop.  It is small enough to carry with me everywhere but big enough to use at home for general computer stuff (mostly writing and editing documents).  While I have the older version (i5, 4g, 128g HD), the newer i7 version is on my shopping list.
11. My cell phone is the Galaxy S8 Plus.  I love this phone, it takes excellent photos, and the browser is super speedy.  Of course I bought it half off on sale through the Samsung website.
12. Speaking of cell phones, mine can probably do hundreds of things I don't even know it can do but whenever I get a new phone I Google for tips for the specific model of phone in case there are useful things I should know about like this.
13. Privacy has been in the news a lot lately.  The bottom line is that people should expect that they have absolutely no privacy when it comes to anything they do online.  On the other hand, here are some random tech privacy tips.
14. Should you delete your Facebook account?  After the big kerfuffle over how much data they keep on their users, many people have decided to delete the service all together.  So far I have only taken the app off my phone and tablet and I have not posted anything other than to my walk group page since the first of the year.  I'm still deciding if I should delete Facebook all together.
15. One thing hubby and I use a lot is the bluetooth connection from our phones to our car.  This allows for hands-free calling and talking while we are driving down the road and it is really convenient (not to mention safer).
16. While I don't use my printer nearly as much as I used to, I still end up printing things out occasionally (people's boarding passes, tickets, etc) so being able to send everything to my printer wirelessly is a great help.  I can also send stuff from my phone or tablet to be printed.
17. I do nearly everything from my cell/tablet, from ordering an Uber to depositing checks to checking out library e books to my Kindle to writing up documents in a pinch.  Needless to say I use a lot of different apps.  I also check every once in a while to see what others consider great apps by checking out articles like this.
18. Speaking of apps, I came across this article about apps that can earn you money.  I haven't actually tried any of these yet but it is on my "to do" list, just to see if they are legit or not.
19. I love news aggregator websites.  There is so much happening every minute of the day that it would be virtually impossible to keep up with everything without it being put together for me in an easy to read format.  My favorites are Popurls, MetaFilter, and of course Reddit.
20. Kevin Kelly has always been a cool tech icon.  I particularly like the "cool tools" section of his website.