A microphone designed for your PC is an important piece of audio equipment. With it, you can participate in online discussions, use voice recognition software or take notes for class. A USB microphone allows the user to freely communicate across a variety of platforms. There are several types of microphones available for computers, and they range in compatibility. Commonly, microphones are made for plug-and-play use; however, a USB microphone may come with additional software from the manufacturer....

Windows XP and earlier Windows versions support Active Desktop, which sets your desktop to display live Web content. If you set your Active Desktop to Google Calendar, your month’s events and appointments will appear behind the icons on your desktop. Though there are other ways of quickly accessing your calendar – you can add your calendar as a favorite or set it as your homepage – setting it as your desktop background keeps it in view even when you aren’t browsing the Web....

You can use the network capabilities of Windows XP to share a broadband Internet connection, files and printers. Setting up a local area network (LAN) is much simpler on Windows XP than on earlier Windows operating systems. You can set up either a wired or wireless LAN for your home or small office computers. Both setups will require a router for the main network computer and an access point or network interface card (NIC) for each additional work group computer....

Go to the installation site for Tumblrtracker (see link in Resources). Click “Connect with Tumblr.” Click “Allow” to allow the script to access your Tumblr blog and log in if you are prompted. A box containing HTML code displays. Select the code and press “Ctrl-C” to copy it. Browse to Tumblr.com and click the gear icon to access your account settings. Click the name of your blog, then click “Customize” in the Theme section....

So you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of people who are planning to go off the cable/satellite television grid. Cable and satellite rates are expensive for those just looking to get a decent HDTV signal for a few channels. However since the digital transition, all television over-the-air broadcasts are now in digital and many of them HD. If you’ve gone as far as putting an antenna on the roof, you may want to split that signal to run to multiple rooms....

Your Panasonic cordless phone might come with a built-in answering machine. You can deactivate the answering machine either from the base unit, from a handset or remotely by dialing in to your phone. Once the answering machine has picked up a call, however, you cannot cancel it until you hang up or you reach the maximum message recording length. If your unit doesn’t have an answering machine, then voice mail is provided by your telephone carrier, not by your Panasonic cordless phone....

If you have a new iPod Shuffle, you will want to put all of your music on it. In just a few minutes, you can sync all of the music in your iTunes library to your iPod Shuffle.

Posting your phone number to your Facebook profile makes it easy for your confirmed friends to contact you. If you want to protect your privacy, however, taking your number down from the site is a piece of cake. If you provide your phone number to the people at Facebook, the site can send you updates when you receive certain notifications, such as a new post to your wall. Remove your phone number if it changes or you don’t want to get mobile alerts....

The iPhone, which is manufactured by Apple, features miniature mobile applications called apps. The iPhone comes with native apps, such as Mail and Safari, but you can also download free and paid apps from Apple’s iTunes Store. The iTunes Store works both with computers and the iPhone, but apps purchased on your computer must be synced to your iPhone. Use the USB cord that was included with your iPhone to sync files and apps from your computer to your iPhone....

Certain Dell computers, such as the Optiplex, can include built-in internal speakers. Internal speakers eliminate the need to purchase and install external speakers, which can save a decent amount of desk space and setup time. If the internal speakers on your Dell computer aren’t loud enough or of high-enough quality for what you need, you can turn them off and use external speakers instead. Writer Bio

You can set a browser’s cookie monitoring settings to accept (enable) or reject (disable) cookies. Your browser can notify you when a cookie is necessary for the functioning of a particular website. A cookie is a text file that personalizes your settings for webpages, so the next time you access that website it remembers your preferences. Cookies do not run programs without your permission or infect your system with viruses....

The Samsung Galaxy S series of smartphones allows you to lock your phone’s screen to prevent accidental touches or unauthorized prying eyes. Unfortunately this security feature can thwart even your access should you forget your unlock code. Repeated unsuccessful attempts allow you to enter your Gmail account name and password under the “Forgot Password” option, but this workaround may not work. To regain access to your Galaxy S series phone, you’ll need to perform a hard reset, which will return the phone to factory default settings and erase all your personal data....

Updated July 21, 2017 Find our if your cell phone is already unlocked. Place a SIM card from another provider in your phone and try to make a phone call. If the phone works, it’s already unlocked; if it doesn’t, then you’ll need to unlock it. Visit The Travel Insider website (see Resources) or a similar website to find the unlock code for your cell phone. You’ll need to pay a small fee to get the code, but it’s often less expensive than buying a new unlocked phone....

Your iPod volume can be limited, and in many instances, a PIN number will be necessary to remove the limit. If you’ve forgotten or misplaced your PIN, you can still unlock your iPod volume limit using your computer. Writer Bio

Most phone carriers such as Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile use code division multiple access (CDMA) to allow users to make phone calls and transmit data. If a customer doesn’t pay his bill or cancels his account, the cell phone provider can also use the mobile phone’s CDMA number to shut down the phone, preventing it from being used. In the summer of 2008, MetroPCS announced that they would reprogram the phone of any Sprint customer who decided to switch carriers from Sprint to MetroPCS....

These days, many software companies and developers make their wares available as downloadable files on the Internet. For applications that are particularly large, many providers supply the files in an ISO image format. In most cases, users burn ISO images to a CD or DVD. With the CD/DVD created from the image file, you can then install the application or access files within the image. However, modern ISO utility software allows you to mount, unpack or view files within an ISO image without first needing to burn the file to a disc....

Software updates always come with the potential risk of data loss if an error occurs during the updating process. The iPhone provides a way to preserve your data by creating a backup on your computer. After creating a backup of your iPhone’s data, all your content, data and settings can be restored in the event of a data failure. You can also use your backup to transfer the contents and settings of an old iPhone when upgrading to a new iPhone....

DirectX is a type of software included in Windows operating systems designed to enhance gaming in PCs. It is important to keep your version of DirectX up-to-date to avoid running into errors when playing new games. Windows comes with a program called “Windows Update” that updates all of your Microsoft software. Run the program to have Windows automatically find and install important software updates for DirectX. Tips Writer Bio

Updated August 23, 2017 Using Wi-Fi Remove any discs that are in the Samsung Blu-ray player and press the “Menu” button on the remote control. Select “Settings.” Choose “Support” and select “Software Upgrade.” Select “By Internet.” A message will appear saying the Blu-ray player is connecting to a server. If a software update is available for your Blu-ray player, it will start downloading automatically. A dialog box will appear after the upgrade file is successfully downloaded....

Jeppesen’s Garmin 430 is an avionics GPS autopilot navigation system. Periodically updates are made to the data. To enjoy optimized performance from the Garmin 430, you must update your system to receive these updates. The manufacturer advises that third-party memory cards do not work with the Garmin 430, so users must purchase them directly from Jeppensen. A USB adapter must be purchased as well. Find a link to the company’s retail page in Resources....