Secure digital (SD) cards and similar storage devices provide an excellent way to transfer a large quantity of information quickly. The storage capacity of these devices has soared in recent years. These days, SD cards with a capacity of between 2GB and 2TB are available at reasonable prices. Transferring files back and forth between a computer and an SD card takes only a matter of minutes, but it is important to do correctly....

Updated February 10, 2017 Attach a charged battery pack to the Sony Handycam if it won’t power on. Turn the power switch counterclockwise to the Off position, then slide the battery pack up, underneath the eyecup, until you hear it click into place. Turn the power switch clockwise to the On position. Use only the recommended lithium battery pack for the Sony Handycam. Wait a few seconds after turning on your camcorder if it will not operate after you turn it on – this is normal....

If your HP Deskjet F4180 printer won’t start new print jobs, or the printed pages show up fuzzy or out of alignment, there’s no need to immediately toss it out and get a new printer. There are several different issues that could be causing the problem, from hardware connections to out-of-date driver software. Anyone with basic computer skills can go through the troubleshooting process and try to fix a malfunctioning HP printer....

Hotspot Shield is a free ad-supported virtual private network that helps protect your privacy online. The developer also offers a paid version of the service that gives you 24/7 technical support, a virtual location and no ads when using the service. Hotspot Shield unblocks censored websites, protects your IP address and enables you to surf the Web anonymously from any Internet connection. Hotspot Shield can be especially helpful when connecting to a public Wi-Fi hot spot, since it encrypts your connection and keeps sensitive data away from prying eyes....

While browsers come with a pop-up blocker that is enabled by default, there are cases where you may want to disable it, for example, if you frequently visit websites that display critical information in pop-up windows or if you want to troubleshoot a site you manage. Disabling Chrome, Internet Explorer or Firefox’s built-in pop-up blocker requires you to edit your browser’s content or privacy settings. Tips Writer Bio

Motorola configured the Droid 4 to vibrate whenever the smartphone is in silent mode so you will still be alerted to incoming calls. This limited vibration mode might be handy at times, but it can be disruptive in certain situations. The Droid can also be customized to always vibrate with alerts. To turn off vibration mode, you need to configure the Droid to never vibrate or restore the default setting so it only vibrates in silent mode....

Inkjet cartridges can become clogged and stop operating if the ink dries in the nozzles. This can happen when the printer sits idle for a prolonged period of time, or if the cartridge is not seated fully in the compartment inside the printer. An inkjet cartridge can be unclogged with rubbing alcohol applied strategically to the outside of the cartridge. It may require a little patience, but the only alternative is purchasing an expensive new ink cartridge....

Microsoft releases updates for its Windows 7 and 8.1 operating systems periodically to enhance their security and performance. It’s possible that an update you recently installed might interfere with one of your applications, or even slow down your computer. If this is the case, remove it from your system. Prevent Windows from reinstalling the update after you remove it to avoid any future problems. Writer Bio

If you’ve installed a game on your Mac computer that you no longer play or were just generally unhappy with, you can uninstall that game in just a couple of minutes. This frees up space on the hard drive of your Mac desktop or laptop, which makes room for more files or even more games. The uninstall process is similar to the process you would go through to remove a game from a Windows computer....

Not being able to access your data when you need to can be frustrating. It is true that locking mobile storage devices, such as USB drives, with Imation Lock is an excellent way to protect your data. However, using Imation Lock with a Kingston USB drive can create problems. Learn how to unlock your Kingston USB drive so you can use it once again. Writer Bio

SanDisk is a designer and manufacturer of flash memory cards. Memory cards store photos, music and other data on a variety of devices including digital cameras, handheld gaming consoles and computers. You can lock a SanDisk memory card to prevent files from being accidentally deleted. The card must be unlocked to make any changes to the files on the card or to transfer files from the card to a computer....

Cell-phone updates contain patches and fixes for applications and other installed software. The updates can be used to repair problems with audio quality or Internet connection and software freezes. Updates for a Pantech cell phone can be performed over the air. An over-the-air update eliminates the need for you to take your phone to your mobile provider’s repair center. Depending on the model of your Pantech phone, the steps may vary slightly....

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) browser is one of the oldest and most popular browsers used to access the Internet. As the web has evolved, so has the IE browser. For your entertainment needs IE delivers many forms of media such as WMA and MP3 audio, WMV and Flash video, as well as streaming radio and TV programs. IE helps you access email, message boards and news. IE also ensures that you are secure while browsing online, using features like Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and pop-up blocking....

When you have Charter Internet service, you have access to 20 MB of space on Charter’s Web servers. This space will allow you to build your own personal website. Before you can build your personal website, you must register for your free Web space through Charter’s “My Account” portal. Charter does not offer a “Site Builder” tool, only server space. You can then create your website files through an HTML editor of your choice....

Tumblr is a free blogging platform that is inherently social. In addition to hosting blogs on its servers, Tumblr also syndicates content from those blogs to other Tumblr users via the Dashboard. The service allows virtually any kind of Web content to be published on user blogs. The blogs themselves are also highly customizable, so Web designers can create custom themes for their Tumblr blogs, just as they can with other blogging platforms such as Wordpress or Drupal....

With nothing more than an Internet connection and a headset or microphone, you can use your laptop as a cellular phone. There are a number of service providers such as Skype, FreeWorld Dialup and Yahoo Voice Messenger that will enable you to place calls to individuals as though you were using a cellular phone. The setup procedure is fairly basic, so you should not worry about getting in over your head if you are not technologically minded....

The Apple iPhone is a popular smartphone with many useful features. One feature of the iPhone is that the device may be used as a tethered modem for a PC or laptop. Using the iPhone dock-connector-to-USB cable, the iPhone will serve as a dial-up modem for a computer. If the iPhone is using a 3G connection, calls may be made and received while the iPhone is enabled as a modem....

Whether you’re hunting for a home or scouting out your next vacation destination, you can use Google Earth for a detailed look at almost any address in the United States. If you’re interested in exotic locales, Google Earth also offers street-level views of many major cities in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia. When you look at an address in street-level view, you can zoom in, rotate the camera and move down the road to see the surrounding neighborhood or area....

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a representation of the phonetic sounds of language. The IPA was created in 1888 by the International Phonetic Association. It is standardized to all languages and provides linguists, students, speech therapists and actors with the correct pronunciation of words in any language. Microsoft Word provides some IPA-compatible fonts out-of-the-box, but you can also download IPA-compatible fonts from websites, such as the website for the Summer Institute of Linguistics, also known as SIL International....

A Microsoft Excel document saved in a version of Microsoft earlier than 2007 could automatically lose its password when opened in OpenOffice Calc. If you’re trying to remove the password or other protection from an Excel document with OpenOffice Calc from a 2007 or later version, however, it becomes a little tricky. But there are a couple options you can take to remove protection from an Excel document, making it so that anybody can use it....