Getting the most out of your computer or mobile device

Email and Communication

Computer and Video Games

Audio and AV with your computer

  • Managing multiple sound devices in Windows – How to deal with multiple sound devices that you are likely to connect to your Windows-based desktop or laptop computer like you Bluetooth headset, USB-enabled amplifier or HDMI-equipped flatscreen TV. (Windows: 7 onwards)
  • You can rip CDs to FLAC using Windows 10’s Media Player – How you can set up Windows 10 for high-quality sound when you rip your audio CDs to file-based audio for your portable device or home network. (Windows: 10)
  • Using audio-editor software to salvage legacy media – How to use the likes of Audacity along with a sound card or external sound module to get that familiar record or tape available to your home network or smartphone.
  • FLAC – now the audio filetype for archival use – You can move towards FLAC as your main audio file format for most recording purposes or simply to archive your digital-audio recordings.
  • Set Windows not to interrupt your presentation or movie – You can set Windows up so it doesn’t interrupt you during that presentation, game, movie or videocall. As well, you can reduce your system notification sounds’ volume when you are using the big screen and sound system for these activities. (Windows: 10)
  • Photos Not The Right Way Up On Your TV – How you can be sure that the pictures you are showing on your DLNA-capable Smart TV or other video device are appearing the right way up. Here, it’s about making sure your image management software is honouring the photo-orientation metadata left by your camera or smartphone when you take that picture and it appears that way on the video device.
  • Windows 10 Answers The Problem Of System Sounds Playing Through That Good Sound System – How to set up the latest version of Windows 10 to have Spotify, YouTube or your favourite game play through the home theatre without hearing the system alert sounds coming loud and clear through those speakers. (Windows 10: April 2018 Update (Version 1803) onwards)
  • USB microphones or traditional mics for content creation? – Understanding the difference between USB microphones and traditional microphones for when the time comes to create podcasts or other audiovisual content

Making better use of the big screen

How you can gain better mileage out of the large-screen TV or video projector that you are connecting to your computing device.

  • Web page on a big screen – How? – An article on how to show a Web page to a group of people using that big TV screen or projector. At home, this applies to showing that social-network page to your family or to show an online video service on the big TV. At business, this applies to training people about social networking for business or how to use an online service; or showing that newly-created Website. (iOS, Android, Windows, Macintosh)
  • FaceTime on the big screen with Apple TV – Being able to set up a videocall hosted on Apple’s FaceTime communications platform on the big screen with your iPhone or iPad and an Apple TV (iOS: 5 onwards, Apple TV: 3rd Generation onwards)
  • Showing photos on the large screen in your dual-screen setup – How to show photos or other bitmap images on a projector or other large screen connected to your computer without having to create a presentation on software like PowerPoint. This comes in handy if you want to quickly review images you took on the home or hotel-room TV or want to show photos that were previously organised and put in to a folder on that memory key. (Windows: 7 onwards)
    PDF download-to-print available
  • Using a TV as a computer monitor – Should you consider using a TV, especially a low-end one, as your sole computer display? This also includes how you can purpose an existing computer monitor that has integrated speakers for TV-viewing use.

Voice-driven home and personal assistants

How you can get the best out of the new voice-driven home and personal assistants including smart speakers that are part of our computing life.

Managing your voice-driven assistant to protect your privacy