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You are here: Home / Archives for techie tips

5 Tips For Printing Documents While You Are Travelling

May 11, 2022 by Wendy S

Image by Joshua Woroniecki from Pixabay

Gone are the days when you had to hardwire your PC or laptop to a printer to print out your documents. With the advancements in technology, the field of printing has been revolutionized. The size of the printers as well as the time taken to perform a certain print job has reduced significantly.

Most of the individuals who print regularly face a common concern regarding printing their documents while they are travelling. In order to address this concern, I am going to showcase 5 tips that will enable you to print your documents while you are on the go.

1. Mobile Applications

Mobile apps have literally changed the way we go about our daily activities. Even printing is not left untouched by them. Setting up mobile printing at your home or office by accessing your printer is quite easy. However, consider a situation where you have to perform the print job from an unfamiliar printer. There are quite a few apps that are available both in the App Store and the Google Play Store of your printer’s manufacturer. These apps will also enable you to detect any of the accessible printers which are available at places like copy shops and office stores. By paying a certain fee, you will be able to print your documents while you are on the go.

2. Mobilize Your Printer

Connect your printer to the internet over a wireless network. You can even make use of an email-based sending application that will allow you to print to it remotely. If you are using an iOS device, you can either make use of the manufacturer’s printing app or through Apple’s own AirPrint feature. For an Android device, you can make use of Google Cloud Print service. Regardless of the brand, the service will work efficiently with all of them including both old and newer devices.

3. Look For Public Print Locations

ePrint by HP is one of the most sorted mobile printing solutions. Through the app, you will be able to print to machines that are at the FedEx office locations and at the UPS stores. The ePrint app is available for both iOS and Android users. The app will locate all the accessible ePrint Public Print Location printers and enable you to make printouts quickly. In most cases, you will get an access code for releasing the printout when you get to the printer. For taking the print, you will have to pay a fee. You can also find public printing at libraries, hotels, and airport lounges.

4. Office Supply Stores

If you want to get your documents printed quickly then the perfect place to go to is office supply stores. You will be offered on-the-spot printing and copying. If you are printing copies in large numbers, then you will likely get volume discounts. This will enable you to save a lot of your money along with getting the print job done. There is a wide range of other options which will be available for you which include stapling, collating, hole punching, laminating, binding, and more.

5. Copy/Print Shops

You would find a number of print shops no matter where you are traveling. These will prove to be quite handy for you in making printouts on the go. Depending on your location the print prices may vary. This is because a majority of them are owned by the local people. But still, these shops will prove to be quite handy as they will allow you to perform many different printing jobs.

In The End

I hope that all the tips which are mentioned in this post will prove to be quite beneficial for you. These will help you in getting the printing job done where you cannot carry your own printer.

Filed Under: techie tips, Travel

How a Local Business Can Benefit from Social Media

April 1, 2022 by Wendy S

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Let’s face facts: Successful businesses and social media are practically inseparable. For many, a strong social media presence is seen as going the extra mile, or as something that only the “big” businesses can engage in on any meaningful level.

The reality is that social media matters a lot, more than the majority of people realize at first glance. In this list, we’ll elaborate on how social media for local businesses can be a massive boon that draws in customers, bolsters your base, and improves your overall bottom line.

Customer Feedback

Any business that doesn’t understand what its customers want is doomed to fail. Feedback is a hugely important part of running a business, especially a local one. Feedback is how you’ll know that you should be making your t-shirts a bit softer or your donuts a little less sweet. Businesses that ignore feedback find frustrated customers leaving negative reviews more often.

To combat this, a strong social media presence is the superhighway connecting you to your buyers. Actively engaging with grievances not only makes the customer feel better, but improves your product—and your profits.

Inflated Presence

Marketing gurus are well aware that the products that end up defining our culture do so as a result of shrewd marketing. We are in many ways told what to like, or told what is relevant, despite how much genuine success or hype is actually behind that product.

Just as an example: You may be shocked to know that there has never been a year in history in which the Beatles have had the best selling album for that year, even though they are universally acknowledged as one of the best and most influential musical groups of all time.

If you want an example more specifically related to your business, just look at the attention Salt and Straw gathers simply from social media alone. The West Coast ice cream shop has used Instagram, Twitter, and other platforms to spread the word about their groovy flavors and eccentric cones, using cool imagery and punchy writing to accumulate a strong customer base.

By promoting your business through social marketing, you can increase the amount of importance perceived by an audience about said business. That, in turn, gets people talking, and making your business the topic of conversation is worth its weight in gold.

Public Relations

On a similar note, this is one area where a social media management company can really swoop in to save the day. In the same way that social media can be used to listen to your audience, as mentioned before, it can also be used to communicate to them.

On the one hand, repairing a negative customer experience is great for business, but fumbling with an angry consumer is a recipe for a black eye on your brand. Regardless, it’s still an important skill to learn or to pay someone to pull off.

Finding New Market Trends

If the recent Wendy’s twitter scuffles are any indication, it can be assumed that audience tastes and tolerances to certain forms of marketing changes over time. 10 years ago, replying with a snarky remark to a customer making an ignorant comment would be universally seen as a PR nightmare, but today such popular internet memes are generating unexpected buzz where there was none prior.

Sometimes this phenomenon may feel like catching lightning in a bottle, and to some extent it is, but the point is that social media can be used to research the mercurial tastes of consumers. Carefully observe how customers react to posts that are a little off the beaten path from what you normally post. Carefully respond in a myriad of ways to complaints and judge which responses are the best received. In due time, you may discover a need that you didn’t know existed and satisfy it.

Filed Under: techie tips, twitter, work Tagged With: business, social media

Use Instagram and Twitter? Then you need IFTTT! #NoMoreLinks

January 12, 2015 by Wendy S

If you’re active on social media like I am, then you’re well aware that sharing between platforms can be difficult.

Twitter would prefer you share images directly through them. Instagram is a great place for sharing photos!  

Dilemma: Sharing Instagram to Twitter only creates a link

If you click the Twitter share button when using Instagram, all Twitter shares a link back to Instagram. That’s not fun and makes for a boring Twitter feed.

The #FordNAIAS press conference was exciting! Raptor! Shelby GT350R Mustang! All-new Ford… http://t.co/OQGEZeyoiN— Wendy [mapsgirl] (@mapsgirl) January 12, 2015

 

IFTTT to the rescue!Make your twitter feed pop! Use IFTTT to share Instagram images not links! @ mapsgirl.ca

IFTTT is short for “If This, Then That”

It’s that simple.   If This happens on one social media account, then make that happen on that social media account.   It’s brilliant!

      1. Set up your account.
      2. Link your social media accounts.
      3. Make your recipes.
      4. Sit back and watch it work.

So my recipe is:

If This = new photo on Instagram

Then that = share as native image on Twitter and include a link back to Instagram

Isn’t this better:

The #FordNAIAS press conference was exciting! Raptor! Shelby GT350R Mustang! All-new Ford GT! http://t.co/Gv8RVGBe3k pic.twitter.com/2d4MIDaW3r — Wendy [mapsgirl] (@mapsgirl) January 12, 2015

Since IFTTT lets you share your recipes, please feel free to use the one that I already created!

IFTTT Recipe: Share Instagram photos as native Twitter image connects instagram to twitter

Just try it! 

There are so many amazing combinations of things that be automated!   

You can use it from their website https://ifttt.com or you can download the app for iOS or Android

Filed Under: Products & Reviews, techie tips Tagged With: automation, ifttt, instagram, share, social media, twitter

My 5 Favourite Health and Fitness Apps #NewMapsGirl

February 11, 2014 by Wendy S

Fitness Apps

Over the last 5 months, I’ve been gathering an arsenal of heath and fitness apps to help keep me motivated on track to reach my goal.

Here are my top 5 favourites! I hope they help you like they help me!


myfitnesspal #1

myfitnesspal

Cost: Free

 This app allows me to track:myfitnesspal_logo-300x64

  • my food intake
  • water intake
  • exercise
  • progress

What I like about it:

  • lots of foods are in the database
  • can set up reminders to enter your food
  • easy to add food, exercise and water
  • lots of reports for nutrition, progress
  • can connect with friends and support each other
  • can track using the app and it syncs with myfitnesspal.com

appstore


Nike+ FuelBand#2

Nike+ FuelBand

Cost: Free

nike fuel band** Please note: This requires you to own a Nike+ FuelBand.  Other fitness trackers (ie. FitBit) may have their own apps **

Craig and I each have a Nike+ FuelBand which tracks the amount of movement we do throughout the day.  It assigns “Fuel points” and you can set daily goals for the number of Fuel points you want to achieve.

Based on your height and weight, the FuelBand tells you the number of steps you have taken and  the calories burned.

It also makes for a cool watch!

What I like about it:

  • easy to set up and use
  • easy to sync the band to the app
  • can connect with friends and support each other
  • works with Nike+ Running (see below)

appstore


nike-plus-gps-icon#3

Nike+ Running

Cost: Free

 The Nike+ Running app is a great running app!  It uses the GPS feature in your phone to track your route.

What I like about it:

  • easy to use
  • connects with Nike+ account and syncs with Nike+ FuelBand data
  • can sync into mapmyfitness.com (see below)

appstore


MapMyFitness#4

mapmyfitness

Cost: Free

 Another running app?  Sort of.  I’m hoping that this becomes a “bridging” app.  Nike+ data doesn’t sync directly into myfitnesspal.

Here’s how I hope I can get it to work:

  • Nike+ FuelBand data is synced into mapmyfitness
  • mapmyfitness data syncs into myfitnesspal

Currently only data entered directly into mapmyfitness gets pushed across to myfitnesspal.  Since the Nike+ data is synced, it doesn’t seem to get pushed across.  I’m hoping there will be more integration between the two.  This is very new and you can read more about the MapMyFitness / myfitnesspal integrations: MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal announce API integration

What I like about it:

  • it will track my walks (running is tracked in the Nike+ Running)
  • you can connect with friends and support each other

appstore


WaterMinders#5

WaterMinder

Cost: $0.99

I just recently found this app while browsing the iPhone AppStore.  And what a find it is!

You enter your height and weight and it calculates how much water you need to consume!

What I like about it:

  • reminders throughout the day to tell you that you need to drink water and/or enter how much water you’ve consumed
  • it figures out how much water you need

appstore


Just so you know: I wasn’t paid a dime for this post. I truly like these apps and want to help others who are working towards a healthier lifestyle.

Filed Under: body mind spirit, Life, techie tips Tagged With: fitness, health, iPhone apps, motivation

staying on the same page: using Google Calendar for a family

January 24, 2013 by Wendy S

staying on the same page: Using Google Calendar for a Family @ mapsgirl.caCraig and I love that we’re always on the same page.  Communication is so important to us.  We talk about everything, make decisions together and schedule our plans as a team.

Without Google Calendar, scheduling would be so difficult.  Since we started using it, I could never go back to a paper, hand-written one.

So how did we set it all up?  


Get a Google Account
Go to Google Calendar to get your account.  Each person who will be sharing calendars needs one.

Create the calendars that you need.

On the left-hand you’ll see a list of all of your calendars.  Click on the arrow beside the “My calendars” heading and select “Create new Calendar”

A new page will open for you to enter the detail about your calendar.

Name your calendar.

There are some optional details, but we don’t use them (Description, Locaton, Time Zone)

“Share with specific people” —This setting is most important.

This works best if they have a Google Account.

Enter the email of the people who you want to share it with and then select the permission settings for them.

We have calendars for:  each of us • each of the girls • family events • Craig’s work • Youth Group • Birthdays

Yes, that’s a lot.  But separating things out allows everything to be colour-coded and easy to recognize.

And  they are all set as “Make changes AND manage sharing” so we both can make changes to all calendars.

Changing the settings

You can always go back and changes the setting if required.

On the left-hand you’ll see a list of all of your calendars.  Click on the arrow beside the “My calendars” heading and select “Settings”


Taking it all with you

 The key to staying on the same page is taking the calendar with you.  Craig and I both have iPhones and iCal on our Mac computers. Sycning will work on Android devices as well but I think there are some syncing issuses with Blackberry though.

I will show you how to sync on the iPhone and iCal but you can go to the Google Calendar Help page for other devices and apps.


Syncing on iPhone

There are 2 steps to get all of your calendars synced.

1. Your default calendar

Open the Settings application

Open Mail, Contacts, Calendars
Select Add Account…

Select Gmail

Enter your account information:  Name, Email (your full Google Account email address), your Google Account Password, and a Description

Select Next at the top of your screen.

Make sure the Calendars option is turned ON.

If you only have one calendar to share, then you’re done.  If not, keep going.

2. Sync Multiple Calendars 

Open the Safari or Chrome app on your iPhone and go to https://www.google.com/calendar/syncselect

Select the calendars you’d like to sync, then click Save.

The selected calendars will be displayed at the time of the next sync.


Seeing all the Calendars in iCal 

If you’re using Apple iCal 5.x and up then this will work.  If not, read here.

This is very similar to syncing on your iPhone.  Gotta love Apple for keeping things easy!

1. Your default calendar

Open iCal
In the toolbar, click Calendar, then Preferences
Click the Accounts tab
In the accounts pane on the left, click the + button to add an account

Enter the following information:

Account Type: Google

Email Address: Enter the full email address that you use to log in to Calendar.

Password: Enter the password for the email address you listed above.

2. Sync Multiple Calendars 

Open the Safari and go to https://www.google.com/calendar/syncselect

Select the calendars you’d like to sync, then click Save.

The selected calendars will be displayed at the time of the next sync.


There you go! I hope this helps you and your loved ones stay on top of everything.  
 
If you have any questions, please comment below as others may have the same question. 
 

Filed Under: family, techie tips

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mapsgirl@gmail.com

Why “mapsgirl” ?

Wendy is a cartographer! She draws maps!

When not mapping, Wendy is also a mom to two daughters. They are the inspiration of this blog. Passionate about child passenger safety, Wendy was a certified Car Seat Technician in Ontario, Canada from 2008 to 2020. [Read More …]

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