Most memes have a time decay, and I’m too late for Bernie. Maybe if I got this newsletter out last week. My guess is you’ve seen him countless times. I hope a smile accompanied each one. LifeHacker has more on meme timing.
Easier Data Analysis with Excel Slicers
I wrote a new tutorial this week on Excel Slicers. It’s a feature that only works with Excel Tables or Pivot Tables. But, they make it easy to drill down into data. For the example, I grabbed from an extensive baseball database. This might be handy for resolving family feuds about which baseball team was the best, etc.
https://www.timeatlas.com/excel-slicers/
Keyboard Stops?
I have an ergonomic wireless keyboard from Microsft that I love. One annoyance is it doesn’t give me an alert before the batteries die. It may have when it was new. So, every time the keyboard stops, I grab new batteries. I’ve been conditioned.
Well, the last 3x times weren’t the batteries but crumbs. And they don’t care how your keyboard is powered. I really shouldn’t eat at my desk, but I do. It takes the smallest of crumbs to get between those keys and stop your productivity.
One tip is to see if other keys are working. If they work, it’s not your batteries, so find a paperclip as you’ll probably need it to remove the crumb. Shaking seldom works.
And if you don’t like paperclips, OXO Good Grips make a small cleaning device that works on keyboards.
21 Apps and Sites to Make 2021 Better
In case you didn’t know it (and I forgot), Google is a domain registrar. They compiled a list of recently registered domains they think will benefit you. It’s a broad list, but you’re likely to find something ranging from puppy training to creating habits.
https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/entrepreneurs/websites-apps-google-registry/
Browser Wars, Sleepy & Vertical Tabs
Browser wars have been around since the earliest days of the web. Back then, it was really crazy, and some sites would code for a specific browser like Netscape. Today, there’s much more commonality, but be on the lookout for folks to push their own password managers, vertical tabs, and more.
Computerworld has a good article on Microsoft Edge 88 latest changes. I’ve been playing with both Sleepy tabs and Vertical tabs. You definitely stay more focused with Vertical tabs.
And while it makes sense for the browsers to add password managers, please consider whether you use more than one browser. For example, you might use one browser for work and another at home. That’s one advantage to password managers that work as extensions. They tend to work on popular browsers and keep in sync.
Repurpose Your Old Computer
As I write this, I have an old Apple iMac in my living room that was given to me. It’s a beautiful machine, except I can’t upgrade the OS. This annoyance isn’t unique to Apple as all computers and smartphones have an “end of life.”
Enter CloudReady Home. It’s a piece of software that lets you convert older computers into a computer running Chrome OS. And..guess who just bought the company? Google.
https://www.neverware.com/freedownload#home-edition-overview
Coming Soon - Vaccine Locations & Details
According to 9 to 5 Google, Google Maps will start showing vaccine locations and conditions. I tested this for my location, and nothing yet. But stay tuned, as this could be a handy resource. This looks to be part of a larger initiative, and hopefully, it will include many countries.
https://9to5google.com/2021/01/25/google-search-covid-19-vaccines/
Expiring Blinkist Offer - 40% Off
You have just a few days to get 40% off an annual Blinkist subscription. The offer expires on February 1st. I’m a current subscriber and enjoy their book summaries. I’ve also started to listen to some of their podcasts.
https://www.timeatlas.com/offers/blinkist-subscriptions/
Thanks for reading,