Smartphones were undoubtedly one of the most popular Christmas presents over the holidays. If you’ve just received your very fist Smartphone and are wondering about what to do with it and how to make it fit in your life as a college student (it is after all, “smart,” so there has to be a way to get more out of it right?) here are some tips to get you started. We’ll tackle the two most popular options on the market, the iPhone with iOS, and devices powered by Google’s Android OS.

iPhone

The iPhone 4 and 4s are undoubtedly two devices that belong to the cream of the crop as far as Smartphones are concerned. With the launch of iOS 5, setting up your iPhone has never been easier. Once the unit has been activated by your carrier, all you have to do is power it on, link up to Wi-Fi connection and follow the steps provided on the device’s manual. Again, iOS 5 allows you to do this wirelessly, but you can also do it while tethered to a computer, be it a PC or Mac.

You’ll then have to create an Apple ID by signing up with your email address. Once done, you can then backup your data (such as imported contacts) to Apple’s iCloud service, and proceed to tinkering with your iPhone. Feel free to download from Apple’s huge array of apps, which number in the hundreds of thousands. Start downloading free apps and games from the App Store first to get a feel for doing it. 

Android Smartphones 

Android shines for being incredibly easy to activate, perfecting the quick-setup process long before the arrival of iOS 5. Again, all you need to do is switch on the device after being activated by your carrier and link to a Wi-Fi network. You could pretty much explore the phone from here on out, but if you want to download apps from the Android Market, you’d need to key in your Google ID first. This requires a Gmail account, but if you don’t have one yet, signing up through the phone itself is a breeze.

Once done, start downloading Android apps from the Android Market!

Android stands out for its syncing features, allowing you to sync your email, contacts, messages, calendar, tasks and even apps through your Google ID, allowing you to access it from any computer and Smartphone.

 

 

 

 

There are thousands of students who are taking up online classes and programs in the best colleges online. Contrary to popular belief, online programs do let you have classmates and teachers. Yes, you are physically alone when you take these classes but you can communicate with your teachers and classmates over the internet. Communication between the classes usually happens via email. You exchange messages and share dates this way. However, thanks to connectivity developments, you could now talk to your classmates and teachers in real time, as if they where there in from of you. Below are a few tools that you can use to help communication between you and your teachers and classmates become easier.

Social networking

Surely almost everyone knows what Facebook and Twitter is. These social networking sites allow you to create a profile of yourself and connect to a huge, interlinking, social network online. A good thing about this site is that you can chat, call and even see a person on your social network. Their latest addiction, video calling, allows you to use your web cam and mic to call the person. This is ideal for one-on-one session with your teachers and instructors. All you need to do is just add you classmates and teachers to your social network and you can communicate with them.

VoIP

Voice over IP or VoIP is one of the most amazing developments ever made for communication. It uses the internet to send data to another end. To make it simpler, you can call someone using your internet connection. Skype is an example of a VoIP service. This is free and can be downloaded to your computer. Since online classes commonly have students from all over the country, and the world, you do not have to call long distance if you want to talk to your classmates or teachers.

Instant messaging

IM is a very fast way to communicate with someone. You basically just type in your message and hit enter. The person you are talking to will automatically receive your chat message. Popular software used for IM is Google Talk and Yahoo Messenger.

One of the issues the U.S. House of Representatives is currently tackling that interestingly enough, isn’t getting too much media attention save from web networks and outlets, is the Stop Online Piracy Act, referred to by many as SOPA for short.

The proposed act, introduced by Texas representative Lamar S. Smith, has proven to be a controversial subject, pitting traditional media distribution organizations such as Viacom, NBCUniversal, the MPAA and the RIAA, who are in support of SOPA, against prominent web companies like Yahoo, Facebook, Google, AOL, eBay and Twitter, who are against it. The topic is also heated point of discussion amongst students in the best online schools, and rightfully so. The sweeping changes in the fact have the potential to change their platform of learning.

Hearings are postponed until the New Year, which gives us time to understand what the act is all about. Let’s go over some frequently asked questions.

If passed, what happens?

If passed, SOPA essentially gives power to the DOJ and the U.S. Attorney General to enforce copyright laws—it also gives them power to demand that internet organizations and entities such as social media networks and search engines take action on copyright issues. For example, if a targeted offshore site were found to have violated copyright laws, the government could effectively order its web host and search engines like Google to block access to that site. In other words, it grants the government the power to block Americans from accessing sites they deem in violation of the law.

How does this affect me?

Besides increasing the government’s active role in enforcing copyright laws, SOPA effectively makes the dissemination and streaming of copyrighted material illegal. Those in violation, or those innocently watching a copyrighted music video without the record company’s permission, can be charged with 5 years of jail time. Not only that, the host website could very well be taken down. Indeed, the bill sets the precedent for sites like YouTube and Vimeo to be shut down for hosting copyrighted material.

What the heck? What can I do?

Well, democracy is a great thing. You can always contact your representative to ask him, or her, to oppose the act. Remember, if representatives are aware of a good number of people opposing SOPA in their districts, they would be pressured to vote against it. Right now they’re just hearing the one side of the story from lobbyists.

You may also sign the online petition at AmericanCenshorship.Org.

For more information about SOPA and its dangerous premise, you may watch this YouTube video

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After what seems like an eternity, Facebook has finally rolled out Timeline for all of its users. Unveiled to the public during the company’s f8 conference in September, Timeline is a major departure from Facebook’s old profile, taking the Internet by storm with discussions taking place among students at online colleges, forums, and of course, on Facebook itself.

If you don’t know what Timeline is, or already know about it but are hesitant to make the switch due to privacy fears and whatnot, here are a few facts about it.

Facebook Timeline

Timeline is a major upgrade to Facebook’s profile page. It essentially acts like a ticker does, showing your life’s story as recorded by Facebook in chronological order, hence the name ‘Timeline.’ The new profile’s layout is a blend of scrapbook and photo blog.

Getting Timeline

Timeline was available to select Facebook users as early as September, but Facebook has recently made it officially open to all users. Simply go the introduction page and click the ‘Get Timeline’ button

Effects on Facebook Wall

Once you active Timeline, you have the choice of publishing it now or opting to undergo the 7-day trial period until you finally switch. Timeline will then replace your old wall and profile page, visible to both you and those who visit your profile.

Your News Feed of recent stories and updates however will remain the same, but for how long, no one knows.  

Content

The content on your new profile page with Timeline remains the same. You still have your photos, friends, relationship/marital status, job history, interests and likes intact, albeit presented differently.

Reverting to the Old Profile

There isn’t an official method of reverting to the old Facebook profile, but some attempts have been made to pull it off.

Privacy

Privacy has always been an issue on Facebook, and many questions are bound to come up with the introduction of Timeline. The good news though, is that Facebook’s privacy settings remain intact, and users can still restrict specific content from being seen by specific people.

Is it Any Good?

To be honest, I like Timeline. It’s sleek and reminiscent of how appealing Tumblr was when it first came out. The layout will take some getting used to, but it won’t be too long before you’re accustomed. I did however, find it a little disconcerting at first to see your old posts from 2, 3 years ago.

 

 

One of the few things not too many people expect about becoming an administrative assistant is the sheer amount of work you do on your computer. Obviously, if you’re not tech savvy, this poses some serious problems. Organization for one is a problem that can easily get out of hand and disrupt your work, and it’s something that can happen to the best of us too.

While you may still be in school now, you can easily pick up a few things here and there on how to keep your computer up and running, without spazzing out over the ‘file’ that you lost. Below are some guidelines on how to keep Windows-running computers organized.

Hands off the Desktop

Admit it, how many times have you just placed your files on the desktop out of convenience? Placing items on your desktop is fine—we personally like cleaner screens greeting us upon booting up—but if left unchecked, you could easily have hundreds of files in disarray, causing an organizational nightmare.

Start with a Filing System

You’d have to create a filing system from scratch if you want to make things a little stressful for yourself. Go through all of the files on your computer first and delete those that are no longer needed. Your filing method will depend on your work, so take the time to carefully think this one through. Placing all of your work files in ‘My Documents’ works for most people, but you’d have to tailor it to your needs if you want to make the most of it.

Subfolders and More Subfolders

Once you’ve decided how to save your files and segregate them, you’ll then have to start creating folders and subfolders to store and categorize your files. You want a methodical approach here, one that makes sense with logical folder names and locations. Within ‘My Documents’ for example, you can segregate your files into the subfolders Reports, Spreadsheets, Memos so on and so forth. You can even segregate them by file type, or by date, depending on your style and comfort level.

Perform Routine Maintenance

Going through your files and deleting duplicate files, renaming misspelled folders and files and archiving old files will make your life easier. Be sure to perform a cleanup of your files from time to time. An hour’s maintenance every month or so should suffice. Check whether your files are in the right folders, particularly those that are important.