Over the past several years, Skype has become a primary means of communications for many of us. We use Skype to talk on the phone, chat with people, and even do video chats. Occasionally, even though you may have communicated in the past with someone on Skype, you may no longer be able to do so. In some instances, this may simply be because the person is no longer using Skype that much. However, it could also be that they have blocked you on Skype.

This particular scenario occurred with two friends of mine who had a business falling out. They used to talk to one another via Skype all the time. Then, all of the sudden, they had a financial discrepancy and one thought that the other owed him money. The one who purportedly owed the money blocked the other one from contacting him on Skype. The other then said to me, “I think he blocked me on Skype. How do you tell if someone has blocked on you Skype.”

Thus, it is for my friend, and for all of you asking the same question (and there are apparently a lot of you), that I write this how-to about how to tell if someone has blocked you on Skype.

How to Block Someone On Skype

First, let’s look at this from the other side. How do you block someone on Skype? We will look at how to block someone on Skype so that you can see what they have done and why you are no longer able to communicate with them on Skype.

To block someone on Skype, you simply need to right click their name in the “contacts” list and choose “block this person” as depicted in the photograph below.

After “block this person” is selected, the person who is blocking you on Skype sees a pop-up message as we see in the screen capture below:

They have the option of removing you from their Skype contact list or reporting you for abusing the Skype system. Also, if they want to unblock you in the future, they can then go to their Skype “Privacy Settings” and choose to unblock you.

If the person has blocked you but did not select to remove you from their contact list, they will see a ? next to your name in their Skype contacts list.

How To Tell If You Are Blocked on Skype

They say we always want what we can’t have and I suppose this is the reason that many of you want to know how to tell if someone has blocked you from Skype.

So, is there any way to tell if you have been blocked on Skype? The answer is yes and no.

The default Skype behavior if someone has blocked you is that you will see their account as “user not online”. It could be that the user has simply stopped using Skype with any frequency and so they never appear online anymore. However, if you know the person uses Skype consistently, and you see them all the time as “offline”, it could very well be that they have blocked you. Or, it may be that they have simply set their status to “offline” so that others cannot interrupt them. (I do this a lot. In fact, I am “offline” right now even though I have Skype turned on.)

So, what can you do to make a final determination that someone has blocked you on Skype? There is no way to tell if if someone blocked you on Skype based on the standard Skype setup. You will simply always see them as offline.

However, with a little enterprise, you can probably determine if someone has blocked you on Skype. There are two methods that you may want to try.

The first is to create a new Skype user. Remember, the person who has blocked you on Skype has simply blocked access to your current Skype name. If you want to see whether they are online, you can create a new Skype account, add their name, and then check their status that way. Or, if you have mutual Skype friends, you can simply call up the other people who are a friend of that person and ask them if that person is online.

Another tool that people are using to tell whether their Skype account has been blocked is a website called AmIBlocked.com, but I do not recommend it as you see in the next section.

Is AmIBlocked.com Safe

Many people are using a site called AmIBlocked.com to determine if someone is blocking them on Skype or other IM platforms.

After a quick visit to the site, it seemed a little sketchy to me. I then did a McAfee Antivirus check of this site and received the following message:

Thus, even though I have heard that this site works, I do not recommend AmIBlocked.com as a site that you should use to determine if you are blocked on Skype or other social media platforms.

How To Tell If Someone Has Blocked You From Skype: Summary

Every day thousands of people get blocked on Skype for many reasons. These range from financial disagreements (as with my friends) to personal issues–girl wants boy to stay away or vice versa.

In any event, they blocked you for a reason and, in all likelihood, want you to stay away. However, if you are determined to find out whether they have blocked you, there are really two good ways to do it.

One, ask a fellow contact of this person whether they have seen them online recently. If they have and you haven’t, they have probably blocked you on Skype.

Two, you can create another Skype account and then add this supposedly blocked contact and perhaps you can see the real status of this person in this way.

Or, you can simply realize that this person has probably blocked you from Skype and you can go on peacefully with your life

Want to check out some cool related articles? Read how to get on Facebook at school and how to create your own cartoon character to create a great, cartoon-like Skype photo.

Getting off the tee well is critical. We often hear the great importance of the short game and this is true. However, if you do have the ability to drive the golf ball straight and far, you will never be able to drastically improve your golf game.

Now-a-days, many courses are designed such that only the long hitters survive. Sure, you can play the closer tees…but your friends will not allow that! Plus, with these free golf driving tips, you can now play even long courses confidently.

On this How to Drive a Golf Ball Straight and Far page, we bring you all of the secrets of driving the golf ball. Do you need to be strong? No. Do you need to swing really hard? No. Do you ever watch Kenny Perry play golf on TV? He’s 50 years old and drives the golf bar as far as those half his age. The secret lies in the golf driving tips outlined below.

Our goal with this page is to consolidate all of the best Internet videos to answer your one question: How Do I Drive A Golf Ball and compete on these long holes?

Enjoy the how to drive a golf ball videos below and, if you have any that you would like to add, please put them in the comments below.

How To Drive A Golf Ball Videos

Below, you will find all of the best Internet videos providing golf driving tips. Simply click the links to launch the video in its own window. Enjoy the shows!

How to Hit Longer, Straighter Drives

Here we have another great video from Michael Lamanna, a golf instructor from Scottsdale, Az, a place I love to play golf. Many people ask Michael, “How Do I Drive a Golf Ball?”, and in this video Michael takes you through the process of hitting longer and straighter drives. These golf driving tips are especially important in Arizona where golf holes are often outlined by the desert…which is out of bounds!

Golf: How To Hit Long And Straight Drives

In this 3 1/2 minute video from Rickard Strongert, a touring professional for many years, he teaches us his secret for hitting drives long and straight. One key: keep your muscles very relaxed…watch the full video for the other keys to driving a golf ball straight and far.

How to Fade Your Driver

Often, you will be faced with a dogleg hold that will demand that you fade your drive. In this 3 minute video from Joe Beck, Joe Beck sheds light on the difficult drive technique of fading your driver on demand.

Hitting The Stinger Drive

If you watch golf, you have seen Tiger Woods hit the stinger drive. He just steps up to the tee, takes a gentle swing, and hits it straight and far down the fairway. In this golf driving tip, we learn the correct technique to hit the stinger drive! From setup to shoulder position, Joe Beck explains how to master this unique shot.

The Driver - How to Hit It Long

One of the reasons that you visited this page was to learn How to Drive A Golf Ball Far. In this driving tip, host Joe Beck teaches you how to improve your drive and hit it far – from grip placement to swing technique.

Driving Basics with Darrell Kestner

If you have ever asked How Do I Drive a Golf Ball, Darrell Kestner provides the answer in this Driving Basics video. This quality, professional, instructional video lasts for 12 minutes and takes you through many fundamental golf driving tips that will allow you to get of the tee straight and far! This golf driving video is a must see!

Drive the Golf Ball without Slicing

One common problem that people have off the tee is the slice. Their golf ball starts out straight but ends far to the right, often in the woods because they slice the golf ball off the tee. In these golf driving tips from Center of Gravity Golf, you learn how to prevent the slice of the drive and drive it straight down the fairway!

Golf Tips— Use What You Know to Crush the Golf Ball

Finally, for the ultimate video on how to drive a golf ball far, we have a video from Sean “The Beast” Fisher who is the long driving champ. For those who play other sports, you will enjoy Sean’s analogies with baseball and skipping rocks. He provides the hometown secrets for driving a golf bar far…really far!

Golf Driving Tips With Sean O’Hair

I have just added this video, which is a professional analysis of Sean O’Hair driving a golf ball. I have always liked Sean’s swing and his nice free-flowing motion. This short 1 1/2 minute video gives a detailed analysis of driving a golf ball the way that Sean O’Hair does and is well worth a viewing.

How To Drive A Golf Ball: Conclusion

We hope that you have enjoyed these videos on How To Drive A Golf Ball.

Today’s long courses not only demand that you know how to drive the golf straight, they also mandate that you know how to drive a golf ball far!

At some courses today, par 4 holes are now measuring near 500 yards. We have recently seen the pros play 500+ yard par 4’s. We bring you this page full of golf driving tips so that when you step up onto the tee on one of these holes, you will be able to swing naturally and confidently knowing that, finally, you know How to Drive a Golf Ball and compete on these long par 4’s.

Note: This video is part of our extensive how to play golf video series, which includes how to grip a golf club and how to swing a golf club among many others. If you find great videos that would be ideal for our golf driving tips page, simply place them in the comments below and we will add them!

So, there you are, seated at your first corporate dinner, or on a date with that special someone with whom you want to develop a lasting relationship, and you elect to order the wine to show the table that “you know wines”.

And when that moment arrives, you order the Pinot Noir; however you pronounced like it is written:

“PEE NOT NO EAR”

Now, you have done it. You may have just lost your job or your girlfriend. However, you need not fear if you have mispronounced Pinot Noir in front of your bowling team. On the off chance that they have ever ordered Pinot Noir, they probably pronounced Pinot Noir exactly that way (”pee not no ear”).

The entomology (arrghh! now you have to look up another word) of the word Pinot is French. In fact, though Pinot Noir is now grown around the world, the term is primarily associated with an area in France called Burgundy (isn’t that another drink?).

Anyway, since the French are lazy, they generally do not pronounce the consonants at the end of a word. Such is the case with Pinot. So, the proper way to pronounce the first part of the word may be the exact response you may give if someone asked, “Do you have to pee?”. And your response would be “Pee? No.”

The second part of the word–Noir (”no ear”) is a little more troubling to pronounce. Why? Well, once again, it’s French and therefore designed to be misleading and noncommittal. Don’t believe me? Well, take a look at the phonetically representation on the Pinot Noir Wiki Page:

“pinoˈnwaʁ”

An upside down “R”? Why do they do this to us? Nobody in my life has ever suggested a pronunciation for an upside down “R” (and I majored in literature!). However, if you do a Google Search for an upside down R, you find that people have written about it. In this Lignguistics 001 page, they tell of a linguistics chart with an upside down r which “assigns the upside-down r character (”turned r”) to the particular kind of “bunched-tongue r” used by most speakers of American English, while reserving the ordinary r for the “trilled r” as found in Spanish (and many other languages). Since the trilled r is not found in American English, it’s again easier to read and write if we use the standard r symbol“.

Yes, it’s easier to read and write if we use the standard “r” because the upside down one is not part of our language.

So, let’s forget about all that nonsense when we look at how to pronounce Pinot Noir and simply say that we pronounce the “Noir” like “Nwar” without the upside down “R”.

But, these are the multimedia days so why bother even writing about it. Let’s hear how to pronounce Pinot Noir.

Recordings of Pinot Noir

Ok, probably the best place to first hear this term pronounced is a dictionary page. So, let’s here how Merriam-Webster would pronounce Pinot Noir:

Click here to hear Pinot Noir Pronounced

You have just heard the proper way to pronounce Pinot Noir. Still, even people who should know how to pronounce Pinot Noir often get it wrong. Watch this video called Types of Red Wine : Pinot Noir Wine Facts. Here, you will learn all that you need to know about Pinot Noir in a vibrant video. Thus, you will not only know how to pronounce Pinot Noir, you will be able to tales of the history of this great wine. This will surely impress co-workers or that first date–you might even be able to take her to…

Anyway, aside from learning a lot about Pinot Noir in this video, pay particular attention to her pronunciation of Pinot Noir. She says the word like 100 times and, each time, she pronounces it slightly differently.

So, even the experts are flummoxed!

In the end, as long as you do not pronounce the “t” at the end of Pinot, your culturally naivete will remain unexposed and you’ll know how to pronounce Pinot Noir without embarrassing yourself

This question Can I Copy A DVD Onto My Hard Drive? comes up often and for good reason–DVDs, just like CDs, are great to have on your computer for many reasons. Basically, if we copy DVD to hard drive, we now have the movie on our hard drive in a format that we can do many things with. For one, we could then transfer the movie to our iPod and watch it on our iPod. If we put DVD to hard drive, we can then also have the movie available on demand whenever we want to watch it without searching endlessly for a DVD that we may never find OR that your kids used as a frisbee.

In fact, just as the music industry has moved away from CDS towards MP3s (or similar digital format), DVD movies seem to be heading that way as well. Many people have already removed the DVD from the equation by downloading their movies from Amazon and Netflix instead of renting a movie at Blockbuster. You may want to read How To Download Movies from the Internet To Watch On Your TV for more information on this topic. It will show you how to rent your movies over the Internet replacing the need for DVD.

But for many of us, we ask how do i copy a DVD onto my hard drive? because we have a large collection of DVDs that we want to convert to our hard drive or, perhaps, we have rented movies and want to create a digital copy of them on our hard drive.

Finally, in the end, DVDs have the same problem as CDs. Over time, they scratch and become faulty in places rendering them virtually useless. The same does not apply when we are copying DVDs to our hard drive. Like MP3s, we now have a copy that will last forever…or as long as our hard drive lasts. (Remember to back up all of your important media onto to one of these external hard drives. There are now 1TB drives–that’s a whole lot of movies–for about $100!)

So, let’s take a look at the real thing we want to know: How to Copy DVD To Hard Drive. In fact, we have narrowed it down to two steps that you can accomplish fairly quickly for free. Let’s get started.

Copy DVD to Hard Drive: How To Copy DVD to Hard Disk in Two Easy Steps (for Free)

Step 1: DVD Decryption Software

If the DVD that you want to copy is protected (and let’s face it–it probably is), install DVD43 for decryption. This program works on the fly, in the background with the DVD copying software in step #2 below and it is free. One paid alternative to DVD43 is called AnyDVD. They update their decryption software more frequently. Thus, go with AnyDVD if DVD43 does not work on a particular DVD. (Note [got to say it]: Check the laws in your country to determine if it is legal to decrypt a DVD in your country.)

Step 2: Copying Your DVD to Your Hard Drive

Fortunately, there is also free software for this called Handbrake (download it here.) Handbrake will copy the DVD information to our hard drive and put it in a format that we can play it in, like MP4. And, when we want to shrink it for play in our iPod or similar device, we can use Handbrake to do this as well.

When using Handbrake, we recommend the following “output” settings. For any type of Apple device only playback, we recommend the “Apple Universal” preset. In all other situations, choose the “PS3″ preset and ensure that “two-pass encode” and “turbo first-pass” are selected.

And Voila!. That’s it! Depending on your hardware, this process make take between 1 hour and several hours so it is best to copy DVD to hard drive overnight.

Additionally, with Handbrake, you have the ability to convert many DVDs at one time. Of course, you have to physically copy the DVD to your hard drive first (because you probably only have one DVD), but then you can queue up several of them and have the process of copy DVDs to your hard drive run overnight.

Copy DVD to Hard Drive: Summary

You will find many purported solutions on how to copy a DVD to a hard drive floating around the Internet. There is ample DVD to hard disk copy software that claims to do just this. However, most of the folks are trying to sell you software.

These software vendors know that there are many people out there asking questions such as, “Can I Copy A DVD Onto My Hard Drive?” or “How Do I Copy A DVD Onto My Hard Drive?” There goal is to provide you a solution and earn some money in the process. However, the solution to this problem of copying DVDs to hard drive does not necessarily require money.

In fact, with the two steps highlighted above, you go from DVD to hard drive freely and very effectively. To review, simply download DVD43 for decryption and download Handbrake for copying the DVD information to your hard drive. You can also used Handbrake for converting the file for use in many different formats.

And that’s it. That’s how to copy DVD to hard drive in two easy steps. Now get on it–rip all of your favorite movies and have them available instantly!

PS: If you want to watch the movies on your big LCD TV, be sure to check out How to Connect Computer to TV.

Since YouTube.com is owned by Google, this document is part of our how to Google series which you may enjoy to learn about all that Google has to offer and how to use their various and awesome products, like Google Earth.

When we look at how to download YouTube videos, we can find many resources available on the Internet that claim to provide this functionality. Unfortunately, many of them either do not work or they are trying to sell us software in a round about kind of way. But our goal is to learn how to download YouTube.com videos for free so that we can have them with us on the go–perhaps on our iPod or iPhone–and then we will have access to these YouTube.com videos basically whenever we want.

(Before performing these tasks, you will want to make sure that it is legal for you–that you have the legal rights–to download the YouTube.com video.)

As I said, when I was looking to learn how to save YouTube video, I came across a number of applications that purported to do this. I have listed many of them in the bottom of this article.

However, I wanted an application that was easy to use and allowed me to save YouTube videos and then place them on my iPod for further playback.

The one application that excelled at all of these features is called, appropriately enough, the YouTube downloader.

So, let’s take a look at how easy it use this application.

How To Save YouTube Video Using the YouTube Downloader

Step 1: Download the YouTube Downloader. This will download the application to allow you to capture youtube videos. The file downloads as an .exe file of about 3MB so it should download very quickly. Then, simply double click the file to install it and you will receive an installation window that looks like the one below:

As you look at the graphic, you will see that it will set Yahoo as your default search engine. However, my guess is that you are probably a Google.com user so you may want to uncheck this choice.

The other option allows you to add a toolbar so you can have quicker access to the application and the downloading of YouTube videos to your computer. I did not check this choice just because I did not want my browser Firefox–easily the best Internet browser–to be polluted more than it already is.

So, after you make these choices, you are now officially ready to answer your question of how do i save YouTube videos on my computer?

This application is so easy and does exactly what I wanted it to do: download YouTube files and convert them to a format that I like.

So, to begin, go to Start | All Programs | YouTube Downloader | {and select} YouTube Downloader (I don’t know why they give us so many choices here.)

With the application open, visit YouTube and choose a video that you would like to download (again, make sure it is legal for you to do so) and then return to the application. You will notice that the application knows that you visited YouTube and places the URL of the video in the box as you see below:

As you can see, the YouTube video downloading happens very fast. For most of you on a reasonable Internet connection, the download will finish before you have finished watching the YouTube video.

Now you have downloaded a video from YouTube and it will probably be in a format called MP4. The size of this file, if you downloaded a song, will probably be in the neighborhood of 5-25MB.

Now, you can answer the question how do i download videos from YouTube? because you have just learned how to do it.

But, can you play this MP4 file on your iPod? Well, you probably can but this YouTube file is not optimized for your iPod. It is better to convert the YouTube file from MP4 format to .mov format for your iPod. This will shrink the file and make it more playable on your iPod.

And this is the other arena in which the YouTube Downloader excels: converting YouTube video files and it is very easy to do.

As we see in the photo below, simply launch the YouTube Downloader and select “Convert Video”. Then, in the Select Video file box, choose the source video and then in the Convert to box, select iPod video. And, voila, in a matter of less than a minute, you have YouTube video that you can play on your iPod.

How To Download YouTube Videos: Conclusion

As you can see, the YouTube Downloader makes it very easy to download videos from YouTube and convert them into a format that you can then put YouTube videos on your iPod.

There are other programs that do this as well but I did not have good experiences with them. When I wanted to know how do i save YouTube videos on my computer? the YouTube Downloader was the best answer. If you would like to experience these other programs which teach you how to save YouTube video, I have included a list of them below in the appendix section.

How to Save YouTube Videos: A List of Programs, Appendix

SaveTube.com: This is the first entry that came up when I wanted to know how to save YouTube files to my computer. However, it did not work as it resulted in “file not found” errors AND it had ads all over the place.

KeepVid.com: KeepVid.com was the second choice offered by Google to download YouTube videos to your computer but it suffered the same limitations as SaveTube.com mentioned above. The idea of KeepVid.com is very cool–they provide a toolbar utility that allows you to save any streaming video that you want. But again, the site was filled with advertisements and I received a lot of video not found messages. Thus, KeepVid.com did not work well.

SaveVideoDownload.com: This third entry provided by Google was worst than the first two. SaveVideoDownload.com was not even available and reported this message: “This account has been suspended. Either the domain has been overused, or the reseller ran out of resources.”

After having tried several of these sites, I decided to stick with the YouTube Downloader because it is the best way to download YouTube videos to your computer!

One further note: Those who enjoyed this page have also frequently visited the pages copy DVD to hard drive and how to copy a DVD to learn how to have their movies accessible at all times.

On this page, we provide you with free, instructional videos which will answer the many questions that you have:  how do you transfer music to an ipod?, how do you download songs onto an ipod nano?, how to put music on an ipod?, how do you download music to an ipod? Our visitors ask the question in multiple ways but the bottom line is that everybody want to transfer their music collection to their iPod.

It is not difficult to transfer music to an iPod but if you have never done it before, you will need some instruction the first time.

So, without further ado, let’s begin.  The following videos will teach you how to put music on an ipod.  These videos are not iPod specific….the process is the same for all iPods.

How Do You Download Songs Onto An Ipod: Video Instructions

Below, you will find all of the best Internet videos on how do you transfer music to an ipod. Simply click the links to launch the video in its own window. Enjoy the shows!

Downloading Music & Video to Your iPod

We have placed this video at #1 because it comes from the source: Apple Computer. Apple makes both the iPod and iTunes so they can tell you how to put music on an ipod. This video will teach you how to install iTunes, transfer music from your CD to iTunes, and then place all of your great music onto your iPod. Remember, if you want to buy new music, iTunes is not your only option. Amazon offers mp3 downloads often at a better price with great selection.

How To Put Your First Song On Your iPod

This great video from VideoJug walks you through getting started with your new iPod. This video answers the question how do you download music to an ipod? as it walks you through the process of putting your first song onto an iPod.

How To Auto- Sync Your iPod

Are you going to want to put music on your iPod manually? No. Videojug bring you a great and quick video on how to synch your music with your iPod automatically. Why do it manually? Watch this video now to automate the process of putting music on your iPod.

How To Get Music Onto An iPod From The Internet

When you consider how to transfer music to your iPod, you will quickly realize that you have music in many places. You probably have music on your computer in mp3 form; you have music on CDs, and maybe even tapes. But where is your new music going to come from? Probably, the internet. This great video from VideoJug illustrates how to put music onto an iPod from the Internet.

How to Download Songs Onto an iPod

In this video from Expert Village, Tod Amazeen, a renowned Internet Consultant, walks you through the process of how to download songs onto an iPod. This tips on putting music on an iPod will have you up and running with your new iPod quickly and efficiently.

How to Load MP3s to an iPod

In this up tempo video from Video Village, we find out how to load mp3s onto our iPod from Rokosz, a “digital lifestyle expert”. This is high energy individual and we think that you will really enjoy this video. Highly recommended for entertainment value alone

How to Add Songs From a CD to an iPod

Again, we have our “digital lifestyle expert” Rokosz. Here he teaches us how to go from CD to iPod. With most of us, our song collection is stored in CD format and this video teaches us how to transfer music from CD to iPod. Very informative video that you will learn from.

How To Put Music On An Ipod: Summary

In the videos above, we have brought you video instructions on the How Do You Download Songs Onto An Ipod.

Hopefully, these videos have assisted you in the process of downloading music to your iPod. It’s not a difficult process once you get accustomed to it but it can be a little difficult at first.

We hope that you have found these videos helpful. If you would like to add any video links about transferring music to your iPod, please submit them in the comments below.

PS: Want great music for your iPod? Check out the latest Top Ten Songs and the Top Rap Songs of the day!

Apart from your house, a car may be your largest financial acquisition. Thus, you want to make sure that you get the best deal. As you know, you can get much better deals online because there is no middleman, no overheard. However, you need to know the secrets of buying a car online so you do not get a lemon. In this article, we will take you through all of the things that you need to consider before you buy a car online and we will provide you with the best how to buy a car online videos.

Why To Buy a Car Online

I remember when I was buying my first car a couple of years out of college. I knew exactly what I wanted: a two-door car with leather seats, a sun roof, and a multi-CD player. Beyond that, I wanted the best price.

I visited some car dealerships and read various articles about the cars that fit my needs. At the time, I loved the idea of buying a Saturn because their advertising provided a “feel-good” approach. Their motto was to give you the best price without any haggling. “The price is the price,” they said, and you can trust us. The whole approach felt good because I did not want to be taken by some slick car salesmen.

On the day of my planned car purchase, I visited the Saturn dealership with the thought of walking out with the make and model that I had selected. However, when they totaled up the price of the car with all of the extras that I wanted–leather seats, a sunroof, and a great stereo–the price kept going up. Yes, with Saturn, “the price is the price”, but the price was getting to be more than what I wanted to pay.

I decided to take a walk and happened upon an Acura dealership right next to the Saturn dealership. I started browsing the Acura models and saw one that met my exact needs but the sticker price was way beyond what I was willing to pay. Just then, one of the Acura car salesmen walked up behind me and said, “You know, right away we can knock $5,000 off the price of that car.”

Excuse me? How can he just cut $5k off the price of the car? I suppose this is how the world of buying a car works. I test drove the new Acura, which was now near the price of the Saturn, and loved it.

I then got the hard sell. We haggled over everything–the price of my trade-in on a Ford Escort and all of the extras–did I want the leather protection, the alarm, etc… After a while, I began to wonder if the car even came with wheels or if I would have to pay extra for that!!!

In the end, the negotiations took 5 hours. I kept walking out saying, “It’s ok, I don’t need to buy today. My Escort works fine.” Then, they would lower the price on all of the “extras”. I bought the Acura for a pretty good price but it was an ordeal.

Would I do that again?

Absolutely not. Now-a-days, I will always buy a car online. Buying a car online has so many advantages, not the least of which is that you do not have to haggle with a slick salesman for 5 hours!

When I bought this Acura, the salesman kept walking into the back room to talk to some “higher-being”. I was imagining them both back there laughing, smoking a cigarette, wondering how much money they could get from me.

Not now. When you buy a car online, you are virtually exposed to these conversations with the manager. You can find out exactly what the dealer paid for the car and know exactly how much they will make.

You become a car dealerships worst nightmare–an informed buyer.

And the best thing about buying a car online? You don’t even have to deal with these slick car salesman. When you buy a car online, the car dealers differentiate you. They know that you are an informed buyer who is going to entertain lots of competitive bids. In fact, you will sometimes even get a car for less than the dealer paid for it just so they can get it off of their lot and make way for next year’s model, which they hope they can sell to someone who is not buying a car over the Internet.

So, let’s a look at how this process of buying a car on the Internet works and how you can always get the best deal on a new car.

How to Buy a Car Online: An Overview

Many people do not know how buying a car online works. From whom do you actually buy the car (the website, the dealership)? Where do you pick up the car? How do you pay for the car (credit card, check)? These are many questions that the new online car buyers are asking.

As you will see below in the detailed steps of buying a car online, the first thing that you want to do is see the car and test drive it (ironically, you often do this by visiting the car dealership). Once you have decided on the one or two models that you would like to buy, you then head to the Internet to make your informed purchase.

The first thing that you want to determine is the invoice price of the car. You want to know exactly what the dealers are paying for that car. This information can be obtained from a site such as Edmunds.com, where you can not only find the invoice price but also whether the manufacturer is offering any incentives on the car.

Once you know what the dealerships are paying for the car, it is time to find out where you buy this car online at the best price. You want to visit several of the reputable online car dealerships to determine the deals that you can get on that particular car. Several of the prominent online car retailers are carsdirect.com, autotrader.com, cars.com, and Vehix.com.

Most of these online car auto sites actually work directly with car dealerships, perhaps even one very close to your home. The dealerships agree to abide by the CarsDirect.com low price guarantee so that you get the best deal. To you, it will seem as though all transactions are being done through the website when in reality the transaction still goes through a car dealer.

In these cases though, you are assumed to be a “smart customer” and are not given the treatment of someone who walks onto a car lot. In fact, the car dealerships usually have an arm of the business to deal in online transactions and those individuals know that the online game is very different–they have to offer great deals!

A friend of mine recently saw this process first hand. He entered a car lot off the street and offered to buy a car for $700 over invoice. The dealers laughed at him and told him that this was not possible. He then went to the various online dealers and each of them offered him the car at $500 over invoice. He did not have to do any haggling or negotiating–they offered him a lower price than the one that got him laughed off the lot.

In another example from this Edmunds.com article, the Internet Sales Manager for a prominent Nissan dealership said:

I would never walk onto a lot to buy a car. I don’t want to go through all the hassle. Besides that, the sales team will start by trying to sell the car at sticker price. Plus, they will try to make more money on the back end, such as higher finance charges. [In the Internet department], we are straightforward and disclose everything. Nothing is pushed onto a client.

If someone who works in the car dealership says never to buy a car off the lot, doesn’t that tell us something? We all need to know the secrets of buying a car online.

In the end, after you work out the financing with the online car retailer or independently, you then purchase the car at the best price and the car is often delivered right to your front door.

How’s that for service?

How to Buy a Car Online: Step-by-Step Details

Ok, so now that you have decided to buy a car online, let’s walk you through exactly how you want to do it.

Decide What Kind of Car You Want

This is the most exciting part of buying a car: deciding what car that you want. Do not rush this process.

You probably have a decent idea of what kind of car that you want to buy and now you can look around for the colors and models that suit your exact needs. Visit the online sites which will allow you to see how the car looks in different colors and styles.

Then, after you have narrowed your search, you will want to test drive the car. Never buy a car if you do not test drive it. Ever. Cars may look great but they don’t all drive the same. You can test drive cars at the dealerships, but do not allow yourself to be hoodwinked into buying the car by the slick salesmen.

If you are at all susceptible to this, do not go into the dealership without a firm determination that you will not buy the car that day!!!

Obtain Financing for the Car

If you will be financing your car, rather then paying for it out right, make sure that you research your financing before you deal with anybody, even the online retailers.

Many people do great negotiations to get the best car price and then they get scammed on the financing and pay much more than they should.

The most competitive rates often come from your local banks and credit unions. Know what your credit score is (because they will use this information) and then head to your local bank or credit union to get the most competitive rates.

This will ensure that you do not get scammed by the dealerships, online or otherwise. The auto dealerships may even offer a better deal but at least you will have something to compare.

The bottom line is this: You want to know exactly what you will be paying for the car over time, not just the “purchase price”.

Find the Best Price for the Car Online

Ok, now you are in the driver’s seat, not the car dealers. You know the car that you want, you know how you will finance it, and now you need to find the best price.

Visit the prominent online car dealers above and get quotes from each of them.

Now, this next move may surprise you–you want to email the car dealerships. Remember, many of the retail car dealerships are working directly with the Internet sites such as CarsDirect.com and they are paying a fee for this service. It is possible that your local car dealer will offer you a better deal than the big websites. You can email them with this template email:

Dear Local Dealership:

I have decided that I would like to buy the [list car make and model] with these options: [list the car options and be specific so that there is no confusion].

I have prearranged my financing and am currently receiving quotes from [list of Internet sites].

I thought that I would contact you directly to see if you can make a competitive offer on this vehicle.

Thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
Your Name Here

Buy the Car Online

Your next step is the one that gets you behind the wheel.

Once you have received the best offer, you go ahead and buy the car online through from the place that offered you the best price.

In many cases, they will even deliver that car straight to your doorstep.

Buying a Used Car Online

All of the methodologies above are appropriate for buying a new car online. If you are buying a used car online, there will be some caveats.

First and foremost, never, and I mean never, buy a used car online without driving it first. This is significant because it usually limits your options to local sellers. However, even though this limits your options, it prevents you from getting a bad vehicle.

Secondly, always do a vehicle history check to see whether this car has had been in an accident or had some other unseemly history…like it was flooded in a hurricane. You obtain a vehicle history check at a place like Carfax or Experian.

Thirdly, use your intuition. When you test drive a vehicle, you will undoubtedly meet the owner. You can tell a lot from the actual person. So, if you test drive the vehicle and like it, look at the person and ask them questions about the vehicle. Sometimes, you will find out information that will guide you in your decision making process.

Finally, remember, buying a used car online will save you a lot of money. When a new car leaves a car lot, it immediately depreciates by more than 30%. If you find the right car, you will save thousands of dollars. If you are studious in your approach, you can find great used cars at terrific bargains.

Buying a Car Online Videos

In searching the Internet, we found a couple of worthy videos about how to buy a car online (most are very amateur). Simply click the link to open the video in its own window. Below each link, we have provided a small review of the video.

Online Vehicle Buying Guide

Here, we have an excellent video with Auto Reviewer James Bell. He tackles many questions such as Why Buy a Car Online, What are the Risks of Buying a Car Online, What are the Advantages of Buying a Car Online, and much more like how to avoid fraud when buying online. This is a professional video and well worth a watch!

CBS News: Buying a Car on Online on eBay and Other Places

In this video from CBS news, we find the experts discussing how to buy new cars online and specifically on eBay. This video discusses GMs new program in selling cars on eBay but also provides general online car buying instructions. At just under 3 minutes, it’s well worth a watch!

How to Buy a Car Online: Summary

If you are going to buy a car, it is foolish not to know how to buy a car online. Buying a car online not only saves you a lot of money, it can save you a lot of hassles because you do not have to deal with salesmen who do not have your best interests at heart.

Remember, follow the 3 critical steps when buying a car online. (1) Decide which kind of car you want using on and offline means. (2) Obtain the car financing (or at least get quotes) from local banks and credit unions. (3) Get quotes on your exact vehicle from numerous sources.

If you follow these critical steps, you will be able to buy the exact car you want online at the very best price!

Buying a Car Online: Further Reading

The articles listed below provide further, quality reading about buying a car online. Simply click the link to launch the video in its own window:

Epinions.com: Recommendations from Real People: This is a great page because we find information from people just like you and me who have real world stories and recommendations about buying a car online.

Buy a Car Online — for Less: The quality article comes from SmartMoney.com and details how to buy a car online for less.

Online Car Buying Tips: This article provides some necessary tips in bulleted format about buying a car online.

Car Buying Tips from AOL.com: This page is a great resource from AOL.com featuring many car buying tips with a section focusing on online car buying advice.

Buying a Car from HowStuffWorks.com: This article about how to buy a car comes from How Stuff Works. Here, we find the differences between buying a new car versus a used car and the differences that we need to understand.

Internet vs. Traditional Car Buying: This article comes to use from Edmunds.com, the premiere, independent resource for buying a car. Here, we find a great discussion about the traditional method of buying a car versus buying a car online.

It would be fair to say that without the Internet Barack Obama would not be President of the United States. He leveraged the medium of the Internet to organize his campaign, gather contributions, rally his base, convey his ideas, and gain many new supporters. These Internet activities ushered him into the Whitehouse.

Thus, when we look at how to contact president Obama, the Internet is the most logical conclusion; however, it is not the only option.

In this article, we will look at all of the various ways that you can contact President Barack Obama.

Email President Barack Obama

The best way to get in touch with President Barack Obama is through email. Historically, people have emailed the president–any president–using the general presidential email address which is as follows: president@whitehouse.gov.

However, the Barack Obama administration, given their Internet savvy, has revised the process a little bit. Though the official president Obama email address is still president@whitehouse.gov, it is not the best way to contact him.

The best way to contact President Obama is through the contact form at WhiteHouse.gov. The top of the form looks like this:

In the past, this form only permitted a limit of 500 characters. However, now you can include up to 2,500 characters which allows you to express your ideas more thoroughly.

Does Barack Obama Read His Emails?

Obviously, President Obama cannot read every email sent to him as the number of communications received each week is staggering–there are reportedly hundreds of thousands of correspondence sent to the President each week.

However, President Obama does read 10 letters everyday. As you see in the video below, the amount of information received is tremendous and there is a staff dedicated to delivering the President the most representative of these letters each week.

How To Contact President Obama by Mail

Email is not the only way to contact the President. You can also sent mail the old fashioned way…in a letter or postcard.

Obviously, there is no character limitation this way so you can say whatever you want to say with no limits.

The address to contact President Barack Obama is:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Based on the video above, the President was reading what looked like a lot of standard mail. So, perhaps your best chances of contacting the President rest in the old-fashioned type of snail mail rather than an email message. That is just speculation and I have no way of confirming that.

Contacting the President By Phone

If sending an email or letter is not your thing, you can also contact the President by telephone or fax. The numbers are as follows:

Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461

For the hearing impaired, the numbers are as follows:

TTY/TDD
Comments: 202-456-6213
Visitors Office: 202-456-2121

How To Contact President Obama: Summary

The Barack Obama Whitehouse has embraced technology and uses their website as one of the primary means of communication.

Historically, the President Obama Email Address would be the same as all presidents: president@whitehouse.gov. However, it seems that the current Barack Obama administration is directing people to the Whitehouse contact form. This form limits your entry to 2,500 characters. So, if you have more to say, you may want to email president Barack Obama at the traditional presidential email address.
Or, you can send the President a letter at the address listed above which obviously has no character limit.

Also, we have provided you with the phone numbers to contact Barack Obama.

As we see in the video, the raw numbers are as follows. The WhiteHouse receives more than 65,000 letters each week, 100,000 emails, 1,000 faxes and an average of 3,000 phone calls each day.

Will the President actually see or hear what you have to say?

Your chances are not good.

But, our conclusion, which is based on pure speculation, would be to send a hand-written letter with pictures to have the best chance of contacting President Obama.

What Is a Favicon

Simply put, a Favicon (also called a website icon) is that little icon that you see up in the browser bar next to the URL, other known as the website name. Here is a picture of the favicon on this site right now:

If you do not implement a favicon, your website will use the default Favicon which looks like this:

A favicon is not required on your website, but it is good to have because it makes your website standout from sites that do not have favicons. People take subtle notice of it in the browser bar, but, more importantly, people see this icon in their bookmarks which makes your site stand out more. Take a look at the photo below to see how favicons make your site standout among other bookmarks and favorites.

Thus, while a favicon will not bring your website massive amounts of traffic, it will benefit you with small amounts of return traffic over the long haul. Plus, it simply makes your site stand out just a little bit more when people visit it.

How To Create A Favicon For Your Website

Creating a favicon for you website is actually not that difficult. I will walk you through the process of creating a favicon. The difficult part is determining what you want your favicon to be.

Should your favicon be your company name, your company logo, or some derivative of one or the other? Though this may seem like it is an easy choice, it is not due to the size limitations of the favicon. If you have a long company name, such as we do (http://www.thisishowyoudoit.com), you can not use the whole name because it will not fit. The size of that little icon is very small.

Let’s take a look at the favicons of two prominent tech companies: Intel and Microsoft.

Whose whole company name do you think would fit in the icon? You probably guessed right. Take a look at their respective favicons below:

Intel Favicon:

Microsoft Favicon:

As you can see, the Intel logo works nicely as a favicon for Intel because the name is not too long. In Microsoft’s case, they simply chose the letter M as a favicon because their name and logo are too large to make it into a favicon.

In this case of ThisIsHowYouDoIt.com, our name is our logo and it is far too long to be a favicon. However, just using the first letter of “T” did not really represent what we are about. We narrowed it down to two choices “DoIt” or “How”. We ended up choosing “How” simply because it was very simple and also the word “DoIt” (which is great because it represents what we are all about) does not come across very well in a small icon. You can see the term “how” in our favicon above (if we have not changed it since the printing of this article).

Once you have decided what you want your favicon to be, and sometimes the only way to know this is through experimentation, it is now time to actually create your favicon.

Make Your Favicon

People make their Favicons in different ways because we all use different graphic programs. Independent of what graphics program that you use, your favicon will end up being a 16 x 16 pixel graphic, which is very small. Many people recommend first creating a 32 x 32 or 64 x 64 graphic so that it is easier to edit and then shrinking after it has been created.

The most popular graphics program on the market is Photoshop. There is a download available for Photoshop called the Windows Icon (ICO) file format Photoshop Plugin which allows you to export your graphics files directly to .ICO files. If you use Photoshop, you probably want to refer to this page called How To Create A Favicon.ico In Photoshop. This will tell you all that you need to know to create your favicon using Photoshop.

For those without Photoshop, creating your favicon is still pretty easy. Within your graphics program, create your favicon icon in the dimensions noted above. I like to create mine from scratch using the 16 x 16 format because my graphics program has a zoom feature which makes this small size easy to see and edit.

File Format for Your Favicon

After you have created the file, it is very important to save your favicon in the proper format. You do not want to save your favicon in the .jpg format.

Most of you probably do most of your web graphics in the common .jpg format. However, the .jpg format does not work for favicons because it is not transparent. Your web site favicons will end up looking very poor and conflicting with the background color (usually grey).

You need a favicon file format that is transparent. To accomplish this, you will want to save your icon file in the .gif or .png file formats. Almost any graphics package has the ability to save files in one or both of these formats as you see in the photo below:

In the example above, you can see that you use the “Save As” feature to find the file types available with your particular graphics package.

Create the Favicon.iso File

Now, you have your favicon saved as a .gif or .png file in dimensions of 16 x 16 or 32 x 32. Up to this point, it does not matter what your file name is because it is not yet in the .ICO format, which is the favicon format. Your goal not is to convert your file to a file called favicon.ico. Sorry, you cannot just rename…that will not work.

However, it is easy to convert your icon to the .ico format. There is a page called FavIcon Generator that allows us to do that easily. Visit the page now…it will open in a new window.

On this page, you can see that it is very easy to convert your file to the new favicon format. Here is a picture of their Favicon Generator Page.

On this page, you will want to do three things: browse to your file on your local computer, click the “create icon” button which will create your favicon.ico file, and then click the “download favicon”, which download the favicon.ico file to your system.

How to Test Your Favicon.ico File

There is a good way to test your favicon.ico file before you implement it on your website and chances are that you want to do this. Often, people like to play around with the artistic qualities of the .ico file before implementing a final version. After all, you never really know how it will be until you see it in your browser.

To test your favicon.ico file, simply find the version that you just downloaded, right click it, and choose “Open With”, and then choose your browser as you see in the photo below.

This will give you a good idea of what your favicon looks like in the browser.

Once you have your ideal favicon, you are ready to…

Put the Favicon.Ico file On Your Website

There is just one more step to implement your favicon–you need to implement it on your website. To do this, copy the favicon.ico file (make sure that it is named favicon.ico) to your websites home directory. You will know this is successful when you can access it directly. For example, on this site, you can visit http://www.thisishowyoudoit.com/favicon.ico and see the favicon.

In some cases, this may be all you need to do but you should take this final step to ensure that you favicon works all the time.

Most of you have a header type of file that creates the top portion of your website so that it is the same across all web pages. In the case of WordPress and most websites, this file is called header.php in about 99% of the cases.

Within this file, you simple need to add the following line as instructed on the Favicon Generator site:

<link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="/favicon.ico">

And, voila, you now have a favicon on your website.

I Don’t See My Favicon

After performing all of these steps, many people then go immediately to their browser to try to see their favicon and it is not there. After all that work, they are left saying, “It didn’t work. I don’t see my favicon.”

Do not fret–it is there. You are not seeing fresh copies of your web pages. You are seeing older cached versions. You have several options here. You can delete temp files, history and cookies and this will get rid of the cached version of these pages. However, I don’t recommend this because you will be probably end up deleting information that you need. Alternatively, you can login as a different user on the same system or login in on a different system to check out your new favicons. You can also check from another browswer that does not have cached copies of your web site (see best Web browsers) Or, just relax and wait till tomorrow at which time you will begin to see your favicons. If you followed the above instructions, you’ll be all good

How to Have Two Favicons on One Website

If you have a reason to have more than one favicon on a website, this is also doable.

For example, on this site we have our How To portion and then we have the fun blog called Live Your Way, which you should really check out by the way!

Well, ideally, each of these portions of the website would have their own favicon. And, it is possible to achieve that idea.

How do you have multiple favicons on one site? It’s really fairly easy. You create the second favicon just as we did above but give it the name favicon2.ico instead of just favicon.ico. Then, upload the icon file to the root directory of that subsite. Finally, just change the header.php file to say favicon2.ico instead of favicon.ico as you see below:

<link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="/favicon2.ico">

And, that’s how you have mulitple favicons on one site! Pretty easy, huh?

How To Create a Favicon Videos

If you prefer to watch videos about how to create a favicon, there are many out there on the Internet. Frankly, the quality of many is not that great and everybody does it slightly differently. It may simply confuse you after watching people do it so many different ways.

Here are the 3 best videos and a bonus video that you may want to visit if you would like more information on creating favicons:

Creating a Favicon For Your Website

This four minute video illustrates how to create a favicon as we did above, using the Favicon Generator website. This video also illustrates how to edit the header.php in WordPress to implement the favicon on your WordPress blog.

How To Create A Favicon For Your Site

This 8 minute video is detailed and well-done though the volume is very low. This video also illustrates the use of the favicon generator AND shows you how to delete your cache so that you can see you favicon immediately after implementing it.

Create A Favicon Using Paint

Not every can use Photoshop to create a Favicon. After all, Photoshop is expensive! This quick video show you how to use the built in Microsoft Paint software to create a favicon. The volume is a little low on this video but it will help you get started.

Create a Favicon With Photoshop

Here is the video that you want to watch if you are creating a favicon using Photoshop. It is 3 minutes and details not only how to make a favicon with Photoshop but how to install the plugin required to create .ico files within Photoshop directly.

Bonsu Video: Create An Animated Favicon

Want to get brave and daring? This 4 minute video teaches you how to make an animated favicon so that your favicon can look really lively! It’s worth checking out to see if you want to get animated with your favicon.

How to Make a Favicon: Conclusion

On this page, we have brought you detailed textual and video instructions on how to make a favicon.

Favicons distinguish your site by adding an icon next to your website name and they give your site a more professional look and feel.

If you do not have a favicon, it’s time you put one on your site. It doesn’t take that long and its well worth the effort.

So get out there and make a favicon for your website!

PS: Those who enjoyed this page also found the page How To Resize Pictures page very useful.

Many people like to connect computer to TV for entertainment purposes.   If you are having a party, and you would like to show people pictures or videos that you have taken, this is a terrific way to show everybody in the room.

Others like to hook up computer to TV to replace their computer monitors.  As we read in the article connect laptop to TV, many people ask the simple question:  Why should I use a computer monitor when I just bought a great new LCD TV.   The answer is that you should not!  There is no reason to have a new 22″ LCD Computer Monitor when your new LCD TV functions perfectly as a computer monitor.  Of course, your big LCD TV probably resides in the entertainment room not in your office.  In that case, you should find the best LCD TV that can fit in your office!

All of this assumes that you know how to connect your computer to your LCD TV…and that is what this page is about.  Below you will find many videos on how to hook up your PC to your TV.  With these new LCDs, this is a relatively painless process and can be performed without technical expertise.  While this page is about how to videos, you can also read the article connect PC to TV if you prefer the written word.

So, let’s get started with the how to videos on how to hook up computer to TV. (After determining your connection type, see below for where to purchase cables required for TV to PC Connection.)

How To Connect Computer To TV Videos

Below, you will find all of the best Internet videos on how to hook up computer to TV. Simply click the links to launch the video in its own window. Enjoy the shows!

Connecting Your PC to Your TV

This video that we find on youtube is very professionally done. We are graphically walked through the process of how to hook up computer to tv. You will find this video very helpful. The video also addresses the question which cables do i need to connect my PC to a TV. You may need no more videos aside from this one!

Watch This One on Connecting Your Laptop to Your LCD from VideoJug

Videojug is an absolutely awesome website. In this video, they make hooking up your computer to your TV fun and informative. This is a minute 5 minute movie that is a hoot to watch. Learn how to how to hook up computer to tv in a fun and informative way from VideoJug.com. (NOTE: This video does not address the DIV/HDMI connection that we read about in the article hook up PC to TV.)

A Presentation on Connecting Your Laptop to Your TV

Here we have another great video from YouTube. You will find this video informative, but unfortunately it has no sound. It’s like an old silent movie but very effective. Additionally, this video addresses getting the sound from the laptop to the computer as well.

Connecting Your TV via S-Video (only for older/analog TVS not LCD)

This is a really fun, informative video. HOWEVER, it only applies for older TVs as it illustrates the use of S-Video which you DO NOT want to use for an LCD TV. This is like a fun, music videos…kudos to trevoltik on break.com for submitting this.

A Dummies Guide Video (for older TV sets using s-video)

This is another quality video from YouTube but again it is only for older TV sets, not LCD TVs. For LCDs TVs refer to the first two videos.

Amateur Video from Youtube: Connecting with S-Video (for older TVs)

Here is a genuine effort from “Therellik” on YouTube. He walks you through setting up S-Video with your Dell system. Again, this is only for older TV sets.

Connect Computer to TV Articles

Here are some of the preeminent articles on how to connect computer to TV if you prefer textual sources.

Connect TV To PC: This article explains the connections thoroughly and provides great links to the proper cables to purchase when connecting your TV to your PC.
On-Line Tech Tips Article: This article walks you through each of the connections that you will use when connecting you connect computer to TV.
TechLore: Connecting Your Computer and TV: This is an extremely informative article that textually guides you through each of your PC to TV connection choices.
Connect Laptop To TV: This article walks you through the process of connecting your laptop to your LCD TV and provides links to the proper cable choices.

Cables Necessary for Each Type of TV to PC Connection

In each of the videos, you have learned the proper connections between your computer and your TV. After figuring this out, here are the cables that you may need to purchase to hook up your TV to your computer:

1.) Belkin F3H982-25 Pro Series High-Integrity VGA/SVGA Monitor Replacement Cable (25 ft.): This link is for the VGA connection. This works with virtually all computers and LCD TVs.
2.) Cables To Go - 26911 - 2M DVI-D M/M Dual Link Digital Video Cable (Black): This cable is for people who have a digital video port (DVI) on both their computer and their LCD TV.
3.) : Male Dvi To Male HDmi Conversion Cable: Many LCD TV owners will go with this choice. This is for DVI out on your computer to HDMI in on your LCD TV.

Most of the above videos do not address this new connection. Read more about it here.

How To Connect Computer To TV: Summary

On this page, we have provided many videos and textual links that show you how to connect computer to TV.

After viewing this page, we hope that you will have no problems when you hook up PC to TV. However, if you do, please submit them in the comments below so that others can learn from your experience.

We hope that you have found this page informative. Thanks for visiting and feel free to have a look at other great how to pages like how to copy DVD to hard drive and How To Download YouTube Videos To An iPod!

If you are an avid golfer and Internet user, you might know this little secret about getting golf tee times online at fantastic prices. For those who do not yet know how to get golf tee times at great prices, this article is for you.

The best golf tee times, at the best prices, at many of the best courses, can be found at GolfNow.com. You can search all of the different courses and prices in your area by clicking the link below:

I have been a user of GolfNow.com for many, many years.

Living in San Francisco for many years, finding discount golf tee times at reasonable prices on quality courses was always a challenge. Then, along came a website called Golf707 (707 is an area code in Northern California) and this changed everything. Golf707 partnered with many of the Northern California golf courses to offer heavily discounted tee times at our favorite courses.

After myself and my buddies discovered Golf707, we never booked a tee time another way. There was no other place to go to view all of the different tee times at a variety of courses in one place. And, tee times were always 30-70% off the standard daily price.

The system has now been nationalized and made even better as GolfNow.com purchased Golf707.com in 2006 and all of the other sites like them.

You pay nothing to sign up for GolfNow.com. It’s a free service to you as a user.

Let’s take a look at a sample of what GolfNow has to offer today.

As you can see, the deals on this course in Northern California are fantastic. With an average savings of near 40%, you can see that it is possible to get great discount golf tee times online using GolfNow.com.

Also, notice the little golf cart emblem? Nearly all of the deals available at GolfNow.com come with a cart…and sometimes lunch too if you’re really lucky

GolfNow.com even deals with rain delays well. I had a tee time one rainy day in San Francisco and the weather did not allow for golf. I contacted the golf course, who then called GolfNow.com for me and told them that the course was unplayable and to refund my money. I was surprised just how easy it was–there were actually people working behind the website!

Now that GolfNow.com is national, I book tee times all throughout the United States. For example, my friends and I have a little golf week planned in Las Vegas two weeks from now and we booked every day of golf, every tee time, online at GolfNow.com at great courses with great prices.

So, if you want to know how to get the best discount golf tee times online, the answer is easy: GolfNow.com.

Click here to book your tee time at GolfNow.com

And, before you hit the course, make sure that you check out our many how to play golf pages like how to drive a golf ball, how to swing a golf club, and how to grip a golf club, all of which will have you playing much better golf.

There are so many people who buy or are gifted their Kindle Fire and all they do is read books on it. Your Kindle Fire can be used for so much more. In fact, my mom, who has an iPad, just asked me last night what I was doing as I had my Kindle Fire in my hand. “I am watching a movie,” I said. “Oh,” she replied, “I thought Kindle’s were only for reading books.” Such iPad presumption!

So, we can do a whole lot more than read books on our Kindle Fire but to do some of these things we need to be able to connect the Kindle Fire to our PC. For example, in my case, I have hundreds of movies stored on my PC and would like them available on my Kindle.

Fortunately, this is a very easy how-to. It’s easy to connect the Kindle Fire to your PC. So, let’s get started.

The Kindle Fire Connection: A Micro-USB Cable

To accomplish this, you will only need one thing: A Micro-USB cable. You can get this one on Amazon for under $10. You also might have a Micro-USB cable already and not even know it. For example, my phone charger for my old Samsung phone had a Micro-USB cable built into it. So, I just use that one.

A Micro-USB cable looks like the photo to the left. One end is the regular USB end, like you are accustomed to, and the other-end–the end that will attach to the Kindle Fire–is “micro”, meaning that it is just smaller.

Connecting the Kindle Fire To The PC or Laptop

After you have your Micro-USB cable in hand, we now need to get the PC or laptop connected to Kindle Fire. To do so, find the Micro-end of the USB cable and plug-it into the Kindle. Then, plug the other standard USB side into your PC or laptop.

Your connection should now look like the photo below.

How To View the Contents of Your Kindle on Your PC or Laptop

Ok, great, but now that you have them physically connected, what can you do? Well, it’s just a matter of knowing the right buttons to push.

After you have the connections in place, go to your Start Menu in Windows and select “Computer”. You should now see your Kindle Fire Drive there. Take a look at the photo below. The first image is my “My Computer” Screen before connecting the Kindle and the second image is after I connected the Kindle. Notice the system now has an F: drive. That’s the Kindle.

Now, you can copy and paste files back and forth between your laptop or PC computer and your Kindle Fire. So, how can you copy a movie from your PC and watch it on your Kindle Fire. Well, take a look at the article How to Copy a Movie To Your Kindle Fire From Your PC or Laptop (article coming soon)!

Am I an expert drawer? Absolutely not! I am someone just like you, someone who is on a quest to learn how to draw.

What I am, however, is someone who is very good at finding what is best on the Internet and today I am going to find the best places where you can begin your drawing quest.

Most of us are searching for solutions on the Internet rather than enrolling in a school. If you’re motivated, the information is out there. Today, as we look at how to learn how to draw, we are going to find the best how to videos and how to articles so that we can get started.

Once we find these resources, you can then take out your pencil and drawing pad and begin learning how to draw.

I know that many of you out there simply think “I cannot draw.” While drawing is a talent towards which people seem to be predisposed, the rest of us have to learn how to draw. We did not come out of the womb envisioning and drawing wonderful photos.

However, if you are on this page, it means that you are motivated and up for the challenge to learn how to draw. This is the first step in overcoming your perceived inability to draw. The second step is practice…and lots of it.

So, on this page we are first going to take a look at the best videos that teach people how to draw. With each video, I will provide a review of the video so that you can determine if you want to view it. Following that, I will point you to beneficial articles that will teach you how to draw.

So, let’s see what is out there. Grab a pencil and a drawing pad and follow along.

How To Learn How To Draw: How to Videos

Below, you will find links to the most quality videos available that will enable you to learn how to draw. I have filtered through all of the junk videos and am only bringing you the best learning to draw videos.

To watch the videos, simply click the blue link and the video will launch in its own window. Below each link you will find my reviews of the videos with comments on the content, time, and quality of the how to draw video.

Drawing Lessons : Learn How to Draw Step-by-Step

This video comes from YouTube and is authored by Joel Hickerson. In this 3:39 minute video, Joel walks us through his drawing process as he draws a parrot. This is a good video to illustrate the drawing process and to see how cool you will be when you how to learn to draw.

Figure Drawing Head: Video Course Lesson One

This course comes from Mitch at DrawingCoach.com, a truly wonderful place to learn to draw. This video teaches you how to draw a head, which after all is not a bad thing to start with. Mitch is extremely patient and this video will guide you through the technical details on outlining and drawing a head. Below this video, you can sign up for a free How To Learn How To Draw video course which I fully recommend–it definitely helped me

Learn to draw EYE SIDE VIEW (FEMALE, WOMAN) step by step

This video comes from a website called IDrawGirls.com…not a bad hobby if I do say so myself. In this 5 minute video, we learn to draw an eye from a profile view. The creator does this on a computer, which some people did not like. I, however, found it kind of easy to follow along.

Learn to Draw Portraits - Ep.1 Introduction

This video comes from Jason of somewhere called Ecletic Asylum Art. I like that name and the creator of the video. When you make learning fun, it’s easier to learn, as least for me. Jason accomplishes this in his how to learn how to draw videos. A word of caution though: Jason likes to opine about his art, so be prepared for a monologue as well as the lessons. I am linking to this first video, but this is part I of a series–take a look on over to the right side of the screen for the future parts. If you have the patience to watch the series, you will be enlightened in the end.

Learn To See, Learn To Draw

This short 3 1/2 minute video comes to us from Larry Withers and is called “Learn to See, Learn to Draw”. This is a high-level video about how to see objects so that we have the ability to draw them. Larry then takes us through how to implement these ideas by placing tracing paper over an actual picture and drawing the shapes that we recognize. All in all, a very good quick video with beneficial artsy thoughts.

Professional Drawing Tutorial

In this video by “The Artist”, we learn how to draw an eye REALLY fast. At 1 1/2 minutes, it’s like a quick music video. You’ll want to watch this to see how good you can become, but it might be too fast to learn anything from. After viewing, go back to the beginner drawing lessons

Learn to draw BODY muscle torso superhero type man

In this video, we learn how to draw a man’s torso, albeit that of a Superhero type man. This 5 minute video comes to us again from the “I Draw Girls” author…he apparently also draws superheros. He does his work on the computer but I like his “live-drawing” method as it is very beneficial to see this drawing happening in real time.

Learn to Draw - Form - Shape - Light and Shade

This is a very professional video coming to us from artist Ron Lemen. He takes us through the importance of shape and light and slowly illustrates this through live-drawings from which we can learn very much. Ron is someone who gives us very deliberate, well-explained lessons…check out his other videos here.

How to Draw a Hand (With Spoken Explanation)

In this video, Mark Crilley teaches us how to draw a hand in just under 10 minutes. Mark provides very clear cut explanations as he teaches us how to learn how to draw. The video quality is a little dark but well worth the watch. Be sure to view over to the right of the screen for Mark’s other videos which are all quality but a bit Manga obsessed…you’ll see.

How to Draw the Profile of a Mans Face

This is the least exciting of all the videos but I think that you will find it useful. It lasts for 3 long minutes as the artist very slowly teaches us to learn how to draw the profile of a man. Follow along with this video an you’ll be drawing profiles in no time.

Well, that wraps it up for the video section. There are certainly many more videos out there but they are character specific, like how to draw spiderman. After you have finished with these basic videos, you will be ready for that next step.

Learning How To Draw Articles

Below, you will find links to the best articles on how to draw. I realize that some of you prefer to read content rather than watch videos and that is why I provide this section.

To view the page, simply click the link and the article will appear in it own window.

Drawing Coach: The Drawing Coach wins my award for best overall drawing site. It teaches you how to draw just about anything in a clear and concise way. Also, as mentioned above, the videos are the best that you will find!

Learn To Draw: This is the drawing site that I like best. From the very beginning, they tell you how to think like a drawer. You will learn to see things in a slightly different light that really teaches you how to learn how to draw very well. After getting down the proper mindset, the site is filled with examples that will have you learning to draw in no time.

Drawing Now: Often times, I like to try to draw something even if I don’t yet know the proper technique. I like to get my feet wet and jump right in. This sites has lots of tutorials on drawing characters, cartoons, and people. So if you want to jump right in and give it a try, learn to draw and DrawingNow.com.

Artists Helping Children: This site is meant for kids but grownups may like it too. I know sometimes I feel like a kid when I am trying to draw something. So, if you want to start from scratch or get your kids involved in learning to draw, this page is for you!

Drawing Secrets: And last, but certainly not least, we have a site called Drawing Secrets. This site gets my nod as it is very clearly laid out with well-written instructions. Plus, you can get a FREE e-book which is definitely a going to teach you how to learn how to draw better!

How to Draw: Summary

Like many of you, I am not a natural born artist but I really wanted to know how to learn how to draw.

For me, I want to learn to draw for two reasons: (1) I am often called upon to draw diagrams and my renditions are often not up to par. In fact, sometimes they are downright pitiful. And, secondly, I am a naturally curious person who simply wanted to know how to learn how to draw.

Above, we have located all the best how to draw videos and articles. After reviewing these, you should have a good reference to learn to draw and now it just takes practice, practice, practice.

You can also learn other great skills on our site including how to dance, how to make money online, how to play golf, and much, much more.

Thanks for visiting ThisIsHowYouDoIt.com, your home for how to do stuff

When it comes to this topic, people want to know two things: First, people want to know how to view their Gmail within their Outlook interface. Second, people want to know how to do just the reverse: View their Outlook mail within Gmail. This article addresses the first method: Viewing your Gmail account within Outlook using the IMAP protocol. (Techie Note: The IMAP protocol is better than the other option–POP–because it is much more efficient. However, if you want to view your messages offline, when you are not connected to the Internet, you would want to choose POP.)

Ideally, we could have just one email that we use for everything. But since it is not an ideal world, almost all of us have a minimum of two email accounts and probably more. I know, for myself, I have a work email, a personal email, an email that I use when I subscribe to something (because I don’t want my personal email besieged by solictors), and an email that I use for financial transactions. Thus, for me, I have four email accounts and I am sure that you have at least two and maybe more than four.

So, how do most people access their disparate emails? Well, most people go the old fashioned way. When they want to use their work email, they bring up their Outlook client. Then, when they want to check into their personal accounts like Gmail, they visit Gmail.com to view their respective personal email accounts.

But wouldn’t it be nice if you could just have one place to look at your email accounts?

Well, fortunately you can. In fact, you can use either Outlook or Gmail as the method to view your professional and personal email accounts.

Most people prefer to use Outlook to manage their mail so we will look at how to view your Gmail within your Outlook client.

How to View Gmail Messages Within Outlook

The configuration that most people are interested in is how to view your Gmail messages within Outlook. Since you probably are using Microsoft Outlook all day, it would be nice to receive your personal messages there as well. It would make Outlook a happier place to be as well…not 100% work related.

How do we do this? It is not that difficult to learn how to access Gmail through Outlook. In fact, you can accomplish this in about 3 easy steps and it should take no more than a few minutes.

Here we go:

In step 1, we need to enable something called IMAP within Gmail. IMAP is a protocol that allows us to view our Gmail within Outlook. To do this, visit the page entitled How To Enable IMAP in Gmail (opens in a new window).

After step 1, we are done on the Gmail side. Now, we need to setup access to Gmail within Outlook. To, begin go into Outlook and choose Tools | Email Accounts then click the button at the top that says Add a New E-mail Account and click the next button. On the next screen, you will choose IMAP and then click next.

Now, we have arrived at the main configuration screen. You should fill in the information just like I have depicted in the graphic below. Where it says yourname, you obviously want to substitute your name in the place. Otherwise, the settings should be exactly depicted.

Now, click the More Settings button and select the Outgoing Server Tab. Configure this window exactly like the photo below..

Now, click Advanced tab and configure your settings exactly as you see below:

Now, simply click OK, Next, then Finish. After you select Finish, you may see a “Fetching Headers” box appear for a bit on your screen as you see below. This is simply Outlook and Gmail performing updates with one another.

And, voila!, you are done. You can now view Gmail messages from within your Outlook and also send messages from your Gmail address within Outlook. To do all of this, simply look to the left side of your screen and you will see the Gmail information similar to the photo below:

Not so difficult afterall, huh?

How to View Gmail Messages In Outlook: How To Videos

While some people prefer the textual instructions above, others prefer videos. We just want to show you how to do it so we bring you all sorts of ways. Below, you will find the best videos on how to view your Gmail account within Outlook. Simply click the link to launch the video in its own window.

Configuring IMAP in Outlook 2003

This is a short, but sweet video and is the best video out there on how to configure Outlook 2003 to view your Gmail messages using the IMAP protocol. This video lasts just under 2 minutes and mimics the instructions given above in video format.

Configuring IMAP for Outlook 2007

This video is for configuring Gmail to work with Outlook 2007 using the IMAP protocol. This video is not good because it does not have sound (there are no good videos with sound on this topic). However, since the instructions provided above are for Outlook 2003, I wanted to add this for the Outlook 2007 folks. For good screenshots of the Outlook 2007 windows, I would recommend this page instead. It’s not a video but it provides detailed information for the Outlook 2007 folks.

Configuring Gmail to Work with Outlook: Summary

We all have too many emails and checking all of these emails is a burden. If you use Outlook for your work email, you can also use Outlook to view your other personal emails, like Gmail.

In this article Gmail Outlook, article, we have illustrated how to view your Gmail account within Outlook. The process is fairly simple and should take you no more than 10 minutes to setup.

This article is part of our ever-expanding how to Google series which covers many topics including How To Download YouTube Videos, an article that many people have put to good use.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to add them in the comments section below.

Most of us have several email addresses. We have our work email addresses and our personal email addresses. For example, you may have the address jdoe@yourcompany.com for work email use and you probably have a hotmail or Gmail account for personal use.

In this situation, most people use Outlook for their work email and then they have to go somewhere else to use their personal email account. However, the technology called IMAP (get geeky with IMAP tech info here.) allows us to have our Gmail mail show up in our Outlook.

To accomplish this, the first thing that we need to do is enable IMAP in Gmail. This will then enable us to use Gmail with our favorite email client and prevent us from having to visit several places to receive email from all of our various email clients. In other words, after doing this, and then reading our Gmail Outlook article, you will be able to receive your Gmail mail within Outlook or the email client program of your choice.

To complete the following steps, you will need your Gmail account information handy. If you do not yet have a Gmail account, you may want to visit How To Get A Gmail Account before you begin this process.

How To Enable IMAP in Gmail: Step by Step

This article takes you through the process of setting up IMAP with Gmail. You can perform the steps as you read the article by opening Gmail in a new window and having both screens side by side.

This process just takes a couple of minutes.

One you are in Gmail Click, on the settings menu in the upper right corner of the screen as you see in the photo below:

In the next window, you want to choose “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” as you see in the depiction below:

At this window, you only need to do one thing…and then you are done. Didn’t we tell you this was an easy process?

Look at the portion of the screen where it says IMAP access and select the choice that says, “Enable IMAP” as you see in the photo below:

To complete the process, simply click the “Save Changes” button and you are all done!

Enabling IMAP in Gmail: Summary

As you can see, it is very easy to learn How To Enable IMAP in Gmail. This simple process provides great benefits to you as a user of Gmail: It allows you to access your Gmail account from your favorite email client like Microsoft Outlook. This saves you lots of time because you do not have to continually switch applications to see all of your various email accounts.

This article is part of our How To Google series where you can find many great articles including How to make money with Google Adsense!