There are times when you may want to capture what is currently being shown on your iPad's screen. That’s easy to do on an iPad.

Simply press the Home button and then the Sleep/Wake button simultaneously. When you hear a click, the screenshot has been taken. You can then go to the photos gallery to see all of your captured screenshots.

The big difference between Android and the iOS is the fact that, on an Android device, you can play Flash videos. There are times however when this seeming advantage can be a disadvantage as Flash (such as Flash ads) can slow down your browsing experience or even crash your browser. There is a solution.

You can turn off Flash if you choose to. Simply go to your Browser's Settings by pressing on the Menu/Options button, then go to Advanced and change 'Enable plug-ins' setting from "Always on" to "On demand." Flash applications will now appear as an arrow that you must touch to start.

If you own an Android phone, you can use it as a substitute for an external drive or a USB key. You can load files into your phone simply by plugging it in to a PC with a USB cable, then tapping on “Mount” when you are prompted by the system.

This mounts the internal storage of the device as an external drive relative to the PC, and you can easily drag and drop files or create folders on the device as you see fit. Of course, it is recommended you do this on the SDCard that likely came with the device, or one that you buy for your phone.

Written by Jeremy Renken, Remote Support Specialist for Data Network Group.

Ditch your clunky, oversized, alignment wreaking wallet for the latest piece of our everyday lives tied to our phones. “Wallet” from Google allows you to store your credit cards on Android devices. The NFC or Near Field Communications chip embedded into your smart phone will give people the ability to “swipe” the smart phone at registers and at the pump.
Unfortunately for now only one phone, the new Nexus for Sprint, has this capability and only compatible with MasterCard’s issued by Citibank. Since options are limited the phone does come with a prepaid card you can load. Don’t fret Apple fan boys and girls, rumor has it they are developing the technology as well as Intuit and PayPal. Credit Card companies are excited because it supposedly cuts down on credit card fraud, which also helps the consumer. If you have not gotten into the smart phone market yet you might want to take a good, long look at the future of credit card payment. I do wonder though if your driver’s license will also be available on the phone.

Written by Dillon Johnson, Field Service Technician for Data Network Group.

There are certainly a few similarities between your Android powered phone and your computer, one of the biggest being maintenance. Over time you will find that your Android phone will slow down and become less responsive while performing small tasks like switching between applications or opening an email. A great way to remedy the issue and improve performance is to perform some manual cleanup steps using the native phone settings and a few helpful applications.

1. One of the most helpful apps that I have found over the past year and a half of owning an Android phone is “DiskUsage”. This application can take a little bit to get used to but it can be used to clear unneeded data from most of your Android apps. This app can be downloaded for free from the Android Market and when opened will ask if you would like to view data within App Storage, or the Storage Card. When cleaning to improve performance, you will want to concentrate on the App Storage. It will then scan all of the directories on your phone and provide a visual layout of the used space. This interface can be somewhat cumbersome and expands as you scroll, though it does display all of the installed apps and disk usage on the phone itself. Try to locate larger applications and touch the box that the application text appears in to highlight it. Then press the menu button, followed by the “Show” button. You will then be able to clear the temporary data from the application. It is important to note that this will remove some customized options within some apps that you choose to clear data from.
2. Another helpful app that can be used is a Task Killing app. There are several free versions of these in the Android Market and can be used to stop unneeded applications from running in the background.
3. Delete old text messages.
4. Set your email settings to synchronize only the needed time period of email. For instance, set your email settings to sync the past two weeks instead of 1 month.
5. Power cycle your phone at least once a week.
6. Remove/Uninstall unneeded applications by accessing your Settings menu, Applications, and then Manage Applications.
7. Using the same Manage Applications menu, move any applicable applications to the SD card instead of keeping them on the phone or App Storage. Please note that some applications cannot be moved to the SD card.

If you are using Windows Gadgets (or those small mini-applications that are embedded on your desktop that show interesting things like the latest news, weather updates, or sports scores), you may sometimes wish you can just quickly hide them to declutter your workspace.

In Windows 7, you can do just that. Simply right-click on the desktop, go to View, and then clear the check mark on Show desktop gadgets. This will hide the gadgets. If you want to bring them back, just restore the check mark again.

Have you ever sent an email and then immediately regretted sending it? If you are using Gmail as your mail client, you can do just that with an interesting but buried option in Gmail settings.

To enable this feature, go to Mail Settings in Gmail (upper right corner, under the gear icon). Navigate to the "Labs" tab. In the labs search box, look for "Undo Send" and choose Enable, then save. Now in Mail Settings you will see an option to "Undo Send: Send cancellation period: __ seconds." Enter the number of seconds that Gmail will allow you to change your mind in the future (try 10 seconds).

With this enabled, the next time you send an email, you’ll be able to “Cancel” it from being sent out, as long as it is within the time frame you specified.

Do you prefer Bing over Google but like Google's sparse but fast loading page better? With this tip you can get the best of both worlds.

As users of Bing know, when you visit the home page of Bing, a page with a featured photo as the background is displayed by default, which increases the load time of the page. This can be distracting or annoying—especially if you have a slow connection. Disable this photo from loading by simply bookmarking this URL (http://www.bing.com/?rb=0). The next time you visit Bing, the photo will not appear.

by Glenn Wilson, Senior Field Engineer for Data Network Group.

If you or someone you know is in the market for a new computer, then here are some helpful tips for what to look for as you shop.

1. Mind the Upgrades: Most computers offered in stores today are sold pretty much as-is, but a few box stores may offer some tempting upgrades.  Be sure to know which upgrades you might need before you arrive at the store, or you may find yourself buying an unnecessary extra component.  Most computers sold off the shelf are already configured with the average consumer in mind, but if you intend to use the new computer for gaming or even editing or producing your own home movies then you may have need for more memory or a better video card.  Search for those components online before going to the stores and you will have a better idea of the costs involved and whether or not the store is offering a good price for the upgrade or not.
2. Consider the Extended Warranty: Most extended warranties are sold as profit generators by the stores and for this reason have a pretty bad reputation among consumers.  But if you are spending more than $500 on a computer system, then a $50 or $75 extended warranty may be a wise investment.  If you are buying direct from the manufacturer then you may find their extended warranties to be a good bargain in order to secure maximum use of your investment over a 3 year period.  Be wary of store warranties as they may save themselves some money by placing most of the burden for the repairs on the consumer.  Ask questions if you are unsure and try to make the decision based on the replacement cost.
3. Make Sure the Computer Meets your Connectivity Needs:  If you plan to connect this computer to your TV or if you want to connect your camera or external devices to your new computer, then make sure you know what ports should be on the new computer.  All models should have plenty of USB 2 or even USB 3 ports.  If you need to connect to a TV find out if your TV needs a standard VGA connection or if it supports the HDMI connections supported on modern high-definition televisions.  Some external hard drives have the capability of using e-SATA for higher transfer speeds than standard USB drives.  And don’t forget to check the port placement on the new computer.  If that port you really need is only available on the back of the computer then you will need to be aware of this when you put the computer into its new home.

Be Careful of the Upgrade Treadmill:  If you’re a savvy consumer, you know that today’s top-of-the-line PC will be tomorrow’s budget box–and that you’ll be able to get the latest dream machine on the cheap, if you wait just a little bit longer.  Prices will inevitably drop, and upper-end performance will continue to improve. But if you persist in waiting for a mythical sweet spot to appear, you may end up stuck on hold indefinitely. Though you should certainly keep potential sales and price cuts in mind, your best bet is to decide exactly what you need, pick your acceptable price range, and go for it.

Did you know that on iOS5 on the iPad, you can actually split the keyboard into two? This can be useful for typing with your thumbs if you are holding the iPad with both hands.

To do so, press and hold the keyboard icon on the on-screen keyboard. An option will appear, allowing you to split the keyboard into two. Alternatively you can drag the keyboard icon up across the screen until the keyboard splits up. Still another way is to simply put two fingers around the center of the keyboard and simultaneously drag them apart in a splitting motion.