Facebook Info and Google Tips

Facebook is revealing more information about what they track across the Internet, and they also have options available to control how they track you. Their new tool is called “Off-Facebook Activity,” and you can find it under “Settings” then “Your Facebook Information.” You can even cut down on future tracking, but all that really does is limit whether Facebook will combine data from third-party sites with what they already know about you from your Facebook activity.

Here’s a tip for being better understood on phone calls. As the phone’s microphone is very sensitive to the direction of sound, you should try to keep it at the same distance and position relative to your mouth. Maybe anchoring your thumb on your jawline will help keep your phone from moving around so much as you move your head around. Or consider using a headset, Bluetooth or corded phone to avoid muffling your voice.

If you need a distraction and are curious about what is trending in Google searches, check out trends.google.com. You can see what others are looking for, either now or in the past, here and in other countries. For more fun, explore how the interest in certain terms has changed over time.

On Google Maps, you (and others) can create collaborative maps, something that might be handy when planning a group vacation or local tour. Start at maps.google.com and sign in to your account. Then use the “hamburger” menu icon (the three horizontal lines) to get to Your Places, then Maps, where you can click on Create Map. After working through what you want to add, don’t forget to share the map (choose between view-only or edit modes).

Google Earth View (earthview.withgoogle.com) has added a thousand new satellite images that can be downloaded for you to use as your desktop background on any computer. While browsing the Earth View Gallery, you can click the Download Wallpaper option, which appears in the top right corner of each image when you hover your mouse there.

Facebook is revealing more information about what they track across the Internet, and they also have options available to control how they track you. Their new tool is called “Off-Facebook Activity,” and you can find it under “Settings” then “Your Facebook Information.” You can even cut down on future tracking, but all that really does is limit whether Facebook will combine data from third-party sites with what they already know about you from your Facebook activity.

Here’s a tip for being better understood on phone calls. As the phone’s microphone is very sensitive to the direction of sound, you should try to keep it at the same distance and position relative to your mouth. Maybe anchoring your thumb on your jawline will help keep your phone from moving around so much as you move your head around. Or consider using a headset, Bluetooth or corded phone to avoid muffling your voice.

If you need a distraction and are curious about what is trending in Google searches, check out trends.google.com. You can see what others are looking for, either now or in the past, here and in other countries. For more fun, explore how the interest in certain terms has changed over time.

On Google Maps, you (and others) can create collaborative maps, something that might be handy when planning a group vacation or local tour. Start at maps.google.com and sign in to your account. Then use the “hamburger” menu icon (the three horizontal lines) to get to Your Places, then Maps, where you can click on Create Map. After working through what you want to add, don’t forget to share the map (choose between view-only or edit modes).

Google Earth View (earthview.withgoogle.com) has added a thousand new satellite images that can be downloaded for you to use as your desktop background on any computer. While browsing the Earth View Gallery, you can click the Download Wallpaper option, which appears in the top right corner of each image when you hover your mouse there.

If you need to save or print out a list of installed programs in Windows, you can use Geek Uninstaller (geekuninstaller.com). It’s also a useful tool to uninstall software in a more complete way than the official uninstaller might or if you’re having trouble with the official uninstaller.