New Website Launch: RightChoiceCounseling.com

Right Choice CounselingRight Choice Counseling consults college bound students and their families in the Washington D.C. area as they face the challenges of the college selection and application process.

Click here to see the new site!

Posted in Web Design, Website Launch

Easy Image Resizing

image resizingWhen you email a photo, you’ll want to reduce the size of the file since large digital images can take a long time to view or download and potentially be too large for someone’s inbox. This can be done in most image editing programs, such as Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, and even Microsoft Office Picture Manager. Here’s a free tool from Microsoft that will let you resize one or more image files with a right click.

This tool only works with Windows XP. For some other fun, free and functional tools from Microsoft, check out these Microsoft Power Toys.

Posted in How to's, Microsoft Tagged ,

Congratulations to the Phillies

phillies world series champions 2008Orbis would like to congratulate the Philadelphia Phillies on their World Series victory – let’s try it again next year!

Posted in General Tagged

Keyboard Shortcuts

keyboardKeyboard shortcuts are a great way to let you work quickly without lifting your hands from the keyboard. Here are some basics that can help you cut down on the number of times you reach for the mouse every day:

CTRL + S: This saves the file that you’re working on.

CTRL + C: Use this to copy text, files, or icons that you’ve highlighted. CTRL + V will paste them where you point your mouse.

CTRL + Z: This is the powerful UNDO shortcut. It undoes your last action. Programs vary in how many actions they’ll let you undo, some will even let you go all the way back to the beginning. (CTRL + Y is the redo shortcut.)

ALT + TAB: This lets you switch between all of your open windows. Hold it down to bring up a system window that shows you what apps are running and which one you’re switching to.

WINDOWS + M: This one minimizes all of the windows that are open on your desktop. To bring everything back up, hit SHIFT + WINDOWS + M

Posted in How to's, Tech News Tagged ,

New Website Launch: ATMOrlando.com

ATM of OrlandoOrbis recently launched a new website for ATM of Orlando, a company that provides free ATM placement and processing to businesses in Central Florida.

Click here to see the new site!

Posted in Web Design, Website Launch

New Critical Microsoft Update

first_aid_boxMicrosoft has released a new critical patch for Windows XP and Windows Server 2000 and 2003 operating systems. This patch fixes a servere bug that would allow a hacker to gain control of your computer system remotely. Be sure to run Windows Update today to ensure you get this important update. Windows Vista is not affected by this problem.

Microsoft Security Bulletin

Posted in Microsoft, Updates

Google search tips

googlelogoGoogle is a great way to search for information on the web, but not everyone knows that you can quickly get specific information with search modifiers. Here are a few ways you can refine your searches:

1. stock: ticker symbol – This will give you stock information as well as links to relevant sites. For example, try typing in “stock: goog” and you’ll get a chart for Google’s stock, including current price and volume, as well links to other sites with relevant information.

2. define: word – This brings up definitions and relevant phrases. For example, if you type “define: megabyte” you’ll learn that it is an amount of computer memory that is approximately one million bytes.

3. conversions – Google has a built in currency converter. For example, if you type “100 USD to GBP” you’ll find out that 100 U.S. dollars is equal to 48.95 British pounds. It also can handle converting common weights and measures, like “100 gallons to liters” or “100 miles to kilometers.”

Posted in How to's Tagged ,

Backing up your data

Life PreserverMost corporate networks have a system for backing up all company data stored on the server. But what about all the personal photos, pictures, and music that are on your home computer? Most people think about backing up their data about 5 minutes after it’s too late to do any good. Make sure you’re not headed for a disaster and give some thought to a system for backing up your personal data.

Fortunately, backing up your data doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming. If you’re using Windows XP, it’s especially easy.

Posted in How to's, Microsoft, Tech News Tagged

Avoiding common online errors

online mistakesClick here for a useful article on 7 common online mistakes, and how to avoid them. Contact Orbis today to update your virus protection.

Posted in General

Google announces their first mobile phone platform

google g1Google has announced their first commercial handset running their own operating system, Android. The phone, named the G1 (aka HTC Dream) will be available on T-Mobile in late October for $179 with a two year contract, but click here to check out the pre-sale.  The phone boasts a 3-inch touchscreen, full QUERTY keypad, 3.1MP camera, comes pre-loaded with Amazon’s MP3 store, in addition to giving you access to YouTube, GPS, and Google’s programs – Gmail, Google Maps, GCalendar, etc. There will also be an online store where a variety of applications can be downloaded, much like Apple’s iPhone mobile App store.

Posted in Tech News