The Old Shoebox Newsletter

We all struggle with hardware, software, monitors and other problems on a daily basis. Come here for common sense help, tips, instructions, a smile and a little encouragement.

Share newsletters with family friends for their personal use. Newsletters are not released according to a timetable so check back each week. Newsletters come from personal experience. You may link to this site for family History Purposes.

Feedback is always welcome along with questions and suggestions for future newsletter topics.

The Newsletters are in PDF format.

Newsletters

New! Digital Photography in Family History	An Open Letter to You and Your Parents. Someday the photos you have taken will become a significant part of your family history. Learn more about your camera, how to take better photos, and some new features in digital cameras.
New! The Search for the Missing Person	Finally! Solve the Big Mystery. Who is the person missing from all your group photos?
Speed Up Vista	You must read this if you are using a new laptop running Vista. This simple tip will show you how to make your laptop run much faster.
Google's New Candid Camera	Smile! You and your home could be on Google’s candid camera any day now! The next time someone wants directions to your home – send them to Google maps so they can get the map, with directions and a photo.
Backup	Backup - The Sequel. Information to help you backup your family history photos and information.
The Inkjet Money Pit	Your inkjet printer may be quietly eating you out of house and home. This newsletter provides some comparative information and recommendations for ways to save money the next time you print.
Help Your Laptop Battery Last Longer	Most of us never take the battery out of our laptop and usually have the laptop plugged into the AC adapter. Find out how this shortens the life of your battery and what you can do to make the battery last longer.
Take it ALL with you - in your pocket	Next time - Take All Your Photos and Collections With You - But Leave Your Computer Home! Run Heritage Collector from an external drive just like you were using your home computer with all the same information and program functions.
Monitor Cleaning Alert	Careful with that Windex! I ruined the anti-glare coating on my 19 inch monitor with just one little spay! It caused so much damage that I had started pricing a new monitor. Thankfully, after a lot of experimenting, I was able to "refinish" the screen and continue using it. I'll tell you what I discovered and the "solution" was so easy you won't believe it.
Family History Fun For All Ages	Learn some fun and easy ways to make family history interesting for the whole family.
Creating and Sharing Holiday Memories	Special occasions provide an opportunity to remember and share priceless memories. Tips and suggestions will help you get ready and make the most of any important occasion..
Home Computer Repair - Yes You Can!	Replacing a fan or CD/DVD writer may be easier than you think. I supply the steps I followed to replace a fan in my computer.
Converting Printed Pages Into Text Documents	Turn Printed Pages into Text. This newsletter will inform about helpful software that comes with most scanners. It’s called Optical Character Recognition or OCR.
Free Family History Templates	Capture the Memories - Free Family History Templates. Holly Hansen, President of My Ancestors Found, generously gave us permission to share thirteen (13) family history templates and five (5) other helpful files with our users.
BACKUP – Avert Disaster Before it Strikes YOU!	What’s that strange clicking noise coming from my hard drive ? ? ? Do you smell something funny over by the computer ? ? ? Why is it taking so long for my computer to boot up ? ? ? I knew I should have updated my virus program ? ? ? What’s this blue screen with a bunch of geek speak, computer codes and something about scanning my hard drive ? ? ?
Organize and Find Original Photos	*Finally a simple way to organize and find all your original photos, paper documents, and files.* After 10 years of struggling and mumbling with this impossible dream I just stumbled onto an unbelievably simple solution. I can now cross reference my paper photos with my digital photos and find a paper photo in just minutes.
GPS - The Ultimate Toy For Big Kids (Pioneer Soda Pop)	Using a handheld or car GPS to find and catalog family history sites can be loads of fun and educational for the kids. Using a GPS is almost like going on a treasure hunt for adults. I share three GPS stories - Finding my grandfather's dry farm, Grandpa's secret fishin' hole and how to find a springs where you can make an all natural pioneer soda drink that tastes just like 7-Up or Spite. An experience my kids still remember and talk about.
A Family History Time Capsule	Make your own time capsule for future generations to enjoy. We did a little home remodel project, took photos and then turned the story into a time capsule. You can take a sneak peak inside the sealed time capsule to experience our adventure.

Buying a New HP Scanner to Use With Vista? Take Caution!

I recently purchased a new HP scanner to use with my HP laptop running the Vista operating system. The results were costly and very disappointing since I already had a trusty old Epson 2400 that works with Vista! What shall I do with this new "XP" scanner?

New Patent Announcement	It's official. Heritage Collector software changes status from "Patent Pending" to "Patented Software."
Should You Upgrade to Vista? "The good, the bad and the not so good" news	The new Vista operating system has its good and bad points. I'll share my "Vista" experience and then you can decide if it's time to take the plunge. Just remember, if you dive in, you will not be swimming in a heated pool and the lifeguards only yell out warnings in geek speak.
Spring Cleaning Your Computer?	Heat is one of your computer's worst enemies. Over heating can make your computer act erratic or even destroy some of the expensive components inside. Learn what you need to do and why you need to buy some canned air.

Mr. Wizard and the Microphone

Finding a good microphone is difficult unless you pay over a hundred dollars. Here's a little "how to" that shows you how you can make a great lapel microphone for a lot less.

Customer Support - Do's / Don'ts
A Success Story

Some simple suggestions that will help have a better support experience. For example. Call early in the morning. You will spend less time on "eternal hold" and your chances of getting a knowledgeable tech are much better.

Summarized Scanning Tips - One Button Wonders

My summarized notes from the scanning class I teach at various conventions. The results are unbelievable and so simple. No experience required!

Family History and Insurance

It's time to document the valuable items in your home. Make it a family history experience at the same time.

The Magnifier Mouse

Click a little button on your mouse and it will magically enlarge or magnify a portion of the screen. Makes it much easier to enlarge and view photos and documents or anything that is on your display. The only trick is getting the right mouse and I'll tell you how to do that.

The Big Screen Experience - Seeing is Believing!

Here's the excuse you need to use to get your spouse to buy or give you permission to get that new "Big Screen" plasma or rear projection TV. Best of all, it's easy and I'll show you how to hook it up in about 15 minutes.

Buy a New Computer or Tune Up the Old One?

This age old question is explored with some added options you should consider.

Copying E-Mail / Address Book to Another Computer

What to do with your e-mail and address book when you need to move it to the new computer.