Question: Kristin says, "At work I have a contacts application in Microsoft Access that I want to share with my coworkers, but I don't want them to accidentally mess it up. What do you recommend?"
Answer: Great question, Kristin. Microsoft Access is a wonderful program that lets you do tons of stuff with your data, but you have to have Microsoft Office Professional in order to use it. If that's your case, I recommend splitting your database into two parts, and there's a wizard that can do this for you. With your application split up, the data can be stored on a central computer that everyone can see, and you can put the part with the forms and reports on each person's computer. That part can be tailored for each user according to what they need. In the end, you get a more efficient application. We'll have a link in the show notes to Microsoft Office training that you can take online.
Cool Site: Cakesy: My birthday was yesterday, and people can't always be where the folks they care about are for the celebrations of their lives. We've seen lots of websites that let you send eCards, but Cakesy is a site that lets you send a virtual cake to your friend. You go to the site, and choose one of 4 different cakes. Next, you type two lines that express your wishes for the occasion. Choose the kind of frosting that cakesy will use to write your wish on the cake. Click the Bake My Cake button and cakesy will create a picture of your cake, complete with personalized greeting. Each virtual cake has its own web address. You can deliver that virtual cake via Twitter or Facebook, or you can copy the web address and send it as an email link, either as an image, or as a web page. It's free and there are no calories in a virtual cake-so have all you want.
Cool Gadget: Sun and Moon Jars: After last week's gadget came from ThinkGeek, I decided to go back there to see what I could find for this week. I found some jars. But these aren't just any old jars. No, these jars are lights. They're solar powered, so you can teach your kids about practical uses of solar energy. During the day, the jars store up power in built-in batteries. When it gets dark, a sensor turns the light on. The light is about night-light brightness, and that’s what it's for. You can choose a sun light, which is yellow, a moon light, which is blue, or a pink moon light. The website says this light is pink, but it looks purple in the picture. They run about $30. They require direct sunlight to charge the batteries, but the fact that they are in a frosted, enclosed jar, means that they are all-weather. The frosted glass diffuses the light, so these lights give off a gentle glow that can be used to illuminate a dark hallway, a kid's bedroom, or a garden path. There's a switch inside the lid that lets you turn the light off and override the sensor, but otherwise, there are no controls visible at all.
It's All "Geek" To Me: Edutainment: This week's word is a combination word. It's edutainment. It refers to software that both educates and entertains at the same time. A lot of software whose target audience is kids falls into this category. Software like the Reader Rabbit series, Math Blasters, and Oregon Trail entertains while it teaches; but it doesn't stop at software: TV shows like Sesame Street, and radio shows like Adventures in Odyssey also fall into this category.
