August 2009

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Here are some free tools that helped me save money and work smarter during college.

Share class notes with Google Docs

Google Docs is like having Microsoft Word in your email account.  Once you sign up, you have access to a word processor and spreadsheet application that can import and export files to and from Microsoft and Open Document formats.  It doesn’t have all the features of Microsoft Office, but it’s good enough for most of the writing you’ll have to do during college.  Best of all, you can give your friends access and editing privileges for your documents, enabling easy sharing of class notes and study guides, and efficient collaboration on projects.

A few years ago, getting notes for a class I missed meant I had to set up a time to meet, and either copy by hand or find a copy machine.  Now, if I’m getting notes from a colleague who uses Google Docs, sharing notes with me takes 30 seconds and a couple of mouse clicks.

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Update 8/26: DialCentral now seems to be fixed.  Mine is, at least.  If yours is still broken, check out the link below for more information.  You might have to manually change a file in order to fix it.

More information here: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=312525#post312525

—Original Post—

If you are running DialCentral on your Nokia N810, you need to be aware of this:

The latest version of DialCentral has some bugs that cause the program to not work properly.  The developer is working on a fix.

For now, if your N810 asks you to install updates for DialCentral, don’t allow it or it will break the program.

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With school starting in a week or two, the blogosphere is filling with posts offering advice for students starting or returning to college.  As a recent graduate and (nearly) straight-A student, I feel qualified to offer my own advice and debunk what I regard as some of the myths of college success.

Disclaimer: This post is intended for people who are smart, responsible, and organized.  If you are majoring in beer and the opposite sex, this advice is not for you.  You need to read college advice written by people who will tell you to put your nose to the grindstone and never let up.

Myth Number 1: Never miss a class

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A reader emailed me with a question about my tutorial for using the Nokia N810 as a wifi phone with Google Voice and Gizmo.

I am not very techie, but I can usually read and follow directions.
Somehow, I managed to mess this up. Everything was fine until I got to
the Dial Central forwarding phone section at the very end. Will you
please write out explicitly what the “forwarding phone” number is
supposed to be? Google Voice? or The SIP number from Gizmo or something
else entirely?

Thanks So Much For A Great Post,

Q

Dear Q,

I reread my tutorial, and I can see how you might have become confused.  I’ll try to clarify:

Forwarding Phone: This refers to any phone number that you set your Google Voice number to forward to.  This is the same as a Callback Number in DialCentral.  You can add forwarding phones by signing into your Google Voice account at http://google.com/voice, clicking “Settings” then “Phones.”

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I previously wrote about using Gizmo Voice to integrate your Gizmo and Google Voice accounts for free incoming and outgoing calls.  Unfortunately, Gizmo voice is no longer completely free.  Incoming calls are still free, as before.  Outgoing domestic calls are free during the first three minutes, after which you will be charged $0.02 per minute.

You can still make free calls by using the Google Voice web interface or DialCentral on your N810.  In Google Voice, click “Call” in the upper left.  Enter the phone number you want to call.  Under “Phone to Ring,” select which of your forwarding phones you want to use for the call.  Google Voice will ring that phone.  When you answer, it will ring the number you are calling.  Gizmo will consider this an incoming call, so you will not be charged.

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