Computer 101 – Where are my iPhone pictures?

Janis Weber

How many years have you been taking photos and movies on your iPhone? Have they filled up the storage on your device? Yes! The images are on your phone and hopefully you have activated the free iCloud storage in the settings app on your phone. Apple gives you five megabytes of free storage, which accommodates maybe a thousand photos. However, as your files grow you can pay a fee to store more. Join the millions that pay only 99 cents a month for 50 megs of storage. Great! But, if you have been taking pictures for years you may have thousand of pictures. No problem, you can pay $5 for 500 megabytes. You may have an iPad with photos on it too. Every image taken from day one can be stored in the iCloud. By now most of us are paying something.

You can empty your photos and movies from the iCloud by logging in with your Apple ID and password. The Gallery is there sorted by date. Yup, all of them. Download them and save to a flash drive, AKA thumb drive. Make sure that drive has enough room to hold all your treasures. Plus, you can add to it anytime.

If you want to stop paying for access to all your stuff, you can then strop paying for the cloud storage. I like having access to all my pictures and I can show them anytime to people I want to share with. My only wish is to have the 99 cents to $5 that each person is paying. I would be rich, huh? Don’t forget I am teaching all about iPhones at the Sylvania Senior Center October 18 and 19.

Free document creation software

We all love Microsoft Word and its capabilities but sometimes the cost is just too much, especially if you are not required to use it. Google Docs has pretty much the same features. You will need a Google email address (you don’t even need to use it) to access the software. No big deal. Did you know everything you write in Word is totally usable in Google Docs and vice versa? The main thing you need to understand is that Google Docs generated in this online software stays online unless you manually download it to your computer. This is good news because you will have access to your documents on your phone or any other computer in the world by just logging in to your Gmail account.

If you already have a Gmail account, go to your email page. On the far right there are nine dots in a block. Click on that and scroll down until you see the term Google Docs. Click on the app and start looking around at the software. Notice the templates and the blank sheet.

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Don’t forget I am teaching Google Docs at the Sylvania Senior Center November 15 and 16. If you would like to learn more about this topic, please join me those days.

I make house calls (I am fully vaccinated and masked if requested)

I will come to your home or office and help you with almost any predicament including repairs, upgrades, and personal software tutoring. I can be your resident “geek.” I have an endless amount of patience and knowledge with years of experience. Give me a text or call at 419-290-3570. FYI, I will be holding classes at the Sylvania Senior Center beginning in October. Check its website for details.

Definition of the day

A computer DOCUMENT is a file created by a software application. While the term “document” originally referred specifically to word processor documents, it is now used to refer to all types of saved files. Therefore, documents may contain text, images, audio, video, and other types of data. It has universal uses.

BACK UP YOUR COMPUTER’S DATA TODAY – Critical action!

Janis Weber, B.A., owner of Ohio Computer Training & Support, is a professional computer adjunct instructor. E-mail any specific questions or comments to JwPCtutor@Gmail.com or contact her for assistance at 419-290-3570. Private tutoring and repairs are just a phone call, text, or email away.

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