Gmail Quick Fix

Emails should be easy to use.

There are little things that can be irritating, not catastrophic, but still frustrating. It’s the kind of issue where you expect a simple solution but can’t figure out how to fix it.

1. The Left Sidebar Collapses Unexpectedly

What happened? I was replying to an email and clicked "Compose," then suddenly, without warning, the left sidebar expanded. I didn’t even realize it was possible for the menu to unfold like that.

Solution:

To restore the left sidebar to its original state, simply click the 'three-line' icon (also known as the hamburger menu) next to the Gmail logo.

2. Archive Confusion

Personally, I don't fully understand the purpose of the 'Archive' function. I often mistake it for the 'Move to Folder' option. Both icons look similar, with the only distinction being the arrow symbol. This similarity can be confusing, especially when you're trying to organize emails quickly.

When this happens, I lose track of where the archived email goes. According to Google, it's located in the 'All Mail' folder on the left sidebar.

However, finding the 'All Mail' folder can be a hassle. It's not immediately visible on the sidebar; you have to scroll down and click 'More' (the arrow-down icon) to reveal additional options. Once you do, the 'All Mail' folder will appear.

Archive or Move To?

When organizing emails, I prefer using the 'Move To' option over 'Archive.' Why?

Using 'Move To' is much more convenient. It lets you send an email directly into a specific folder you’ve created. To access it later, you simply click on that folder—quick and straightforward.

In contrast, retrieving an archived email is more complicated. First, you need to make the 'All Mail' folder visible. Then, open the archived email and click the 'Move To' button to transfer it back to the Inbox. (By default, the 'Move To' button in 'All Mail' is set to Inbox.) This extra step makes archiving unnecessarily cumbersome.

The Digital Companion

Click to get 40% Off on Echodot

When the kids have grown up and flown the nest, it's eerie how much you miss the chaos: their endless questions, unmade beds, loud music, and the inevitable pile of unwashed dishes in the sink. When the house is spotless but filled with a lifeless stillness, that's when you realize that noise is better than silence. Suddenly, even the repetitive questions and constant complaints seem comforting—because at least someone was there to answer when you spoke.

For a fraction of the cost of your children’s whims, an artificial intelligence gadget can bridge the gap between silence and social connection.  

A smart speaker offers more than just functionality; it can provide a sense of verbal companionship. With the knowledge of a thousand geniuses, it answers nearly all your questions, plays your favorite music, and can even pull up the tunes your kids loved—just say something like, "Play music for teenagers in the '90s." While it won’t do the dishes, it can help you order a dishwasher or even your favorite takeaway meal. Folding laundry? Alexa can’t lend a hand, but she’ll play “folding clothes” music to keep you entertained (yes, that’s a thing). It can handle countless digital tasks to keep you busy and stave off boredom.  

Still, part of me wishes there was a way to tweak its artificial intelligence—maybe to mimic a three-year-old or even an endearingly clueless personality. Imagine the fun of dealing with a bit of mischief or a "dumb" response every now and then, just to keep life interesting!  

This version streamlines your ideas, maintains a conversational tone, and strengthens the impact of your humor and insights.

The Cloud and the Chromebook

See popular
Chromebook products

It seems like everything is moving to the cloud. Emails, CDs, DVDs, programs, apps, and even money have successfully transitioned into virtual existence, making their physical forms increasingly optional. Who needs real money anymore when it can be lost or stolen physically? Well, I still do—but handling physical cash often comes with its own headaches, like counterfeit bills and human error. The digital form of things promises convenience and fewer mistakes. Or is that just an excuse to justify humanity's growing reliance on impersonal systems?

Cloud computing has been around for years, revolutionizing the way we use technology. It has driven prices down, much like it did with laptops. Programs, applications, and security are now centralized, eliminating the need for physical discs or concerns about compatibility with your device. This shift has also led to sleeker, lighter devices with improved battery performance—devices can now last 8 hours or more, thanks to fewer components consuming power. It’s hard not to see the benefits.

The backbone of this cloud revolution is high-speed wireless internet. With its increased capacity to handle megabytes of data per second, even modest devices can perform tasks that once required powerful local hardware. This advancement has allowed companies to create faster, more secure, and more affordable devices—a win for consumers.

Take the Chromebook, for example, an all-cloud computing solution steadily gaining ground in a market dominated by Windows and iOS. Although still a "David" compared to these "Goliaths," the Chromebook’s popularity is growing, especially among students and budget-conscious users. Its low cost doesn’t mean compromising performance or reliability. It simplifies the user experience—no need to buy additional software or security programs. With apps

How to Reduce Image File Size in Chromebook

I use free blogging platforms, which come with restricted data storage. To stay within these limits, I need to reduce every file to its smallest possible size. On top of that, I use a Chromebook, which has limited storage and application capabilities—unless you’re willing to spend extra on cloud storage or external memory drives.  

To manage image sizes, I use the Chromebook’s native **Gallery** application. It’s easy to use: simply click on the photo you want to resize, and it will automatically open in the **Gallery** app. From there, you can adjust the file size to make it suitable for your storage and blogging needs.  

This method is a straightforward way to optimize images without requiring additional software or tools.

In this example, I am going to reduce the file size of "walking with a stick" with 2.5MB size into a manageable chunk for my blog.

In the **Gallery** app, click the **Re-scale** button to display the image’s width and height settings.  

Make sure the height and width ratio is locked before adjusting the values. Once you're satisfied with the size, click "Save As" if you want to keep the original photo, or simply click "Save" to overwrite the existing image with the resized version.

The image has been reduced from 2.5MB to just 288KB. This smaller file size makes it easier to upload and allows my blog's limited storage to accommodate more files.

How to Save Google Docs in Your Chromebooks' Drive

It's so easy in Windows. Once you're done, just click "Save", or use "Save As" to choose a location on your computer. The work is done—no hassle.

However, in Google Docs on a Chromebook, I find it a bit tricky. By default, it saves to Google Drive, meaning the file is stored in the cloud. Imagine that! Anyone with the link could access it, or it might even appear in a Google search.

To save a file to your Chromebook’s physical drive, go to the File menu, select "Download", and choose the file format you want to save it as (for example, .docx).

Then, navigate to the desired location under My Files (notice Google Drive is listed below). Name your file and click Save.

You need to download a Gmail document because it’s created virtually in the cloud, using an application that’s hosted online. Perhaps you could bypass this by setting the document to be available offline? I’m not sure yet, but I plan to experiment with it at another time.

Improving Chromebook's DIsplay

I’m starting to like my Chromebook. It’s fast and hasn’t disappointed me so far, especially since I mostly use it for browsing the web and watching Netflix. However, the monitor does have a limited viewing angle, and the colors can appear washed out. Given that this device cost me less than £150, I can’t expect too much, but I did make a few tweaks to improve the experience. First, I went to Settings, then Device, and selected Display. I moved the display size slider to 85% to reduce the magnification, which in turn allows the screen to display more pixels. I also enabled Nightlight and adjusted the slider to the right for a warmer tone. The result? A much more pleasant picture overall.

Chromebook Can't Go Online

This is my first time using a Chromebook. Straight out of the box, I plugged in the charger, and the device powered on automatically—no need to press any button. Since it requires an internet connection to work, I tried connecting it to my phone’s hotspot. The connection was established without any issue. However, when I opened the Chrome browser, it showed that I wasn’t connected to the internet. I clicked the Diagnose button, which confirmed that the device was connected to the hotspot, but it still indicated that it wasn’t connected to the internet.

 

 

A window popped up offering me the option to use the Chromebook as a guest. I clicked it, and the Chrome browser successfully connected to the internet. The issue with the guest account, however, is that it doesn't allow me to download or save anything. I then realized that I hadn't set up a proper account yet, so I restarted the device. When it powered back on, it prompted me to log in to my Google account. I assume this is part of the process for setting up an administrator account. After entering my Gmail and password, the device was ready to use and could access the internet. What confuses me is how I was able to log in when the device wasn’t connected to the internet at that time. Or maybe I just forgot that I did it earlier? Can anyone help clarify this for me?

Minding the Pennies

In today’s climate, with prices rising on everything, we need to be mindful of every penny leaving our pocket. A penny saved here and there might not seem significant at first, but over time, they can really add up.

You might think we already have plenty of ways to save—store loyalty cards for groceries, vouchers for electronics, and discounts on certain days. So what more can we do to save even more?

The answer: Cashbacks.

Cashback companies reward us with cash when we shop at online stores they’re affiliated with. For example, a cashback company might be partnered with the grocery store where we already have a loyalty card. When we shop there, not only do we earn loyalty points from the store, but we also get cash back from the cashback company. It’s that simple—you get your usual perks, plus extra cash.

So, how much cash are we talking about?

It depends on the product you purchase and the cashback company you use. Below are some examples of what you can earn when you complete a purchase.

There are many more companies that reward our buying habits, including mobile phone providers, auction sites like eBay, supermarkets, airlines, pizza takeaways, and more.

To see a full list of companies that offer cashback for your purchases, click here!

Measuring Distance in Google Maps

Now that I use Google Maps frequently whenever I’m heading somewhere, I've started discovering functions by accident. These are simple features that can be really useful, especially when you're walking to your destination.

One of these features is the ability to measure the distance between two points. Interestingly, the ‘Measure Distance’ option doesn’t appear when the device is online, so you’ll need to turn off Wi-Fi or mobile data to use this feature.

Here’s how to do it:

Open Google Maps and zoom in for better accuracy.

Drop a pin at your starting point by tapping lightly on the screen to activate the red location pin.

From there, you can continue measuring the distance to your destination!

Notice the ‘measure distance’ menu appear when offline. When online, the menu is not available.

Tap the ‘measure distance’ to anchor the dropped pin to the starting point.

At this point, you can either go back online or stay offline.

Next, drag the map towards your destination and position the movable target circle over the location. You’ll see the distance between the two points displayed in the lower-left corner of the screen, for example, 0.383 mi.

This is the distance when travelled in straight line but it would be different in real situation when you follow the road or use different roads. 

Here’s how to road map it. 

Whilst dragging the map, place the first turn to the road you choose then tap the ‘plus button’ to anchor the first turning point. 

Continue doing that every time you encounter a turn or a bend, until you reach the destination. If you make a mistake, just tap the ‘back’ arrow button at the top.

The measurement is expectedly increased to 0.522 mi as the road map follows one of the roads rather than a straight line. The more presses of the ‘plus’ sign makes the measurement more accurate.

If you know how to initiate ‘measure distance’ whilst online, please share it at the comments box. Thanks.

Bus Blues

I can no longer afford to own a car, and it’s been years since I last drove one. So, I leave the driving to my chauffeur—the bus driver.

The beauty of having someone else drive you around is that you can do anything—enjoy the view, read a magazine, play games, talk on the phone, or even doze off. And you don’t have to worry about getting a parking fine or, worse, ending up in A&E. Although, not waking up at all would be a bigger concern!

Public transport saves you time and money on parking fees and eliminates the forehead-creasing stress of finding a parking spot.

Thanks to Google Maps and data providers, it’s now easier than ever to find which bus to take and how to connect to your destination. Everywhere is just a tap away.

I see people doing exactly that—tapping away at their phones while at the bus station, on the bus, and even while on the move. It’s dangerous when their focus is entirely on their device instead of the potential hazards around them. I used to do the same, collecting near-misses and “I’m sorry” moments.

I decided to change my approach and find a better way. Waking up the phone, entering the passcode, and finding the right route takes time and full attention.

So, I started using a quicker method—taking a screenshot of the route information. This way, I can easily access the details and keep track of my journey’s progress.

Of course, this still requires waking up the phone, entering the passcode, and scrolling through screenshots. So, I decided to try an “old school” method.

I use Google Maps to look up the details of my destination. To streamline the search, I set it to show only buses, which are cheaper than most other forms of transport.

By default, Google Maps shows all available transport options. Simply tap on the ones you don’t need to exclude them from your search.

I choose the ‘arrive by’ option in the query, as I find it to be a better choice for planning my journey.

I wrote down the relevant details on a sticky note, including the station name, bus number, and arrival times from the station to the connecting stop. I also included the stop IDs, all the way to the final destination.

Then, I stuck the note on the inside of my phone’s protective transparent cover.

Now, every time I need to review my route, I just flip my phone around to check my progress.

Old school can look pretty cool when you’re flipping your phone to check your route, while others are still waking up their phones, entering their passcodes, scrolling through photos, or searching the internet for route information.

Being Practical

Is it really necessary to replace our mobile phones with the latest model as soon as a new one is released? I can already sense those who can afford it nodding their heads. There’s nothing wrong with that, but is it ethical?

There’s an old saying, “Don’t fix it if it’s not broken.” So why replace it, or in marketing terms, “upgrade”?

People are naturally drawn to new things. A few tweaks to the camera or some added features in a new phone can make people stand in long queues to get the latest model. Marketing power words like XL, HD, 5G, or even "vegan-friendly" have conditioned consumers to think they need the newest version.

 I remember many years ago, there was a concept for a modular phone. The idea was that individual components like the camera, Bluetooth, NFC, and so on could be added or upgraded, just like pieces of a Lego set. If a new camera was released, you could simply remove the old camera block and replace it with the new one. If a new feature came out, you could just find an empty block and fit it in. This concept was similar to how computers used to be, especially when they were primarily tower models.

Why didn’t this idea take off? Although it was a good concept, it turned out to be a bit of a hassle. Consumers don’t like complicated things—they prefer to buy, open, and use without too much effort.

There’s not much incentive to keep your old phone, aside from the obvious benefit of saving money for something else. The sad reality is that operating system providers eventually stop supporting older versions, and compatibility issues with new technology arise after about 4 years.

One possible solution could be for mobile and data providers to set up a “decreasing tariff” for customers who continue using their old phones. This would help reduce electronic waste. It may be bad for the companies, but it could be a positive choice for consumers. So why not consider providers that offer second-hand units, like Music Magpie, Envirofone, Giffgaff, or Voxi with refurbished phones? These often come with lower rental fees.

It might not be appealing to everyone, but this small change can save money and be friendlier to the planet. After all, phones are primarily made for calling, anyway.