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Make multiple phone calls using Gmail

Those of you who use or want to try out Gmail's voice calling feature to make phone calls can now set up multiple calls at the same time.

Unveiled almost a year ago, Gmail's phone call feature lets you make calls to other Gmail users as well as to regular cell phones and landlines. Calls to the U.S. and Canada are free, while calls abroad typically cost a few pennies per minute. The feature even includes video chatting.

Until now, you could only make one phone call at a time. But in a recent update to the … Read more

How to easily maintain secure passwords on your Android device

Knowledge is power, but it's also only the first step--we need to act on what we know. We eat our greens, try to exercise a few days every week, and floss between meals, but too few of us bother with secure passwords (to say nothing of changing them regularly). We know we ought to do so, but it's a pain. Ease the pain of keeping your Android device secure with a few simple tricks. Here's how to get started:

Since you likely use the same passwords on your computer, start by downloading the Password Hasher extension … Read more

Control who can view your Facebook photos

One of Facebook's best features is sharing photos with family and friends. But indiscriminate sharing of personal photos can be dangerous. Facebook encourages its users to share with everyone, and most of the service's default settings make the information you share available to anyone who stumbles upon your profile.

To manage who can access your Facebook account, click Account in the top-right corner and choose Privacy Settings to view your current settings for sharing in nine categories. The option to let friends of people tagged in your photos view the images is selected by default.

It may be … Read more

Commenting rules: Stay on topic, lay off the ads, watch for spam

Anybody who writes about technology on the Web owes a debt of gratitude to the knowledgeable readers who comment on our posts. Sometimes the comments are more informative than the original post, and they often lead to topics for future posts.

You might think I would object to the negative comments, but I learn more from the critiques than I do from the praises, so please keep the complaints coming. Many CNET readers are serious gearheads, and some of them will always know more about the topic of a particular post than I do. I sincerely appreciate these readers sharing … Read more

How to disable Facebook chat alerts

Facebook is heavily distracting with pictures and games--add in chat messages and you'll be spending more time on the site than you originally intended. This is usually because every time someone sends you a message, an alert sound plays to notify you of its presence. Not only that, but the title bar of your browser will start displaying that they have messaged you. Here are three quick steps to turning off the alert sound, or disabling chat completely if you choose to do so:

Step 1: Login to your Facebook account.

Step 2: Locate your chat window. … Read more

Five distraction-free text editors for Google Chrome

With the Web having so many interesting things to look at, it can be difficult to get work done. Since you can already use Google Chrome to check your e-mail, the weather, and news stories, why not try to get some work done in it, too? Here's a serving of five distraction-free (and free in cost) text editors available in the Chrome Web Store that you can use right inside of your browser, yet still save your work for later.

Write Space

This app offers that blank slate you often hear about. Working offline is no problem, … Read more

How to delete your YouTube account

If you have multiple Gmail accounts, chances are you also have multiple YouTube accounts as well. This isn't very convenient when you're making favorite playlists, or uploading videos and have to keep paying attention to which account you're logged into. Now that you've moved the majority of your favorites, playlists and content to your other account, you might want to tie up some loose ends by removing the one you aren't using anymore. Follow these quick steps to completely remove a YouTube account and all of its related information:

Step 1: Log in to your&… Read more

How to get automatic notifications of new album releases and shows

Last.fm is a great online music service that can deliver high-quality themed stations or just quietly pay attention to that you listen to and then suggest more music you might like. They are also open to third-party developers building apps to build on their service and data to create a much richer music experience. For music lovers who don't have time to scan listings or press releases, there are two great Web apps that can keep you informed of upcoming concerts and album releases from the artists you've listened to online. Here's how to get … Read more

How to get automatic updates to Craigslist search results

Craigslist evokes much of what's best about the internet: free, simple communication accessible by everyone. It's democratized sales and keeps paid sites honest (and, to be sure, has contributed to the long, slow death of print media). Still, as with many popular sites, it can be hard to keep up with, especially for those of us who monitor several different areas. It's easy to get updates through RSS, though, and well worth the tiny effort it takes. Here's how you do it:

If you already use an RSS reader, skip ahead to step 2. … Read more

How to use iPhoto to share on Flickr

iPhoto makes sharing photos on Flickr a snap. The process is so simple, in large part, because there isn't a great deal of functionality built into iPhoto's Flickr integration beyond the capability to upload photos. True, you can also delete photos on Flickr from within iPhoto, and you can add a title and a description in iPhoto before or after a photo is uploaded that will appear on Flickr. And there is two-way syncing, so if you move photos among your various sets on Flickr, those changes are reflected in iPhoto. Let's take a quick look at the Flickr sharing options in iPhoto, starting with the first step of linking iPhoto to your Flickr account.