Readers’ Tips
TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT
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Why I stopped using...
25 May – 7 June 2022 • Issue 632Tell us why you stopped using a website, app
or program: [email protected]Analyse your text for common words
common words (‘and’, ‘the’ etc)
and top non-common words are.
I dislike long sentences, so I
always look at the ‘longest
sentence’ number, and the average
sentence length. It even tells you
how many vowels and consonants
you’ve used, though I’ve yet to find
a specific purpose for this.
If you want to make some quick
‘find and replace’ changes, you simply
need to return to the top of the page and
enter the words in question (^1 in our
screenshot). If I then need to paste it backI write several newsletters for various
clubs and like to make sure they’re
written in good English. I perform the
usual grammar checks in Word, but I
also paste the text into the Computer
Hope site because it provides a more
comprehensive analysis.
To see what I mean, visit http://www.
snipca.com/41837 then paste your
words into the box. Now click Submit
at the bottom and you’ll see a list of
statistics. As well as details you’d
expect (number of words and
characters), it tells you what the topinto Word, I simply click the
‘Copy above text to the
clipboard’ button^2.
Derek BurtonWEBSITE
Book GP appointments and
order prescriptions
Regarding Tony Brown’s problems
signing into the NHS website (Issue
630, page 65), there is an alternative for
ordering prescriptions and booking GP
appointments which doesn’t require use
of a mobile number.
He should try the SystmOnline service
(www.snipca.com/41835), run by TPP. He
will have to register with his GP, who’ll
provide a username and password. I’ve
been using this system for several years
without any problems.
Richard GuthrieMAPS
Blur your home in Street View
Reading the ‘What’s All the Fuss
About?’ on Apple’s Look Aroundmapping tool (Issue 630, page 49), I
noticed you mentioned that it lets you
blur the image of your house. It reminded
me that I’d been meaning to do that in
Google Street View, so I finally got round
to it.
If you want to do likewise, visit http://www.
google.co.uk/maps then search for your
address at the top left. Now drag the
yellow person icon from the bottom right
on to the pin icon on the map, and rotate
the view so it’s looking at your home.
Now click the small ‘Report a problem’
link at the bottom right, and move the
red square over the property you want to
blur (^1 in our screenshot above right).
Next, select ‘My home’^2 under ‘What
would you like us to blur?’, and add some
text explaining it’s for privacy reasons.
Adding your email address and typing
the CAPTCHA finishes the job. It tookabout a week for the blurring to be
applied.
Ted StapletonHARDWARE
Sell old cables and leads on eBay
Before ditching your old cables (see
Issue 629, page 60), try selling
them on eBay. I recently sold some cables,
adapters and extension leads for oldApple iCloud
When Apple launched iCloud in
2011 it offered 5GB storage for
free. That seemed generous at the time,
but it hasn’t increased one bit since. It
now feels far too low for modern usage.And what I use instead...
I read that pCloud (www.pcloud.com)
offered only 2GB for free, but that you
could increase this by performing
various ‘tasks’. Downloading the appand saving a file gives you 7GB (already
beating iCloud). On top of that you get
1GB for every person who signs up after
you recommend it to them. Within three
weeks I had reached the maximum 10GB
for free.
It took me a while to get to grips with it
after using iCloud for so long, but things
improved last year when it added right-
click options to the online interface (see
http://www.snipca.com/41838, and screenshot).
Keith TaylorDerek wins a copy of our 2020 Back Issue CD Buy it on Amazon http://www.snipca.com/381642
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