Simple Ways to Train Your Employees About the Latest Technology

Whether you’re in a corporate environment or own your own expanding business, figuring out the simple but effective ways to train your staff on technology and its upgrades can make or break your company or business.

Unfortunately, many corporate professionals still believe that when they received their diploma at school, their education was complete. How far from the truth this can be because learning is a never ending process and the only true constant in this world is change. Because of the advances in technology, particularly with business related ones, staying current is crucial. A business depends on its employees remaining up to date with technology to stay ahead or at least keep pace.

The difficulty lies in continually ensuring that your team is well trained on the technology, devices, and software they’re using, because:

• Old technology can hamper team members’ work and cost business countless hours of productivity.

• Outdated software is a large security threat. Your system is only as strong as the weakest link in your chain.

• Appearing uninformed about new devices or software may discourage potential clients and customers.

Know when to train

Say, for instance, that you choose to change from desktop computers to tablets. While Sam may be familiar with the mobile device, James may not be. Don’t assume that all employees will grasp a new system immediately. If each individual doesn’t fully understand how to use the technology, even if it’s just an upgrade to a platform your business is already using, you may run the risk of depleted productivity and morale.

Start with the team leaders

As you prepare to launch new software or any technology that affects your employees, consider training a select group of members first. Once they’ve been trained, they can coach their respective teams. Training the leaders first is an efficient technique for passing on information, as well as a great way to encourage collaboration. It also prevents a solitary instructor from becoming overwhelmed with requests and questions.

Try online training

Many small businesses actually exist exclusively online, with team members in different continents, countries, or states. For such a business, in-person training would be wildly expensive and time-consuming. Online coaching is a powerful alternative. Aside from their easy accessibility, online training sites can offer asynchronous timing. Freeing your staff from fixed timelines can allow team members in varied locations around the country or around the world to each learn at their own pace.

Allow employees to experiment with the new tools and software

Most of us take new cars for test drives before we buy them. So why not let your team members experiment with new software or technology before using it in full for the business? If you’re rolling out a new device or program, allot your staff a week to practice with the new tool and solidify their lessons. Ensure that a well-trained team member is handy to answer the questions that will naturally arise.

Instantly Turn On Your Android Device Without Pressing Any Buttons

Are you tired of turning your phone on or off every time you pick it out of your pocket or pick it up from the table? Wouldn't it be great if your phone automatically turns on whenever you pick it up? If you want your phone to do just that, you need to have an app called the Gravity Screen Off.

By using your phone's sensors (position and proximity), this app can detect the movements you make when you put your phone in your pocket and automatically blocks them. It also knows when you take your phone out and automatically lights up. This app can be very useful when your Lock button is about to break.

Pocket Sensor

When you start the app for the first time, the first option you'll see is the Pocket sensor. This feature recognizes that you have your phone in your pocket. If you turn your phone below the angle you have set up, your phone will turn off. You can get an angle as high as 90 degrees and as low as 0. Once you have the angle you want, click on the box that says Any Direction (Flip Cover). If you want to change the angle, you need to unselect this option before the app lets you make any changes.

Table Sensor

The lying face up option does exactly what its name says it does. By choosing this option, your phone will automatically turn off when you put it on a flat surface up. If in case you want to change the angle of the table sensor, you will need to unselect the Any Direction (Flip Cover) option.

Proximity Sensor

In this part of the settings, you will only find two options: Turn Screen Off and On by Proximity. This is a great feature since you can activate the screen by just swiping your hand over the proximity sensor.

Turn Screen On by Motion

Here you will see a variety of options such as turning on your device when it's moved or is facing upward. The choice does warn the user that this feature may not be supported by all devices, and if that is the case with you, you can always use the proximity way to turn your device's screen on.

There's a Timeout feature that allows you to set a time interval so you can limit the time the device can be woken by motion. The free version of the app only lets you set it as high as 15 minutes or as low as 0 minutes.

In Sensitivity, it would be a good idea if you set it as low as possible because this will avoid you from accidentally turning on your phone various times throughout the day. That's only going to drain your battery anyway. You can set the sensitivity to as high as 100 and as low as 0. There are no restrictions here like in the Timeout feature.

If you hate it when your phone screen automatically turns on while it's in your pocket, then you may want to consider using the False Turn-On Protection in Pocket feature. The app does warn you that you should only use this feature if Turn Screen On by Motion is set correctly and works for you.

Keep Screen On by Motion

When this feature is enabled, you will prolong the timeout of your screen without touching it. It's able to keep the screen on by detecting small movements, making everything easier for you. This feature also lets you set the sensitivity from 0 to 100. If you activate the Booster option, the feature will have a quicker response time.

Be careful though -- if you turn the screen off by pressing the Power button, this feature is going to interfere and turn the screen back on. Having the screen turn back on by itself can be very annoying. That's why it's recommended to enable the Power Button Support, which can be found in the More Settings section.

Gravity Screen Off offers other features such as headphone support, running during a call, vibration, disable lock screen, and notifications. The large amount of options is just what we need in an app -- so go ahead and try the Gravity Screen Off app now.

Options You Can Consider When Customizing and Building Your Own Computer

Purchasing your computer, whether for home or office use, straight out of the box isn’t the only option available to you when you’re doing your window shopping. Consider the advantages and educational values of putting together your own computer or at least customizing most of its major parts so that the time and effort you need to invest in the project is rewarded through its many benefits.

You Save More Money

You really save more money by building or customizing your own computer rather than buying a pre-assembled model because you can focus on the features you do need and leave out the ones that you don’t. Computer manufacturers and retailers often include the cost of assembly, support, and other overheads in the total price of a finished computer. When you build your own, you only have to pay the cost of the components. The amount you can save depends on the type of components you’ll be using and buying, but it can be up to several hundred dollars.

Tailoring Means Choosing Options that Only You Can Consider

When you choose to build your own PC, you can tailor it to your exact requirements rather than relying on the fixed configuration choices of pre-assembled models. There are actually a lot of things and options to consider in tailoring the PC to your needs. Perhaps you want a few extras built in like a TV tuner card; or perhaps you want to increase the CPU and RAM capabilities. If you choose to increase your RAM capability, consider the best buy for an 8GB kit that includes two 4GB sticks of RAM; 8GB, at 1600MHz. You can also choose how large your monitor needs to be or even hang it on the wall at sight level rather than having it on the table. You may even decide to use several hard drives or graphics cards in your system. You can also choose to add more fans or select quieter fans to cool down your PC, thus, increasing its performance and lifespan. You can even shop around for unique PC casing designs or improve your sound system. Take note that in all your options and customizations, do invest in a good power supply unit.

You can choose all these without being restricted by the specification options set by a manufacturer or retailer. All of the above are options you can consider that ultimately leads your PC to its…

Potential for Further Upgrade

In building your own PC or selecting what options to customize will leave a lot of room for future upgrades, which is good news for your PC’s future lifespan as well. Not only can you plan ahead and buy a motherboard capable of expansion, you’ll also be much more at an advantage when it comes to buying better and more powerful components after a period of 3 to 4 years. Whether it’s buying a motherboard capable of running the latest line of CPU’s or buying a PSU with spare capacity, building your own PC means you can future-proof it should an upgrade become available or necessary. This also increases the lifespan of your computer to a few more years.

If you decide to become serious at building your own PC but you’re still a bit novice, here are a couple of guides that can help you start on your way.

You can check these resources to help you with your computer build.

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/diy-your-own-pc/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ORXEXovI6s

Things You Should Avoid to Prevent Your Computer from Slowing Down Over Time

One of the biggest computer annoyances that happens to any owner/users is when the machine starts to slow down over time. This usually happens years after you get a PC or laptop. Since we use our computers for different task and activities at work or at home, the slowing down process is basically the same with any type or model concerned. When a new computer is bought and first booted up, it naturally works lightning fast, and this is because it doesn't have anything on it. As you download files. install programs, and surf the Internet over time, the computer gets bloated with files that hog your computer's system resources.

There is no definite and single main cause why a computer slows down over time; it can be a series of major causes that can happen within  a spanning period of time.

Using two or more antivirus software or anti-malware programs
To put it simply, having two or more antivirus or anti-malware programs can greatly slow down your computer and some may actually get in conflict with each other and damage the computer's operating system. Also, the first line of defense against viruses, malware, and spyware should be Safe Browsing. Naturally, if you're downloading shady files, clicking on ad pop-ups, or opening links from unknown emails, you'll greatly increase your chances of getting a computer infection. So practice careful and responsible Internet browsing.

Not using Disk Cleanup at least once a week
At least once a week, you need to clear your cache and temporary Internet files and empty the trash bin by using the Disk Cleanup utility. And while you're at it, clear out your Internet browsing history and then check using the task manager which programs and background services are running at startup that are needed an thus, slowing down your computer. However, be careful an don't clear out the registry thinking this speeds up your computer. Cleaning out the registry may clear out some outdated settings but the registry files are merely in kilobytes, there won't be any noticeable change in your computer's speed.

Allowing your hard drive to become dangerously low on space
If you have allowed your hard drive to become low on space, like say, only having around 2 or 3 gigabytes as free space, then your computer will drastically slow down. Your computer programs need space to dynamically grow in size, usually through the creation of temporary files. If there is no room on the hard drive to store these, you system will crawl. However, if you have more than half the hard drive with free space, your don't need to clear out personal data to speed up the computer. Getting rid of Word documents, photos, videos, and music - no matter how large these files are - have no negligible effect on the computer's speed.

In reality, we need to face the fact that as any computer gets older, it will definitely. slow down. It's a natural progression. As newer hardware, software, Internet, and application capabilities evolve, these new innovations require more space and power. So the user should never be faulted when their once zippy computer is now crawling, unless the user has a habit of dangerously download anything from the web.

Reasons Why Your Computer's Performance May Seem Inconsistent

We sometimes call it lagging or sluggish, but regardless of how it is described, we simply cannot deny that our computer may eventually become slow over time. So, what could be the factors that can negatively impact on a computer’s performance? What should you be looking out for?

In reality, computer performance is very consistent. This is because the computer will always run as fast and as properly as it possibly can, of course, within the constraints of the hardware and software inside the computer. Some programs might run up against one another when it comes to resources. It all depends on what constraint a particular program runs up against.

Compared to their counterparts as far back as the turn of the 21^st century, today’s modern computers are amazingly fast. The only thing that they may run into and can’t keep up with is the human expectation that what’s already fast, may not be fast enough for them.

So here are some possibilities for any inconsistent computer performance:

You don’t have enough RAM or some other resource – perhaps when you bought your computer, you didn't ask if the specifications are good enough for the kind of work you need to do. For example, your computers only have 2MB of memory, when you need is at least 4MB of computer memory to properly run your online ticketing business. Little things like this may be overlooked.

Too many programs are running and taking a lot of resources – probably the most common mistake many people make, and they start thinking that their hardware is slowing down and needs repair. For instance, many web professionals open too many websites all at once that slows down the browser and memory. Another problem is having two or three antivirus programs running all at the same time when all you need is one. Antivirus programs may be very resource intensive.

It may be your network that’s slow, not the computer – you may think that it’s your computer that’s being slow, but there is also a possibility that it’s your network that’s running slow. This happens when you notice that your web pages take a long time to open.

Admit it, your computer might be old – unwittingly, you might just have realized that your computer is almost 10 years old and you’re trying to run newer software that exceeds the capabilities of the old computer.

You might have a computer virus – this occurs if you don’t have an antivirus program or you don’t regularly update your antivirus program. If your computer does have a computer virus infecting your files and programs on your system, this will definitely slow down the computer.

You might have some configuration or setup issues – if you suspect such, or see no reason to suspect anything else, perhaps you might want a tech support to check out your computer.

Some Habits that Can Make Your Computer Run Better and Protect It Online and Physically As Well

It’s been proven that bad habits can be made worse by technology. So, instead of getting used to these bad habits, and invite bad things that may happen to your computer, you can use technology to break these bad habits and create good habits. When you get used to these good habits, you'll soon see the results of a computer that runs better and protecting it both from online attacks and physical deterioration.

Never leave equipment in plain sight

This is one habit you should practice, because very often, people have the bad habit of leaving their computers in plain sight while taking their coffee orders or going to the bathroom. It doesn't take long for someone at a nearby table or near the window to react to the temptation and snatch up your laptop. This is a non-techy and no brainer habit that will keep your hard-earned computer safe.

Not cleaning your equipment

Here’s another non-techy no brainer for you; always get in the habit of cleaning your computer, especially your laptop, at least once every 6 months. Dust and grime is the worst enemy of computers because it will prevent the fans inside to function properly, heating up the inside, clog optical-drive mechanisms and other moving parts, and will cause internal damage.

Always back up data

Notice that the first and second tips are non-techy and practical, since most tips given are technical in nature. Now, this one is the most ignored until something happens to the computer, and after the crash, you wish you had backed up your important files. Get into the habit of backing up your data; you can use cloud-storage systems, or do it physically by using external disks, adding another hard disk to your PC, or burning your data onto CD’s or DVD’s.

Using different passwords and frequently changing passwords

Here’s a habit that can't be emphasized enough; in this age of hacking and identity thieves, you need to get into the habit of having different passwords for every online account you have, including social media sites. Not only that, the passwords need to be really hard to hack; your birthday or wedding anniversary just won't cut it because these can be easily figured out. Also, change your passwords at least every 6 months.

Never fail to update

Software updates are released and very important because it’s a way for developers to add features, fixes bugs, and plug security holes. More importantly, operating system and security software updates keep equipment stable and secure. Even if updates are automatic, you still need to reboot. Rebooting is also important because it refreshes the system while properly reflecting everything that was installed or updated.

Don’t open up or respond to spam

Make it a habit to go over your spam folder and delete everything without opening or responding to anything. This is where the most viruses and malware hide, and when you open the links or respond to the spam, you leave your computer open to cyber-attacks.

If you follow these good habits, you'll not only prevent your equipment from being attacked or hacked, but you’ll extend their lifespan as well.

Common Types of Errors That Can Cause Your Computer to Crash

A crashing computer usually occurs when the hard disk drive fails to function properly and information stored on your computer can no longer be accessed. This can be fatal, especially if the information that needs to be accessed is from the operating system. Hard disk failures that lead to crashes for a number of reasons can range from hardware life expectancy to human error.

Not using a proper UPS

Electricity is not a steady and uninterruptible supply because it can be disrupted by power surges, power fluctuations, electrical storms, and power outages. A sudden shut down due to a power cut can damage the hard disks and later cause the computer to crash. Consider investing in an UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) as this will give you a few minutes to properly shut down should electrical power be suddenly cut.

Allowing for Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old, it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. Another cause of overheating through human error is by not allowing enough air flow around the CPU, particularly at the back portion where air is sucked in to cool the CPU and the hot air is blown out. One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU.

Software

A common cause of a computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. To avoid this problem, properly install any software by strictly following its installation instructions.

Printers

Not many people are aware that human error caused by printers can cause a computer to crash. The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file. This is called a postscript file. Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer, which can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer’s performance. If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognized, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up using a cold boot will restore the printer's default settings.

Viruses

Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. The human error here is when the user doesn’t install an anti-virus or anti-malware software, or if the software isn't updated regularly.

Computer crashes can destroy your hard disk drive in an instant, and recovery of important information may be difficult. Backing up your data, and using simple preventive techniques can save you from the headache of a hard drive crash.

Make Your iOS Device Feel New Again the Easy Way

At last, Spring has finally arrived! Aside from the superb weather, warm nights, and great walks in the park, Spring is also a perfect time for getting preppy to make your house spic and span. So, are you almost done with your spring cleaning chores? Before you give out a big YES, why not give your ol' iOS device a spring cleaning of its own. If you want to give it a shot, read on to find out how these super easy changes can make your iOS device feel refreshed and loved again.

It doesn't take much time and muscle to make your device look and feel brand new. All you need is a few simple tweaks -- it can be as simple as setting a new wallpaper or changing the way your icons look on your Home screen.

Resetting the Home Screen Layout

It's about time to re-organize your apps to give your Home screen a fresh start. The easiest solution to this is to reset the home screen layout of your device to factory settings. Don't worry because this won't actually delete any of your apps, instead they will be placed in random places on your screen. This means all your years of hard work of organizing and segregating your apps in their respective folders will all be gone. To reset your device's home screen layout, go to Settings then tap General. Now scroll to the bottom of the list, then tap Reset. Now, look for the Reset Home Screen Layout option, then tap on it.

When you go back to your Home screen, you'll find your apps in a great, big mess.

Reset Device Settings

Now if you really want to get down and dirty, you can completely reset all of the current settings of your device, leaving all apps and accounts still in place. Resetting its settings will give you a chance to revisit your personal preferences, and then start fresh.

On your device, go to Settings, then General, and then tap Reset. Tap the Reset All Settings option and you will be asked to enter your device's passcode (if you have any)in order to proceed. Doing this procedure will revert all your settings to factory defaults, but still leaving all your data and media intact. Be careful of the options that you select, especially the Erase All Content and Settings option, as this will erase everything from your device including your photos, videos, messages, and apps.

Delete Unwanted Apps

Since your iOS device's home screen layout has been reset and you need to organize your apps from scratch, this is the perfect time to ponder and decide whether you still need a certain app or not. Over time, you have downloaded tons of apps and realized that most of them are already useless (or shall we say "unamusing"). Remove these unnecessary apps to minimize the clutter on your Home screen. Simply tap and hold the icon of the app that you want to get rid of, and then wait for it to jiggle along with the other icons. Tap the x button of the app, then confirm the prompt to completely remove it from your device.

Free Some Space

Another part of giving your device a good spring cleaning is to free it from old and unwanted files such as photos, video clips, and MP3 files. Another good way to free up some space is to sync your device to iCloud or iTunes, and then proceed in clearing up your Camera Roll section.

Also, if your device still have those old TV episodes, movies, or music files that you're no longer watching or listening to, remove them. Unless they're a lifetime favorite, which you'll never get tired of watching over and over again, these data are just wasting your device's precious memory. Go to Settings, tap General and then tap Usage where you can see the apps that are eating up most of your device's storage space. Tap the app listing to view the top app files that are currently hogging space.

Tips on How to Save Printer Ink

Do you ever experience running out of ink cartridges quickly? With the fast-paced technology today, printers are becoming more and more affordable. However, it's strange how people still spend so much money on ink. There are several vendors that allow their customers to purchase ink that are cheaper than its original version. Still, there's another way to cut your ink expenses and that is through conservation. The amount of ink that you save may not be noticeable at first, but if you'll sum it up over the years, you can really see the difference on how much you've saved.

If you have heard the famous three R's in saving our environment -- Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, saving money on ink also has its own version -- Recycling, Refilling, and Reducing. There have been companies that offer cash or discounts for used, empty ink cartridges provided by the original printer manufacturer. Another way that you can add up to the established three R's in saving ink is to reuse your old cartridge by purchasing refill kits instead of buying a new one. Not only do you save money, you also help the environment -- a definite win-win situation.

When saving your printer ink, the key is to reduce the amount of total ink you use. Read on to find out how to save your precious ink, therefore, saving money in the long run.

Tip #1: Use Economy Mode

Most printer models provide an option where you can select Economy or Draft mode if you go to the properties section of your printer. By selecting this mode, you will get a slightly lighter, less precise quality, but it will surely save ink. This option is ideal if you're simply printing a draft or a document such as an informal letter, which does not need to be of very high quality. You can also benefit from using the economy mode because your document will print faster and will dry quicker.

Tip #2: Check Your Document Before Printing

It has been a standard operating procedure to check first your documents for any typo error before hitting the Print button. If you miss to overlook this process, there's a great chance of seeing corrections way too late because your printer is already working on its task. If your document is just one to two pages long, it won't harm to read its contents for a few minutes to make sure that there are no spelling, grammar, or formatting corrections missed. For documents that are few pages long, Microsoft Word has a spelling checker feature that you can run to make a quick scan your documents for spelling errors. Re-printing the same document simply because you did not double check your document is a big waste of ink.

Tip #3: Don't Be Shy to Sway It

When you get a warning message from your printer telling you that the ink is running low, don't panic yet. Chances are, you have 10-30% ink left on the cartridge. So what do you need to do? Remove the ink cartridge from the printer, then slowly sway it from side to side, and then reinsert it. This way, the remaining ink will be redistributed in the cartridge and will let you print a few more pages. You can even repeat this process more than once to completely max out your ink. So the rule here is to keep on printing until your printer stops doing so.

Tip #4: Do Not Turn Off Your Printer While in Mid-Cycle

Make it a point not to switch off your printer until it completes its cycle. Turning off the printer while the cartridge is still moving will force the printer's head to stop in the exact place where you turned it off. Doing so may cause the printer nozzle to dry out and the ink to leak.

Tip #5: Leave Your Printer On

If you're planning to use your printer again soon, it's recommended to leave it on than to switch it off and then on again repeatedly. This is because you printer uses a bit of ink every time it goes through initialization phase when you turn it on.

Tip #6: Print in Black-only Mode Whenever Possible

If you will be printing a black and white document, and your printer has both black and colored cartridges, make it a habit to change your printer's properties to the black-only mode. This is because some printers automatically mix some of its color cartridge with the black one in order to print a plain black and white document. If you never change the printer properties to black-only mode, there's still a possibility that your color cartridge will still run out even if you never printed a colored document.

Tip #7: Try Using an Ink Saving Software

There are a number of companies out there that produce ink saving software, which can be downloaded from the Internet for free. Such programs are developed with the goal of optimizing your printer's data so that your printer uses less ink even while printing at high resolution.

These ink saving tips are pretty straightforward and easy to do, and can surely save you more money. Now, you don't need to muscle your way through a tight budget due to ink crisis.

Best Kindle Fire HD Tips and Tricks

You will find hundreds of Kindle Fire HD tips and tricks out there. There are even books that showcases these tips and tricks. To help you out, we have compiled the best tips and tricks for getting the most out of your Kindle Fire HD.

Best Kindle Fire HD Tips and Tricks

1. Access the Hidden Camera App

The front facing camera of the Kindle Fire HD is intended for video calls using Skype. However, there isn't an obvious way for it to be used in taking pictures or recording videos. Here's how you can access the hidden Camera app and use it to take pictures, videos, and panoramic shots:

STEP 1: Install ES File Explorer to your Kindle Fire HD. You can also use other apps to find hidden files under Amazon’s customized Android 4.0.

STEP 2: Open ES File Explorer and tap the AppMgr menu at the top.

STEP 3: Tap the Category menu.

STEP 4: When the Select types window appears, tap System apps.

STEP 5: From the list of system apps, tap the Camera icon, and then tap Open.

2. Install YouTube on Kindle Fire HD

STEP 1: Set your Kindle Fire HD to side load apps.

STEP 2: Swipe down on the Home screen, then tap More, and then tap Device.

STEP 3: Set Allow Installation of Applications to On.

STEP 4: Download the youtube.apk file to your computer.

STEP 5: Connect your Kindle Fire HD to your computer.

STEP 6: When AutoPlay opens, click Open device to view files. You can also open it in Computer.

STEP 7: Go to the Download folder and copy the youtube.apk file to it.

STEP 8: Using the ES File Explorer, open the Download folder.

STEP 9: Tap the YouTube icon and follow the on screen instructions to install it.

Once installed, you will see the YouTube icon among your apps unlike the hidden Camera app.

3. Get Rid of Annoying Ads

Amazon was able to subsidize the cost of Kindle Fire HD by displaying full ads on the Lock Screen and text ads inside its interface. If you are not a fan of these ads, you can get rid of them by unsubscribing the Special Offerssection from your online Amazon account. Just be aware that deactivating these ads would require you to pay a one-time charge of $15.

STEP 1: Login to your Amazon account.

STEP 2: Go to You Account, then go to Manage Your Kindle, then select Manage Your Device.

STEP 3: Select your Kindle Fire HD, then look for Special Offers, and then set it to Unsubscribe.

If you want to deactivate the ads displayed in your carousel view, go to your tablet's Settings, then on the Main menu tap More, then Applications. Go to Amazon Home Recommendations, and then select Hide.

4. Lock Screen Password

Your credit card is tied to your Amazon account so you can easily purchase contents for your tablet. And since your tablet is tied with your Amazon account, ergo, your credit card as well, it is a must that you protect your information and other sensitive data. You can do this by enabling Lock Screen Password to secure your tablet.

STEP 1: On the Home screen, swipe from the top of the screen down to bring up the notifications screen, then tap More.

STEP 2: Under Settings, tap Security.

STEP 3: Look for Lock Screen Password and set it to On.

STEP 4: Enter a numeric PIN code twice. It needs to be at least 4 digits.

STEP 5: Tap Done.

5. Set Up Your Email Account

Even if the Kindle Fire HD is intended to be used as a media consumption device, you can still be productive by setting up your email account on it.

STEP 1: On the Home screen, tap Apps.

STEP 2: Tap the Device button, then tap the E-mail icon.

STEP 3:  Tap the email service provider for the account you want to add.

STEP 4: Enter your E-mail address, Password, and Description on the fields provided.

STEP 5: You will receive a message telling you that you might have to pay for a premium or Plus subscription to get POP access to your email. Click OK.

STEP 6: Once your account and password is verified, you will be able to view your Inbox, go into your account settings, or add another account.

6. Connect a Bluetooth Keyboard for Faster Typing

If the onscreen keyboard is not doing much for you, you can connect a Bluetooth keyboard to your Kindle Fire HD for faster and easier typing.

STEP 1: Turn on your keyboard and press the Connect button. Each Bluetooth keyboard varies so you can check its documentation on how to turn it on.

STEP 2: On your tablet's Home screen, swipe from the top of the screen down, then tap More.

STEP 3: Under Settings, tap Wireless, and then tap Bluetooth.

STEP 4: Look for Enable Bluetooth and tap On. Your Kindle Fire HD will now start searching for available devices.

STEP 5: Once you see your Bluetooth keyboard under Available devices, tap on it.

STEP 6: When you see the Pairing Request screen with a 4-digit code, enter the code on the keyboard, then tap Enter.

7. Set Google as Default Search Engine

Bing in the Silk browser is the default search engine in Kindle Fire HD since Amazon partnered with Microsoft. However, if you prefer Google as your default search engine, you can do that easily by following these steps:

STEP 1: From the Home screen, tap Web.

STEP 2: Open a webpage, then click the menu icon, and then tap Settings.

STEP 3: Under Silk Settings, tap Search engine, and then tap Google from the list.

8. Add Music Files From Your Computer

STEP 1: Connect the Kindle Fire HD to your computer.

STEP 2: When AutoPlay opens, click Open device to view files. You can also open it in Computer.

STEP 3: Open the Music folder and transfer your music files from your computer’s hard drive or network drive to your Kindle Fire HD.

STEP 4: After the music files have been transferred, unplug the Kindle Fire HD from the computer.

STEP 5: From the tablet's Home screen, tap Music.

STEP 6:  Tap the Device button and the songs or album you want to listen to.

9. Restore to Factory Settings

If you have decided to sell or gift your Kindle Fire HD, it is no question that you will want to reset it to factory default. Factory Reset will erase all data stored on your tablet, so it is recommended to do a back up before doing it.

STEP 1: From the Home screen, swipe from the top of the screen down to display the notifications, then tap More.

STEP 2: Under Settings, tap Device.

STEP 3: Under Device, tap Reset to Factory Defaults.

STEP 4: Finally, tap Erase Everything and wait for the process to complete. This will erase all your data and reboot your tablet to how it was fresh out of the box.