Q: What is the difference between muting and blocking someone on Twitter?
A: Mute and Block are ways to better control what you see in your Twitter feed, but they differ in how your account appears to others on the service. Which one you use typically depends on the level of annoyance you are getting from the Twitter user in question.
Invoking the Mute command on an account stops that person’s tweets from appearing in your Twitter timeline, but it does not alert the other user that you have stopped receiving the posts. You still appear in that person’s list of followers. Muting an account can be useful for tuning out political screeds from relatives or employers, ignoring obsessive posts about a topic you do not care about, avoiding spoilers from Game of Thrones and similar situations. You still see mentions and replies made by that person in your Notifications area.
When you use the Block command on an account, you stop following that user and that user cannot follow you. The person is not notified of your move but can see the blocked status on your Twitter profile page. You do not get notifications when the blocked account mentions you, nor can the blocked account do things like send you direct messages. Blocking an account is often a way to deal with focused harassment on Twitter.
Twitter also includes a Report command under the menu button on individual tweets and account profile pages. That option should be used for violations and intrusions like abusive behaviour, harmful content and account impersonation. You can also use it to contact Twitter concerning suicide threats. The site’s online Help Centre has a guide for reporting specific types of violations, including spam.
Getting rid Of QuickTime
Q: Is it true that QuickTime for Windows may lead to a PC virus? If so, can I get rid of QuickTime?
A: After noting that “new versions of Windows since 2009 have included support for the key media formats,” Apple retired the Windows version of QuickTime 7 multimedia software this year. QuickTime for Apple’s OS X operating system is still supported.
With Apple no longer providing security updates to fix holes in its Windows QuickTime code, computers running the software could be at risk. The security software company Trend Micro issued a warning this month describing two “critical vulnerabilities” in QuickTime for Windows and advised users to uninstall Apple’s abandoned program immediately. The Department of Homeland Security posted a warning based on Trend Micro’s findings, and also recommends that PC owners remove QuickTime from their systems.
Odds are that many users may not even notice the software is gone once it is removed, but some programs for Windows still rely on QuickTime’s ability to handle certain audio and video formats. Adobe is one company that posted a warning to users of its photo- and video-editing programs that removing QuickTime would cause problems with using those applications; Adobe says it is working to improve the situation. If you rely on a program that may use QuickTime, check with the company that makes it for updates and solutions.
You can remove the QuickTime software from your Windows system with the usual methods for uninstalling programs. For example, from the Start Menu’s Programs or Apps list, open the QuickTime folder and choose Uninstall QuickTime; you can also use the Search box to look for “Uninstall QuickTime.” And you can pry the program off your PC with Microsoft’s built-in tools in the Settings or Control Panel for removing programs in Windows 7 and Windows 10.
Syncing a computer and Android devices
Q: Is there any desktop program that allows you to enter data on a PC and synchronize it with multiple Android devices? I tried Palm Desktop and it doesn’t work very well.
A: If you are using Google’s personal information management apps for Android - namely Gmail, Google Contacts and Google Calendar - your data should sync to the phone and the tablet automatically when you enter information into the corresponding areas of Google’s website (Gmail, Contacts and Calendar) in your computer’s browser. The information you enter on your computer synchronizes to your Android devices over a network connection.
Likewise, new contacts and calendar events you enter on your mobile devices sync back to your desktop and can be viewed in the Web browser when you are logged into the same Google Account you use with the phone and tablet.
Some of Google’s other apps can also sync data wirelessly with your computer’s equivalents. For example, you can sync your bookmarks from the desktop version of Google Chrome to the Android edition. Documents and files you store online with the cloud-based Google Drive service also sync online, and you can get to them through the Google Drive app for Android. (Third-party apps like Autosync Google Drive can even help make syncing easier and automatic.)
If you prefer not to use Google’s apps, solutions from other developers can also work. CompanionLink is one company that sells software for syncing Palm Desktop or Microsoft Outlook data to Android devices over a Wi-Fi or USB cable connection. Another option, the MyPhone Explorer Client app, works over a local Wi-Fi, USB or Bluetooth connection to sync data from Microsoft Office and other programs to an Android device; the PC on the other end needs to be running the MyPhone Explorer desktop software.
You can also use one program as a personal information manager and another for syncing photos, videos and other files between the computer and mobile devices. Online file-storage sites like Amazon Cloud Drive, Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive are just some of the services that have Android apps and a good chunk of free server space.
Putting a face to an iPhone name
Q: How do I add a photo to someone’s address file in my iPhone’s Contacts app?
A: Open the Contacts app on your iPhone and scroll through the list until you find the person you want to use. Tap the person’s name to open the contact file and then tap the Edit button in the upper-right corner of the screen. Tap the Add Photo link next to the person’s name.
A menu appears giving you the choice of Take Photo or Choose Photo. If you are with the contact in question at the moment, tap Take Photo to call up the iPhone’s camera and snap a picture to use right there. Or select Choose Photo to go to the iPhone’s Photos app, where you can browse for a suitable image.
After you tap a picture to use with the contact, you can move and scale the image by pinching, zooming and dragging your fingers on the screen so the subject’s face is prominently displayed in the profile photo area. When you are satisfied with the position of the photo, tap Choose to add it to the contact file.
If you later want to delete or change the photo for that contact, call up the file again and tap the Edit button in the corner. Next, tap the smaller Edit button under the photo to get to a menu of options like Take Photo, Choose Photo, Edit Photo or Delete Photo.
