What is the Difference Between a Modem and a Router?

Routers and modems look very similar, a little plastic box with blinking lights, so justifiably many people cannot tell them apart from each other. However, a router and a modem each serve their own purpose, and once you recognize the differences between the two they are fairly easy to understand.

How to Add an Image to Your Gmail Signature

Embedding an Image into Gmail Signature

Not long ago we showed you how to create a signature in your Gmail or Tnetmail accounts. What if you want to add a little pizazz to your signature with an image? The following steps and video show you how to do just that.

1. First be sure that the image you want to insert can be found on a public website.
2. If it cannot, follow the following steps to create a URL for your image:
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Confusing Internet Terms Explained

Words to Know

Internet dialogue gets used every day and can be quite confusing if you do not fully understand what it means. Below are some terms that the Tranquility team most commonly receives questions about and what they mean or  do.

What is that?

• Browser – Common browsers include Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. These programs display websites and allow you to access and retrieve information from the Internet.
• URL (Uniform Resource Locator) – Also known as your web address, web browsers use this formatted text string as a shortcut to locate websites in the World Wide Web.
• Address Bar – Located in the upper portion of the browser, this is where you type the URL address for websites. The address bar also displays the website you are currently visiting.
  

  This is an example of an address bar.

• Search Engine – This is the term for resources like Google, Bing, and Yahoo that scan the Internet using keywords entered into a search box. The search engine then finds and displays web pages that contain or are related to those keywords.
• OS (Operating System) – Common examples of an OS are Windows 8 for PC and iOS7 for the iPhone. Basically, the OS is a software program responsible for allowing communication between the computer hardware and the software. A computer and the programs installed on it are essentially useless without an OS.

Still Confused?

No need to fret if you still do not understand or if you have other questions! Just give Tranquility a call today and they can help you with any concerns you may have.

 

How To Create an Email Signature

Setting Up an Email Signature on Gmail

Gmail and Tnetmail offer you the option to have a default signature that places itself at the end of all your sent emails. The following steps and video explain how to create and customize this signature.

1. When logged into your Gmail, click on the settings gear in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
2. Click on “Settings” in the drop down box.
3. Go to the “General” tab and scroll down to “Signature.” Highlight the bubble next to your name and email address. Make sure the desired email account is displayed.
4. Type your signature into the text field. You should at least include your email and phone number. Usually, you will also want to include your company name, job title, and web address. Your address and a fax number may also be helpful depending on your business.
5. If you would like to hyperlink your web address, simply highlight the address and then click the link button on the formatting bar at the top of the text field.
6. You can edit the font of your signature with the options in the formatting bar. Gmail gives you a limited number of font types to choose from because these fonts are compatible on any computer and with any email service.
7. Then check the box below the text field to make sure your signature will be inserted before quoted text in replies.
8. When you are all finished, scroll down and click on “Save Changes” at the bottom of the settings page.

Keep on the lookout for a video on how to upload and insert an image into your Gmail signature in the near future.

Adding a signature to your Tnetmail account is done in the exact same fashion as Gmail. If you are interested in using Tnetmail, contact Tranquility for information.

Flat Branch Home Loans: Taking Internet and Design to the Next Level.

A Business on a Mission

The Flat Branch mission is clear: quality, impeccable, local, full service. A business aiming to be the best at every step of a home loan process, their goal is continuous improvement and growth.

Flat Branch opened in 2005,  and after two years of business Flat Branch consisted of 30 employees. Now employing 85 people, Flat Branch has nearly tripled in size, 40 of which were hired this year! In 2011, Inc. magazine listed Flat Branch one of the “Top 500 Fastest Growing Companies.”

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CoMo Massage Adapts a More “Tranquil” Environment

CoMo Massage Focuses on Mind and Body

CoMo Massage at KeLani Wellness Spa strives to provide its clients with a therapeutic massage in a day spa atmosphere. Alison Sower, founder of CoMo Massage, started her career in 2009 after she fell in love with the calming atmosphere of massage.

CoMo Massage stands for not just Columbia, Missouri, but also Combined Modalities. Sower focuses her therapy on the health benefits of massage to maximize the therapeutic payoff for her customers.

Sower often wonders what the world would be like if everyone just had a massage. You could say this idea became one of the motives behind moving CoMo Massage to the former KeLani Wellness Spa building on East Walnut Street. Because of the increased space, Sower and the other therapists of KeLani Wellness Spa are now able to ensure that more customers experience the relaxation of mind and body through massage.

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New Features For Gmail Inbox

Gmail Spices Things Up With New Update

Google’s latest update takes customizing your Gmail experience to a whole new level. The new Gmail automatically filters emails into specific category tabs as they arrive. The idea is to make it easier for users to read messages of the same type all at once and avoid annoying inbox clutter. You can now separate your casual reads from more pressing emails by allowing five new tabs:

• Primary
• Social
• Promotions
• Updates
• Forums
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Introducing Google Keep to Keep Your Notes in One Place.

Google wants to change the way you take notes. And it plans to do so with its new service called Google Keep, a note-taking app that works across your devices and allows you to take notes at the drop of a hat.

Google Keep can be downloaded on devices running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and above. Once it is downloaded to multiple devices, your notes sync across those devices. The notes are also stored in Google Drive, where you can access, edit and even create notes.

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A Guide to Data Protection for Small Businesses.

In a typical data outage, small businesses can lose 52% of productivity and 29% of revenue. This tells us data protection isn’t just for large corporations. Make sure that you have a data protection plan in place for your small business. Find out what data you need to protect, train your employees about internet safety and stay up to date with the latest data threats as technology evolves rapidly.

This infographic, which was released by the global computer security company Symantec, shows the 10 most common ways that small businesses put their data at risk. Click for a larger, interactive version of the infographic.

Check out some of our other blog posts for more information about data protection. Take a look at our graph showing you how to choose a secure password, or you can learn how to encrypt your email messages so you aren’t sending unprotected information over an insecure WiFi connection.

Tranquility also offers a small USB device that you can plug into your computer for a secure internet connection when you’re on the go. Read about it here, or call us at at 573-443-5803 for more information.

No More Google Reader.

On March 13, Google announced on it’s Official Blog that it would be phasing out Google Reader in its second spring cleaning. Google Reader is an RSS reading platform that was started in 2005 to help people keep up with the latest updates from their favorite websites. Its faithful user base will need to find an alternative by July 1, when Google Reader will be no more.

We’ve found four alternative RSS readers that may suit your needs. All of these options allow you to easily transfer your Google Reader information over to a new platform:

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