Ricky Says

A few days ago my wife complained to me that her Facebook page looked different and she didn't like it at all. She asked me if I could figure out how to get the old one back.

I assumed she had probably accidentally clicked something to agree to let Facebook use her as a guinea pig, but I couldn't figure out how to get her old Facebook back. Mine was still the old one too.

Well, that all changed this morning, when I logged into Facebook like millions of other users and discovered that I've been switched over to the new Facebook too.

I'm not sure if I like it yet or not. All I see so far are rounded corners on user avatars, and have read lots of complaints about bugs and scripting errors. There are even Facebook groups that are being created by users who think the new look just plain sucks.

Oh, and the question has changed to "What's on your mind?", and "What are your thoughts?" (I've seen both today, so I think they're testing each one to see what users feel about it).

Is that what this has turned into? What we're thinking about?

I like the good ole' "What are you doing?" much better. It feels a lot less touchy-feely. And to me it's a better subject to learn what my friends have been up to, which keeps me connected. I learn their thoughts along the way, while they describe what they're doing, and that feels like a better starting point to me then jumping right into how we're feeling about things.

Many people just want things back to the way it was, which was awesome. Facebook membership has been growing extremely fast lately, and it's a great way to connect with old friends and stay connected with existing friends.

What do you think?

Do you want the old Facebook back, or do you like the new look and feel? What do you like about it?

It's great to know that the articles I publish on this site are actually helping people, and thanks to those of you who have taken time to drop me a quick thank you note from time to time.

I try to also spend a little time each day answering questions on Yahoo! Answers, and often refer back to articles I've posted on rickysays.com for more detailed information or reference material.

Members on the Yahoo! Answer site are encouraged to rate other member's answers, and it's always fun to receive the "Best Answer" rating (and is worth 10 points towards your user status level on the site).

Yahoo sends me an email with a link to the question and answer:

Here's a list of the Yahoo! Answers that have been rated best answers over the last few months. Hope you find some of them useful as well!

How to recover deleted file from memory stick?

how to recover deleted itune songs?

Sould I install spyware doctor on my pc?

how do i connect my bluetooth cell phone with my blue tooth computer?

How do I transfer songs from one iTunes library to another?

Aim video chat problems?

Should I get an Ipod touch or an LG shine?

Question: I was wondering how I would transfer music from my computer onto the memory stick and then transfer them onto my digital picture frame. Also, is it possible to have music on my picture frame when I show my pictures?

Answer: Digital picture frames are awesome. I have one at work, my wife has one at home, and we gave my parents one for Christmas this year.

Transferring pictures from your computer to a picture frame is a matter of copying the pics to a memory card or usb flash drive, and then plugging the memory card into your picture frame.

Here's a step-by-step guide for loading pictures onto a digital picture frame:

Step 1: Find the pictures on your hard drive

If you're using Windows Vista, then your pictures will most likely be located in the Pictures folder under your User folder (C:\Users\YourName\Pictures).

Expand the Pictures folder and find the photos that you'd like to view on the picture frame. If possible, copy them all to a single folder location, as that will make the next step much easier.

Step 2: Copy the pictures to an SD Micro memory card, or to a USB Flash Drive

Find the SD Micro memory card slot on the side of your laptop, or in the front of your desktop, and insert the card. Memory cards are dirt cheap these days, and you can get a 2GB card for under $10 on Amazon

Question: I saw your article on how to copy music to an ipod, but is it possible to point the ipod to an external portable drive, so that it finds music files there instead of from the main hard drive?

Answer: Since iPods get their music by syncing with iTunes, you'll need to either 1) tell iTunes to store music files on your portable external hard drive instead of your regular drive, or 2) import music files from your external drive into iTunes.

Option 1: Tell iTunes where to store music files

Open iTunes and select Edit -- Preferences. Then click the Advanced tab where you'll find the iTunes Music folder location.

Click the Change button and choose a folder on your external hard drive (you might want to create one first if you want files to be stored in a particular folder on the new drive).

If you want all of your music files to be moved over from your main drive to the external drive, then make sure the Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library option is checked.

Option 2: Import music into iTunes from an external hard drive

If you already have music on a portable hard drive, and just want to get them into iTunes so you can sync up and get those songs on your ipod, then you can just drag and drop those music files onto iTunes.

You can also use the File -- Add Folder to Library menu in iTunes, choose a music folder on your portable drive, and iTunes will add those to your library.

If you uncheck the Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library option, which is on this same tab shown above, then iTunes will leave the files on your external drive.

Question: I've resisted buying an ipod so far because I am an audiophile and I hate the idea of compressed music, which I equate to poor sound quality! Can you transfer whole CDs directly into an ipod from a CD player without compression? If you could, it would still mean you could store around 220 full CDs onto a 160 gb ipod and get absolute sound quality.

Answer: You're going to love the sound that comes from an ipod, for a number of reasons.

First, to answer your question - yes, you can transfer whole CDs to your ipod without compression. Using iTunes, select Edit -- Preferences and then click the Import Settings button to configure CD import settings.

The default import encoder setting is AAC, and you have options for importing at 128kbps or 256kbps (stereo bit rate), or can choose a custom import quality level up to 320kbps.

If you prefer using an MP3 encoder, then you can select that option as well - with custom bit rate options up to 320 kbps.

You probably already know this, but for others reading this article: keep in mind that a larger bit rate settings (the kbps number) means higher quality music files but also larger files. The larger the files, the better they'll sound - in theory anyway - and the less you can store on your ipod.

Most ears won't notice the difference between 128kbps and 256kbps however, especially considering you'll most likely be listening to the music with headphones in an area where other background noises can be heard.