Tip of the Week: Touring the Library of Congress Digital Collections

American history buffs who do not have the time or money to travel to Washington can find plenty to browse - for free â€" on the Library of Congress Web site. Digitized sound recordings from the National Jukebox Project, archival newspapers and thousands of photographs are there for viewing, with many available items for download. Other sections of the site host classic posters from the Works Progress Administration, a collection of 2,100 early baseball cards and a “Show Music on Record” database that catalogs musical recordings. With Memorial Day just ahead, the Veteran’s History Project, which collects and preserves the personal stories of American war veterans, may also be of particular interest.

Q&A: Monitoring Multiple iTunes Downloads

Q.

Where did the iTunes Store Download link go in iTunes 11? It used to be on the left side of the screen and I could click it to see or pause multiple files downloading at once, but it’s gone now.

A.

Apple’s redesign of its iTunes jukebox software last fall moved a number of elements around to new locations within the program’s interface. In iTunes 11, you can see a list of actively downloading files by clicking the small downward-pointing arrow in the top right corner of the program’s window.

When you click this Downloads icon, a box pops open showing the name and progress of each file on the way to your computer. You can pause all file downloads or individual downloads here as well, which can come in handy if you need to free up some network bandwidth.

Although the Downloads link no longer appears there, if you miss the other items that were listed in the left pane of the iTunes window in previous versions of the program, you can restore it. Just go to the View Menu in iTunes 11 and select Show Sidebar. When the Sidebar is showing, your various libraries (Music, Movies and so on) appear in a readily visible list instead of being hidden away in the Library pop-up menu in the top left corner of the window. (If you find you prefer the Library pop-up menu, just return to the View menu and choose Hide Sidebar.)

Q&A: Rescuing Lost Videos From YouTube

Q.

I have some old videos that I posted to YouTube years ago. I no longer have the original files on my computer, but is it possible to get copies from YouTube itself?

A.

While YouTube frowns upon downloading other people’s video clips and does not provide its own built-in tools to do so, you can get copies of the videos you have uploaded from your own YouTube account. That is, of course, if the videos are still posted on the YouTube site and have not been removed.

Start by logging into your YouTube account. Once you have signed in, click on your YouTube user name in the top right corner of the browser window. In the menu that appears, choose Video Manager. On the left side of the Video Manager screen, click Uploads and select a clip to download. On the Edit button next to the thumbnail, click the arrow and choose Download MP4 from the menu.

YouTube allows you to download up to two of your videos an hour, so it may take some time to get copies of everything if you have uploaded a lot of clips over the years. The site has other restrictions for downloading videos from your account: you may not be able to download clips you had posted if those videos use copyrighted content or other restricted material.

Q&A: Sending an Automated Vacation Reply With Outlook.com

Q.

Is it possible to set up a vacation bounce-back message in Outook.com Webmail?

A.

Outlook.com, Microsoft’s successor to its old Hotmail service, does let you set up an automated reply to people who send you e-mail when you are away. To set up a vacation message, log into your Outlook.com account and click the gear-shaped settings icon on the right side of the mailbox screen. Choose “More mail settings” from the menu.

When you land on the Options screen, go to the “Managing your account” area and click “Sending automated vacation replies.” On the Vacation Reply screen, click the button next to “Send vacation replies to people who e-mail me” and compose the bounce message you would like your correspondents to receive as your reply.

Outlook.com gives you the choice of sending the reply to everyone who e-mails you, or just to people on your Contacts list. Unless you regularly get mail from people you do not already have in your address book, you may want to just send the bounce message to known contacts and avoid confirming your currently active e-mail address to spammers. When you have set up your message, click the Save button to activate the vacation reply.

People who send you frequent messages will get your automated reply once every four days to remind them that you are still on vacation, but Outlook.com skips replying to mail filtered into the Junk folder. When you return from your trip, retrace your steps back to the Vacation Reply screen and click the button next to “Don’t send any vacation replies.” Click the Save button to turn off the bounce message until your next break.

Revealing Attire for Your iPhone

A rear view of the Radius case, from Mod-3.

With the season of minimal attire upon us, why leave out your iPhone?

Mod-3 has produced a case called the Radius that’s a bit like tiny beachwear for the iPhone 5.

Phones tend to take the most bashing along the corners, so the radius case places pieces of billeted aircraft aluminum on the edges, held in place by an X-shaped metal strap along the back.

The strap is just thick enough to keep the phone’s back from scratching on flat surfaces.

One of the chief claims of the Radius case is that it does not interfere with transmission because it doesn’t cover the phone’s antenna.

As inventive as the design is, it needs some improvement.

To mount the case on your phone, you have to use a supplied wrench to remove two minuscule hex bolts that hold the lower corner pieces on. The Radius does come with extra bolts in the likelihood that one of the tiny pieces skitter away.

The problem I had wasn’t losing the bolts, it was shearing them. It took very little torque to snap the heads off. That left the bolt shank filling the threaded center of the corner pieces.

If these parts were larger I could use an extractor to remove the headless screw, but it’s so tiny I would need some sort of jeweler’s tools to do it.

The lesson here is if you want to use this minimal case, keep in mind that the parts are every bit as delicate as they appear to be. You’ll need to use your most deft touch to properly attach it.

The Radius case is $70 through online retailers like BiteMyApple.

A version of this article appeared in print on 05/30/2013, on page B11 of the NewYork edition with the headline: An iPhone Case That Pretends Not to Be There.

How to Help Google Plus Help Your Photos

Google wants you to spend more time with Google Plus, and to get you to do so, it is going to put your photos in a better light, literally.

In the long list of improvements rolled out during Google’s developer conference last week were many improvements to its photo editing and sharing tools.

Most notable is Auto Enhance, which lets an algorithm evaluate your photos and touch them up automatically, improving color, contrast and lighting. But there are also a lot of tools that have been there all along â€" somewhat concealed â€" that let you do useful, basic editing.

To get the most out of your photos on Google Plus, here is what you need to know.

Auto Enhance, which is new, is not the same as Auto Fix, which had long been a part of Google Plus. They seem similar because both are one-button touch-up programs. But Auto Enhance is much more sophisticated than the older Auto Fix.

I tried running a photo that was in pretty good shape through Auto Enhance. It made subtle changes, like slightly increasing the vignetting, adding a little bit of contrast, saturating the colors a little more, and slightly smoothing the skin of the subject: small changes that added up to a noticeable improvement. The effect is more dramatic with poorly lit phone photos.

Auto Enhance should automatically correct all of the photos you upload - if you have it set to do so. To make sure you have, you need to check your settings. In Google Plus, click on the home icon in the upper left, then go to the bottom of the menu where you will see “settings.” Click on settings.

In settings scroll down until you get to photos. The last two items are check boxes for Auto Enhance and Auto Awesome.

You may not always like what the algorithm does to your photos. There are a couple of ways to stop it without turning off completely. Go back to the Google Plus starting page, click on “Home” and scroll down to “Photos.” You can click on photos to edit individually. Above the photo click on the word “edit.” Now go to “undo” in the upper right, to remove Auto Enhance from the photo.

There are also a number of tools on the left-hand side that can crop your photo, rotate it, adjust highlights, shadows, contrast and exposure. There is a white balance tool that lets you remove a color cast from your photos, and you can sharpen or resize your shots.

A version of this article appeared in print on 05/30/2013, on page B11 of the NewYork edition with the headline: Sprucing Up Photos Automatically, With Google Plus.

Q&A: Pruning the Mac’s Font Collection

Q.

I’d like to weed out a bunch of unused fonts on my Mac OS X Lion computer. How do I safely delete them?

A.

One way to remove unwanted fonts from Mac OS X (versions 10.5 and later, which includes the Lion 10.7 system), is to use the built-in Font Book program. Note that you cannot remove fonts that the Mac itself uses in the operating system. To get started, click the Mac desktop to switch to the Finder, click Go in the Mac’s menu bar and select Applications. (When you are in the Finder, you can also press Shift-Command-A on the keyboard to automatically open the Applications folder.)

Once inside the Mac’s Applications folder, open the Font Book app. In the program’s main window, click All Fonts in the far left column. In the Fonts column next to it, locate the name of the typeface you wish to remove and select it. Go to the File menu at the top of the screen and choose the option to remove that font family from the computer.

The Font Book program lets you view, organize and temporarily disable fonts on the Mac as well. Apple has a guide to using Font Book here.

Fastest Network? It All Depends

In a survey of 20 cities, Tech Hive found AT&T to have the fastest LTE service in America. An earlier survey of 77 cities by RootMetrics, a company that measures network performance, got similar rankings, but recorded very different speeds.

But wait a minute: In tests I ran myself, T-Mobile was the fastest by far. Why do we get these contradictory results and what does it mean if you are trying to choose a network?

It’s simple. Unless you are traveling all over the country, it doesn’t matter which service has the best national average. What matters is which has the best service in your neighborhood.

I’ve pointed this out before, but it bears repeating â€" networks are national but reception is local.

So how do you find out which is the fastest network locally? One way is to check out many of the crowd-sourced coverage maps. Rather than taking a carrier’s word that they have towers nearby, crowd-sourced maps are made by people with apps on their phones that periodically test for a signal. The results are sent back to a company that assembles a map.

Root Metrics is one of those companies. You can check a coverage map for your area and other cities you might regularly travel to as long as you know the ZIP codes.

A company called OpenSignal has a map that makes it easy to compare carrier coverage and includes speed and reliability data. Because it counts on volunteers, the map tends to be most complete along major thoroughfares.

You can also check the site Sensorly, which like OpenSignal tends to be most complete along major roads.

But you still shouldn’t rely on these maps alone. The best thing you can do is download a speed test app for your phone. Then you can test the speed of your existing network in your location. If you can get some friends and neighbors on other networks to do the same you’ll get a good idea of which network is best for you.

A popular speed test app from Ookla is aptly called speedtest.net. It’s available for Apple and Android. You can also find a speed test from Root Metrics, and there are others as well.

When shopping for network, go ahead and think global, but test local.

Tip of the Week: Make a Mac Screen Recording

The QuickTime Player program included with recent versions of Mac OS X can do more than just play back video clips. It can also make a recording of the action on the computer screen, which can be helpful when creating tutorials or demonstrating how to do a  task. To get started, just go to the Mac’s Applications folder and open the QuickTime Player program.

Once the program is open, go to the File menu and select New Screen Recording. If you plan to provide narration, click the white triangle on the right side of the program’s window to choose your audio-recording options from the internal microphone; you can also choose a video quality setting here, and whether to make mouse clicks visible on screen in the recording.

When you are ready to capture a screen action, click the red recording button on the QuickTime Player window. Choose to record the whole screen or just a selected portion, and perform the action you want to capture. Click the Stop button. Apple’s site has more information on using QuickTime Player for screen recording, movie recording (with the Mac’s built-in camera), video editing and other tasks.

Finding Inner Peace, iPhone in Hand

The Inner Balance app from HeartMath.

HeartMath, a creator of science-based solutions to reduce stress, recently turned to a stress inducer, technology, to create a tool to help users achieve serenity.

HeartMath may seem like an odd name for a stress reliever; the word “math” can cause some people to break into a sweat. But its new app, called Inner Balance, is a better indicator of what the company is offering.

The app, available free for Apple iOS devices, provides instructions and feedback on techniques for breathing and focusing. It works with the company’s sensor, which costs $99.

Clip the sensor to your earlobe, and Inner Balance reads your pulse and develops a pattern to help you synchronize your heart and breathing rhythms. A typical session takes about three minutes.

The sensor does not have a Lightning connector, so it is not compatible with the iPhone 5. It does include an adapter for other iOS devices, so I downloaded Inner Balance on my iPad and prepared for my journey to inner peace.

I found the app simple to use and remarkably soothing. Once I focused my attention on the rainbow flower on the screen, I was able to match my breathing to its pulsating pattern. After only a few minutes, I felt calmer and more rested.

After a session, you get lots of charts, graphs and numbers (again, math). But the app does a thorough job of tracking your progress and providing goals for improvement without feeling too New Agey.

In fact, HeartMath went a long way to make Inner Balance appear scientific. A little too far, because the interface felt technical and cold, like something you might encounter in a doctor’s office. I don’t need Deepak Chopra whispering positive affirmations in my ear, but some calming music or even white noise would help me relax.

The HeartMath app and sensor can be beneficial tools for reducing stress, but with dozens of competitors it doesn’t feel worth the cost. Heck, you could just close your eyes and count to 10, free.

Q&A: Choosing a Windows Tablet

Q.

What’s the difference between Windows 8 and Windows RT on a tablet PC? Can I run Microsoft Office programs on either version?

A.

Windows RT and Windows 8 share certain features like touch-screen control, the Internet Explorer 10 browser and Microsoft’s apps for e-mail, messaging, photos and calendar appointments. Windows RT was designed primarily for tablets and other devices that use the less-powerful ARM processors, and the system lacks certain features found in the more productivity-oriented Windows 8, like Windows Media Player and Remote Desktop.

Windows RT devices come with a selection of apps (including Microsoft Office Home & Student 2013 RT, a touch-based variation on the standard suite). However, if you want to install new programs on a Windows RT tablet, you can only do so by downloading the apps from the online Windows Store. While Windows RT computers start up quickly and have security software turned on by default, some people may find the streamlined system too limited compared with a Windows 8 tablet or a computer.

Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro (basically, the “Home” and “Professional” versions) can run on a greater range of hardware and processors, including tablets, ultrabooks, laptops, tablet/laptop hybrids and even all-in-one desktop PCs. With Windows 8, you can install new software from disks or sources other than the Windows Store, including the standard desktop edition of Microsoft Office and programs you may have used with a previous version of Windows.

If you need versatility and a wider variety of programs, a Windows 8 tablet is probably the better option, even though you may pay more for hardware. Microsoft has a PC Selector page that asks a series of questions and suggests certain tablet models based on your answers.

An iPhone Case for Your Earbuds

The Sound Pockets Freedom case.

While smartphones and their cases tend to be neatly sleek, the earbuds and their cables are anything but. People try wrapping the buds around the phone, storing them in separate cases and winding them into little skeins, among other strategies.

The new Sound Pockets Freedom case offers a built-in compartment for storing earbuds tidily out of the way.

The case itself is simple, made of durable plastic that snaps snugly onto your iPhone 5 ($40), iPhone 4 ($35) or the iPod Touch ($35).

The back of the case has a bulbous hatch that opens on a hinge. Inside is an “earbud caddy” that organizes your Apple earbuds and cable. Pop the earbuds into the appropriate slots, wind the cable around the caddy and then clip the 3.5 mm plug into its housing for neat storage.

In the open position, the door of the storage hatch serves as a kickstand to hold the phone up in either horizontal or vertical orientation.

Cases are available in purple, pink, red, orange, blue, green, white and black. The case bodies are opaque and the hatches are translucent so you can see that your earbuds are inside.

While the case has a certain neatnik appeal, it also adds a prodigious hump to the back of your phone. The rounded bump fits comfortably in the palm of your hand when you hold it. If your goal is to have a phone that slips unnoticeably into a pocket, however, this is not your best option.

Brands other than iPhone earbuds may not fit on the caddy, but you can always just stuff them into the compartment.

The cases are available through the Sound Pockets Web site.

Q&A: Exploring New Subscription Plans for Flickr

Q.

Is the $25 Flickr Pro subscription no longer an option for ad-free photo sharing after the site’s recent overhaul?

A.

If you hold a Flickr Pro account that renews each year, you can keep renewing it at the same price. The Flickr help guide for accounts also states that “eligible non-recurring Pro members can purchase a recurring Pro subscription,” but that Flickr Pro gift accounts are no longer available to purchase.

Flickr now offers three account types. These are Free (with a terabyte of ad-sponsored storage ), Ad Free (a terabyte and $50 annually to escape advertising), and Doublr (two hefty terabytes of total storage with an equally hefty price of $500 a year).

An iPhone Case for Your Earbuds

The Sound Pockets Freedom case.

While smartphones and their cases tend to be neatly sleek, the earbuds and their cables are anything but. People try wrapping the buds around the phone, storing them in separate cases and winding them into little skeins, among other strategies.

The new Sound Pockets Freedom case offers a built-in compartment for storing earbuds tidily out of the way.

The case itself is simple, made of durable plastic that snaps snugly onto your iPhone 5 ($40), iPhone 4 ($35) or the iPod Touch ($35).

The back of the case has a bulbous hatch that opens on a hinge. Inside is an “earbud caddy” that organizes your Apple earbuds and cable. Pop the earbuds into the appropriate slots, wind the cable around the caddy and then clip the 3.5 mm plug into its housing for neat storage.

In the open position, the door of the storage hatch serves as a kickstand to hold the phone up in either horizontal or vertical orientation.

Cases are available in purple, pink, red, orange, blue, green, white and black. The case bodies are opaque and the hatches are translucent so you can see that your earbuds are inside.

While the case has a certain neatnik appeal, it also adds a prodigious hump to the back of your phone. The rounded bump fits comfortably in the palm of your hand when you hold it. If your goal is to have a phone that slips unnoticeably into a pocket, however, this is not your best option.

Brands other than iPhone earbuds may not fit on the caddy, but you can always just stuff them into the compartment.

The cases are available through the Sound Pockets Web site.

App Smart Extra: Timer Apps to Keep Track of Your Life

If you could have listened to the App Smart column the other week instead of just reading it, you’d have heard the tick-tock of timer apps counting down. Far more flexible than kitchen timers of old, or even wristwatch timers, timer apps for smartphones and tablets can be very useful in helping you keep track of all sorts of timings.

For running several different countdown timers at once the Tmrrrs app, free on iOS, is worth trying out. Tmrrrs follows one of the big design trends in apps at the moment, which is to have a very clear and simple layout and graphics with large panels of plain color. This generally results in apps that are easy to read and control, and this is true of Tmrrrs. When you’re setting a countdown timer in Tmrrs, you can set up a main time and a secondary time. You can even put these two times into a repeat loop, which is useful if you want to program in both exercise and rest intervals into a timed exercise session.

It’s relatively easy to use this app, once you’ve learned how to control it through its various icons, menus and gestures. In the free edition, some of the features are limited, like not being able to set a different color scheme for each timer you have running. These restrictions are lifted if you spend $2.99 to unlock the app through an in-app purchase.

A far simpler repeat timer app, handy if you just want to set one timer at a time, is the appropriately named Repeat Timer Free app, free on iOS. It’s very simply designed, and maybe handy for timing daily chores or your exercise routines. Though it’s easy to use, this app is limited to one timing feature, which is to count down a main time and a secondary time within a repeat loop.

A very popular Android app that combines both countdown timer and stopwatch functions is the free StopWatch & Timer app. In terms of looks, the app is designed to be minimalist, and the display is dominated by the numerals of the countdown clocks you’ve set plus prominent buttons for easy access to its controls. The app remembers the last three countdown timers you’ve set, which will be useful if you find yourself regularly needing to time the same intervals. In stopwatch mode this app can log lap times, and you can customize its look so it suits your preferences. The free version is limited, so you can’t run multiple timers, for example, but the full version is just 99 cents.

The Windows Phone platform doesn’t have quite the range of timer apps that iOS and Android devices have. But one good option is the free Quick Timer app, available for both Windows Phone 7.5 and 8. It can run up to six countdown timers at the same time and has all the usual stopwatch features. It’s a very good-looking app, but though it has a good range of features it’s not quite as flexible as some of its rivals on other smartphone platforms.

Time’s a-wasting: Check out these apps on your app store because you’ll kick yourself if you need to time an event soon, and haven’t downloaded one to your device yet.

Quick call: Pheed is a social networking app that’s a little like Twitter but with more emphasis on sharing photos and audio or video content. It’s finally available as a free Android app.

App Smart Extra: Timer Apps to Keep Track of Your Life

If you could have listened to the App Smart column the other week instead of just reading it, you’d have heard the tick-tock of timer apps counting down. Far more flexible than kitchen timers of old, or even wristwatch timers, timer apps for smartphones and tablets can be very useful in helping you keep track of all sorts of timings.

For running several different countdown timers at once the Tmrrrs app, free on iOS, is worth trying out. Tmrrrs follows one of the big design trends in apps at the moment, which is to have a very clear and simple layout and graphics with large panels of plain color. This generally results in apps that are easy to read and control, and this is true of Tmrrrs. When you’re setting a countdown timer in Tmrrs, you can set up a main time and a secondary time. You can even put these two times into a repeat loop, which is useful if you want to program in both exercise and rest intervals into a timed exercise session.

It’s relatively easy to use this app, once you’ve learned how to control it through its various icons, menus and gestures. In the free edition, some of the features are limited, like not being able to set a different color scheme for each timer you have running. These restrictions are lifted if you spend $2.99 to unlock the app through an in-app purchase.

A far simpler repeat timer app, handy if you just want to set one timer at a time, is the appropriately named Repeat Timer Free app, free on iOS. It’s very simply designed, and maybe handy for timing daily chores or your exercise routines. Though it’s easy to use, this app is limited to one timing feature, which is to count down a main time and a secondary time within a repeat loop.

A very popular Android app that combines both countdown timer and stopwatch functions is the free StopWatch & Timer app. In terms of looks, the app is designed to be minimalist, and the display is dominated by the numerals of the countdown clocks you’ve set plus prominent buttons for easy access to its controls. The app remembers the last three countdown timers you’ve set, which will be useful if you find yourself regularly needing to time the same intervals. In stopwatch mode this app can log lap times, and you can customize its look so it suits your preferences. The free version is limited, so you can’t run multiple timers, for example, but the full version is just 99 cents.

The Windows Phone platform doesn’t have quite the range of timer apps that iOS and Android devices have. But one good option is the free Quick Timer app, available for both Windows Phone 7.5 and 8. It can run up to six countdown timers at the same time and has all the usual stopwatch features. It’s a very good-looking app, but though it has a good range of features it’s not quite as flexible as some of its rivals on other smartphone platforms.

Time’s a-wasting: Check out these apps on your app store because you’ll kick yourself if you need to time an event soon, and haven’t downloaded one to your device yet.

Quick call: Pheed is a social networking app that’s a little like Twitter but with more emphasis on sharing photos and audio or video content. It’s finally available as a free Android app.

The Early Word: Balance

In Today’s Times

• Congress’s agenda this week shows lawmakers in a balancing act as the Senate returns to debate major legislation and the House resumes several investigations of the Obama administration. Jonathan Weisman explains what’s at stake for President Obama and lawmakers.

• Jennifer Steinhauer looks at how the record number of women in the Senate are exerting their influence on the most powerful committees, among them the Armed Services Committee.

Happenings in Washington

• Economic reports expected Monday include construction spending for April at 10 a.m. alongside the manufacturing index for May.

• Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, is scheduled to give the keynote address at a health care data conference at 8:30 a.m.

• The Supreme Court will begin issuing decisions at 10 a.m.

• When the Senate convenes at 2 p.m., lawmakers will resume debate over the farm bill. The House is also in session.

• At 3 p.m., Daniel I. Werfel, the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, and J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, will testify before the House Appropriations Committee at an oversight hearing focused on the I.R.S.