Recently, the OverDrive app was discontinued. In its place is the Libby App. Until recently, Kindle Fire users were unable to access the app on their devices. Luckily, this has changed!
The Kindle Fire app is now available for download in the Amazon App Store. The Kindle Fire Libby App is available for Kindle Fire models made in 2020 or newer. It is also available on the following models:
Device
Year
Fire HD 10
2017
Fire HD 8
2018
Fire HD 10
2019
Fire HD 8
2020
Fire HD 10
2021
Fire HD 10 Plus
2021
Fire 7
2022
Fire HD 8
2022
Fire HD 8 Plus
2022
When visiting the Amazon Libby App download page, there is a box listing if your model of Kindle Fire is compatible with the app.
After downloading the Libby App on your Kindle Fire, there is an option to read e-books either on the app itself or on the built in Kindle app on the Kindle Fire. For more information on how to deliver e-books to your Kindle App, check out our helpful Tech Tips article.
Have you ever been out and about and wondered what kind of flower or species of bird you spotted? Now there is a way you can find out, with the help of your smartphone’s camera.
Google Lens allows you to search for an item with your camera or with an existing photo. It is available on both Android and iOS (Apple) devices.
Android Devices
On Android devices, there are a few ways you can access Lens. On most new Android devices, Lens is enabled by default and can be accessed directly from the camera app. Open the camera app, aim at the item (be it a flower, animal, type of water bottle, etc), and then tap the Lens button. Next, tap the magnifying glass icon to search for the image in your camera’s viewfinder.
Depending on your device, you may need to tap the modes button to access Lens. To learn how to add more modes, check out this helpful video.
Alternatively, you can search a live photo view and a previously taken picture with the Google app.
Open the Google app and scroll down to Discover. Next, tap the Google Lens icon in the search bar. The Lens icon is shaped like a camera.
You can search for either a live view of an item in your surroundings or by using a previously taken picture. To search a live view, point to an object with your camera and tap Search To search with an existing image, tap Photo picker and select a photo. You’ll have the option to search the whole photo or part of a photo.
To search for a specific object in the image: If available, on the object, tap the Select icon . To search for part of an image, tap Select image area , then drag the corners of the box around your selection. Next, scroll to the bottom to see your search results. To refine your search, tap add to your search and add keywords.
Next, give permission for the app to access your device’s camera and if you would like to also photo search using pictures from your photo library, allow access to your photos as well.
Once you have granted the appropriate permissions, you can choose to search a live view or using a previously taken photo.
You can start your search by tapping the camera at the end of the search field . Once you have the item you want to search in view, tap the magnifying glass icon to search.
Next, you’ll see your search results. Scroll down to view more results.
The tabs (homework, shopping, places, etc.) will give you more specific types of results.
Have you used Google Lens to search? Let us know in the comments!
If you’ve ever worked with templates in Microsoft or Google software, you may have been less than pleased with the automatic color choices made by the software. Sure, you can change these colors while editing, but if you want to use them all the time, changing the colors for each document, spreadsheet, or presentation you start could get old very fast. Thankfully, most of the applications offered by Microsoft and Google have a method for saving your favorite colors to a default theme.
The good folks at Tech-Talk have already written a great article with a video outlining the process for setting default colors on both platforms, so I’m not going to reinvent the wheel here. When setting default colors, keep in mind that it needs to be set up in each application separately. For example, a theme set in Microsoft Word does not carry over to Microsoft PowerPower. I should note, however, if you are only interested in setting a color theme for Google Docs, the option is not currently available in that app.
If you’re design-challenged like me, PowerPoint can be a painful experience for everyone. I can select a presentation template to make sure there is a cohesive theme for the slides, but I’m pretty much limited to the layouts provided in the template. Any deviation tends to look unpolished. Then, I learned about the new Designer feature. It’s a game-changer.
Designer takes the content you’ve entered in a slide and suggests different ways to lay it out and use the theme colors. The end result is a much richer variety of slides that make it look like the creator has an eye for good design. Unfortunately, Designer is only available with an Office 365 subscription, not a perpetual license version of PowerPoint.
To get design ideas, select a slide and then Design>Designer in the top menu. If Designer does not appear in the options, go to File (top menu)>Options (bottom left menu)>Scroll to PowerPoint Designer and check these two boxes:
If you have a new Windows computer, it probably came with Windows 11. If you have a newer Windows 10 computer, Windows Update is probably nagging you to upgrade to Windows 11 as soon as possible. The truth is, the Windows 11 interface is significantly different from previous versions, and the new operating system is not without its growing pains. Many Windows 10 users are staying on that version as long as they can. Eventually, though, change is inevitable.
The folks at Tech-Talk have been busy creating articles and webinars to help you make the switch to Windows 11, and the East Greenbush Community Library provides access to Tech-Talk for its patrons.
Still have questions that Tech-Talk hasn’t answered? You can leave them in the comments for us to answer or you can ask Tech-Talk for more information using their “ask a question” form.
and select a photo. You’ll have the option to search the whole photo or part of a photo.
. To search for part of an image, tap Select image area 
, then drag the corners of the box around your selection. Next, scroll to the bottom to see your search results. To refine your search, tap add to your search and add keywords.
