The experience reminds us that there are so many things we want to tell Mac as soon as possible, before he’s in high school with his friends and too cool to hear our little nuggets of wisdom—and before we go from “Mommy and Daddy who both know best” to “Mom and Dad who couldn’t possibly understand.”

So in no particular order, here are forty things we intend to tell him and his little friends, repeatedly, over the next several years:

1. Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. Don’t base your attitude on how things are. Choose your attitude so it supports and expresses the way you wish them to be. Frustration and stress come from the way you respond and react, not the circumstance itself. Adjust your attitude, and the frustration and stress is gone.

2. What you experience starts with your perception. In almost every case, nothing is stopping you. Nothing is holding you back but your own thoughts about yourself and “how life is.” Your perception creates your beliefs. And your beliefs create your behaviors. And your behaviors produce your experience.

3. Let go of the need to complain about life. Spend your moments actually living its beauty. Change the phrase “have to” to “get to.” So many things we complain about are things others wish they had the chance to do.

4. Positivity always pays off. Your thoughts do not end when you finish thinking them. They continue to echo through your life. Choose wisely and intentionally. Be outrageously and unreasonably positive. Be funny and creative and ridiculous and joyful all at the same time. Smile as often as possible. A smile actually changes the vibe of your body. It alters, physiologically, the chemistry of your being. It will make you feel better and do better.

5. Negativity just shortens your life. Before you waste it on anger, resentment, spite, or envy, always think of how precious and irreplaceable your time is.

6. Worry is the biggest enemy of the present moment. It does nothing but steal your joy and keep you very busy doing absolutely nothing at all. When you spend time worrying, you’re simply using your imagination to create things you don’t want.

7. Don’t run away from things; run toward them. The best way to move away from something negative is to move toward something positive.

8. Nothing is as bad as it seems. Nothing. There’s a benefit and a blessing hidden in the folds of every experience and every outcome.

9. Gratitude helps every situation. How can you transform suffering into joy, and struggle into peace?

   Gratitude. Start being grateful for all the problems you do not have.

10. Everything is falling together perfectly, even though it looks as if some things are falling apart. Trust in life’s process. Happiness is allowing yourself to be perfectly okay with what is, rather than wishing for and worrying about what is not. When life is “falling apart,” things could actually be falling together . . . maybe for the first time.

11. Change is necessary. Change is the process of life itself. In fact, everything is changing every second of our lives. However good or bad the situation is now, it will change. That’s one thing you can count on. So never assume that you’re stuck with the way things are. Life changes, and so can you. Take a breath of fresh air. The past is long gone. Focus on what you can do, not on what you could have or should have done.

12. You are capable of handling far more than you think. Accept each moment, without judgment or anxiety. Remind yourself that all is well and that you can handle whatever comes along.

13. If you’re having problems, that’s good. It means you’re making progress. The only people with no problems are the ones doing nothing.

14. It takes just as much energy to waste your time as it does to use it wisely. It is far better to be exhausted from lots of effort and learning than to be tired from doing absolutely nothing.

15. There’s a big difference between being busy and being productive. Don’t confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but never makes any forward progress.

16. You can’t achieve what you do not attempt. Everything you achieve comes from something you attempt. Everything! Make the attempt. The path between wanting and having is doing.

17. The right thing and the easy thing are rarely the same thing. Do what matters, not just what is convenient. Do what is fulfilling, not just what is easy. When faced with a choice, choose the path that strengthens you. Choose to learn, choose to grow, choose to more fully become who you are.

18. You can’t be your best without first being yourself. Be highly effective by being highly authentic. Take a moment to pause and remember who you are and what you stand for. Take a moment to reflect on the ideas and principles that have real and lasting meaning in your life.

19. Meaningful work is important. You are at your best when you are moving toward a meaningful, positive, and ambitious goal. So never follow goals you’re reluctant to pursue. Find ones that will keep you awake at night with excitement.

20. Always realign yourself with your highest priorities. If you’re being pulled in every direction by forces beyond your control, take time to realign yourself with what you value most in life. What is important in your

    life is what you decide is important, and this decision will ultimately create who you are.

21. Set your sights high. Make your dreams big, exciting, and undeniable. They’re the ones that will push you forward. Whatever is beyond your reach right now will not always be beyond your reach. Keep going.

22. Miracles happen every day. If we think that miracles are normal, we will expect them. And expecting a miracle is the surest way to get one.

23. If you’re going to do something, do it with enthusiasm and devotion. Hold nothing back. In life. Or love. Or business. Or anything at all. Every morning, ask yourself what is really important, and then have the courage to build your day around your answer.
24. Focused effort pays. An attitude of “whatever is convenient” won’t accomplish much, ever. An attitude of “whatever it takes” is impossible to stop. So remember, effort does not cost you—it pays. What you invest in effort is never wasted. Sincere, focused effort always brings something of value—an outcome that teaches you what the next step is.

25. What you are capable of achieving is heavily based on how much you want it. When something means enough to you, then you can do it. When you are willing and committed and persistent, you will get yourself there every time.

26. You can always take a small step in the direction of your dreams. There is absolutely nothing about your present situation that prevents you from following your dreams, one step at a time. Use each setback,

    each disappointment, as a cue to push on ahead with more determination than ever before.

27. Set time aside to celebrate your progress at least once a month. Look at how far you’ve come. You have made progress. And now, imagine how far you can go.

28. Other people’s opinions don’t have to be your reality. Let the opinions of others inform you, don’t let them limit you. Learn to value yourself and what you stand for. Allow yourself to be yourself. If you don’t want what the world says you should want, have the courage to say so.

29. Break the rules sometimes. Don’t break the law, but break the rules. If all you are doing is following someone else’s rules, then you have not grown—you have only obeyed.

30. You alone get to choose what matters and what doesn’t. The meaning of everything in your life is the meaning you give it.

31. Listen to your intuition. When something feels right, that means it is right for you. When something feels wrong, that means it is wrong for you. Pay attention to your authentic feelings, and follow where they lead.

32. Own and embrace your imperfections. Because once you’ve accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.

33. Every mistake is a step forward. You cannot make a mistake; you can only make a decision that will be your next best step.

34. Every day is a clean slate. Don’t you dare give up on today because of the way things looked yesterday. Don’t even think about it. Every day is a new day to try again.

35. No moment is wasted when you live it with presence and purpose. Value and enjoy the journey, even when there are detours along the way. Appreciate every moment, whatever each moment may bring.

    From the genuine appreciation of these little moments will come a remarkable life.

36. Treat everyone, especially yourself, with kindness and respect. Treat yourself as the most important person in the world, and treat others as you treat yourself. Do not miss a single chance—not one single opportunity—to tell someone how wonderful they are, how beautiful they are inside and out. Live so that

    people will enjoy your presence when they’re with you, and will appreciate you just as much or even more when they’re apart from you.

37. Accept important apologies you never receive. If you love someone and you want to forgive them, relieve them of the need to apologize to you, for anything.

38. True love is freedom. Love lets go. Let go of expectation, let go of requirements and rules and regulations that you would impose on your loved ones. The gift of pure love allows you to bless others and accept them without condition, granting them freedom to make their own choices.

39. Everyone you meet can teach you something important. In fact, the people who are the most difficult to deal with can also be your most valuable teachers.

40. No matter how much you know, there’s a whole lot you don’t know. In almost every situation, a little more willingness to acknowledge that there may be something you do not know could change everything. Go somewhere new, and countless opportunities suddenly appear. Do something differently, and all sorts of great new possibilities spring up. Keep an open mind.

It comes in handy for when you want to listen to a document while multitasking, sense-check that paper or article you’ve just written, or help you retain information easier if you’re an auditory learner.

Even better, however, are its uses in the real world. The best free text-to-speech software can be enormously helpful for the visually impaired, or for someone who has a condition like dyslexia that makes reading on screens tricky. It can also help overcome language barriers for people who read a language but don’t speak it, or are in the process of learning.

Loading the finished file into your smart device such as an iPhone, it enables you to leave your office and listen to an updated manuscript or a report like a podcast as you finish an errand.

If you’re looking for the best free text-to-speech software out there to help with this, then you’re in luck. We’ve rounded up our top picks for reading either individual paragraphs or whole documents aloud.

For ripping audio from videos, do check out our guide to the best YouTube to MP3 converters.

We’ve also featured the best text-to-speech software.

There are a couple of ways to use Balabolka’s free text-to-speech software: you can either copy and paste text into the program, or you can open a number of supported file formats (including DOC, PDF, and HTML) in the program directly. In terms of output, you can use SAPI 4 complete with eight different voices to choose from, SAPI 5 with two, or the Microsoft Speech Platform. Whichever route you choose, you can adjust the speech, pitch and volume of playback to create a custom voice.

In addition to reading words aloud, this free text-to-speech software can also save narrations as audio files in a range of formats including MP3 and WAV. For lengthy documents, you can create bookmarks to make it easy to jump back to a specific location and there are excellent tools on hand to help you to customize the pronunciation of words to your liking.

With all these features to make life easier when reading text on a screen isn’t an option, Balabolka is best free text-to-speech software around.

Natural Reader is a free text-to-speech tool that can be used in a couple of ways. The first option is to load documents into its library and have them read aloud from there. This is a neat way to manage multiple files, and the number of supported file types is impressive, including ebook formats. There’s also OCR, which enables you to load up a photo or scan of text, and have it read to you.

The second option takes the form of a floating toolbar. In this mode, you can highlight text in any application and use the toolbar controls to start and customize text-to-speech. This means you can very easily use the feature in your web browser, word processor and a range of other programs. There’s also a built-in browser to convert web content to speech more easily.

As the name suggests, Panopreter Basic is the best free text-to-speech software if you’re looking for one without frills. It accepts plain and rich text files, web pages and Microsoft Word documents as input, and exports the resulting sound in both WAV and MP3 format (the two files are saved in the same location, with the same name).

The default settings work well for quick tasks, but spend a little time exploring Panopreter Basic’s Settings menu and you’ll find options to change the language, destination of saved audio files, and set custom interface colors. The software can even play a piece of music once it’s finished reading – a nice touch you won’t find in other free text-to-speech software.

If you need something more advanced, a premium version of Panopreter is available. This edition offers several additional features including toolbars for Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer, the ability to highlight the section of text currently being read, and extra voices.

Developed by the University of Edinburgh, WordTalk is a toolbar add-on for Word that brings customizable text-to-speech to Microsoft Word. It works with all editions of Word and is accessible via the toolbar or ribbon, depending on which version you’re using.

The toolbar itself is certainly not the most attractive you’ll ever see, appearing to have been designed by a child. Nor are all of the buttons’ functions very clear, but thankfully there’s a help file on hand to help.

There’s no getting away from the fact that WordTalk is fairly basic, but it does support SAPI 4 and SAPI 5 voices, and these can be tweaked to your liking. The ability to just read aloud individual words, sentences or paragraphs is a particularly nice touch. You also have the option of saving narrations, and there are a number of keyboard shortcuts that allow for quick and easy access to frequently used options.

Despite its basic looks, Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader has more to offer than you might first think. You can open numerous file formats directly in the program, or just copy and paste text.

Alternatively, as long as you have the program running and the relevant option enables, Zabaware Text-to-Speech Reader can read aloud any text you copy to the clipboard – great if you want to convert words from websites to speech – as well as dialog boxes that pop up. One of the best free text-to-speech software right now, this can also convert text files to WAV format.

Unfortunately the selection of voices is limited, and the only settings you can customize are volume and speed unless you burrow deep into settings to fiddle with pronunciations. Additional voices are available for an additional fee which seems rather steep, holding it back from a higher place in our list.

Block or Unblock Programs in Windows Defender Firewall

In Microsoft Windows 10 you can set the Windows Defender Firewall to block or unblock certain applications. Here’s how.

1. Select the “Start” button, then type “firewall“.
2. Select the “Windows Defender Firewall” option.
3. Choose the “Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall” option in the left pane.
   
4. Unchecking the box to the left of the application name disallows it from accessing network resources, while checking it allows access. You can also check the boxes to the right of the name labeled “Private” or “Public” to allow and disallow the app on private or public networks respectively.
   
5. If the program you wish to block or unblock is not listed, you can click the “Allow another app…” button to add it. Choose the application in the list and select “Add“. If the program is not in this list, use the “Browse…” button to select the program file manually.

In Microsoft Windows 10 you can set the Windows Defender Firewall to block or unblock certain applications. Here’s how.

1. Select the “Start” button, then type “firewall“.
2. Select the “Windows Defender Firewall” option.
3. Choose the “Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall” option in the left pane.
   
4. Unchecking the box to the left of the application name disallows it from accessing network resources, while checking it allows access. You can also check the boxes to the right of the name labeled “Private” or “Public” to allow and disallow the app on private or public networks respectively.
   
5. If the program you wish to block or unblock is not listed, you can click the “Allow another app…” button to add it. Choose the application in the list and select “Add“. If the program is not in this list, use the “Browse…” button to select the program file manually.

How to Quickly Create a Quiz on Zoom

Remember that you’ll already need to have a meeting pending to create a quiz for it. If you don’t, create your meeting and then create your quiz. To create your Zoom quiz, you’ll need to sign in to the Zoom web portal. Once you’re in, click on the Meetings tab on the left, and the Polls and Quizzes option will be to the left of the Meeting Templates. It’ll also be marked as New for an easy find.
 

Click on the Advanced Polls and Quizzing option in Green. A new window will appear where you’ll need to start adding your questions. Type them in and then set how the options will be displayed. For example, click on the drop-down menu to the side that says Single Choice. You can choose from options such as:

• Single choice – You can enter up to 10 choices.
• Multiple choice
• Matching
• Rank order
• Short Answer
• Long Answer

If you choose one of the last two, you will need to grade them manually. You can set a correct answer with the other options to create the quiz. The Zoom polls also let you decide if the participants answer anonymously or not. Click on the dots at the bottom right to find these options.

Once you are done adding the questions you need, you can click Save to finish up. The next time you click on the Polls/quizzes tab, you’ll find your newly created quiz or poll. If you want to make any changes, click on the pencil icon. By clicking on the dots, you can choose to delete the quiz or poll or duplicate it.

Once you’re done creating your Quiz, it’s time to start it once the meeting starts. Click on the Poll/quizzes icon in the meeting controls at the bottom to start your quiz.

If you don’t see the polls icon with the other options, you’ll need to sign in to the Zoom web portal and enable it there.  Once you’ve signed in, go to:

• Account Management
• Account Settings
• Meetings tab
• Click on In Meeting (Basic)
• Toggle on the Meeting Polls/Quizzes option

Note: Remember that only hosts and an alternative host can create a poll or quiz. Co-host-s can’t create them, but they can launch them or close them.
Once you’ve clicked on the Polls icon, you’ll see your quiz or poll appear. If you’ve created more than one quiz or poll, you’ll see a dropdown menu at the top. Simply click on the dropdown menu and choose the quiz or poll you want to launch.

When you’re ready to stop the clock, on the red end poll button at the bottom right. Once ended, the summary of participants’ answers will appear in your host’s view. You can take advantage of more options by clicking on the ellipsis at the bottom right. You can choose from options such as:

• Re-launch poll
• Download results
• View results from browser
• Display questions in random order
• Show one question at a time

You can also share a summary of data for each question to the participants. You can easily do this by clicking on the blue share results option. If you want to share the correct answer, there is a box you can check as well. You’ll find it at the bottom left.

Conclusion

Creating a poll or quiz can be very useful or fun. You can create a quiz to see how much your participants know about something. Or, you can create a quiz to see how much your online students have studied for the quiz. The quizzes are easy to create, and sharing the right answer is also easy. Why do you need to create a quiz? Let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to share the article on social media.

Putting your name on things gives you a sense of power. That item is yours, and you want everyone to know it by putting your name on it. You might not put your name on your computer since it’s given that it’s yours, but if you still want to see your name or any other name on the taskbar, here’s how you can do that.

How to Name Your Windows 10 Toolbar

Naming your Windows 10 taskabr won’t give you any special privileges, but naming it makes your computer a little more personalized. To get started, right-click anywhere on your screen and place the cursor on the New option. When the side-menu appears, click on Folder.

When the window appears, click on Desktop and click on your new folder. If the folder is not selected by double-clicking on it, click on it once, and then click on the Select Folder button at the bottom. The name of the folder will now appear on the taskbar.

If you have the taskbar at the bottom, the name will automatically appear at the bottom right. If you don’t want the name to be there, you can change it. By simply clicking on the name and sliding to the left, you can give it a new position.
But, if you want to put it on the other side of the app icons, click on the name, click on it and slide it all the way to the left until the name appears on the left side of the icons. It’s also possible to switch between names if there’s more than one.
Right-click on an empty space on the taskbar and go to Toolbars, followed by New Toolbars. Click Desktop, and the folders you created will be to your right. Click on the one whose name you want to display and choose the file. The name will appear at the bottom right.
Don’t be surprised if you have two names on your taskbar. To only display one, right-click on the taskbar, go to Toolbars and uncheck the name you want to erase.

If you like personalizing your devices, this is a great way to do it. You can add one or even two names to your taskbar. The process is not permanent, so you don’t have to worry about looking at a name you might not like in the future. What name are you going to give your taskbar? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

How Do I Pin “This PC” to Taskbar on Windows 11?

Create a New “This PC” Shortcut

1. Right-click on your Windows 11 desktop
2. Select New → Shortcut
3. Paste the following path in the location field: %SystemRoot%explorer.exe shell:MyComputerFolder
4. Name the new shortcut “This PC Taskbar” and hit Finish
5. The new shortcut icon should now be visible on the desktop

You need to assign a new icon to your shortcut. If you don’t do that, you’ll have two File Explorer icons on your taskbar.

1. Right-click on This PC Taskbar and select Properties
2. Click on the Change icon button
3. Select the Computer icon and save the settings

Set File Explorer to Open “This PC”

1. Type File Explorer Options in the search box
2. Click on the General tab
3. Go to Open File Explorer to
4. Change it from Quick Access to This PC
5. Save the settings
6. Pin File Explorer to the taskbar

Your File Explorer taskbar shortcut will open to “This PC” when you click on it.

If audio doesn’t work in Teams’ breakout rooms, you’ve come to the right place. This issue is actually more common than you might think. Not being able to hear anything after joining a breakout room can be really frustrating, especially if you’re a presenter. Usually, participants can listen to each other without problems, but presenters can’t listen to them.
Audio works fine in the main meeting. It’s just that there’s no audio for the presenter in breakout rooms. Let’s see what you can do to quickly fix this issue.

Teams: How to Fix Audio Issues in Breakout Rooms

Mute Yourself in the Breakout Room

To fix the issue where you can’t hear anything in the breakout room as a presenter, click Mute for your own audio and click on the Mute option again. A pop-up window will appear on the screen asking you if you want to start the audio again. Confirm your choice to reconnect both mic and speakers to the breakout room.

Join the Breakout Room from Chats

Many Teams users solved this issue by going to the Chats section. Locate the breakout room you want to join and hit the Join button directly from the Chats section. Hopefully, this quick workaround does the trick for you as well.

Install the Latest Updates

Make sure to update your OS and Teams app to the latest version. Go to Windows Update and hit the Check for Updates button. The Teams desktop app updates automatically, but you can always check for updates yourself to ensure you’re running the latest Teams version. To do that, click on your profile picture, go to Settings, and hit the Check for updates button.

Equally important, clear the Teams cache to remove any temporary files that might be breaking breakout room audio. Before clearing the cache, exit Teams completely.

1. Press the Windows and R keys at the same time to open a new Run window
2. Enter %appdata%MicrosoftTeams in the search field and hit Enter
3. A new Teams Roaming directory will show up on the screen
4. Delete all the files and folders from that directory
   

   

5. Restart Teams and check if breakout room audio is working properly

Reinstall Teams

If the issue persists, reinstall Teams. Go to Control Panel, click on Uninstall a program, select Teams, and hit the Uninstall button.

Conclusion

If there’s no audio when you join a Teams breakout room, mute and then unmute yourself. Alternatively, you can join a breakout room from the Chats section. Make sure to install the latest OS and Teams updates as well. Then, clear the Teams cache and reinstall the app if the issue persists.
Did you manage to solve the problem? Which solution did the trick for you? Let us know in the comments below.

If you’re using Dropbox, make sure to exit the app completely. Then, clear your File Explorer history and check if this quick solution solves the problem permanently.
To delete your File Explorer history, open File Explorer and click on See More (the three dots). Then, select Options, go to the General tab and locate the Privacy section. Hit the Clear button.

Run Windows Memory Diagnostic

Click on the Windows Search icon and type “memory diagnostic.” Double-click on the Windows Memory Diagnostic app. Select Restart now and check for problems.

Repair Faulty System Files

If some of your system files got corrupted or you accidentally deleted them, specific functionalities and features may stop working. You can run DISM and SFC to repair faulty system files and fix error code 0xc0000409.

1. Launch Command Prompt with admin privileges
2. Then, run the following commands one by one:
   • DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
   • DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
   • DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
   • sfc /scannow

Restart your computer and check if you’re still getting the same error.

Update Your PC and Perform a Clean Boot

Be sure to install the latest Windows updates on your machine. Go to Settings, click on Windows Update, and hit Check for updates. Many Windows 11 users confirmed that installing KB5011563 solved the problem.
Perform a clean boot to see if there’s a particular program that’s causing this issue. Software conflicts can sometimes occur due to incompatible settings. If error 0xc0000409 disappears after clean booting your device, try to identify the problematic program and uninstall it from your machine.

Conclusion

To fix error code 0xc0000409, clear your File Explorer history and exit Dropbox. Then, run the Windows Memory Diagnostic app. Additionally, run DISM and SFC to repair faulty system files. If the error persists, update your computer to the latest OS version and perform a Clean Boot.
Did you manage to get rid of error 0xc0000409? Which solution did the trick for you? Comment down below.

1. Select the “Start” button, then type “firewall“.
2. Select the “Windows Defender Firewall” option.
3. Choose the “Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall” option in the left pane.