GREATER BOSTON SENIOR COMPUTER GROUP NEWSLETTER
Issue No. 45, February 12, 2003
CHAIRPERSON:: Arline Ekman, AVE@alumni.unh.edu
EDITOR: Harriet Mandell, harrietd@rcn.com
WEB PAGE: Garry Ziffer, http://users.rcn.com/gbscg
LIAISON: Eve Welts, ewelts@rcn.com
************************************************************
THE UNSUBSCRIBE TRAP….when attempting to rid your computer from unwanted e-mail, the choice to “unsubscribe” or “remove link” to get off a mailing list is sometimes offered. Do it only for messages from companies or organizations that you recognize and trust. If you click the unsubscribe link, spammers who use a random approach to spread their wares, will now know you are a real person. They can add your e-mail address to a list that they can use or sell. Ignoring and deleting the message may be the better option.
*************************************************************
FIRST TIME DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS ….may benefit from Digital Photography For Dummies, 4th edition, by Julie Adair King. This includes the essentials of digital imaging technology. Suggested by Eve Welts.
****************************************************************
URL’S FOR USERS WHO LIKE TO TINKER ... http://www.hivelogic.com how to encrypt email address. http://ipchicken.com when you must know your external IP address.
***************************************************************
TYPES OF FORMATS to use when you want to move/copy text to an email. 1. text (.txt) which is easy to cut and paste into the e-mail itself 2. Rich Text Format (.rtf) which is text but preserves most of the formatting of the original document, and 3. MS Word 2000 document format (.doc) which can be attached to e-mail.
***************************************************************
USERS OF XP TAKE NOTE….here are some examples of services that you may not need turned on all the time: Automatic Updates…Used to see if there are any updates available for download. You may prefer to manually update your computer and then you should check the Windows Update site for patches. Help and Support required for Microsoft’s online help documents. This service will be placed back in automatic mode even if you have disabled it when you use it. Messenger…Sends messages between clients and servers. Not needed under normal conditions for home usage. This is not related to MSN Messenger nor is it WinPopUp.
***************************************************************
COMPUTER CLASSES AT THE NEWTON SENIOR CENTER …Winter Session #2 Registration March 5, Wednesday 10 a.m. For more information call Alice Bailey at the Center 617-796-1660. Spring session Registration will be April 23.
***************************************************************
COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR KEEPING FIT…Earle Barcus found a program at http://www.shelterpub.com called StretchWare. Try a Free 30 Day Demo of the fitness software that reminds you to stretch at your computer. Set it for every hour or some other time period. A window pops up on your screen and asks if you have time to stretch. The stretches pop up on the screen. Enjoy!
***************************************************************
LET’S TALK CONTROL PANEL Here’s what you can find when you open Control Panel in your computer. Each option will also provide you with helpful troubleshooting tips: APPEARANCE AND THEMES consolidates the options to tweak how windows looks. Change your desktop background, screen saver, mouse pointer, theme resolution, fonts, user account pictures, and display options. NETWORK AND INTERNET CONNECTIONS establish or change your Internet connection settings, set up or change your network, tweak modem, phone, and remote desktop options. Also gain access to printers, hardware, and My Network Places. ADD OR REMOVE PROGRAMS Always use this feature to correctly remove programs and system components. A dialog box will walk you through the install/uninstall process. SOUNDS, SPEECH, AND AUDIO DEVICES adjust everything to do with sound including your speakers, sound scheme, sound accessibility options, and volume. PERFORMANCE AND MAINTENANCE this is where you find your administrative Tools and system and power management options. and where you schedule system tasks. You can find options to do everything from rolling back your drivers to disabling the startup screen and compressing files and folders. PRINTERS AND OTHER HARDWARE take control of your printer, fax, phone, scanner, camera, mouse, keyboard, and game controllers. USER ACCOUNTS set up a different account for every person who uses your computer, and set passwords. DATE, TIME, LANGUAGE, AND REGIONAL OPTIONS. Change the date and time as well as how numbers are presented. This is also where you add other languages to your system. ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS access wizards that will adjust Windows settings for people who are blind, have trouble seeing, are deaf are hearing impaired, or have trouble using a keyboard or mouse.
*******************************************************************
ARE YOU BOTHERED BY INTERNET PROBLEMS that won’t let you change your font colors, or read web pages clearly or use stationery? go to "Internet options" general tab, Accessibility/formatting and uncheck the following three things “ignore colors specified on web pages” “ignore font styles specified on web pages” and “ignore font sizes specified on web pages”
***************************************************************************
EARTH FROM SPACE provides several ways to search the selected images. Each image is available in three resolutions and includes a cataloging data and a caption. However, this site contains only a small selection of the best of our Earth photography. The complete database of NASA's Earth imagery is available at the site, which contains more than 400,000 images. http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov
*******************************************************************
WANTED: URL's of web sites; Helpful hints for Mac users, Win 95/98/ME/XP. Software reviews, desired topics for future meetings. Send these items via email to the editor. Please sign your email with your name. We will publish your email address, but not your name, phone number or address without your permission