Beginner | Castellini on Computers - Computer help for beginners

Posts Tagged: beginner

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 140 Comments
19
Jun 09

Senior uses Ubuntu system 14 months trouble free

photo credit: Nico Kaiser

Computers started making their way into homes, en masse, 15 years ago. After 15 years, computer users should not be afraid of using their computer.

This case study tells the story about a customer of mine, Wanda, who happens to be in her 70s. Like most computer users she used a Windows based computer. In her case, it was a system put together by her grandson in 2002 or 2003 and has a 1.8ghz processor, 256mb of RAM and the XP Home version of Windows.

When I first met Wanda a few years ago, she had typical Windows user problems; slow computer, slow Internet, couldn’t open some attachments, virus and spyware problems. She used dialup Juno for Internet and Norton Antivirus on her system. I couldn’t talk her into getting a DSL or cable connection, but I did change her security from Norton to Continue reading →

General Computer Tips — 5 Comments
15
May 09

Learn Minesweeper & give Solitaire or FreeCell a Break – Video Tip

minesweeperss Solitaire seems to be a game that is synonymous with computers. Microsoft planted the game in Windows not only for entertainment, but also for new computer users to learn mouse skills (click-and-drag, double-click, etc). Some computer users have branched out to FreeCell and like it better than Solitaire.

However, have you tried playing Minesweeper?

Minesweeper appears difficult upon first look. And yes, it does require some brain power, but isn’t that partially the purpose of our computers…to use our brains? If you do like a challenge and using logic give Minesweeper a try.

The object of the game is to avoid the ‘mines’. You do this by first making a random guess and clicking one time on the board. If you are lucky, you didn’t hit a mine (some say that you can never hit a mine on the first click, but I have).

Now you have to use the clues the game gives you to figure out where the other ones lie. The clues come in the form of a number (usually 1-5). The number indicates how many mines border that particular square. One hint to commit to memory is that one square (if it is not along the edge), borders eight other squares. Keep that in mind and like FreeCell, every game is winnable.

It is much easier to Continue reading →

Gmail guide for beginners – 3 Videos – Video Tip

This week’s video tip is a HelpMeRick.com first…it involves 3 videos to cover the topic of Gmail. Directly above each video below, I give a short synopsis of the videos contents. The more I use it, the more impressed I am with Gmail. If you currently use Gmail, don’t be afraid to watch these videos as you might pick up a tip or two yourself.

Google offers a good Help section covering their email system, and you can find it by clicking here. My short video series here are meant to just get you started quickly and give you the highlights of this email system. Continue reading →

Email Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 3 Comments
27
Oct 08

Clean your inbox

stuffed inbox Email truly revolutionized communication. The ability to retrieve a message from anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds is mind boggling. However, judging by the size of your inboxes (a poll I posted recently showed that 60% of email users had more than 100 messages in their inbox), you could benefit from some tips on how to keep your inbox clean.

I used to keep as many as many as 50 or so email stacked up in my inbox, but I always felt that I was behind in my work and consequently much of the email went unread and unanswered. A little more than a year ago, it all changed after I read an article that struck a chord with me called Email Zen. I immediately started practicing the techniques and suggestions in the article and found myself with a cleaner inbox and a better overall outlook (no pun intended) about email and my email communication. I continue to strive for the empty inbox and find that if i get more than 10, I start to get a little jumpy.

From reading that article and my own experience over the past eighteen months, here are my suggestions for reaching harmony with email:

Employ a good spam filter. The best one available for Outlook, Outlook Express, or Thunderbird is Cloudmark Desktop, hands down. Don’t even bother telling me about another one…unless it is better than this one.
Use Gmail instead of Outlook or any other email system. The tools available in Gmail make handling email a breeze, and the built-in spam filter with Gmail is phenomenal negating step 1.
Learn to use filters to sort and manage your email.
Learn to use built-in search tools in your email program to extract information from saved email.
Unsubscribe from any online newsletters, forums, or email groups that you don’t actively read and never will. Remember NOT to unsubscribe from spam, that only brings more spam.
Ask your email buddies who forward messages and jokes to you that you would like to be removed from their list…again, if you don’t actively read them.
Respond to your incoming email as quickly as possible…preferably directly after you read it so that it is handled only one time.
If you have a phone that is capable of checking your email, use it while in the bathroom, standing in line for lunch, waiting for an appointment, etc. Responding to an email on your phone will make your response brief and to the point and save you that time later when you return to your computer.

Another good article for learning how to handle email in an efficient manner is Inbox Zero over at 43folders.com If you have some other techniques that you find work well for keeping email under control, leave a comment and share it! If you are one of the 60% plus who have 50 or more email in their inbox, give these techniques a try and let me know what you think.

Photo by PatrickO’Shaughnessey

Internet Tips — 2 Comments
22
Oct 08

7 ways to become a more efficient web user – Video Tip

This is a reintroduction and retitling of a previous video/tip because of a copyright infringement complaint from Franklin Covey. Hopefully, the new title and verbiage will satisfy their legal staff.

All week long I help computer users of all ages and experience levels. Too often, I see that many computer users (beginners and experienced alike) do not utilize or know about some basic web browsing skills that will speed their work and give them less problems when using the Internet.

In this week’s tip, I will highlight the inefficient habits computer users use and replace them with tips that will make YOU a quicker and more profecient web user.

1. Using an old browser

No matter how old your computer is or what operating system you are using, DO NOT USE INTERNET EXPLORER 6 (IE 6). IE 6 is late 20th century technology and is not compatible with much of the web today and it also poses the greatest security risks.

Instead, use Mozilla Firefox, Opera, or if you must use Internet Explorer, use version 7.

2. Using a search engine instead of the address bar

If you know a web address you are trying to visit, do NOT use a search engine to type that address, type it directly into the address bar and press Enter on your keyboard.

3. Closing the web browser or clicking the Home icon before going to another web site.

When changing channels on a television, you don’t always go back to channel 1, then go to the channel you wanted do you? Likewise, with the web, you can simply click a bookmark or type web address in the address bar to move on to a new web site. You don’t need to close the window or click Home first.

4. Keeping the default browser home page

Your Internet provider often installs their web site as your “home page” (the first page you see when you launch your browser). However, if you never use that page, change it to something you will use.

5. Overuse of the back button

With older browsers (see Habit 1 above), we had little choice but to click on links, then the back button to reach our previous page. True, some people learned to use multiple browser windows, but even that is a dated technique now.

Modern browsers give us the efficiency and elegance of opening multiple pages in what are known as tabs. Tabbed browsing will drastically cut your use of the back button and change your web browsing life forever…for the better.

6. Wasting paper, time, and money by printing more information than necessary

The Internet definitely gave paper companies a new lease on life because we print more today than ever before. However, too often, Internet users want a certain amount of information from a web site and end up getting 6-8 or more extra pages of information they don’t need.

Instead, take advantage of this easy to follow tip that lets YOU select exactly what you want to print and print only that.

7. Search from a search engine site

Searching the Internet is by the greatest, in my opinion, function available for our computers. However, with modern browsers, again see Habit 1, there is no need to visit the search engine site to start your searches. Instead, use the built-in search bar in your browser. You can find it in the upper right corner of IE 7, Firefox, Safari, and Opera.

Watch the short video below to see all these tips in action and also use the links in this article for more details. Master all of these tips and you will be a web surfer with 7 highly effective habits!

Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
16
Oct 08

My first year with Gmail

Mailbox I closed Outlook and started using Gmail exclusively one year ago. At first, I thought it would be a good experiment to see what Gmail was really all about, but I was also fed up with Outlook and its limitations. It took me two or three weeks to wean myself of thinking of my email in the same way that I used to with Outlook. For the experiment to work, Gmail had to satisfactorily accomplish 3 key functions of email that I handled pretty well with Outlook:

Spam filtering (I used Cloudmark Desktop with Outlook for years and am convinced that for Outlook/Outlook Express or Thunderbird users there is no equal).
Aggregate all of my email addresses (5) in one system.
Organize my email with categories (folders) and automated filtering for shifting email to their appropriate category/folder.

If Gmail could equal or exceed what I could do with Outlook, then I would consider it a success. Gmail’s spam filtering quickly impressed me. In fact, one year later, I can say confidently that Gmail’s spam filtering is superior to that of the Cloudmark system that kept me sane for years with Outlook. Feature #1, check!

I learned to use the Accounts feature in Gmail to successfully and seamlessly pull all my email addresses (and sort them) into my Gmail account. Beautiful; Feature #2, check!

Organizing my email, without the use of folders, proved to be the biggest learning curve. One year later, however, I am happy to report that the learning curve was worth it. Gmail’s Label system for organizing email becomes an astonishingly superior method of organizing email compared to folders once you get the hang of it. Combining the use of Gmail Labels and Gmail Filters makes organizing and managing email almost painless. Feature #3 check.

Since Gmail handled all my key elements of email use with aplomb, I stayed with Gmail and for the time being have no interest in changing. I’m always on the look out for a quicker, easier, and more intuitive to accomplish any technology task, but when it comes to email, every other service, in my opinion, has much to learn from Gmail. In addition to accomplishing all the things I need email to do, I find that the two other features that keep me tied to Gmail are the superior and quick searching ability and the fact that I have access to my email from any computer or phone in the world. Using Gmail made me start to enjoy email again and I know that I’m much more organized and responsive to my email than I was just one year ago.

To learn more about email, read my tip and watch my 3 how-to Gmail videos by clicking here. Do you have a Gmail story to share? If so, please post it below…good or bad.

Story photo by Tim Norris

Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
27
Jun 08

Why overseas tech support doesn’t work so well

Frequently, computer users hire me to call and talk to tech support for them. That may seem like a waste of money to some people, but consider that many computer users have to over come TWO language barriers. Yes, I said two language barriers.

The first language barrier for both the overseas helper and the computer user seeking help is understanding each other. We have a hard time understanding the accent and language use of the person trying to help, and they, too, have a difficult time picking up our use of the English language and our accents that are foreign to them.

Secondly, computer lingo poses an even greater problem for many computer users. Most calls to tech support come from beginner computer users who are still learning the language of computers and their way around Windows. When instructed by a tech support person with an accent to click here and open a menu there, the process quickly becomes overwhelming.

If you need to call tech support, be aware that both you and the support person will be working hard to understand each other and be prepared to listen carefully and explain yourself fully. Approaching the call with all your information written down will help you. Have a pencil and paper to take notes on your end, and don’t be afraid to politely ask the computer helper to repeat any instructions you don’t understand or didn’t hear clearly.

Helping computer users via telephone is a difficult task, and recognizing that there are two language barriers that must be breached will help you approach the call with a different attitude. Speaking of attitude, keep a positive, light tone in your voice and be patient and the call will go much better and probably faster.

Do you have any other techniques for handling tech support calls? Or do you have a tech support story you would like to share? If so, leave a comment below and share with all of us.

Application Tips / Internet Tips — 1 Comment
20
Mar 08

Zoho Creator (database) – Video Tip

This my last installment in my Zoho.com tour, but far from the full capabilities of Zoho. So far I’ve introduced you to Zoho Writer (word processing application) and Zoho Sheet (spreadsheet application). For Part III in my series, I’m giving you a quick tour and demonstration/instruction on how to create a database with Zoho. Zoho has two database applications; one called Creator and the other called Database and Reports. I focused on the Creator application in my video tour.

Database programs offer the most flexibility and ease of use for collecting data on any subject from a book collection, to a club member address list, to tracking expenses for your home or business. Once you learn a few techniques with database design and creation, I’m willing to bet you will leave the lowly spreadsheet behind for gathering this type of data.

Zoho’s database application provides, in my opinion, unparalleled ease of use AND power for both the beginner database user and the advanced user. I strongly encourage anyone ever remotely interested in database collection or anyone who hasn’t been able to find the perfect data collection program to give Zoho Creator a try after watching my short video below.

Some of Zoho’s database features include:

Convert spreadsheet data to database
Online, anywhere access
Easily build powerful database collection forms with drag and drop
Sophisticated form elements including drop down lists, radio buttons, check boxes, date pickers and more
Embed collection forms in your web page or blog
Query data
Export data to multiple formats
Use a powerful scripting language to enhance your database
and much more.

Watch the short video below to see how far online applications from Zoho.com can take you.

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 9 Comments
31
Oct 07

Brand New Computer for $199

I am getting really excited!!

Ubuntu Linux, Splashtop motherboards, fast Internet connections, and Web 2.0 are all starting to bring us to the next generation of Microsoft-free, cheap computing. At least 80% of the computer users I help in their homes or offices do not really need or utilize the power of a full blown Windows (or Mac) computer. You’ve heard this soap box from me before; computer users who only use word processors, basic games, light digital photography, email and Internet can get by without any problems with a much more basic computer.

Today, I read an article about WalMart’s foray into selling a basic Linux computer…for $199! The only thing it doesn’t include is a monitor, but that can be found for around $100 right next to the computers. I don’t want to insinuate that Linux is an inferior operating system to Microsoft Windows. It has all the potential of Windows, just in a different package and simpler to use…especially for beginners. WalMart joins Dell who started selling Ubuntu machines in May of this year.

Also, today, Adam found and sent me this article about a $299 laptop recently announced that starts in 5-10 seconds. Based on the company selling it and the description, I’m assuming it is a Splashtop machine or derivative.

All extremely interesting and ground breaking news in the computer industry.

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 1 Comment
12
Oct 07

Is anyone out there?

There is no doubt in my mind that our site has the most relevant and easy to understand computer information for the average and beginner computer user. Unfortunately, the average computer user doesn’t know how to browse the web well and has trouble finding the information they need to know.

Search engines are confusing. Searching a web site is even more baffling. These computer users do well when they have a recipe of what to do in front of them or can watch someone else perform the steps.

Enter the above average computer user…YOU!

We desperately need your help in spreading the word about HelpMeRick.com Your neighbors look to you for help and computer advice. Your co-workers look to you when they need to find a lost file. And of course your family knows that you know the answer to their latest computer dilemma.

Unofficially, YOU provide tech support for a multitude of computer users. Those computer users you help need to be visiting HelpMeRick.com to help get answers to their questions and to improve their computer knowlege. You can help them get the computer education they need by using the thousands of answers we provide here at the site.

Send your tech support charges links via email to the exact answer to their question at HelpMeRick.com. No reason for you to have reinvent the wheel.

Grandma needs to know how to send an email attachment. Send her here.
Dan across the hall from you at the office would like to know how to organize his photos easier and then email them. Send him here and here.
Your neighbor, McElroy, is supplying free Internet to the neighborhood, unintentionally of course, but can’t get his kid’s computers to print to his printer. Send him here.
Your sister-in-law called and said that there computer is so slow that the household is almost at full mutiny. Print out the tips found here and mail them to her because her computer is so hosed that the Internet connection is unusable.

Get the picture? Help us, help you. Help us, help your friends.

Then tell your friends to visit HelpMeRick.com often so they don’t get in these messes to begin with or can learn new skills that make them more productive computer users.

And finally, let them know that they also should send their friends, family, and co-workers to HelpMeRick.com for education and computer help. Knowledge is power, and powerful computer knowledge can be found right here.