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Rick

Save Files to your ZIP, CDR/RW or other Removable Media Quickly

First, create a shortcut to your drive on the desktop following these steps:

1. Double-click on My Computer
2. Drag the icon of your removable disk to the desktop
3. When you let go of the mouse, the computer will inform you that you can’t move the item there, but would you like to create a shortcut…answer ‘yes’

Now that you have the icon for you drive in place, you can simply drag and drop files or folders right to this icon for quick and easy copying!

The new desktop drive icon is also a great way to read what’s on a zip or CD disk.

Although I keep referring to z

Recycling Your Old Computer

If you received or bought yourself a new computer during the holidays (or any time), many options are available for the use of your old computer. In addition to passing on a still useful machine, remember that in many cities throwing out old computers or monitors is illegal.

First and foremost BEFORE giving away your computer, make sure you purge it of any of your personal information. If your computer came with restore CD’s, use them to restore the computer back to its original state. If you don’t have restore CD’s , you will have to uninstall programs manually and delete your email, financial data, etc on your own.

Pull the Plug!!

One problem with technology is that sometimes we let it overshadow our problem solving skills. In particular, errors on our computer such as “lock ups”, illegal operations, erratic behavior, slow downs, and other computer anomalies can be corrected by simply restarting our computers.

The most common way to restart our computer involves clicking on Start–>Shut Down–> Restart. However, sometimes the mouse does not work so try this keyboard sequence: Push the Start key (between Ctrl & Alt), then U, then R, then Enter.

If this doesn’t work, try pushing Ctrl+Alt+Delete up to five times to try and restart.

Print your Digital Photos with a Developer

Digital camera owners typically take three to four times as many photos than their film counterparts. And why not…there are no developing or film costs. However, the printer industry would love for you to print out all those photos you are taking.

With digital, the potential savings can be huge IF you approach the printing process as I outline below:

  • Backup all your photos to a CD (preferably make at least two backups) as these files are your ‘digital negatives’
  • Not every photo needs to be printed
  • Only print the photos you will frame, scrapbook, hang on the fridge, or send to friends or family
  • Print them at the size appropriate for the occasion
  • Use your home printer to print just the fridge and occasional scrap book photos Yes, do not use your home printer to print the majority of your shots. Instead, carefully pick out the photos you want printed, copy them to a CD, and take them to a local film developer.

Most photo labs today will print your digital memories. Using a photo lab to print your digital pics offers many advantages: * Cheaper (less than 20 cents per photo vs. well over a dollar per photo for prints from your ink jet) 

Open Sesame — for your CD-ROM tray!

If your computer is in a precarious or tight position, opening the CD tray can be cumbersome. Use this tip to have your computer open the CD tray for you.

First, you need to create a shortcut on your desktop. Here’s how it is done:

1. Double-click on My Computer
2. Drag your CD-ROM icon to your desktop
3. Click on the Yes button from the resulting message box

Now, any time you need to open your CD-ROM tray, just RIGHT click on the shortcut you just created, and click on Eject from the menu.

For closing your CD tray (with some drives), just repeat the same process as opening. OR, if you just nudge (gently) the tray inward, the machine will pull the tray closed automatically.

Learn to Use Your Digital Camera’s EXIF Data

In the olden days of photography, a true student of the hobby would carry a note pad and write down the shutter and film speed as well as the lens setting and information such as whether or not a flash was used. The photographer would then use this information as a reference in becoming familiar with the camera.

Even with digital it is extremely important to learn how your camera reacts in various settings. Digital cameras often have very hot flashes that wash out a subject if it is too close. Other cameras may be picky about shooting strange lighting.

Whether a photo comes out perfect or awful, it is often useful to be able to go back and see how your camera was setup for the shot. Your digital camera automatically records such information but you have to know where to find it.

Keeping Track of Your Computer Storage

This week?s tip is a prelude to my tip for next week and a follow up from last week?s tip. Following these steps, you can easily keep track of how much space you have on your computer for new documents and programs.

1. Double-click on the ?My Computer? icon on your desktop
2. RIGHT click on your hard drive (labeled C)
3. Click on Properties
4. An easy to read pie chart informs you how much free space and how much empty space you have on your computer

# Hint: Your free space should be equal to or greater than twice the amount of RAM you have on your computer (exa

Keep Your Computer Clean

I am often asked what is the best way to clean a computer. Here’s how to do it safely:

In past tips, we discussed the importance of good air circulation around your CPU (Central Processing Unit)…the big box where you put CD’s and disks. One spot to start your cleaning is looking at the back end of the CPU and make sure that the vents do not contain too much lent and dust. If so, use a can of compressed air to blow the dust and lent away. It is best to keep your computer off when blowing the dust
from it.

If you feel up to the task, opening the CPU case and blowing out the inside of it is helpful as well. Again, shut the computer off first.

Flash Memory Drives

A flash memory drive (a.k.a. thumb drive or USB drive) consists of a chip of memory (flash) mounted in a plastic case with a USB interface on one end (see the illustration for some examples). With Windows Me, 2000, XP and Macintosh computers, flash memory drives automatically get recognized as another storage drive on your computer. No installation CD’s, no formatting, just fast, safe removable storage.

In addition to their instant recognition and portability, flash drives offer the BEST way to backup day-to-day information like financial data, address books, genealogy, word processing documents, and spreadsheet documents.

Two other great advantages of flash drives are their speed and durability. You can copy 200 megabytes worth of data (literally thousands of word processing documents), in less than a minute! And because there are NO moving parts, the memory is quite stable and long lasting.

To use a flash memory drive, follow these steps:

1. Insert the drive into a USB port on your computer.
2. Wait approximately a minute (first time only) for the computer to recognize and install the device (Windows 98 need to install a driver)
3. Double-Click your My Computer icon to verify that another drive shows up (usually the first letter after your CD-ROM
4. In Windows XP, you can now RIGHT click on any folder or file and then Click Send To —> Removable Drive. This will instantly make a copy of the document or folder on your flash drive.
5. In Windows Me or 2000, you can copy and paste a folder or file to the flash drive or open the flash drive in a new window and drag your files to it
6. If you use a financial program, simply use the program’s built-in backup function and have it back up to your flash drive
7. To delete information from a flash memory drive, open up its icon in My Computer, then click on the file or folder you want to delete, and push DELETE on your keyboard

Digital Cameras

The Photo Marketing Association show was last week in Orlando, Florida and there were dozens of new cameras announced for the consumer level. If you have been putting off purchasing a new camera because you wanted to wait for the latest models, now is the time to consider making that purchase. This is also a great time to buy the older models at a closeout price.

Here are the important features that you want to look for:

Megapixels – The higher the megapixel, the larger you can print your images AND the more you can crop out of the photo and still get a sharp image. With a six megapixel image you can make a 5×7 out of a quarter of the image, by comparison you can’t print an entire two megapixel image any larger than 5×7. However, megapixels don’t make the camera, there are some crummy 6 megapixel cameras on the market.

Optical Zoom – I would be willing to argue that this is the most important feature on a digital camera. The more powerful the optical zoom, the better you can compose the shot. Powerful optical zoom also allows you to take close up pictures from farther away. This can make for great candid and wildlife shots.