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Computer Tips

Do you have kids or grandchildren?

If so, don’t throw out your old computer when you upgrade to a newer one.

Clean up your old computer and install:

  • a simple word processor
  • drawing program (like Broderbund’s Kid Pix)
  • educational games (there are many good free ones available at download sites on the Web)
  • web browser with filter software

This allows your children to learn, use and be responsible for a computer without compromising your computer or data if a small hand gets too anxious.  And if you both need to get a project out, there is no need to rush each other!

Daily Diary…or at least important notes

If you have the need to jot down a few notes and have them automatically dated for you, then using Notepad may be a simple answer for you.

Notepad is included in all versions of Microsoft Windows and contains a nifty little feature of being able to "time stamp" your entries. Here’s how it works.

  1. Click on Start –> Programs–>Accessories –> Notepad (or RIGHT click on your desktop and choose New Text document)
  2. Push F5 on your keyboard
  3. The current time and date are displayed, now simply press Enter and type in your note.

Save this file some where easy to find (or better yet, on the desktop). Each time you need to create a new entry, just open the file and push F5 on your keyboard before entering in the new text.

Create Calendars Easily and for Free

If you have been frustrated at trying to create an attractive and simple monthly calendar, then you have come to the right place. 

Days Ease is a free program from the folks at PC Magazine. It allows you to create and print customized monthly and yearly calendars…easily! You can add your own text to the days, customize titles, fonts, colors and more. Follow these steps to start using Days Ease today:

  1. Click on this link to initiate the download of the program 
  2. When the ‘save as’ box pops up, click in the Look in box and click Desktop
  3. Click Save
  4. Wait for the download to finish (approximately 4-6 minutes with a 28.8 connection) and close your open programs
  5. Find the ‘daysease’ icon on your desktop and double-click on it
  6. Click OK
  7. Click Unzip
  8. Click OK
  9. Click Close
  10. Double-click on My Computer
  11. Double-click on your "C" drive
  12. Double-click on the "daysease" folder
  13. Drag the Days Ease icon to your desktop
  14. Close any open windows and then double-click on the Days Ease icon to start printing calendars!

 

WARNING! Your Internet connection is not optimized!

Banner ads are a real and somewhat necessary part of our Internet world. You see banner ads at the top of nearly every Web site you visit. 

In the past year, one particular ad seems to pop up more frequently than others. It reads something like this:

WARNING! Your Internet connection is not optimized. Click Here to boost your Internet speed!

The ad cleverly (some people say deceptively) resembles a Window’s warning box and thus looks legit. However, the warning is simply an advertisement. 

Don’t fall prey to it. Clicking on the ad will lead you to their web site where you will be asked to lay out $30. If you actually see any gains in speed, they will be negligible and intermittent.

Use the Internet to stop solicitor calls

Two years ago, Colorado became one of the first states to institute a "no-call" list that consumers could sign up for to prevent solicitation phone calls. This past week, the FTC started a national "no-call" list. These lists must be checked by phone solicitation companies every three months to updated their databases. If a solicitor calls you and you are registered on the "no-call" list, you can file a complaint and the solicitor will be fined fairly substantially ( up to $11,000 per incident for the national list).

As opposed to spam (unsolicited email), phone solicitors are regulated and must comply to certain rules. Therefore, these lists do work. Colorado residents who signed up two years ago report that their phone solicitation calls are almost nil. In less than twenty-four hours, the national list had almost one million people sign up. The FTC expects nearly sixty million numbers to be registered by next summer. 

Tired of looking at clouds?

Here is a quick way to add new wallpaper to your desktop as you browse around the Internet (this tip works with Netscape, Internet Explorer, and AOL):

  1. RIGHT Click on any image on any web page
  2. Click on “Save Image as Wallpaper” or “Set as Wallpaper”

That’s it!  A simple tip with a fun result!

Search the Internet Quicker

Many Internet surfers have discovered and benefited from a great search engine called Google. Doing basic searches with this engine can reduce the time it takes to find relevant information. 

Most good web sites will have a search engine that just searches its own site (see ours on the bottom of most of our pages). As helpful as these can be, they sometimes fall short in finding the precise information you are looking for. Using a feature of Google called ‘site searching’, you can have Google’s search engine do the work that the site’s engine cannot. 

Quickly Navigating to a website

When you read about a web site or hear one advertised on the radio or TV, do you know hot to get to it quickly?  If no, here’s how:

This tip will work with ANY online service or browser or operating system.  

As you are reading this tip, look toward the top of your monitor.  Do you see a long white box with an http:…. address in it?  This is called the browser address or location bar.  You will interact with it to successfully complete this tip.

  1. Click ONE time anywhere in the long white address bar toward the top of the screen (the current address will become highlighted)
  2. Type the address of the web page you are looking for (ex:  www.helpmerick.com   note that you do NOT have to type the http:// part of the address)
  3. Push ENTER or RETURN on your keyboard and you will be transported the address you typed.

That’s it, no more complicated than these three steps.  Just make sure that your spelling is correct and that you use periods instead of commas. 

Navigating the Web

Just starting out on the Web? This tip is for you!

This tip will work with ANY online service or browser or operating system.  

When you are looking at your Internet screen,  do you see a long white box with an http:…. address in it?  This is called the browser address or location bar.  

  1. Click ONE time anywhere in the long white address bar toward the top of the screen (the current address will become highlighted)
  2. Type the address of the web page you are looking for (ex:  www.yourpcpartner.com   note that you do NOT have to type the http:// part of the address)
  3. Push ENTER or RETURN on your keyboard and you will be transported the address you typed.

That’s it! No more complicated than these three steps.  Just make sure that your spelling is correct, use periods instead of commas, and don’t use spaces. 

Our Top Internet Information Sites 2005

We started publishing this list about three years ago. I fully admit that I am an information junkie and enjoy finding the answers to questions as soon as they come up. I tend to use a core group of sites to find my information. In this list you will see some perennial favorites and some new ones that I started using over the past year.

In no particular order, my favorite information gathering web sites are:

  • Google – Hands down the best place to start when you are searching the Internet