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Riding Shotgun with Rick

OpenOffice – Revisited

I wanted to give a quick update on a product that we started talking about on the show about four years ago. It's called OpenOffice . OpenOffice is considered an open source project which means that no one entity owns it (although Sun Microsystems pushed it hard in the early going), and anyone can use it for free. OpenOffice, as the name implies, is a productivity software. It contains a Microsoft Office compatible word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager and database. I installed it for my kids almost a year ago and have been rolling it out for more and more clients. I can honestly say that I'm impressed with the product.

Logging into Windows

I had a frantic call today from a client who couldn't get into Windows because no matter what password he tried, it wouldn't let him continue. After doing some Lamaze breathing exercises with him over the phone, I calmly asked him to leave the password field blank and click OK. I could feel the sense of relief come over his face when his desktop started to appear. 

The moral of the story:  With Windows, often times there is no password necessary to enter even if there is a box seemingly asking for one. Just click OK and you will be on your way. If you want to avoid the log on screen altogether, search our site for instructions how to do that or call us on Saturdays.

GPS Golfing

Those of you who read our columns know that I was in Texas last weekend on a golfing excursion with a couple of my college buddies. On two of the five courses we played, carts were required and were equipped with GPS caddies. Sitting in our golf carts we knew exactly how far it was to the pin on the green, to the rock on the other side of the bunker in the fairway and even how far ahead the other group was in front of us. Amazing information displayed brightly and in color right from the monitor mounted to the cart roof.

At first, I was taken back by the ultra-accurate information we were receiving. One of my friends, Mike, pointed out that the information we were receiving was no different than the info golfers who buy yardage books or use human caddies are privy to. After some thought, I conceded that he made a good point. It did seem to keep the flow of play moving a little faster because golfers weren't standing around trying to estimate how far they were from targets. I still enjoy walking courses more than riding and like the challenge of figuring out the course for myself, but overall the GPS caddy made the rounds interesting and fun. 

Restore the Show Desktop icon

I have had at least three people ask me how to do this lately, so I thought I would throw it up on the web site for all of us to have as a reference:

1.    Click Start , click Run, type notepad, and then click OK.
2.    In Notepad, type the following text on individual lines:

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

3.    Click File —> Save As from the menus
4.    In the Save In box, choose Desktop
5.    In the file name box type:   Show Desktop.scf
6.    Click Save

The Treo strikes again

I'm in Texas right now golfing with a couple of golf buddies. Last year when we met for golf in Colorado, they like the functionality of the Treo 650 that I carry and use daily. Since then, they both purchased and have become enamored with the unbelievable device. Today, we used the Treo to find a new golf course, look up golf course numbers, calculate our scores, and call our families. These two guys are not techno geeks, but physical therapists (my first profession). However, they both are complete converts to the Treo Smartphone. 

Save yourself some grief…

And money and time.

We have many tips on our web site concerning passwords . The number one issue with passwords is remembering them. It's crazy how many computer users I help that tell me, "I don't have a password.", when I query them about their email or Internet password to troubleshoot a problem or setup a new computer. ANY OF US WHO HAVE EMAIL ADDRESSES HAVE TO HAVE A PASSWORD. It may have been years since you had to remember what it is, but at some point you will be asked for it. Use some of the great (and free) software packages available to manage your passwords. Or at the least write them down in a central location; small address books work well, post-it notes, not so much.

I’m 1-0!!!!!

It pains me to say it, but I really don't enjoy watching football like I did as a kid and a young adult. It could be the stage of life I'm in now, but I just can't get with the pro (or college) team sports that focus so much on big money and the power of me. It is almost an oxymoron to call it a team sport anymore with the mega salaries and the revolving door of players at all positions.

Sports I do enjoy watching are tennis and golf. I've always been a fierce individualist and watching athletes like Tiger Woods and Roger Federer dominate the competition not only physically but mentally really makes watching entertaining and inspiring.  

Windows 95 lives!

Before I moved here to Colorado in 1995, I visited a large circus tent in a Seattle suburb parking lot. The tent said, "Start" in large letters at the entrance. Once inside, I was greeted by extremely cheerful, almost giddy, representatives from Microsoft. I estimated about 30-35 computers were setup with twice that many Microsoft reps showing curious visitors to the tent what Windows 95 was and how it would change the world of computing. One enthusiastic rep gleefully showed me some shortcuts with the Windows key that did impress me and stuck with me from that day until I purchased my first Windows 95 machine nearly a year later.

Chatting can help you

Over the last couple of years, we have mentioned the benefit of chatting with customer support personnel. Chatting used to be reserved for AOL customers and teens. Recently, however, many companies of all types have  found that they can reduce costs and give better service with the power of Internet chat.

Chat is a simple technology that allows two (or more) computer users to write messages back and forth to each other. It differs from email in that each computer user sees the other's messages show up immediately on a screen that lets you follow the entire conversation. 

For you, it means not having to call an 800 number and navigate through an endless set of menus of push this number and than number, then be put on hold, and eventually talk to a person who has a very thick accent. Instead, logging into a support web site for the product you need help with and starting a chat session requires far less time (often you are connected immediately). The other advantages of getting support through a chat session include being able to "talk" to the support person at your own pace and also be able to receive instructions that you can read, study and print to help you thoroughly understand what you need to do.

Send this article to EVERYONE you know…

REALLY! The health of your computer, your friend's computer, your neighbor's computer, the government computers, my computer are all at stake. Heck, economies world wide depend on the information I am about to repeat to you and you HAVE to forward it every computer user you know! REALLY!

I cleaned up a laptop today that belonged to a sophomore in college. She readily admitted that she knew very little about her computer and knew nothing about Internet security. After cleaning off some horrific spyware and a couple of viruses, I explained to her how to maintain the standard products I add to all my customer's computer:

  • AVG Antivirus
  • Windows Defender, Ewido, SpyBot Search & Destroy, and AdAware (anti-spyware programs)
  • Mozilla Firefox (an alternative browser to help prevent the problems)

We have talked and written volumes on this subject, so I'm listing for you links to the articles and tips we have written so you can brush up and educate and inform all the computer users you know.