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Riding Shotgun with Rick

Tax Day – Fairtax.org

Political talk is usually a no win situation. However, I believe that when it comes to taxes and our current system, we are all losers. I also whole heartedly believe that if we scrap this antiquated, corrupt current system we have and move to a level playing field, we can all win.

Please visit the Americans for Fair Tax web site and take the time to study and learn about this proposal and then write your congressman or woman and senators to encourage their support of this important proposal.

Laptops are perfectly adequate computers

One of my customers today just purchased a laptop to compliment her desktop computer. She wasn’t thrilled about the idea of having two computers, but didn’t realize that her new laptop was every bit as capable as her older desktop computer.

She isn’t alone. Many computer users think size equals power. When they look at a svelte laptop and compare it to a large black or beige box, they think it must be missing something. In specific instances (designing the next Golden Gate Bridge or editing the next Oscar winning movie or playing the latest FPS game) laptops will not perform as well as a souped up desktop computer. However for most general computing purposes (Internet, word processing, email, digital photography, etc), laptop computers are perfectly capable.

Good ol’ AOL

Amazingly, I have not railed against AOL yet in any of my ‘Shotguns’. No matter how hard I try, somehow the topic comes up. Just today, I helped a customer hook up her new DSL Internet and cancel her AOL account. By switching to DSL, she is saving about $2 a month locally and gaining so much more service. In some areas, you can save $10 or more by switching to DSL.

What else is gained by switching to DSL service from AOL?

Print Preview Revisited

I have a couple of tips related to this topic on the site that I will link later, but this feature is important to keep in mind when creating documents you want to print. Print Preview also comes in handy when printing out documents that you aren’t sure how they will look printed; like spreadsheets and web pages. If something doesn’t look quite right, you can then close the preview window and click into the Page Properties from the File menu to adjust margins or paper size and orientation before previewing again.

Here are two tips related to conserving a little paper, ink and time that you can find on the site:

The power of databases

Lately, I have been helping a business customer set up a database to help manage a portion of their business. Databases are highly underutilized in the small to medium sized business. Databases differ greatly to spreadsheets and potentially offer many more benefits to using spreadsheets.

Properly designed and built, a database can save many hours of data entry and reduce entry errors to almost zero. Databases also provide the opportunity to instantly extract subsets of information from the data…this is done through a process called queries. Reporting functions also excel (no pun intended) with databases and can be customized to meet any need.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I could write volumes about today. It started out extremely weird, but ended up great.
 
I roll up to my first client’s apartment today…she was a new customer, first visit. I ring the doorbell about 10 minutes prior to our appointment. A little dog starts barking directly behind the door, and I hear its owner say something to it and it scurries away.  Approximately two minutes go by and I figure that she is putting the dog in a kennel or something. Nothing is said to me.
 
I wait about another minute then ring the bell again.

Find and Replace

One often overlooked feature in word processing programs like Word, WordPerfect and even Microsoft Works is the Find and Replace function. It is used to locate and replace a frequent use of a word with a different word in a document. You might use it if you right contracts, leases or some other long document and need to make a quick change. Here’s how to use it:

  1. Open your document in your word processor
  2. Click Edit –>Replace from the menus
  3. Type a word or phrase in the "Find"  box
  4. Type the word or phrase that you want to replace the found word with in the "Replace" box
  5. Click Replace All

That’s it! Give it a try the next time you need to make a few adjustments in a document. 

Never be embarrassed

One of my stops today led me to a nice woman who said that she was somewhat embarrassed that she didn’t use her computer for more "important" purposes. She described that her computer usage primarily revolved around email, browsing the Internet and an occasional word processing document. When I explained to her that she wasn’t alone and that many people I see use their computers for exactly the same purposes, she was quite surprised.

One of my philosophies about computers is that you should never do something just because someone else is or someone else told you so. I think it is good advice for life too. If you are happy with how your computer works and with the types of activities you can perform, then great, no worries. Using a computer is a very individual undertaking and there is no reason that we all have to be performing the exact same functions with them.

Read the bubbles

Computer software makers have tried to make software easier to interact with over the past ten years. The problem is us…not the software. I equate the problems with computers with the problems we have faced for ever in real life.

Doctors tell us not to smoke…it’ll kill you. What do we do? Smoking, although relegated to streets and alleys, remains insanely popular and kills millions every year. Don’t eat too much fat or sweets we are told. "Honey, where shall I pick up food tonight; Dairy Queen, McDonalds or Wendy’s?"

It’s disgusting, I know. We are creatures of habits and don’t like to be told what to do. The advice ALWAYS turns out to be helpful, but we usually find out too late how helpful it would have been. 

Choose local Internet providers for DSL

No one likes to sit on hold waiting for ‘customer support’. DSL high speed Internet is growing rapidly because of increased availability from the phone companies and it is inexpensive. However, many computer users choose to get the service through the phone company (which in turn is provided by big guys like MSN or AOL) or they choose to upgrade their dial-up service with their existing large national Internet provider.

DSL offers the opportunity to cut the ties with the large national chains and get your Internet provided by your local Internet company. Part of DSL monies still go to the phone company, but technical support is handled by your local provider. Local DSL providers offer some distinct advantages: