Tip of the Week Archive

January 5,2009. New rules will govern User Group beginning January.  A member not able to attend the regular Monday User Group will be required to provide an alternate.  The alternate should be enthusiastic but not silly; energetic but not overbearing; technically astute but not to the point of diminishing the reputation of any current member. Humor is encouraged but only as a riposte and not an attempt to impress.  The alternate should arrive on time, not leave early and should not dance on the tables during breaks.   

December 8,2008. You already know you should use different passwords at different Web sites but you don't have to come up with multiple phrases to memorize. Simply add one or two letters of the Web site's name to your strong password.  For example, use IlmDb@BlMwNbYA for Yahoo! and IlmDb@BlMwNbEB for E-Bay. (I love my dog best but love my wife next. Easy to remember.)  

December 1,2008. Don't despair if you missed Black Friday.  Prices are expected to drop by the day if not by the hour into next year.  Price-comparison sites NexTag and  PriceGrabber.com target good deals at physical stores and will alert you when a price meets a target you set.  Even if you don't shop online where deals are often best, you can print out the offer and use it for leverage on the ground.  

November 24,2008. Forget megapixels when searching for a digital camera.  Most cameras have at least 6 -  more than enough for the average user.  Put your money instead on a good-quality faster lens with an f/2.8 stop that enables you to shoot in lower light without always using your flash.  

November 17,2008. Web pages jump out at you because of their vivid color and graphics but all that prettiness means wasting a lot of ink if printing a page for its text alone.  To mute colors and remove pictures when printing, click on the page and go to Tools>Internet Options.  Click Advanced and scroll to Printing then unclick Print Background Colors and Images.  

November 10,2008. These websites may help to keep your blood pressure in check if traveling by air over the holidays.  Go to www.fly.faa.gov  for delays specific to your travel destination on departure day.  http://waittime.tsa.dhs.gov tries to give good estimates of time to get through  security – not real-time. but still may be helpful.  www.orbitz.com gives real-time updates from other travellers at departure points even if you didn’t book with the company.  If cell phone usage is ever allowed on planes, we should see a website on how to eject a seatmate.  Spouses may wish to sit separately.  

November 3,2008. Sony has launched another battery recall this time for overheating.  Purchasers of Dell, Toshiba or Hewlett-Packard laptops between November, 2004 and June, 2006 should consult respective web sites for which models are involved (each brand has different sell period affected by the recall). You have to dig on the Toshiba site for ID and replacement instructions;  less so for Dell and no mention at all on HP.  Sony has information on its site in small print bottom of the page.  This overlays previous 2006 recall which cost Sony over $400 million and affects about 100,000 additional batteries.  

October 27,2008. Microsoft announced recently that it will ship Service Pack 2 of Office 2007 between February and April next year.  MS had already announcd that SP 2 will support its chief competitor OpenOffice. This is made infinitely more interesting considering that there were an estimated 3 million downloads of OpenOffice 3.0 in its first week according to an official with the group. 

October 20,2008. There is a better way to organize your Favorites in IE than the regular way which displays a silly little box in the middle of your screen.  Click Favorites on Tool Bar then  hold Shift key down while pressing Organize Favorites in the drop-down menu.  This opens your faves in an expanded Explorer Windows file making them much easier to view, move, delete, rename, create new folders., etc. 

October 13,2008. Insert current date into any Excel cell by pressing  Control+Semicolon key.  Control+Shift+Semi will insert current time.  Repeat text in multiple cells by highlighting range of blank cells then type text in first cell and press Control+Enter. (The last one works only in Excel ’07). 

October 6,2008. Don’t load up on ink cartridges even if it saves you money.  Like a carton of milk, they have a shelf life and “use by” date for a reason. You can fudge this to some extent but if they sit around too long you may find them dried up.  Sour milk in your cereal is one thing but the cost of a dried-up six-pack of useless cartridges is worse. 

September 29,2008. Navigate a web page by using the Spacebar, Home, End, Pg Up, Pg dn.  When browsing a web page with several screens, use Alt+Left Arrow to move a page back and Alt+Right Arrow to move it forward.   If you’re too attached to the mouse to let it go, hold down Shift while moving mouse wheel toward you for back and away from you for forward. 

September 22,2008. The length of a web page is inversely proportional to the length of the slider – i.e. a short bar means a long page.  Why do you need to know that?  You don’t. 

September 15,2008. You can sometimes dry out a soaked cell phone by removing the battery and packing the phone in dry white rice.  Your Tipster guarantees nothing but it could work.  It helps if you have done a good deed for someone lately. 

September 8,2008. The last Tip covered risk to your computer of overheating because of poor ventilation.  The same holds for a DVR.  It runs 24/7 and requires space for good air circulation and should never be housed in a closed cabinet.   Plus, if it gets balky at changing channels or navigates menus too slowly, unplug it for 10 to 15 seconds and plug it back in.  This can often clear up a range of problems. 

August 18,2008. Computers generate a great deal of heat and need a means of dispersing it.   Plus, as computers get smaller and faster, parts get even hotter leaving less space for heat to go.  Blocked vents can fry a motherboard and cause other mischief.  Keeping vents clear and air circulating around the unit for cooling will extend the life of your computer. 

August 11,2008. You can increase the font on a web page if it's too small  for easy reading.  Go to View and choose Text Size on the drop-down menu then select a larger size.  You can also make the font smaller if it is distractingly large. 

August 4,2008. A double arrow at the end of the Toolbar in Word or Excel means there are more buttons but hidden for lack of space.  Click on the arrows to show the buttons and for options to add a second row or to add or delete buttons.

July 28,2008. Liven up a spreadsheet by slanting text within cells.  Select the cell you want to rotate and from the Chart menu choose Align Clockwise or Align Counterclockwise. Right-click anywhere on the Toolbar if  Chart is not already open..  Type the text and click in another cell to activate.  You can then change color and font, center, right or left align by highlighting the text as in any word document.

July 21,2008. Don’t throw away newer broken items before checking with your credit card company for an extended warranty.  Credit cards often offer this as well as other little-known protections such as price guaranties, theft coverage and even refunds for items cardholders try to return to the store and fail  because of lost receipt or short-return period.  Consumer world.org is a consumer advocacy site with a huge range of practical consumer advice that touches almost anything you do with your money.  It is  updated weekly and tries to stay ahead of  problems which is no easy task these days. 

July 14,2008. The portability of thumb drives that makes them so alluring also makes them easy to lose. You have to wonder how many taxi drivers in New York have a drawerful of thumb drives retrieved from the back seat.  You can protect your drive's contents with encryption software which may be included with the drive or downloaded from the manufacturer.  Third party downloads are also available. Go for encryption and not password protection since the latter is more vulnerable. 

July 7,2008. University of Chicago Law School started blocking internet access in classrooms last March because  too many students weren't paying attention and distracting others.  Observers noted that when one student started shopping for shoes, an entire row was soon shoe-shopping.  Technology has a long arm but sometimes it has to be smacked on the wrist. 

June 30,2008. Should you pay with paper or plastic?  How do you keep your privacy from internet’s prying eyes?   How does caller ID and per-line blocking work?  Privacyrights.org is a treasure house of data you can use in your everyday personal and financial life.  It can be outdated on some issues but it’s still informative on a wide range of quotidian issues. 

June 23,2008. Soon there will be far fewer sourpusses in photos.  A new feature showing up on cameras is Smile Detection.  The camera can be set to prevent a picture to be taken until all people in the frame are smiling.  Another is Blink Detection which warns the photographer to wait because the subject blinked, or to snap again if the subject blinked while the shutter clicked.  Don’t be surprised if the next step is the camera that says:  “I don’t feel like taking pictures today.  Check with me tomorrow.” 

June 16,2008. Catalogchoice.org is a free service that purports to have about 1000 catalogs on file that you can opt out of with just one click.  It advertises in major media and may well be a legitimate means of stopping the flow of junk catalogs but be careful.  It also sells leads and email lists to businesses on the same site.  Cynics and scaredy-cats (never a bad thing to be when online) may want to go directly to the source. 

June 9,2008. Mozilla releases Firefox 3.0 this month and by all accounts is the best web browser out there.  Security is improved in several ways. It’s also faster  and one spiffy new feature is a  way of managing bookmarks that vastly simplifies the process.  Each web address has a star on which you click once to bookmark.  That’s it.  Click twice to choose where to file it.  A “smart“ folder automatically collects most visited and most recent sites. There’s more but that’s enough to make you wonder why each step in boosting the web experience takes so long.   Thanks to Mozilla for juicing up the parade. 

June 2,2008. Vista has a handy feature called Sidebar for adding interesting gadgets that can do lots of things but it may not be turned on by default.  To find it, click Start>All Programs>Accessories>Sidebar.  To have it show on Desktop on boot-up, click Start>Control Panel>Classic View>Windows Sidebar.  Then check Start Sidebar When Windows Starts. 

May 19,2008. Multiple anti-virus and firewall programs are not a good idea because of conflict.  This does not apply to spyware and, in fact, with multiple programs you have a better chance of catching whatever is out there since what one doesn’t find the other hopefully will.  Check out the CLC web site under Resources for recommended free programs.

May 12,2008. Some updates require rebooting which can be annoying while you’re working. The constant reminders if you don’t submit are even more annoying. There is a way to suspend this but it’s best to let it happen since updates can’t be applied to programs that are running.  Rebooting ensures the fixes are made which is especially critical for those security-related. 

May 5,2008. Favorites in IE are easy to manage since they are saved in an HTML file which can be moved to other computers or browsers.  In XP the file can usually be found under Documents and Settings and has a star in front.  MSN Favorites are more difficult to export since they are saved in a hidden XML file.  But you can send them to the web through favorites.live.com for easy export/import or use your Hotmail or MSN address and PW to access the site.

April 28,2008. Word 2003 has a little-known repair function under Help that may actually be helpful at times.  If you have trouble opening a word document e-mailed to you and the "open with" remedy doesn't work, try the repair route.  Go to Help>Detect and Repair.  It is supposed to fix Office problems and at the least may give you avenues to explore before asking sender to re-send in another format.

April 21,2008. A recent Tip informed about Photoshop Element's new little brother Photoshop Express. A respected expert reports that it works quite well albeit slowly and that it's editing facility is one of the best among web-based photo programs. It isn't perfect but it's free. So for novices, what's not to like?

April 14,2008. You may have run across the word Rootkit and thought it was a tomato plant starter set. Actually, it is a program that burrows deep into your computer and tells Windows it isn't there which means that your anti-virus and spyware programs can't find it either. That makes it a dangerous character but luckily too complex for your ordinary hacker so you needn't worry about it now. Unfortunately, the future comes fast in computerland.

April 7,2008. SugarSync is a new synchronization product that keeps data the same on multiple computers such as your desktop and laptop and updates it automatically. Unlike similar products which only transfer data when both machines are online, SugarSync uses a web-based clearinghouse and when any "sync'd" computer comes online, it retrieves latest data from the server and updates. It isn't free but the buzz so far is that it also works with mobile devices and photos and does it all well. Check it out on Google and then go to its website Sharpcast.com for more info.

March 31,2008. Photoshop is launching a stripped-down version of its photo-editing software available free online. Photoshop Express will be completley web-based and Adobe hopes that it will capture novices reluctant to ante up the $99 for Elements but will who eventually move up.

March 24,2008. You can now drop your AOL subscription but keep your AOL e-mail. In fact, anyone can now use AOL mail by simply signing up on their website. This is a real plus for those who don't want to pay for AOL anymore but don't want the hassle of switching addresses.

March 17,2008. Running out of power for your laptop or cellphone isn’t as annoying as it used to be when there is no electrical outlet available. Duracell claims its lightweight battery-operated charger can extend runtime of a laptop by 2 hours. Energizer’s Energi-To-Go works with cellphones and ipods. Cellboost (cellboost.com) is a one-time-use charger claiming about 60 minutes of talk time.

March 10,2008. Are Mac users safer than Windows users when using Wi-Fi in airports, hotels, etc.? The best course is to never, ever conduct confidential transactions over a public wireless network. There is always some chance that you can be intercepted no matter the kind of computer you use. It isn’t that the crooks are so smart. Their edge is that they spend 24 hours a day figuring out how to cheat us.

March 3,2008. So your new computer has Vista and you don’t like it and want to go back to XP. Can you do it? Yes, you can but you won’t want to unless you are very high-techie. The reasons are complex as ever when dealing with computers. If you know you won’t like Vista, your best course is to buy a machine with XP installed knowing that someday but probably not too soon Microsoft will stop supporting it.

February 18,2008. There are multiple reasons for slow boot but don’t overlook something as simple as the number of icons on your desktop. Everything a PC must do when starting up takes time, and that includes drawing the desktop. Removing excess icons means less time needed to recreate them and faster boot

February 11,2008. Solid-state drives called SSD are here. Their advantage over the hard-drive is that they are quieter, faster, draw less power and harder to damage because of no moving parts. As with most new technology, you can figure on paying a huge premium for SSD even though it has less storage. SSD may replace the hard-drive eventually but no need to jump now. Wait for prices to drop and storage to expand.

February 4,2008. There has been some buzz about Google having its own cellphone. But Google says it is developing an operating system only, called Android. It will be open-source" and the plan is to have a variety of phones and other mobile devices ranging from "smart phones" to a device between an iphone and a laptop in various designs and capabilities. The first Androids could be out later this year. Leave it to Google to come up with a sizzling label.

January 28,2008. Last week's TIP was on how to manually backup your OE Inbox. You can also automate the process with software programs that will regularly backup your messages. You can find some of these by searching on the Web for "backup Outlook Express."

January 21,2008. Some computer tasks are easier than you thought they would be such as backing up emails in MS Outlook Express. Start by clicking on Tools then Options. Click Maintenance>Store Folder and copy path displayed. Now Click Start>Run and enter the path copied>OK. This opens the inbox folder Inbox.dbx. Back it up or copy on any storage media. Your other OE folders are there too with the same ".dbx" suffix.

January 14,2008. Online encyclopedia Wikipedia has just launched a new search engine Wikia Search. While the entity behind it is non-profit, Wikia hopes to make money by offering an ad-based service letting groups create their own "wikis," or web pages that are edited collaboratively. Could that be fun? Maybe. Or maybe just confusing. It's open source and can be accessed via www.wikia.com .

January 7,2008. How can you easily keep in touch these days with a whole gaggle of your children, their children, sisters, brothers, cousins, and so on? www.myfamily.com enables you to figuratively sit around the table with family members no matter how dispersed and share stories, photos and news and do it as often as you like because it’s all on-line. Voice recordings can be added to photos plus it links to ancestry.com for uploading genealogy data. Best of all, it’s free.

See www.myfamily.com/demo for a demonstration.

December 17, 2007. TIP for the New Year:

Though much is taken, much abides, and though
We are not that strength that in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield.

Alfred Lord Tennyson

December 10, 2007. When a windows program crashes, you'll see a pop-up with an offer to "tell Microsoft about this problem." This is their error-reporting program. If you assume this is MS falsely lulling you into thinking it cares, you would be wrong. There are actually 24 real, live people analyzing error reports sent in from all over the world sometimes amounting to 50 gigabytes of data in a single day. Hey Microsoft! How about a stock option for everyone who send who sends a report?

December 3, 2007. If you have a new Sony VAIO laptop, don't be surprised to find a lot of pre-loaded movie trailers on your hard disk. (Surprise! Sony owns a movie studio). You will also find entire movies which Sony charges you to watch. Unwanted trial software like this found on new computers takes up valuable disk space and should be deleted so that you and not software hustlers control your hard drive.

November 26 , 2007. Microsoft is preparing release of Vista Service Pack 1. This is the first set of patches for Vista and hopefully will improve performance in areas that have been problematic, e.g., slow boot-up.

November 19 , 2007. Tired of that washed-out yellow icon for folders? Turn it into a picture that reminds you of contents. Right-click the folder then Properties>Customize. Choose Picture to Browse and select picture then Open>Apply>OK. You must be in Thumbnail to see the picture so click View on Menu Bar then Thumbnail. Repeat for all your folders.

November 05 , 2007. Apple Computer just released its newest operating system called Leopard. It will come preinstalled on all new Macs and can be purchased for $129 as an upgrade to existing Macs. Unlike Vista which has multiple versions, Leopard has just one and with enough features, according to one reviewer, to serve neophytes as well as power users.

October 29 , 2007. Jazz up your files by adding a picture to a folder. Right click the folder > Properties> Customize. Choose Picture to browse for one that best identifies contents, select it and c>Open. Click Apply and OK. Folders must be in Thumbnail view to to see the picture so next step is to click View from Menu Bar>Thumbnail.

October 22 , 2007. If your wireless computer suddenly goes out, consider its location before trying elaborate fixes.It may just be too close to a microwave oven or even cell phone which all operate on the same radio frequency.

October 15 , 2007. Digital cameras gobble energy so choose batteries carefully. Alkaline type is probably your least choice but cheapest. NiMH is better and lithium is best but the latter are expensive and not rechargeable. NiMH gives best trade-off between cost and longetivity.

October 8 , 2007. Using shortcuts is fast and efficient and taxes our brains at the same time. Here is another that is handy and easy to remember. Type the name of the URL you want and push click Control+Enter to complete the address.

October 1 , 2007. BookmarkerTracker is a free web application that purports to allow you to store and organize your Bookmarks/Favorites online in your own password-protected account and access them securely from anywhere on the internet. This can be an ideal solution for multiple-computer owners and notebook travellers. Go to BookmarkTracker.com for more information.

September 17 , 2007. A new feature in Google Earth is touted (by Google) as a virtual telescope that sees planets in motion through their satellite mapping software. It allows users to view the sky and various celestial events from their computers and take armchair tours through the Milky Way. Current Google Earth users must download a new version from http://earth.google.com

August 20 , 2007. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security if running virtual Windows on an Apple computer via Parallels. You should have a full suite of security software including anti-virus and anti-spyware on the Windows side. It’s unlikely that a virus will migrate to the Mac side if written strictly for Windows but assume nothing. If you turned on a feature which permits Windows access to Mac system files and folders, turn it off.

August 13 , 2007. One of life’s maddening moments is typing a line or two and discovering all letters are in caps. Here’s a fix. Go to Start>Control Panel>Accessory Options (Windows XP Category View click Accessory Options again). Click Keyboard tab in window that opens next. Choose ToggleKeys. Your computer will now beep when you hit the Caps key.

July 30 , 2007. Some web pages may not work well with the built-in Safari browser in Macs. For those pages you can use Firefox which comes in a Mac version that is almost identical to the Windows version. It’s free and is downloadable from mozilla.com.

July 23 , 2007. Microsoft has a new feature called Windows Easy Transfer Companion that enables you to automatically transfer your most important programs from your Windows XP-based PC to your new Windows Vista-based PC. Among other things, it gives you control over what programs to transfer and alerts you to those that cannot be moved. Full details are on clc-lo.org. Go to Resources in left column, scroll down to Windows then to Windows Easy Transfer Companion.

July 2 , 2007. If you have to own Vista now instead of waiting a decent interval to get the bugs out, don’t settle for Home Basic. It’s a stripped down version which lacks Vista’s flashy new interface. For the full Vista experience you need Home Premium which is costlier and requires a more expensive machine because of RAM and processor demands.

June 25 , 2007. No matter the hype from Microsoft about enhanced security from Vista, you still need add-on anti-virus security software. There are many free downloadable programs listed on the Computer Center’s web site lo-clc.org. Don’t forget an anti-spyware program available on the same site also free and more than one wouldn’t hurt.

June 18 , 2007. Vista comes with a data and settings migration program Windows Easy Transfer to transfer files & settings between XP and Vista. Despite a message when you run the program, it does not transfer non-Microsoft e-mail programs or browser settings nor documents not in default directories. See earlier TIP for alternatives to Easy Transfer.

June 11 , 2007. You can prolong life of laptop batteries by placing in refrigerator when not in use - but not in the freezer as sometimes suggested. This allows you to swap out batteries and always have one up and running when you need it.

June 4 , 2007. Fuel cell batteries are coming. They will replace lithium/nickel and are not recharged but refilled with a methanol-type chemical. They promise instant power plus 50x power of current products. It’s an exciting new development in batteries on the horizon – not next week but perhaps next year.

May 28, 2007. Consider donating your old computer to a needy person or facilitating organization. Best systems for reuse are less than 5 years old so if you are considering this option, do it before your system becomes outdated and before Microsoft stops support if you are giving a PC.

May 21, 2007. Should you accept the recycler’s vow to shred your hard drive? Bad idea. Do it yourself with software programs such as WindowWasher from Webroot.com, SuperScrubber for Macs and Symantec’s Wipe Info. They cost but it’s worth it to know your data is dead and buried.

May 14, 2007. There are options for recycling your old computer beyond drop-off spots and paying for the service. Dell offers free home pick-up for old Dell equipment and for other brands with purchase of new Dell PC or printer. HP picks up for a charge but offers coupons against purchase of new HP products. Apple has variations such as having to ship yourself but free with new purchase. Check manufacturer web sites for details.

May 7, 2007. MAY IS RECYCLE MONTH FOR TIPS. Disposing of old computers will be more important as Vista use increases. What happens to your old machine when recycled? It is disassembled, parts separated and melted down and then reused. For example, Hewlett-Packard says it mixes melted-down plastics with recycled water bottles to make its scanners.

April 30, 2007. Kodak has introduced a new line of printers with cheaper ink cartridges. H-P counters by announcing new lower-priced inks but with less capacity than standard. They will work with a few current printers but mostly with future ones. It also plans “value” cartridges costing twice as much but with triple number of pages. Go to wsj.com/mossbergvideo for more info and let the ink wars begin.

April 23, 2007. A migration utility in Vista facilitates moving files and folders from XP. The simplest way is a special cable called Easy Transfer Cable for about $40. It does not move programs which have to be reinstalled manually – only files/folders. There are other transfer options such as PCMover and TheTornado with different features but Microsoft recommends Easy Transfer apparently because of compatibility.

April 16, 2007. Richard Steingraber of Lake Oswego’s acclaimed Computer Learning Center may tell you that spooling has to do with cables used for building a bridge. Perhaps. But spooling is also the process of feeding data from a computer to the printer’s memory when you push the print button. This allows you to continue working while the printer does its job in the background as well as to cancel print jobs even after the printer has received them.

April 9, 2007. Microsoft has barred the installation of Vista Home Basic and Premium in Parallels as of this writing. Parallels is the software that allows Windows to run on Macs. It isn’t that they won’t work but that you violate the Microsoft license if you install them. You must buy the costlier Business or Ultimate versions to run Vista on the Mac.

April 2, 2007. Most computers sold today have Vista already installed. But if it does not by your choice or other reason, you should select a machine with enough power to accomodate Vista at a later time. You will want a minimum of 512 RAM, 256 video card, and 100 GB hard drive. More if you do games and heavy video.

March 19, 2007. Daylight savings time came 3 weeks early this year. Last week to be exact. Some computers switched automatically and others did not. If your's is still showing the old time, you will have to change it manually. Go to Control Panel then Date/Time. You should see an option to change automatically. Check that block. But it's for the next time change so you need to now make the change the manually on that site.

March 5, 2007. Ever try to delete multiple entries at the same time in your favorites list in Internet Explorer (IE)? Can’t be done. Instead, do it through the Favorites folder in Windows Explorer (as opposed to IE). It's under Documents and Settings, inside a folder bearing name of the user. The icon for the folder is a star. Then delete like any other files with the control or shift keys.

Febuary 26, 2007. Promotions company CMS Inc. reports that roughly 697 million internet coupons were printed in 2006. Amazingly, only 6.2 million were redeeemed. That's a huge pile of wasted paper. If you want to see what bargains you're missing, check out coupons.com, coolsavings.com and valpak.com.

Febuary 12, 2007. You can jump right to a word or phrase in the text of a web page by clicking Control-F. Enter what you are looking for in the box and the object of the box search will be highlighted.

January 29, 2007. Don’t stint on a case when buying a digital camera. It can prevent scratching up if accidentally dropped and extra dollars spent on a well-padded one may prevent terminal damage to the camera’s mechanical innards.

January 22, 2007. If budgeting programs like Quicken are too complicated for your needs, try Microsoft’s Money Essentials. This is a stripped-down version of Money and is designed to track income and expenses against a budget in a simplified format. It can be purchased and downloaded from Microsoft.com/money for at last count $20.

January 15, 2007. If you are using the new IE7 browser, you won’t see the old familiar icons which are turned off by default in the new version. Revert to the previous version by going to Tools in upper right and click on Menu Bar. You can also customize the new setup by going to Tools>Toolbar>Customize. Add or remove from the lists of icons shown.

January 8, 2007. Digital high-end cameras with sophisticated features are getting cheaper by the day. Fierce competition is driving down prices giving camera buffs fast-action shots, in lower light and with instant feedback making the more complicated gadget less daunting than expected. The day after Christmas will be a great day to find a rock-bottom price and make someone happy. Other than yourself, of course. Find a recipient that doesn't need a camera and ....... hope for the best.

December 18, 2006. Support our troops for their service in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world . Go to americasupportsyou.mil and choose the many ways you can show your appreciation such as care packages, phone cards, letters messages. You also help by aiding their beloved pets they had to leave behind. Go to guardianangelsforsoldierspets.org.

December 11, 2006. Press the windows logo key+E to quickly get to windows explorer from any page you are working in.

December 4, 2006. If you are thinking of buying a new computer with Windows Vista installed, you will need to think about transferring files on your current PC to the new one. A product called Detto Intellimover has been around for a while for just this task. But check when you are ready to see if it will work with Vista. And as always with brand new technology, good luck!

November 27, 2006. If you are thinking of buying an iMac, here are a couple of things to keep in mind. Apple separates them by screen size – 17, 20 and 24 inches. As screen sizes increase, so do processor speeds and other specs although you can customize by buying online. Plus, all iMacs now use Intel's latest dual-core processor with 1.83 to 2.33 gigahertz.

November 20, 2006. Try Open Office if you don’t want to spend for a word processor or to update an older version you already have. This free downloadable word program has most and in some areas even better features than in MS Word. Go to http://Openoffice.org to download directly or go to http://lo-clc.org then Resources on the left column and scroll down to Software Alternatives. Go slowly so you can check out all the other good stuff on the way down.

November 13, 2006. One of life’s more annoying moments is reading email with tiny text. To increase size of the text hold down Control and move scroll wheel on the mouse toward you. If you do not have a scroll wheel, you need a new mouse

November 6, 2006. New version of Internet Explorer omits icon for the e-mail program as a default.  To restore it, right-click on the Toolbar and choose Customize Command Bar.  Select Add or Remove Commands…..and from list on left C>Read Mail.  C>Add and with Read Mail highlighted, use buttons marked Move Up and Move Down to place where you want on Toolbar.  C>Close.

October 30, 2006. If privacy is a concern with photo-sharing web sites that you are using now, look at smugmug at smugmug.com. It costs but it offers password protection, unlimited storage, and doesn’t require friends to register which is always a sure-fire spam collector.

October 23, 2006. It looks like VISTA is really coming. Should you buy it? Not unless you have to be the first on your block to have the latest wizardry or do advanced gaming, animation, etc. Eventually, Microsoft will stop supporting XP with security updates as it did with earlier versions of operating systems but it will be several years at the earliest before that happens. In the meantime, XP is Microsoft’s most stable OS to date and should serve you well until there is a more compelling reason to switch.

October 15, 2006. The toast of photo techies just got a little bit better. Compact photo printers work independently of a computer; just plug in the camera’s USB cable or memory card and press print. But they were a little short on editing meaning users often had to go to their computers after all. Several of the newest printers include extensive editing features plus a few other additions that ramp up the wow factor (see Wall Street Journal October 11, 2006 for product reviews).

October 8, 2006. Some problem-solving sites tell you to go through the Registry to solve a glitch and then tell you how to do it. Other sites tell you to never touch the Registry on pain of death to your computer. What’s the answer? Don’t touch the Registry unless you know precisely and with utmost confidence exactly what you are doing. If you want your computer to live a long time, caution is the word here.

July 17, 2006 You can set your computer to automatically turn off the monitor after set period of non-use. This is a handy feature when you leave your computer on all the time but leave it for extended times during the day. Go to Start >Control Panel>Power Options. Select Power Schemes and look for Settings for Home/Office Desktop drop-down box. Select a time and hit OK. Move the mouse or hit any key when you return to turn it on again.

June 18, 2006 The standard calculator in XP is not just your stodgy old calculator. If you want a more advanced version, go to View and select Scientific. This has lots of features that geeks love and a good Help menu for wanna-be geeks. A quick way to get to the calculator is Start>run then type “calc” without the quotes.

June 5, 2006 Hibernation and Standby are two power management features in Windows XP. Hibernation saves all open files and documents and then powers down your computer.
Everything is as you left it when you power up again. Standby leaves your computer
on so you won’t lose your work but cuts power to hardware not being used such as monitor and hard drive.

May 15, 2006 There are many photo sharing programs out there but a new one from Smilebox.com is worth checking out. It emphasizes design and use of ease. The basic version is free, but includes ads. It’s still in beta launching officially June 1 and promises 190 designs by then. One reviewer was impressed with its jazzy formats for everything from scrapbooks
to postcards.

April 23, 2006 Browsing on 100-downloads.com is like finding things at Wal-Mart you never knew you needed. The site purportedly lists the 100 most popular free software downloads covering photo, security, audio and video plus Skype, Google Talk (beta), MSN Search Toolbar and preview version of IE 7. It’s fun to see what’s out there even if you don’t do the download. Yes, you do need to find dead links in your bookmarks because there is a program for that too.

April 10, 2006 You can rename a list of files as a group, such as photos from your digital camera. Select the files you want to rename, point at the file that will be the first on the new list and right click. Type the new filename, such as GrandCanyon.jpg, and press enter. The selected files will be renamed in order from the primary: GrandCanyon (1).jpg, GrandCanyon (2).jpg, etc.

March 12, 2006 Convertible lenses add function to point-and-shoot digital cameras that often lack an interchangeable lens feature. Because the lens changes what the camera actually records, use of the convertibles often obviates the need to edit later which can affect image quality. They usually attach directly or with an adapter making them a handy accessory.

February 26, 2006 Speed up web searches by using metacrawler.com This is an umbrella site that includes multiple search engines under one roof including MSN, Google, Yahoo, and Ask Jeeves. One click takes you to results from all the sites and identifies the source. It isn’t perfect but like a first spouse, it’s a start.

February 12, 2006 Pop-Ups are more than minor annoyances. They can bring spyware, malware, or Trojan horses. The first rule of pop-ups is never interact with them in any way. Do not follow links displayed. Never click inside the pop-up. Close them out by clicking in the X box in right-hand corner of pop-up window.

January 29, 2006 If wary of shopping online, sign up for a one-time use credit card that generates a disposable number for a single purchase. The charge appears on your regular account and the number disappears. Available from most credit card companies.

January 21, 2006 Look for a padlock in the corner of your screen when buying online. This is a sign that the site is secure from others viewing data that you enter such as credit card and bank account numbers. Scroll over or click on it for the encryption level. 128-bit is more secure than 40-bit, which is easier for a hacker to break into.

January 16, 2006 An alert reader has informed me that the task described in the December 18 TIP can be done more efficiently. Your Tipmaster has dedicated her life to making your computer lives simpler and welcomes your suggestions. Here is the improved mouse-free method: Web pages often open in a small window. Press F11 to make it full-size and toggle back to F11 to reduce it again. Pressing F11 If already full-screen makes it even larger enabling expanded viewing of page contents.

December 18, 2005 Web pages sometimes open in a small window. Press F11 to enlarge it to full screen. Press the middle square next to the big red X at top right corner to reduce it again.

December 12, 2005 A message may flash on the screen after logging on to an encrypted site stating that the site contains both secure and non-secure items and asking if you want to continue. This usually means that the next page contains graphics that are not usually encrypted. You are safe to continue when it’s a site you commonly use and know its origin.

November 28, 2005 Blogs have become the reading matter of choice lately. Former favorites such as NATIONAL SCIENCE REVIEW and COMPLETE WORKS OF DOSTEYEVSKY have been left flailing in the dust. Camera fans may be interested in dcresource.com. Not a journal but lots of information from users in a highly readable format.

November 21, 2005 To change an icon on your desktop, right-click the icon and select Properties. Click Change Icon at bottom of screen and choose from among the 200 or so items on the list. Click OK then Apply on the next screen and OK again.

October 10, 2005 Use the HOME button above the arrow keys on your keyboard to go to the top of a web page. The End button takes you to the bottom of the page. Note that this is not the same as using PAGE UP and DOWN keys which move a page incrementally.

September 11, 2005 You can E-mail a web page or a link to it with a few clicks of the mouse. In Internet Explorer, click File>Send>Page by E-mail. Fill out the recipient’s address when the menu bar pops up and press Send. To send a link, click File>Send>Link by E-mail.

August 28, 2005 The only thing better than free is something you don’t have to pay for. The photo editing program Picasa from Google qualifies on both counts. It locates all your pix on opening, sorts them into albums and organizes them by date. Plus more. It may not have all the bells and whistles of more costly programs but …. it’s free and it may be all you need. Go to Picasa.com for download.

August 14, 2005 Beware free screensaver downloads. They may contain spyware or even viruses. Legitimate screensaver programs should disclose the inclusion of spyware in the user terms. Read the terms before you download. But why take chances? Create your own screensaver with your own photos. Stay tuned.

August 8, 2005 You can easily customize views of your e-mail messages. In Outlook Express go to View/Current View and select Hide Read Messages. You may not want to do that so instead select Define Views in same drop-down menu>New and then check whatever option suits you such as hide old messages, or those from certain people or addresses.

August 1, 2005 Have you seen a picture on a web page that you just wanted to print but not save? Right-click it and select Print Picture on the drop-down menu. Note the other actions you can take on the menu such as Set as Background, Copy, E-mail or Put on Desktop.

July 24, 2005 Easy on the flash when using your point-and-shoot digital camera. Natural light without the addition of flash often makes the most compelling photo.

July 17, 2005 Use the Printer Friendly button or link to print information from a web page. If there, it’s usually at the top of the page but sometimes on the bottom or side. By clicking the link you should get a plain text copy that you can print out with no pictures or other distractions. Print the entire page or highlight selected portions.

July 10, 2005 Have you noticed that when you switch to a second web site, the first one disappears? You can change that. To keep the first site open, press Control+N and then go to your second site. The first one will be available on the task bar and you can switch between them using the tip from last week. To review last week’s tip, go to archives. Mother can’t do everything for you.

June 26, 2005 Press Alt+Tab to switch between two windows in programs such as Word, Excel and Internet Explorer. Do Alt+Esc to cycle between multiple windows. This is especially handy when you have several web pages open at the same time. How do you keep more than one web page open at the same time? Check next week’s Tip.

June 19, 2005 Holding downshift F-10 is the same as a right mouse click for opening drop-down menus. Then use the up-down cursor keys to navigate to the function you want and press Enter.

June 12, 2005 If you don’t print often, your inkjet head can dry out. Print something at least every week to keep things flowing. Find a photo, e-mail or text document that you think you may want a hard copy of and print it out.

June 5, 2005 If you want to be the life of the party, forget Patrick Henry’s one-liner. Go to Armericanrhetoric.com and memorize the entire 1281-word speech it came from. You may not be invited back but you will not be forgotten. Read famous speeches of all time, Aristotle on rhetoric, and listen to the opening narrative on the original Star Wars.

May 23, 2005 Press Alt+Home for a quick trick to return to your home page from wherever you are on the net.

May 15If you have lots of open windows, click the “Show Desktop” icon in the lower left corner of the taskbar to minimize all the windows with one click. If you want the windows restored to their original size, click the icon again.

May 8 Conserve the battery in your digital camera by using less LCD monitor. The LCD is fun but it’s a power glutton. The optical view-finder works just fine for most images and stretches out battery life.

May 1 Check out Google’s new mapping site at maps.google.com. It’s clean, uncluttered and fast. Plus, you can punch up the Satellite link for an aerial view of the mapped area.

4/24/2005 Go to “etymonline.com” for a site that is all about a love of language. Choose a word and learn what it means, how it originated, how it was originally used and how usage has developed over 500 or 1000 years. For example, “tip” meant falling over back in 1530.
To bring it up to date, it refers today to the hints that readers of the CLC web site fall over every week.

4/17/2005 Hold down Control and press F2 to go to Print Preview. We are fond of keyboard shortcuts here as you may have noticed. They save your wrists, they’re quick and make you feel smart. Plus, if you forget one you don’t have to write it on the blackboard 100 times. Just go to TIP Archives.

4/10/2005 You can widen your scrollbars if they are too narrow to grab onto easily. In Windows XP, right-click Desktop and select Properties. Choose Appearances>Advanced then go to Item on the new screen and select Scrollbar in drop-down menu. Use Size box to select a size. Click OK and in next screen Apply and OK again. Try 20 to make it really easy but at least 18.

4/3/2005 Google is full of surprises. Did you know it does calculations? Type 144/12 in the search box and press Enter for the results. Use the standard + or – key for adding or subtracting. Use the / key as above for dividing and the * key for multiplying.

3/28/2005 Google will send you alerts for any keywords you choose. Go to http://www.google.com/alerts and sign up for a web alert. For example, enter Mt. Saint Helens and receive an e-mail with links to the latest developments as they happen.

3/20/05 Why do some E-mails come in tiny, tiny font? Never mind. Hold down the control key and roll the mouse’s scroll bar toward you to enlarge the print.

3/13/05 Now that we’re on a roll with keyboard shortcuts, here’s one that’s really cool. Press Alt F4 to quick exit a document and Word at the same time.

3/6/05 Those funny “F” keys make great keyboard shortcuts. If you skipped the year they taught spelling, punch F7 for Spell Check. If you aim for epistolary brilliance, place your cursor on a word and go to Shift F7.

2/28/05 Save a peck of money and use your color cartridge only when you really need it. Your train will not arrive on time even if you print the schedule in blazing red and purple. To turn off color, go to  File>Print>Properties.  Click Black & White at bottom of menu box then OK.  

2/21/05 Consider using the continuous mode (burst mode) feature of your camera when  snapping fast-moving objects.  Like the grandkid named Zip because he never stops moving. Instead of getting just a half-smile or no smile at all, you may get that full smile.

February 14. To quickly  rename a file or folder, highlight with the cursor (do not click on it) and press F2.  Type the new name in the box,   press Enter and click outside the box.  Use same extension for new name such as  .doc,  .jpg.

February 7, 2005 Press Alt +D  to highlight the address bar fast in Internet Explorer without using the mouse.

January 31, 2005 To move through web pages without using the mouse, press Control+Left arrow to go to next page and Backspace key to go back.

January 24, 2005 To change your Home Page to the page you have open, click Tools, then Internet Options and select Use Current Page. To reverse the selection, choose Use Default.

January 17, 2005 Alphabetize your “Favorites” in Internet Explorer by clicking on “Favorites” in the menu bar (below the title bar, not the one next to the star), right-click any link in the list, and click “Sort by Name”.

January 10, 2005 Make text sharper on your notebook or LCD screen by turning on “ClearType”. Right-click on desktop, select “Properties”, then “Appearance”. Press “Effects”, check “Use ….to smooth edges of screen fonts,” select “ClearType, “OK” and “Apply”.

January 2, 2004 Think SECURITY SECURITY SECURITY  in 2005.  Cyber-sneaks multiply by the hour determined to steal your passwords, invade your privacy and hijack your browser.  Don’t let them in.  Practice safe computing with easy to-download anti-virus/anti/spyware software plus a firewall.  See Resources/Security for more information and web sites on how to protect yourself.  Your computer will love you for it.

December 26, 2004 New digital camera? Don’t know how to use it? Take a class at the Computer Learning Center and start clicking like a pro. Also, check out the Digital Camera User Group where every third Monday at 12:30 they talk about all the cool things you can do with photos. See “Classes and Special Interest Groups .”

December 19, 2004 To support servicemen and women far from home this holiday season, click on www.uso.org. Join "Operation Phone Home" to make it possible for them to hear voices of family and friends silently waiting for their return from the other side of the world.

December 13, 2004 Heavy-duty encryption by banks makes paying bills and managing your account online quite safe today. Install a firewall and anti-virus program and keep them updated which you should do anyway even if you are not banking online. See “Resources | Security”

December 6, 2004 Spyware programs can track where you go and what you do on the internet and report this data back to intruders usually advertising companies. Protect your privacy by using free spyware removal software available for download on this web site. See “Resources”.

November 29, 2004To fast stop a print job in process, double-click printer icon in horizontal blue bar at bottom of screen, then right-click on the print job you want to stop and click cancel. (Print icon only shows while printing).

November 22, 2004 In Internet Explorer, to view a complete list of every internet site visited the prior week through the present day, click on the green arrow to the right of “Favorites” on the Toolbar. The sites will appear on the left of the screen.

November 15, 2004 Select "View | Print Layout" to get a true "What you see is what you get" view in Word.