TECH TIPS
Archive of articles relating to PC advice
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Computer tutorials based on pictures.
Free!
This looks excellent for anyone wanting
an easy way to learn programs like Word, Excel, PowerPoint,
Open Office, etc. It seems they are adding more tutorials
all the time.
I will be adding this to the "TUTORIALS" section
on the left menu very shortly.
|Michael
Minter|I received an email
from a yea dot commer yesterday warning me of a telephone
scam, the email went as follows...
Subject: FW: Please pass this on,
it has been confirmed by Telstra & Australia Police
I got a call last night from an individual identifying himself
as an AT&T Service technician who was conducting a test
on our telephone lines.
He stated that to complete the test I should touch nine(9),zero
( 0), hash (#) and then hang up.
Luckily, I was suspicious and refused. Upon contacting the
telephone company, I was informed that by pushing 90#, you
give the requesting individual full access to your telephone
line, which allows them to place long distance telephone
calls billed to your home phone number.
I was further informed that this scam has been originating
from many of the local gaols/prisons.
DO NOT press 90# for ANYONE. PLEASE pass this on to yourfriends.
If you have mailing lists and/or newsletters from organizations
you are connected with, I encourage you to pass this on.
NAME REMOVED
Detective Senior Constable 29748
Victoria Police State Crime Squads
Level 12, 412 St. Kilda Road , Melbourne
PHONE NO.S REMOVED
EMAIL REMOVED
Clearly this email was sent to me in
good faith as are many other emails of this type that I receive
from yea dot commers and friends.
You know the ones I'm talking about dangerous
viruses, missing children, credit card scams and so on.
I would estimate that almost everyone
I have received has been a hoax.
Following is a rule that I apply...
NEVER TRUST AN EMAIL UNLESS IT HAS ORIGINATED
(BEEN WRITTEN BY ) SOMEONE YOU KNOW AND TRUST.
Anything the comes in and has you deeply
worried and makes you think you should immediately send it
to anyone you know to warn them, should first be checked
using the simple process of opening a search engine and typing
a few keywords and hoax into the search box.
In this case I would use "#90 Hoax".
There are quite a few web sites that keep a listing of all
known hoaxes on the net. One of the best is www.hoax-slayer.com.
Please, everyone - check all "warning" e-mails
and the like BEFORE you send them... the moments you spend
checking, saves all sorts of e-mail traffic and concern for
your recipients.
Test
your internet connection speed at Internet Frog
This site graphically shows your download
and upload speed. My favorite part is seeing how your service
ranks overall. My internode connection scored a quality of
service reading at 97%.
Find out how good your internet connection
is here.
Rainlendar
- A free customizable desktop calendar
Excerpt...
Rainlendar's really cool: it's sort
of like a perma-desktop widget for calendars and tasks. It's
good-looking, easy to use, and light on the system resource
usage. Rainlendar is a feature rich calendar application
that is easy to use and doesn't take much space on your desktop.
The application is platform independent so you can run it
both on Windows and on Linux. The appearance can be customized
with skins and you can even mix different skins together.
Do
you need Microsoft Vista?
written by David Singleton
After 5 years Microsoft have released their
new operating system Vista, with all the marketing you would
expect from one of the worlds largest companies.
Is it worth thinking about an upgrade? Here
are a few thing to think about to help make up your mind.
Microsoft has made a lot of noise about the
features of Vista, but as its two competitors Apple and Linux
point out, it is only catching up to where they are today,
and will soon be left behind. Not a surprise really as 5 years
is just too slow in the world of computers.
Vista uses a lot of computer power, so if
your computer is more than a year old, forget it. A new computer
is called for. A budget of about $1500 will do for the hardware,
the cost of the new software needed to run on Vista could
be significantly more. So for most people its only worth the
change if your hardware is so outdated that it no longer does
the job.
The best feature of the PC type computer
is that the parts can be upgraded easily to keep pace with
the latest and greatest software. However Vista is limited
to only one upgrade, so if you plan a change in the future,
chances are another $300+ will need to be forked out for copy
of Vista, just like the one you already own.
Microsoft has made much of the new security
features of Vista, to combat viruses and other computer nasties.
This conveniently forgets that most of the problems came about
because in its original form, XP was a security disaster.
After several years of development it is possible to have
a secure PC running XP. The big issue is do you trust Microsoft
to have got it right this time?
And what about the rest of the code? Microsoft
has a history of making a complete mess of its initial OS
releases. Remember Windows 3.0, Windows 98, Windows ME, and
more recently 2003 Server Edition. There are about 50 million
lines of code in Vista, thats a lot to get right.
So what are the options for the average computer
user?
If it ain't broke don't fix it. For most
people XP will continue to do the job just fine, however in
order to encourage sales of Vista, Microsoft will eventually
stop supporting XP, forcing people to shell out for Vista.
Move to a Apple Mac. Apple is the Mercedes
Benz of the computer world. Beautifully engineered, but expensive.
However you will get reliability, ease of use, security and
versatility as Apple computers now run Windows seamlessly
thanks to a change of processor.
Look to the future and take a punt on the
dark horse Linux. Linux is a free operating system for desktop
PC's based on the UNIX. Compared to Windows is is more secure,
stable and reliable, but as it has no commercial support users
are reliant on other members of the Linux community for support.
The second best thing about Linux is that you can now dip
your toe in the water without needing to make a full commitment.
Linux is available in a variety of different live Cd's allowing
you to give it a try, and will sit quite happily next to XP
on a hard drive, giving a choice of operating systems. The
best thing about Linux is that it will always be free, including
all the software needed.
How
to Save a Wet Mobile Phone
Excerpt...
Ever dropped your
cell phone in the sink, or even worse the toilet? Did you
ever leave it in your pocket and run it through the washer?
It usually means you have to replace your phone, but sometimes
if you're fast you can save the phone.
Today you need to remember many passwords.
You need a password for the Windows network logon, your e-mail
account, your homepage's ftp password, online passwords (like
CodeProject member account), etc. etc. etc. The list is endless.
Also, you should use different passwords for each account.
Because if you use only one password everywhere and someone
gets this password you have a problem... A serious problem.
The thief would have access to your e-mail account, homepage,
etc. Unimaginable.
This article shows you how to use a free
program called KeePass.
You can learn how to use KeePass at Life
Hacker here.
Windows
Defender
Windows Defender, previously known as Windows
AntiSpyware, offers real-time protection from spyware threats.
The big news about the final release: It's still free, and
Microsoft is even offering two free phone-support calls per
user.
Want an artist's sketch but don't want to
sit in a chair in the park with a bunch of staring spectators?
Photo To Sketch is the answer. With this fast, easy-to-use
program, you can convert any photo-not just portraits-into
an interesting, folksy sketch.
So get that artist's touch quickly while
sitting in the chair in front of your computer. While this
program will save you time, it won't get you out of the house.
Why not use the time saved for an invigorating walk around
the neighborhood?
|Michael Minter|"Writely"
is an online word processor with most of the common features
of a program like Microsoft Word. For those with a broadband
connection the online word processor has some distinct advantages
over a word processor installed locally on your PC. Firstly
you can create or edit your documents on any pc connected
to the internet. Also your documents are safely stored away
from your PC and if you choose, multiple users can collaborate
on the document from any location. Documents can be saved
in Word format as well as other formats.
To use "Writely" all you have to
supply is a valid email address.
From the writely.com...
Put your words
into Writely quickly and easily.
Create new documents from scratch, upload them
from most popular file formats (including Word), or
e-mail them into Writely in batches.
Keep them online and edit them from anywhere.
Organize your documents by tags, or click to star
the important ones.
You can see at a glance who
last edited a document and when.
Get them back out just as easily.
Download your documents in batches for safe-keeping (in HTML),
or save them individually in PDF, RTF, ODT or Word format.
Phone
to Phone STD calls for Free (simple - no traps)
Now this is good. If you have a broadband
connection and you have a friend who has a broadband connection
anywhere in Australia, you can talk to them on your home phone
to their home phone for free. There is no equipment to buy
and it's dead simple.
Here's how it works. Go to www.jajah.com
and try out their free 5 minute demo. You simply enter your
phone no. in the "My Phone no. box" You would enter
the phone no. as 35797****. Then in the "My friends Phone
no." you enter their phone no. e.g. sydney would be 256789456
( no 0 in the std prefix). Because this is a demo you can
ring anyone you like. Press the "Call" button and
your phone will ring, pick it up and wait till your friend
answers...it's that simple.
If you decide that this is a good idea, then
you need to register, which is very simple. You then organise
your friend or friends to register and your away.
PS. They ask that you limit your calls to
5 hours per week and 16 hours per month.
How to save big bucks on your
phone bills
by Michael Minter
No doubt many have heard of VOIP
phones and VOIP phone companies. By the way VOIP stands
for “Voice Over Internet Protocol”,
not that you need to know that but it sounds impressive doesn't
it.
The advantage with VOIP is that your
calls are connected through your broadband internet connection.
The standard price for a call to anywhere in Australia
for any length of time (that's right, any length of time)
is 10 cents. So if you want to ring Auntie Jan in Broome
and have a chat for a couple of hours it will cost you
a measly 10 cents. Overseas calls are around 3c – 4c
a minute.
If you don't know a lot about computers it can be difficult
to figure out how to get this VOIP thing setup and all you
really want is the cheap phone calls right?
Before we get into a really simple way to setup your phone
for VOIP I should make it clear that you will use your current
phone as you do now . If you've got a cordless phone you
will use it just as you do now. Your PC does not need to
be turned on.
There are a few disadvantages that you should be aware of
though, voice quality at the other end of a call you make
is around 80-90% of a normal call. The call quality at your
end is normal. The system can lock up occasionally, so you'll
need to reset the modem now and again. Also every number
you dial has to be preceded by the STD code.
So what do you need?
1. A broadband connection to your PC with a network card
(cable or wireless)
2. A Billion 7402VGP modem. This modem is way ahead when
it comes a simple setup for VOIP.
3. A telephone line. You don't need any special deals from
your normal phone co. so you can reduce the line rental to
around $18 per month.
4. A VOIP phone account (there are heaps on the net)
What does it cost?
The modem is not cheap but it's the only real cost and
your phone call savings will pay for it in no time, particularly
if you make STD or overseas calls. You can buy the modem
inc. delivery for around $260-$280 on the net. If you don't
hve a network connection on your PC, which would be unusual
these days, a network card would cost about $25.
If you aren't computer savvy you'll need some help to set
it up. If you don't know anyone who can do this for you can email me.
It should take 1– 2 hours and will cost you around
$50 to $100.
How is it setup?
Basically everything is setup at the modem. Two lines come
from the phone point to the modem, one for your internet
service and one for your phone. Two wires go out of your
modem, one to your PC and the other to your phone. It's that
simple. The only complex part is configuring your network
settings on your PC and cofiguring the modem.
You
don't need to pay for Anti-virus Software
by Michael Minter
Many people are not aware that excellent
Freeware programs exist for most applications that you would
normally use on your PC. One of the most expensive, due to
the fact that it requires an ongoing annual cost is anti-virus
software. But you can rest easy you don't have to a pay a
cent for an excellent free anti-virus program called AVG.
It is available from www.grisoft.com and although the free
version is a bit hard to track down on their site you can
download it from here. You
will find the free file in an orange box at the bottom of
the page labelled "AVG Free for Windows installation
files"
Once downloaded double click on the file and follow the prompts
to install. Make sure you uninstall your old anti virus program
afterwards. This article will remain available on our “Tech
Tips” section. If you have any problems installing
the program you can email yea.com.au with an explanation
of your problem here.
You
never need to buy Microsoft Word or Excel again
This may sound like rubbish but it's actually
true. There is a product called “Open Office” which
has a word processor which will read any word file and will
save any document as a word file. The same applies to Excel.
You can create Excel spreadsheets and open Excel spreadsheets
in Open Office. It also has a product that creates and plays
Power Point files and has a drawing progam.
Best of all it's free!
Here is an excerpt from the Open Office
web site...
OpenOffice.org the product is a multi-platform
office productivity suite. It includes the key desktop applications,
such as a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation manager,
and drawing program, with a user interface and feature set
similar to other office suites. Sophisticated and flexible,
OpenOffice.org also works transparently with a variety of
file formats, including those of Microsoft Office, and the
vendor-neutral OpenDocument standard from OASIS.
Available in over 65 supported languages with more being
constantly added by the community, OpenOffice.org runs stably
and natively on Solaris, Linux (including PPC Linux), Windows,
Mac OS X (X11), and numerous other platforms.
Operation as stated in the excerpt is very
similar to MS Office. Open Office is what is called an “open
source”
project. This means that many amateur programmers all over
the world write different components of the product, it then
distributed for free. It is continually updated and improved
and is considered by many to be superior to MS Office.
If you want to know more go to openoffice.org here.
NOTE: If you are on a dial up connection
it will not be viable to download "open office" from
the net. If you want a copy on CD email me here.
If
you have a digital camera you need Picasa
by Michael Minter
There is a free photo organising
and effects tool for digital cameras that is simple to
use and does a great job of logging your pictures.
Picasa is offered free by the people
who run the Google search engine. When you first install
the program it logs every picture on your pc and sorts
them into chronological order. Finding a pic on your pc
that may be years old then becomes very simple.
It has some excellent tools for
your pics including cropping, lighting, soft focus, sharpening
etc. All of these effects are also simple to use. It has
heaps of other features to numerous to mention.
I use it all the time for my images
and every person I have recommended it to has been most
impressed.
TECH TIPS
