Computer Tips

Considering a Netbook?

Web Design and Hosting By: Computer Works

Simple Tips and Tricks We publish a regular weekly column in the Gananoque Reporter. These articles are reproduced and archived here. Just click the link for the pop-up of the actual commentary. Digital Pictures Digital Pictures 2 F-Bombs Lets Sort This Out The Ink Conspiracy Ink Refilling - The Right Choice? CRT’s, LCD’s and LED’s Behold the Difference! Windows 7 Customization E-mail Attachments Printing: Reducing Cost Printing: Saving Paper That’s Entertainment! That’s Entertainment! Part 2 Lend Us Your Ears...

Considering a Netbook? Netbooks made their appearance about 2 years ago, and are often mistaken for similarily named

"notebooks". While quite useful, light and portable, many purchasers have been disappointed to discover their limitaions.

Their intended purpose was a supplentary device to a "full computer", not a full replacement. If you need

something that is inexpensive, ultra-portable, provides internet access, does many main-stream computing

tasks, and prefer not to become permanently cross-eyed trying to work on a two inch iPhone screen - this

might be the right device for you! Their most glaring shortcoming is the lack of any DVD or CD rom drive built in, so imstalling software (even

simple printer drivers) can turn into a challenge most could live without. Many also have a "simplified" version

of an operating system, so some utilities you might just "expect" could be missing, which varies considerably

from model to model. Lower performance processors, as well as undersized keyboards and screens, and the

lack of a number-pad are also considerations. They're a fantastic device to fill the gap between today's super-phone and a full laptop, but do your research

and define your needs before buying!

DIGITAL PICTURES. Its hard to believe there are now people out there who have never used a “film camera”! Digital photography

can be a fantastic opportunity to catch life’s moments like never before, but can also become a “digital

nightmare” if not handled well. All too common is the person with thousands of pictures on their computer that no one ever sees... First of all, we recommend you manage your picture organization, don’t let your camera have free reign! It will

organize all images by creating a new folder for each date, which sounds goods on the surface, until you get

hundreds of folders that have no relevance to what’s in them. Use the “my pictures” folder, rather than making folders on your desktop. The desktop is for shortcuts, not

actual files, where they might easily be accidently deleted, plus they are more difficult to backup from there. Decide what’s best for you, however I like to make one folder for each year, then folders inside that for special events (birthdays) and categories like “family” or “vacation”. Don’t wait until you have hundreds of pictures on your camera to transfer them, make the effort to do it after

each “event”. Its also worth the effort at that point, to edit out poor images and rotate any sideways images.

Now you’re left with just the best pictures, intelligently organized for future reference! We’ll continue this subject next time, until then, happy picture-taking!

PICTURES PART TWO So, now all your digital photographs are nice and neatly organized in a logical, easy to use format. Now

what? Who's going to see them, and how? Watching people pass a cell phone around to look at a

picture on a 8cm screen is one of the saddest things I've ever seen!

Using any modern printer with the right settings and paper can yield spectacular results, and a good

choice for larger prints. For standard size prints though, you just can't beat the cost and quality of a

photo kiosk. There's differences in quality and price though, so try a couple of places to see which

balance suits you best.

My favorite is the TV (or even better, a digital projector!) Most newer flat screen TV's have inputs for

computers. Plug in, get a slide show going, even fire up your favorite music playlist in the background,

then sit back and enjoy huge, vibrant pictures with family and friends from the comfort of your sofa!

Another great thing about this, is everyone is looking at the same picture, at the same time, so

discussions and comments make a lot more sense!

Don't overlook the option to use online photo albums and sharing. Picasa is one which also offers a

pretty good, free, photo editing software package. Flickr is another good example, and even Facebook

works, though its not nearly as focused on this feature. You can set who has access to them, create

albums for specific events and much more. A great system when friends and family are long distances

away.

Now, go start 'snappin those pics!

F - BOMBS We happily click away with our mouse in Windows, performing many regular tasks, only touching the keyboard when absolutely necessary. Hundreds of years ago though, when there was only DOS, and no “Windows”, people knew all kinds of keyboard shortcuts! Well, we’re here to tell you many still exist, and can be extremely useful! Sometimes you can’t find the button or box your looking for, or you have many windows open, or your hands are just oddly on the keyboard already... Try them out, since like many things, practice makes perfect! F5 - Refreshes page (browsers / directories / etc) F1 - Help function F11 - Toggles browsers full screen F2 - Renames a current file F4 - Opens the find or open file window F6 - Moves cursor to address bar in browser “Windows Key” + D - minimize all open windows / toggles back to all open Alt+ F4 - Closes the current window or application Cntl + Alt + Del - opens the task manager (option) to force a frozen program to close Tab Key - moves between text boxes in forms (shift+tab moves backwards)

LETS SORT THIS OUT.. Most often when it happens, people think they have some nasty virus... “I opened my email, and its all crazy and mixed up!”

Well, its not a virus but in fact a feature that is common to almost every “Window” which has a list, such as

files, directories and folders. It is especially useful though, in programs like Outlook express or Windows Mail.

At the top of your messages list, you have headings like “subject” - “from” - “date”. These aren’t just titles, but actual live “sort” buttons. Click “date” you get your messages sorted from oldest to newest, click it again and it reverses the order. Click and “from” and you sort them by sender, which can be extremely handy if you’re

looking for other messages from the same person! In file directories you must have your “view” set to “details” in order to get the sort headings (as opposed to

“thumbnails” or “icons”) but you then get options like “file size” or “last modified” which is useful if you can’t

remember a file’s name, but have an idea when you last worked on it.

Try it.. you’ll like it!

THE INK CONSPIRACY Many people haven't noticed, but mostly, printers are now free! Print quality and speed have improved so much in the last 10 years, that even the least expensive models

produce great results, so there's little reason to spend a lot on a new printer, unless you're looking for some

special features. "Who cares?" you might ask? The point being, its all about the ink...the cost of the cartridges

in that new printer can be as much as the whole printer was. The printer companies want your ink business so

bad, they essentially “give away” the printer. When you shop for a printer, find out the cartridge cost and yield (pages per cartridge). Can the cartridges be

refilled? Is it a one, two, four or even six cartridge printer? All these things affect your "cost per page", and that is the real cost of a printer today. Photos can be produced at kiosks cheaper than you can print yourself, so if you can live without colour,

consider a low-priced monochrome laser. Print cost on these can be as low as only 20% of some inkjets.

INK REFILLING - THE RIGHT CHOICE? There's four things to consider about refilling your ink cartridges: Cost / Environmental / Convenience / Quality. You will typically save from 25% to 50% by refilling. The amount of electronic waste we currently produce is

literally mind-boggling! Refilling your cartridges is one of the very few things you can do to help, which is

actually cheaper than the alternative. Too many "green" choices cost more, and its nice to see something that

is actually economical to accomplish! Its not as convenient as simply buying a new cartridge, there's a time delay getting it refilled, they don't always

work (though its money-back if they don't) and you might even get one that leaks a bit. The quality of your

prints should be every bit as good as a new cartridge. There are often concerns about voiding your printer's warranty... and I could run pages on why this is not true. However, it comes down to one important fact: Printers are nearly free now (minus included cartridges) so

does it matter? Its unlikely to be an issue, but if you even get a few refills, you've surpassed the price of a new

printer!

CRT's, LCD's and LED's - Behold the difference! The computer business loves acronyms, and monitors haven't escaped it. The monitor is our "interface" with

the computer, and picking the right one is no minor detail! CRT's are those old tanks, unfortunately most are now used for filling our landfills. Modern displays are all

LCD, or Liquid Crystal Display. Which is basically an LCD screen displaying the computer image, with a

"light" behind it. Where "LED's" have come into to play is the kind light used. Until recently, LCD's used a type of mini-

fluorescent tube to light the display. An LED (Light Emitting Diode) can now be an option though. Some

advantages of LED displays are brighter screens, more even colour, much more energy efficient and they last an insanely long time! (back-lights are the most common source of monitor failures) They can also be used to create ulta-thin monitors. Some of these features are especially useful on notebook computers. Next time you’re shopping for a new

system, don't just take the display "at face value". You're going to spend a lot of time looking at it, choose

carefully!

CUSTOMIZING YOUR WINDOWS 7 DESKTOP Everyone likes a good secret! Here’s a few tips that could make you look like a total “guru” to your friends! DESKTOP ICON SIZE: click on any blank space on your desktop, then hold the Ctrl button while using the

mouse scroll wheel up or down to resize your icons.

STICKY NOTES: Go to “start” “run” stikynot.exe and you can type notes at the keyboard; right-click a note to

change its colour; click the + sign on the note title bar to add another note TASK BAR ICONS: It’s easy to rearrange the icons across the bottom of the screen. Simply drag an icon to

where you want it to live. You can also add icons to the taskbar by dragging them from your desktop, and delete the icons by highlighting them and pressing the delete key. DESKTOP SLIDESHOW: Not to be confused with a screensaver, this is your actual background. Right-click an

empty part of the desktop, select Personalise > Desktop Background, then hold down Ctrl as you click on the

images you like. Choose how often you'd like the images to be changed, select shuffle if you'd like the

backgrounds to appear in a random order, then click “Save Changes” and enjoy the show!

EMAIL ATTACHMENTS We’ve all had it happen, you get an email with an attachment you’re anxiously awaiting, double-click it in anticipation.... and all you get is an error message! The reason is that every “attachment” is a file (document etc.) that is made by a specific program. If you don’t have the same program, Windows simply doesn’t know what to do with it. Often the message will ask you to “browse” for a program to open it with. This usually makes things worse, and isn’t recommended! The best solution is to find out what program was used to create the file (eg: Microsoft Word / Excel / Word Perfect) and sometimes what version of the program can be a problem as well. With that information, you can search (online) for a compatible program, or a “reader” (free readers are available for all Microsoft Office files). Another option is to ask the sender to resend the file in a different, more generic format. For example, Word 2010 has the option save a file as an older version, like Word 97 or 2000. Many programs offer the option to export as .pdf file as well, which most computers can open.

PRINTING: REDUCING COST We all like to save money! When printing, there’s 2 approaches to saving ink. Print less, or use less ink to print things. To use less ink, printers have several options for “print quality”, and the higher the quality, the more ink is put down on each page. To change the default value for all printing, find your printer in the control panel, right-click it’s icon and select printing preferences (Windows 7) or properties (Windows XP). You should find an option for “quality” listed either in dpi or “normal/high/etc”. Set it to the lowest available. For the times you do need a higher quality print, there is an “option” or “properties” button that comes up when ever you print, which allows for a change in settings for that print-job only, and then defaults back to your master settings. Another option that is available either in the single-job settings, or default value, is the “monochrome” (black only) choice, therefore saving your colour for when you really need it! Next time, we’ll look at ways to save on the number of pages you print.

PRINTING: SAVING PAPER Ever click the “print” button on a web page, only to have your printer happily spit out 20 pages, when all you needed was a paragraph? A common problem, easily avoided! First, use your mouse to highlight just the part of the page you want (click - hold - drag cursor) Instead of just clicking the print icon, go to “file - print” or the drop-down list beside the icon, and select “print”. This gives you print options. By default, it prints “all”. Click the radio button for “selection” and it will only print the part you have highlighted! If you need bits and pieces from several pages, try opening up a blank document in your word processor. Highlight a selection, right-click and “copy”... then switch to your document, right-click and “paste”. Keep doing this until you have all the parts you need, then print your document! You’ll be amazed how much printing you can save doing these two things!

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT! A commonly overlooked benefit of modern LCD TV’s is the ability to easily connect a computer to them. Next time, we’ll look at some of things you can do, but for now how about a “ how to do it”? You don’t have to have a regular monitor, the TV can be the only display if you want to dedicate a system to it. If you want a monitor and a TV at the same time, you’ll need a computer that has two video outputs (or a notebook). You’ll want to control it wirelessly, however you don’t necessarily need a keyboard. Most versions of Windows come with an onscreen keyboard, by going to “start” - “run” (or the “search” box) - “OSK”. We’d also recommend a mouse with extended range, like bluetooth. You have a choice of using an HDMI connection, which is digital and may or may not carry sound (depending on system), or a 15 pin VGA monitor cable, which is analog. The VGA does not carry sound. For sound, you can connect to the speaker-out on your computer, to either the TV or your sound system, using a 1/8 stereo to RCA adapter cable. Computer Works carries all the cables and accessories you need to bring the exciting world of your PC to the big screen!

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT! - PT. 2 So you’re hooked up to that big screen, now what? Obvious answers are things like streaming NetFlix, which is high-resolution TV and Movies for only seven bucks a month, or online sites like YouTube. There’s so much more though... many broadcasters like CBC, CNN, National Geographic etc. are streaming content now. Movie trailers are right at your fingertips... at iTunes you can now rent or purchase current movies, as well as music and videos! Music can be streamed from radio stations, iTunes, Winamp, Realplayer, and many more.. not to mention immediate access to your own music collection! Why have a separate DVD or Blu-Ray player, when its right there in your computer? What about home movies? Just a click of the mouse away.. Then there’s photographs. Store them online in programs like Picasa or Flickr, to watch your own, or other family and friends slideshow, or access your own library effortlessly. Everyone in the room can enjoy the same image, at the same, all larger than life!

LEND US YOUR EARS... No multimedia setup would be complete, without great sound, and this is something your computer is extremely well suited for! Whether its video or music, it was likely created on a computer, so what better to reproduce it for you? Many computers already have great sound capabilities, but its an inexpensive upgrade if needed. There’s two ways to accomplish this; quality computer speakers, or connecting your computer to an existing home audio setup. The latter is as simple as getting the right patch cord! Given the choice, a good set of computer speakers is pretty spectacular though! While many computers come with a great sound card, most come with only the absolute basic of speakers. Depending on your needs, nice sounding dedicated computer speakers start at about $50, while window- shattering, ear-crushing, seven speakers setups, including sub-woofers that will empty nearby bookshelves... can get into the $500 range, with many choices inbetween. Bargain-basement prices, compared to equivilent performce “home sound systems”! Another great thing about quality computer speakers, they can be passed on through years of computer upgrades, since they are separate from the computer system! Not convinced? Stop in to our store and lend an ear to our display!