 |
The Monthly Edition Of The k-Byte Newsletter |
 |
|
| v. 24, n. 10 October 2007 | Users Helping Users | ||
|
The Monthly Edition Of The k-Byte Newsletter |
|
|
| v. 24, n. 10 October 2007 | Users Helping Users | ||
|
Contents 1 Exploring Windows Explorer, Part 2 - Jim Sanders 2 About k-Byte 4 Safe Computing With Consumer Reports - Ira Wilsker 6 Calendar of Events 7 October/November Calendars 8 Delkin Pop-Up Shades - Rick Mattingly 10 Tip of the Month - Mike Morris 10 About Trading Post 12 Map to Meeting Place 12 FRPCUG Contacts FOR OCTOBER: DESKTOP PUBLISHING-CHOOSING THE RIGHT APPLICATION-SEE PAGE 6IN NOVEMBER: NOMINATIONS FOR OFFICERS. PLUS, LEARN ABOUT PODCASTING-SEE PAGE 6 Quote of the Month The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. - William James Exploring Windows Explorer, Part 2 by Jim Sanders, North Orange County Computer Club, http://www.noccc.org, editor(at)nocc.org. This is part two of Exploring Windows Explorer with the idea of learning how useful this tool can be. There are several ways to bring up Windows explorer. Click means left click unless preceded by the word right. In no particular order: Click on Start, hover the mouse pointer over All Programs till the window with all options appears, click on Accessories to open the sub-window, then click on Windows explorer. On most machines, it will open with the My Documents directory/folder highlighted and expanded. Right click on Start to open the options window, click on Windows Explorer. On most machines, it will open with the Start Menu directory/folder highlighted and expanded. This is usually down four directory levels with the path - Local Disk (C:)/Documents and Settings/(current user name for that machine)/Start Menu. Click on Start, on the default XP menu, click on My Computer, this opens Windows Explorer in the Task Pane mode. This is also true if you click on My Documents, My Pictures, My Music, or My Network Places. For most people this means navigating down a path one directory at a time, then backing out one directory at a time with the left arrow in the green circle. If you have followed the advice in part 1, at least you can see the path to where you are at in the address bar. Very few people that use this mode make use of the history file provided by the little down arrows next to the left and right arrows. The history files can speed up navigation quite a bit, but in my opinion are nowhere near as efficient as having the Folders Pane visible instead of the Task Pane. Clicking on the Folders icon in the Menu Bar causes the full tree structure to be displayed in the left hand pane. That allows much more efficient navigation of the files on your disk(s). Double click on the My Computer icon on the desktop - takes you to the same place as #3. Depressing either Windows key (the ones with the MS flag icon and the word "start" on them) and then tapping the "E" key, opens Windows Explorer in the Folder mode with My Computer highlighted. Depressing either Windows key, and then tapping the "F" key, opens Windows Explorer in the Search mode with the left pane asking: "What do you want to search for?" You then have the option of choosing several different categories of search including my most common choice - All files and folders. Clicking on Start and then Search opens Windows Explorer in the same mode as #6. Right click on start, then click on Search, opens Windows Explorer in the Search mode with the left pane stating: "Search by any or all of the criteria below." This is the same location you end up at if you choose path #6 and then click on - All files and folders. But wait, if that's not enough ways to open Windows Explorer, there's more! You can make Windows Explorer part of the start menu with the following sequence: Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> right-click on Windows Explorer -> Pin to Start menu You can put a Windows Explorer icon in the Quick Launch portion of the Taskbar with this sequence: right click Start, click explorer, click on the WINDOWS folder, in the right pane, scroll down to explorer.exe and right click it, when the option window opens, click on "create shortcut", place the mouse cursor over the new shortcut, depress and hold the right mouse button then drag the new shortcut to the Quick Launch part of the Taskbar. Release the right mouse button and click on "Move Here."  What!, you say you don't have a Quick Launch area? That is probably because the XP default for that feature is set to disable. You can fix that by right clicking on the Taskbar, hovering over the Toolbars entry till the options window opens, then click on the Quick Launch entry to set a check mark next to it and enable that feature. Once the icon is in place, a single click on the Windows Explorer icon will launch it.  You can put a Windows Explorer icon desktop with this sequence: right click Start, click explorer, click on the WINDOWS folder, in the right pane, scroll down to explorer.exe and right click it, when the option window opens click on create shortcut, then click and drag the new shortcut to the desktop. Right click on the shortcut icon you just created and when the option window opens, click on properties. When the properties window opens, click on the Shortcut tab and edit the Target line to have Window Explorer open with the directory of your choice displayed. This is an example of an edited Target line: C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe /e, /root,c: /select,C:\Documents and Settings\Jim.LIAN-LI\My Documents\NOCCC related files. By substituting the path of your choice for the "C:\Documents and Settings\Jim.LIAN-LI\My Documents\NOCCC related files" portion of the above example, you can have Windows Explorer open and display the directory of your choice. As noted in part 1, the default columns that are displayed in the Window Explorer detail view are: Name, Size, Type, Date Modified. But you should know that they are just four of the 45 possible column types. Not all column types are pertinent for a given file type. For example, Bit Rate is not going to be very useful in a directory full of *.jpg or *.tif files. Camera Model is not very useful in a directory full of *.mp3 files. As hard disks are humongous today, more and more people have large collections of pictures, video, music and Microsoft Office document files on their computer (and far too many are not backed up). The ID3 headers on MP3 files can provide a lot of information about each track. To easily see that information, you need to turn on more column details. You CANNOT break anything by playing with these options. Click on View, when the menu opens, click on Choose Details, click on an item in the list to place a check mark in the box which activates the feature, then click on a directory and look at the results. If you don't like the results, repeat the procedure to remove the check mark and it is gone. The following is the complete list of possible column types: Name, Size, Type, Date Modified, Dimensions, Title, Date Created, Date Accessed, Attributes, Status, Owner, Author, Subject, Category, Pages, Comments, Copyright, Artist, Album Title, Year, Track Number, Genre, Duration, Bit Rate, Protected, Camera Model, Date Picture Taken, Episode Name, Program Description, Audio sample size, Audio sample rate, Channels, Company, Description, File Version, Product Name, Product Version, Profile, Width, Height, Duration, Bit Rate, Frame Rate, Sample Rate, Keywords. There will be more in part 3.  Published monthly, k-Byte is the official newsletter of the Front Range Personal Computer Users Group (FRPCUG): our mailing address is PMB 152, 305 W. Magnolia, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521. Opinions expressed in k-Byte are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the group or its members. Publication of information in k-Byte constitutes no guarantee of accuracy. Use of any information found in this publication is at the sole risk of the user. Neither k-Byte, nor its officers, nor its editors or contributors assume any liability for damages resulting from use of information in this publication. Submissions Articles, letters and short items of interest on computer-related topics are welcome and encouraged. All items submitted for publication are subject to editing. Send your contribution to the editor via e-mail attachment or submit on disk. If you have questions about a submission, please contact the editor for information. Copyright k-Byte is copyrighted ©2007 by the Front Range Personal Computer Users Group. Unless otherwise noted, other nonprofit users groups may reprint or quote from any articles appearing in k-Byte without prior permission, provided that proper author and publication credits are given and that a copy of the publication in which the article appears is sent at no cost to k-Byte at the above mailing address, or emailed to contact(at)frpcug.org. User groups wishing to exchange newsletters with FRPCUG are invited to send a copy of their newsletter together with an exchange request. IBM PC, OS/2, Compaq, UNIX, Windows and other trademarks occasionally mentioned in k-Byte are registered trademarks of International Business Machines, Inc., Compaq Corporation, Microsoft, Digital Research, AT&T or their owners respectively. Neither FRPCUG nor its newsletter k-Byte are connected in any way with any manufacturer or seller. Advertising Classified advertising is free to members for non-business ads. See "About Trading Post" for pricing for camera-ready display ads. Charges for ad makeup from sketches, etc., are available on request. Deadline for camera-ready and classified ads is 45 days prior to the month of publication. For example, ads for the March newsletter must be submitted by January 15th. For pricing and schedules for ad design, connect to contact(at)frpcug.org or kbyte(at)frpcug.org. About FRPCUG FRPCUG is an independent nonprofit computer society, so incorporated with the State of Colorado and open to anyone interested in Windows, or UNIX/LINUX microcomputers. Its purpose is to provide an educational and scientific forum of mutual benefit for members of the micro-computer community. FRPCUG holds a monthly meeting and conducts various special interest groups (SIGs) and seminars. Members have voting privileges, subscription to k-Byte newsletter, and access to SIGs and selected seminars. Annual dues are $25 for individual/family membership ($20 for students) and $50 for corporate/group membership.  by Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director; Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont TX; radio and TV show host, Iwilsker(at)apcug.net  In the several years I have been writing this column, it is very unusual for me to write about a magazine. I subscribe to several print magazines, and quite a few online versions, but there is one magazine I especially look forward to each month, and that one is Consumer Reports (http://www.ConsumerReports.org/cro/index.htm). While best known for its evaluations and ratings of appliances, motor vehicles, and countless household items, it occasionally does cover computer and other technology products. For those interested in computer security and safety for the layperson, the September 2007 issue is a keeper. If you can find it on the news stand after reading this, I strongly urge you to purchase a copy; if you can not find a copy for sale, then it will likely be worth a trip to the library to read. What makes the September 2007 issue so applicable to us and our computing safety and security is the cover story "Stop ID Thieves - 19 ways to protect yourself online". The bulleted subtitles on the cover are: "New threats to avoid"; "Best software for viruses, spam & spyware"; and "Don't get hooked by a 'phish'". About a dozen well written pages in this issue on computing security and software provide the reader with a wealth of useful and easy to comprehend "non geek-speak" information on the topic. Following the security articles are reviews and ratings of popular desktop and notebook (laptop) computers, which add to the usefulness of this edition. There is also a wealth of other non-technical information in this issue, including such wide ranging topics as ratings of popcorn to health insurance providers to dark chocolate. In a section titled "Protect Yourself Online - State of the Net '07" (pages 28 - 34), "Net Threats" are explained. Identity theft opens the article, with a statement credited to Symantec, that identity thieves are paying from $14 to $18 for every stolen identity, with a cost in 2006 to businesses and consumers of a staggering $49.3 billion, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. A survey conducted by Consumer Reports found that an individual's chance of becoming a "cybervictim" is about 1 in 4, as consumers continue to fall victim to internet criminals. About 8% of us revealed sensitive personal and financial information in response to bogus emails. Other material findings of the survey indicated that despite the wide availability of antivirus and anti-spyware software, we are still being victimized by the virus and spyware threat. Over the past two years, 38% of us had our computers infected by a virus, while in the six months preceding the survey, 34% reported a spyware infection. It was estimated that 1.8 million of us replaced a PC not because it was obsolete or worn out, but because they were virus infected. Spyware infections caused us to replace an estimated 850,000 computers! Despite the ominous threats, 17% do not have antivirus software installed, and 33% do not have spyware protection. It was also estimated that 3.7 million US households with broadband internet go online without the benefit of a firewall, a hardware or software product that can provide significant protection from online intrusion by hackers. In a finding that I have personally demonstrated locally, the survey found that fully half of all wireless internet households do not implement even the simplest precautions, such as enabling wireless encryption. No wonder so many of us are victimized by internet crooks. As most of us can attest to, spam (unsolicited commercial or junk email), is still a significant annoyance, with one-half of the respondents reporting high levels of spam (page 30). While many computer users reported that their computers had been infected by viruses, one-fifth of respondents had a major virus problem that was costly to resolve, costing an average cost per incident of $100, with an estimated total damage of $3.3 billion. While more common than viruses, spyware was also costly to remove with about 9% of respondents saying that it cost them an average of $100 each to eradicate, for a total cost of $1.7 billion. Sadly, despite frequent warnings in this column and elsewhere, 1 in 81 respondents lost money from an account by being a victim of phishing (a common form of identity theft using spoofed emails and websites), with an average loss of $200; that still totaled an estimated $2.1 billion (page 31). Consumer Reports does an excellent job presenting the solutions to these common internet problems and threats, this information well justifying the purchase of this issue. Many of us sell or donate our old computers after we no longer need them. What many do not consider is the personally sensitive information that may still reside on the hard drive, and how that information can be illicitly purloined by identity thieves. Consumer Reports has a recommendation on a free software product (Eraser) which can safely delete information from a hard drive before disposing of the obsolete computer. The media and computer gurus should be shouting out the 19 tips that Consumer Reports calls the "Best ways to stay safe online" (pages 32 and 33). Many of the tips should be familiar to readers of this column, and are common sense to many who surf the net. The tips include such items as activate the protection already provided by your operating system and browser, updating and renewing the operating system and security software, turning off the computer when not used for long periods, consider a Mac, watch downloads, consider an integrated software security suite, run antivirus software, run two anti-spyware programs, use credit cards appropriately, protect personal information, and other great tips. I am frequently asked for my recommendation on security software. While we all have our opinions based on personal experiences or anecdotal information, the September 2007 issue of Consumer Reports actually tested many of the products available. It is especially noteworthy that some of the best sellers at retail came out in the extremes of the testing, either at the top or bottom of the ratings. Trend Micro's PC-cillin Internet Security 2007 was the top performing security suite (page 36), and Trend Micro also had the top performing antivirus program (also integrated in the suite). Trend's free standing anti-spyware product took top honors (page 38), as did its antispam product (page 39). For those considering renewing an existing security program or purchasing a new one, these reviews and ratings may provide much valuable information. I do not think that I have ever previously recommended a specific issue of a national magazine in this column. Now, I strongly urge you to get a hold of the Consumer Reports September 2007 issue with the "Stop ID Thieves" cover story. In terms of computing safety and security, this may be one of the most valuable and low cost investments you can make. A subscription to Consumer Reports, which has published other technology reviews in the past, would also be a great idea. Just do it. Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups. This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above). October General Forum Meeting We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, October 2nd 7:00 PM Meeting Agenda: 7:00 to 7:15 Announcements 7:15 to 8:00 Open Forum 8:00 to 8:15 Break 8:15 to 9:00 Desktop Publishing-Choosing the Right Application See you at the meetings! November General Forum Meeting We will meet at the Fort Collins Senior Center on Tuesday, November 6th 7:00 PM Meeting Agenda: 7:00 to 7:15 Announcements and Nominations for Officers 7:15 to 8:00 Open Forum 8:00 to 8:15 Break 8:15 to 9:00 Podcasting, Internet Radio and Similar Applications Get full membership benefits. If you are not a current member, download an application from http://www.frpcug.org/memberap.htm Future General Forum Meeting Notes Desktop Publishing-Choosing the Right Application. Is a word processor suitable for desktop publishing? Do I need the most expensive software? What are the choices? How do I choose? Attend the October General Forum meeting for some answers. November is the month to renew your membership, and to nominate officers for the new year. November is also the month to learn about podcasting. Podcasting has a variety of definitions (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting). Is podcasting different from listening to a Los Angeles radio station over the internet? Find out at the November General Forum meeting. Future SIG's, Seminars, and Other Meetings New Technology SIG The New Technology SIG provides advance support for all PC related operating system and telecommunication issues. The meetings are held at 7:00 PM on the third Thursday of each month at Bluebird Manufacturing Inc., 1421 Webster Avenue, in Fort Collins. For more information, contact Chuck McJilton at 970-493-2987. Board Meeting FRPCUG's executive board meets on Wednesday of the week following the General Forum meeting. All members are welcome and are encouraged to attend. These meetings are held at 7:00 PM in the Staff Board Room of the Fort Collins Senior Center. Shop Talk One-on-one assistance. Drop in to the Senior Center lobby on any Saturday (holidays excepted) from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM 2 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00 PM 6 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM 10 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00 PM 13 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM 18 New Technology SIG Meeting 7:00 PM 20 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM 27 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM November 2007 3 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM 6 FRPCUG General Forum Meeting 7:00 PM 10 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM 14 FRPCUG Board Meeting 7:00 PM 15 New Technology SIG Meeting 7:00 PM 17 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM 24 Shop Talk 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM A Product Review by Rick Mattingly, http://www.frpcug.org LCD display panels utilized in digital camera models are notoriously difficult, if not impossible, to view in sunlit conditions. While frustrating when attempting to review shots under sunlit conditions, this fact is a downright showstopper on digital camera models which have no optical viewfinder. In the case of no optical view finder the user must compose shots through the LCD panel itself. Mighty hard to do when sunlight washes out the display making the image invisible!  A company named Delkin Devices has an inexpensive solution to this problem. Among numerous camera-related products Delkin also produces an ingenious product called the "Pop-Up Shade." Delkin Pop-Up Shades are available for most digital camera models. For all other camera models Delkin produces a Pop-Up Shade they call the "Universal." The Universal model is available in a full range of sizes to match virtually any LCD panel. Delkin Pop-Up Shades actually perform two functions: shading the LCD panel and protecting the LCD panel surface from damage with an optically clear plastic shield. From the Delkin website comes the following product description: "Pop-Up Shades are LCD screen protective covers, which also double as glare guards. These sturdy and lightweight covers are easily installed (and removed), but most importantly help to protect a digital camera's expensive LCD screen. When flipped up, the shade provides easier viewing of the display in bright sunlight. The cover pops up to form a three sided canopy over the LCD to diminish glare and folds right back down when you're finished. Even with the shade flipped up, an optically clear plastic guards the LCD preventing damage to the screen. Pop-Up Shades are available in both the Snap and Stick-On design. Snap On shades hook onto the grooves of your camera while Stick On shades attach to the camera with a non-residue adhesive that keeps the camera finish smooth and clean. Unlike other "one size fits all" LCD hoods out on the market, our Pop-Up Shades are designed for specific DSLR camera models. Also, our Universal Pop-Up Shades fit hundreds of Point-and Shoot models, giving you the best option for finding a shade that works perfectly for your camera. Pop-Up shades snap up with the flick of a finger, shading the screen from bright light and protecting the fragile LCD screen." Further information regarding the Universal model: "The Universal Pop-Up Shade is designed to fit hundreds of cameras, both new and old. The Universal shade attaches to your camera by a non-residue adhesive. The adhesive does not damage the camera when the shade is removed, nor does it leave behind any film. An optically clear plastic protects your camera's screen, and the simple pop-up design allows for easy opening to block the glare. The two-part design enables easy removal of the shade while keeping the clear plastic in place for protection. This shade is perfect for those with a Point-and-Shoot camera." Delkin Pop-Up Shades are available in either silver or black to match your camera model. This product is truly ingenious and works like a champ to solve a frustrating digital camera problem when shooting outdoors. The price is also pretty amazing at only $19.99 for all Universal & Point-&-Shoot Pop-Up Shade models. Available at many camera stores or online directly from Delkin at: http://www.delkin.com/ by Mike Morris, Front Range PC Users Group, http://www.frpcug.org. Styles - Part 2 - Using Styles Last month, the Tip of the Month column introduced the Styles feature, used in many different types of software applications. This month, one implementation of a Styles feature will be examined: "Styles and Formatting" in Microsoft Word 2002. The Styles (or Styles and Formatting) feature is a sub-menu item under the Format item on the Menu bar. It is interesting to note that this holds true for Microsoft Word (v. 2000, 2002, 2003), Word Perfect 12, and Open Office Writer 2.2. It even holds true for Excel 2000 and Open Office Calc 2.2. And it also holds true for other applications. There is a widespread perception that the Styles feature in word processing applications is useful only for long complicated documents. It is certainly useful for those types of documents, but because it is such a powerful productivity enhancer, it can be useful even for single page letters. In Microsoft Word, when you click on Styles and Formatting from the Format item on the Menu bar, a "task pane" (to use the Microsoft terminology) is opened on the right side of the display. In the other two word processor applications mentioned above, a dialog box is displayed. With the task pane open, the display will look similar to this:  To apply a Style-which can include more than just font information-all that is necessary is to select the text and then click on the Style name in the task pane. For example, take the following phrase: This Phrase Qualifies as a Heading 3 I first select (or highlight) it:  Then I click on the Heading 3 item in the task pane, and my work is done:  The heading started off at Times New Roman, 12 pt. Regular, and ended up at Arial 13 pt. Bold. And it only took one mouse click to make the change. If I had used the Formatting Toolbar or the Font Dialog box, I would have had to individually select each of those choices. You don't actually need the task pane to apply a Style. All of the three word processors mentioned above provide a Style selection feature from their respective Formatting Toolbars. This is what it looks like in Word 2002:  OK, so that adds one more mouse click. But if you want to combine many formatting commands into a Style, two mouse clicks is still a lot less than seven or eight-or more. Especially if you need to frequently use those formatting commands. What can you include in a Style? Almost everything-well, perhaps not the proverbial kitchen sink. To find out, view the conclusion in next month's Tip of the Month column. Noncommercial Advertising k-Byte runs classified ads in Trading Post for three consecutive issues. Trading Post ads up to 10 lines (or 70 words) long are free to FRPCUG members and only $10 for non-members. To place an ad in Trading Post contact Rick Mattingly at 970-613-8968 or e-mail to rmatt(at)mesanetworks.net. Commercial Advertising Specifications (Per Issue) Full Page (8.5" x 11")*$50.00 Half Page (5.5" x 8.5")*$30.00 Quarter Page (4.25" x 5.5")*$20.00 Business Card (2" x 3.5")*$10.00   Source: http://www.mapquest.com |
| FRPCUG CONTACTS | ||||
| Telephone Area Code 970 | ||||
| FRPCUG Officers | Name | Work | Home | |
| President | Rick Mattingly | 613-8968 | rickmatt(at)q.com | |
| Vice President | Don Anderson | 498-3534 | 482-0943 | doande(at)gmail.com |
| Treasurer | Virginia Febinger | 498-2127 | gingercln(at)comcast.net | |
| Secretary | Jim Bragonier | 484-9061 | james.bragonier(at)comcast.net | |
| k-Byte Staff | ||||
| Editor-in-Chief | Mike Morris | 461-2002 | twriterext(at)gmail.com | |
| Features Editor | Mike Morris | |||
| Advertising Coordinator | Open - We need a volunteer! | Contact Rick Mattingly in interim. | ||
| Other Contacts | ||||
| Membership Coordinator | Jack Linder | 663-2151 | jack(at)frpcug.org | |
| New Technology SIG | Chuck McJilton | 493-2987 | cdmcjs(at)gmail.com | |
| Door Prize Coordinator | John Goldey | 221-0877 | johngoldey(at)juno.com | |
| FRPCUG Fax Line | 493-1408 | |||
| FRPCUG Home Page w/E-Mail | http://www.frpcug.org | |||
| FRPCUG Officer E-Mail | contact(at)frpcug.org | |||
| Membership in the Front Range PC Users Group is $25 per year for individuals and $50 per year for companies. | ||||
| Mail your completed application and payment to: | ||||
| FRPCUG | ||||
| PMB 152 | ||||
| 305 W. Magnolia | ||||
| Fort Collins CO 80521 | ||||
| or join in person at the monthly meeting on the first Tuesday of each month. | ||||
