|
Castellini on Computers FREE Weekly Email NEWSLETTER
September 19, 2007
HEAR
(AND SEE) OUR SHOW LIVE
EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT AT 9:30PM MST
AND/OR
VISIT HELPMERICK.COM ANY TIME TO DOWNLOAD OR HEAR LAST WEEK'S SHOW!!
|
|
In this week's issue. . .
|
|
***
TIP
OF THE WEEK
*** GEEK
SPEEK OF THE WEEK - (Simple definition of common computer terms)
*** COMPUTER
NEWS...and comment
*** LAST
WEEK'S POLL RESULTS
*** ADAM'S
COMMENTS - Stuff from the digital world that is rolling around in Adam's
head.
*** Email of the week
|
|
How
about another fresh helping of Castellini on Computers! Many of our listeners
have discovered that we turn the camera on a little early to do checks and
make sure everything is setup OK.
We have been happy with the group of people who have been joining us each
week. The web show is much more interactive than the radio show ever could
be.
Last week we addressed nearly a dozen live questions from chat. As usual, you
can hear the entire program by clicking on the link in our recent audio
section at HelpMeRick.com.
|
|
Email your questions to us
and we will answer them live on the air or on our daily website updates!
|
CUSTOM COMPUTER HELP FROM RICK & ADAM
|
|
We
have been posting a new how-to video every week since November and the
feedback has been tremendous. Now YOU have the opportunity to get your own
customized video tutorial about a topic that you are having trouble with or
just want to learn.
To learn more, visit: www.HelpMeRick.com/videohelp
|
|
TIP OF THE WEEK
Drag and Drop in Ubuntu Linux - Video Tip
|
|
CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO TIP
Interestingly, because of the security setup in Ubuntu, drag and drop file
management (ability to drag files from one folder to another) doesn't work
without a little tweaking. I'm still learning the ins and outs of how Ubuntu
is put together and how the all powerful "root" user corresponds to
some commands or programs we want to run in Ubuntu.
Opening programs as the "root" user has the potential of
creating some security or stability issues, but this small tweak seems to be
universally accepted. To read more about drag and drop, the hack and how they
relate to the Linux root user, read this forum thread
on the Ubuntu Forum site.
What I demonstrate in the video below is how to create a launcher item
(shortcut) on your Ubuntu panel to open the file manager (Nautilus) in a mode
that allows you to drag and drop files from folder to folder.
- RIGHT Click any panel
- Click Add to panel
- Click the Custom
Application Launcher button
- Type a name for your
new Launch icon
- Type the following the
command line: gksudo nautilus
- Click the No
icon button to bring up a list of icons you can choose from for your new
launch button
- Click OK twice
- Click Close
Now
your accessing your file manager (Nautilus) from this panel button allows you
to drag and drop!
|
|
GEEK SPEEK
|
Remember
VCRs? They were great weren't they? Wouldn't it be great if we could record
our favorite shows and watch them later, the way we could when we had VCRs?
Not only can we still record our favorite shows, but modern technology allows
us to record our favorite shows even when we don't know they are on.
A Personal Video Recorder (PVR) is a very limited computer that you link
between your TV and cable or satellite connection.
Unlike a VCR, the PVR connects to the Internet and downloads the TV schedule for
all stations that you receive.
A typical, easy initial setup allows you to enter your favorite shows,
actors, genres, and movies. The PVR then watches for those items to
show up in the schedule and it records those programs whenever they are on.
The most popular PVR device is the TIVO, but there are at least half a dozen
similar devices on the market.
PVRs, they will change your life.
|
|
PVR/TIVO
|
|
|
COMPUTER
NEWS...and comment
|
|
TECH-SHIFT NEWS
USB 3.0 is less than a year away according to the USB 3.0 promoters group.
The group is a unity of companies in support of a new USB generation
including Microsoft HP, TI, NEC and NXP and a few more.
The new 3.0 format will be backwards compatible with older USB 2.0 devices
but if all things comply with 3.0 you can expect speeds of 4.8 Gigabits per
second. This is accomplished by adding a fiber-optic cable to the current
copper wire.
EMOTICON NEWS
This week marks the anniversary of a very
significant event in our history. It had nothing to do with war, politics,
weather or disease.
This week mark's the 25th anniversary of the
smiley face emoticon :-).
On September 19th, 1982 Scott E. Fahlman posted
the following message on an electronic bulletin board, "I propose the
following character sequence for joke markers: :-). The rest is history.
GOOGLE NEWS
Google
launched another shot at Microsoft Office this week with their new online
competitor to PowerPoint.
The program has been added to the docs.Google.com collection which also
includes a spreadsheet and word processor. These online applications will
work on almost any platform that supports Mozilla Firefox.
No install is necessary and each application is almost completely compatible
with it's Microsoft Office counterpart.
|
|
POLL Results
|
How many times
per year do you call tech support?
|
|
Next week's poll:
Did you ever have an AOL account?
|
How
many times per year do you call tech support?
Zero 48%
1-5 43%
6-10 3%
11-15 0%
16 or more 5%
|
|
|
ADAM'S COMMENTS
|
|
Cheap
computers are everywhere. I say this knowing that cheap is relative. $600 to
one person is different than $600 to another.
Some may think that $600 is high considering that the same $600 can buy you
other items that will last much longer than 4-6 years and those things
typically won't break down or crash.
Is $600+ for a computer high when you compare it to a nice piece of
furniture, art or a pretty good tuneup on your car?
Once you've purchased a computer, how much is too much to spend on a repair?
When do you fix it and when do you replace it?
Sometimes we over simplify this decision process. We try to come up with
formulas like, "If the repair cost is higher than one third the price of
new, and the system is more than three years old, you should replace
it." However, there is much more to consider than a basic formula can
offer.
No matter how much you spend on the purchase of a new computer or how much an
upgrade or repair may cost, the true value of a computer is in the
information, not the components.
If you suddenly lost your address book, how much would you pay to get it
back? If you suddenly lost all of your photos, how much would you pay to get
them back? If all of your financial and business data were suddenly gone, how
much would you pay to get it back? Chances are that the value of one or more
of these things exceeds the value of the computer.
The more I work with people and computers, the more I realize that computers
can not be compared to anything else. Yet, people try.
People try to compare their computers to cars, appliances, and other items
that we use in day-to-day life. Being a computer repair guy is far more
stressful than being a washing machine repair guy. If the washing machine guy
can't fix the problem, does your entire wardrobe disappear? If he makes a
mistake while replacing a belt, is there a chance that it will tear your
clothes to shreds? Not really.
Working with computers is quite different. I have seen entire family photo
collections disappear in an instant. I have seen years worth of financial
data accidentally deleted. These are daily mistakes that have no equal in the
world outside of computers.
There are two costs to every computer and both are equally important. There
is the cost of the system itself and the cost of maintaining that system.
Buying a top of the line computer is worthless if you don't spend a few
dollars on a backup drive. Spending a few dollars on a backup drive is useless
if you don't use it. Be honest with yourself and evaluate how important
the data on your computer really is and how significant of a role it plays in
your life.
This may be an eye opening process, but the sooner you realize it, the more
you will take care of the information that the system holds.
|
|
EMAIL
OF THE WEEK
|
|
Rick,
I have problems setting my camera to the computer. Never had problem before.
The
camera is connected to the computer and when I click on Zoom
browser which I have used in the past.then Adobe photo shop comes on.I
can't download my pictures.
what can I do? I probably should remove adobe but I am not sure.
can you help. Thanks, Josette
----------------
Hello Josette,
It
sounds like you might have the Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition.
Unfortunately, it comes bundled along with the newest versions of Adobe
Reader and automatically installs on your system (unless you uncheck
that option during setup). I think you can solve your problem quickly by: - Click Start
- Click Control Panel
- Double-click Add/Remove Programs
- Find the Adobe Photoshop Album program and click it once
- Click the Remove button
- Follow on screen instructions.
Good luck and happy photo taking! Rick
|
|
Castellini
on Computers & HelpMeRick.com ©2007
Rick Castellini and Adam Cochran
|
