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Castellini on
Computers Free Weekly Email Newsletter
October 24, 2007
Hear
(and see) our show LIVE
Every Thursday night at 9:30 PM MST
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In this week's
issue. . .
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*** 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
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We
are taking a break from the show this week so everyone can go to bed
early on Thursday night or stay up late and watch the Rockies beat up
on the Red Sox. We promise to be back with a fresh, live show next
Thursday. However, you will see new content all week long at
HelpMeRick.com including our now standard new video tip of the week.
In the interim, you can hear our melodic voices ANY TIME you want by
visiting:
http://www.helpmerick.com/podcasts
Our newsletter woes are almost gone, but to help avoid
the newsletter being delivered to your spam box make sure you add the
following address to your accepted or non-spam
list (without the spaces and use @ symbol instead of the word 'at') so
that the email will get through to you: response26262629 at
zinester.com.
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Email
your questions to us and we will answer them live on the air
or on our daily website updates!
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Custom
Computer Help from Rick and Adam
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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
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Tip of the Week
Print Envelopes in ONE
Click - Video Tip
Correct Red Eye like a pro - Video Tip
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View
the Video Here
Using Microsoft Word and a
little customizing of the Word toolbar, this tip will get you printing
envelopes easily.
If you write business letters with the recipient's address in the body
of the message, Word will pick up the address and insert it into your
envelope when you use the envelope tool. Click on the Tools menu and
then Envelopes and Labels. From there, you can print your envelope and
set your default return address. Experiment with your printer a little
to get the direction and feed of the envelope correct to make your
printing easier.
Now to get the button on your toolbar for one-click access, follow
these steps for Microsoft Word versions 2003 and prior (the video shows
the methodology for Word 2007 and OpenOffice Writer as well):
1. Click on Tools from the menus
2. Click on Customize
3. Click on the Commands tab
4. Click on Tools in the Categories column
5. Scroll and find the Envelopes and Labels button in the Commands
column
6. Click on it and drag it out to your toolbar...you can place it
anywhere you want (I put mine next to the printer button)
7. Click on close
Now anytime you need to print an envelope your button is within reach.
The short video tutorial demonstrates these steps for you in pre-Word
2007 steps, Word 2007, and OpenOffice Writer.
Correct Red Eye Like
a Pro
View
the Video Here
Here is an alternative method
for removing red eye in Photoshop
Elements. It is more complicated than using the red eye tool, but it
allows much more versatility in fine tuning the adjustment. The results
are also more realistic.
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Geek Speek
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If
you are shopping for a computer this year, you will encounter lots of
geek talk and abbreviations that will make your eyes water. One of the
more geeky is Dual-Core or Quad-Core.
These terms are in reference to computer processors...the brains of a
computer. About four years ago, all processors (made primarily by Intel
or AMD), were single core. A core is the part of the processor that
actually performs the calculations and instructions that we ask of our
computer.
Now, processor manufacturers developed methods to make the "core"
smaller and put multiple of them in the roughly the same space. With
Dual-Core processors, the computer can now perform two calculations or
instructions at the same time. With Quad-Core, the computer can perform
four simultaneous instructions.
Unfortunately, this doesn't translate into computers that are twice as
fast or four times as fast, but performance is increased over single
core processor computers.
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Dual-Core & Quad-Core
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Computer
News...and comment
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Fast
Internet News
The fastest consumer Internet service available in the U.S. is fiber
optic. Fiber optic service is often abbreviated as FiOS. Verizon
announced this week that they would offer their FiOS 20 megabit service
(roughly 3 times faster than the fastest cable connections) for $65 per
month starting in New Jersey, Connecticut and New York.
The unique part of their service is that BOTH their upload and download
speeds will be at 20 megabits
Virus
News
Make sure your anti-virus software is up to date and don't
click on unknown email attachments. This week an attachment that is
posing as an Adobe Acrobat file (pdf) usually named invoice or receipt.
The body of these messages don't make a lot of sense, but too many
people are clicking on this infected file and thus infecting their
systems and spreading the virus.
Make sure that your anti-virus is up to date, don't click on
unknown email attachments, and make sure to get the appropriate update
for your version of Adobe Reader at: http://tinyurl.com/3fx2
High Definition DVD News
No one really cares yet, but Home Media Research announced this week
that Blu-Ray DVD's are outselling HD-DVD's. Growth of HD DVD's are
pretty slow because of the fragmentation of the market, but for now
Blu-Ray is winning by a slight margin, but regular DVD's outsell all HD
DVD formats by a 6 to 1 ratio.
Windows News
Adam found a little publicized article this week about an interview
with Microsoft and their next generation of Windows dubbed Windows 7.
The meat of the article talked about how the kernel (the truly
important part and only needed part of any operating system) of Windows
takes up only 25 megabytes of space. This is a drastic contrast to the
4 GB size of Windows Vista.
To read the full article and watch the interview, visit: http://tinyurl.com/3akxfy |
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Poll
Results
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What was the first Operating System you used?
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Next
week's poll:
What anti-virus software do you use?
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DOS - 47%
Windows 3.11 - 10%
Windows 95 - 11%
Windows 98 or Me - 12%
Windows 2000 or NT - 0%
Windows XP - 6%
Windows Vista - 1%
Mac OS 9 or earlier - 4%
Mac OS X or later - 0%
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Adam's Comments
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This
week's article is for all you dial-up Internet users who haven't moved
to broadband because it is too expensive. I am not directing my
comments to those who are on dial-up because they live in the toolywads
and are not eligible for DSL or Cable Internet.
Broadband
Internet is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity and a value for
anyone who uses the Internet more than five minutes per day. To
illustrate I will explain how broadband Internet can give you half an
hour or more to the average day simply by making one single chore
easier.
How a dial-up user makes dinner:
1. Take a survey of what's in the fridge. Ah! Left over chili, garlic, sour cream, and corn tortillas. - 5 minutes.
2.
Dig through half a dozen or more recipe books to find a recipe that
includes enough of these ingredients to make a pleasant dish. - at
least 20 minutes.
3. Try to find a way to keep the recipe book open and a place to set the recipe book while you compile the meal - 10 minutes.
How a broadband user makes dinner:
1. Surveys the fridge as noted above. - 5 minutes.
2. Go to allrecipes.com and foodtv.com and check off a list of ingredients that you have on hand. - 2 minutes.
3. Click the button to search recipes and see results of all 200 recipes that meat your specifications. - 6 seconds.
4. Narrow the search to include something that also has purple onions. - 3 seconds.
5. Print out the recipe as a 3x5 cutout. - 15 seconds.
This process would take over an hour on dial-up Internet waiting for pages to load.
Not
only is the broadband connection faster, but it changes how time is
spent. Rather than waiting, searching, and trying to find even a simple
result for your search, it quickly puts you in the right category and
then all of your time is spent using your right brain to choose which
result you want to go with.
How a dial-up user programs their TV remote:
1. Dig through drawers looking for the manual. - 20minutes-1 hour.
2. Assuming that the remote is found, look up in index how to program the device.
How a broadband user programs their TV remote:
1. Visit the manufacturer's website. - 5 seconds.
2. Go to the support section and into the manual downloads. - 10 seconds.
3. Download the manual. - 45 seconds (25 minutes or more on dial-up).
4. Search the manual for "program channels." - 6 seconds.
Broadband Internet becomes a tool that replaces lost time. Isn't that worth $5-$10 more per month?
In
fact, it is very likely that if you do your homework, you will find
that broadband Internet will actually save you money and time.
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Email of the week
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Hello Rick,
I need a anti-virus system. Am thinking about using "Avast" which is free for home users.
I
have heard you talk about "Norton" in the past and heard you say - if
I remember correctly - that you didn't especially like Norton.
What do you think about Avast - or do you have something else you recommend?
Thank you,
Vern ---------------------
Hi Vern,
I never tire of answering computer security questions, because if your computer is secure, then mine is even more secure. For
anti-virus, you are correct, I no longer recommend Norton or McAfee. In
fact, I stopped recommending them both about four or more years ago.
They are simple too bloated and slow for today's computers. I do
like the Avast system quite a bit. And I also like and use AVG
anti-virus a lot as well. Both are much smaller, and quicker running
than the 'big boys', yet protect every bit as well or better. Have a great day and thanks for writing. Rick
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Castellini
on Computers & HelpMeRick.com ©2007
Rick Castellini and Adam Cochran
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