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THE TIMES
Hardware
Helper
Say
What!?
Software
Search
Surfin'
Safari
Tips
& Tricks
Web
Wary
FREE
BUSINESS SOFTWARE ASSESSMENT
For
Your Information
ScamBusters
Hoaxkill
HoaxBusters
Urban
Legends
Vmyths
CNET
Google
|
TIME
AND EFFICIENCY
The
Elusive Goals of Small Business
Small business owners face many challenges, not the least
of which is the wearing of so many different hats. For many of us, hiring
a professional to deal with the tasks we don’t feel confident
about is an expense that can’t be borne. Fortunately, there are
options. That new computer sitting on your desk is your best tool to
create more free time and step up the efficiency of your business.
Computer programs are designed to make life easier
and they do, if they are used properly. The simplest solution to your
time management problem is to determine which programs are the best
for your business and to make the effort to use those programs effectively.
What you need is a personal instructor to show you what your computer
can do for you and to teach you to do those things that never seem to
leave your “To Do” list.
Your time is too important to waste on outside courses
that don’t address your unique requirements. Instead, spend a
few hours at your own computer creating an efficient system. The relief
you will feel knowing you have the support you need and the extra time
you find yourself with will help to make your business a success.
Find out more about our Free
Business Software Assessment for Small Business Owners.
Visit on
the web , send an
email , or call 830-9336 to give us your comments
and suggestions or to learn more about our effective software training.
|
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SURFIN'
SAFARI |
Some
Useful and Interesting Web Sites |
|
|
Find
local businesses online with this easy to use yellow pages directory.
Let your fingers really do the walking! |
|
This
site is jam-packed with useful information. Use the atlas, almanac,
dictionary, and encyclopedia as well as the fun and interesting
categories. Homework was never so much fun! |
|
Look
up the weather
in any part of the world. Up-to-date weather information, forecasts,
and many different types of weather maps are available here. |
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to Top
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WHAT
DOES IT DO? |
Quick
Descriptions of Popular Software |
EUDORA
EMAIL |
|
Eudora Email is a refreshing alternative to Microsoft’s
Outlook Express. Basic and power users alike will find Eudora's
functions and features intuitive and efficient, and Eudora does
especially well finding, filtering, and managing multiple accounts.
The interface uses the tried-and-true format of almost every e-mail
client, with mailboxes on the left and messages in the main screen.
Built-in spam filters and the ability to concentrate message threads
both are useful features. Another nice touch is the ability to
send voice messages to email recipients.
This program can operate in any of three user-selectable modes.
Sponsored mode allows you to use the full-featured Eudora e-mail
client at no charge, but displays a series of static onscreen
advertisements. Paid mode allows you to use the full-featured
Eudora e-mail client without advertisements. Light mode is an
upgrade to the current Eudora Light, but it does not have as many
features as the full client available in Sponsored and Paid modes.
Light mode will include a sponsor image or logo but no rotating
advertising. You can switch between Light mode and Sponsored mode
at any time.
Visit www.eudora.com
for a free download.
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SAY
WHAT!? |
Sound
Like a Computer Wizard |
|
| Default |
This
term is used to describe a preset value for an option in a computer
program. It is the value used when a setting has not been specified
by the user. For example, the default font setting in Microsoft
Word is "Times New Roman" . |
| Office
Suite |
An
office suite is a collection of programs including at minimum a
word processor, spreadsheet, drawing program, and minimal database
program. Common Office Suites are Microsoft Office, Corel Office,
and AppleWorks. |
| Modem |
A
modem allows two computers to communicate over ordinary phone lines.
It derives its name from modulate/demodulate, the process by which
it converts digital computer data back and forth for use with an
analog phone line. |
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HARDWARE
HELPER |
TOP
5 MP3 CD PLAYERS |
|
| iRiver SlimX iMP-550 |
CNET
Rating: 8.0 Very good |
Ultraslim
design; excellent sound quality, antiskip protection; highly
functional in-line remote; FM tuner; included car kit. Cumbersome
external battery pack; must use in-line remote. If you're
looking for an MP3 CD player, you'll be hard-pressed to
find a better choice at any price. |
|
| Panasonic
SL-CT800 |
CNET
Rating: 8.0 Very good |
Plays
WMA and MP3 CDs; rechargeable batteries have an excellent
life span; in-line remote with LCD; thin, sleek design. No
playlist support; no FM tuner; occasional bursts of noise
between songs. This capable portable will play all your custom
CDs for hours on end, and it looks great, too. |
|
| iRiver
iMP-400 SlimX |
CNET
Rating: 7.7 Very good |
Thin,
small, tight design; excellent in-line remote; FM radio;
compatible with most CD-Rs and CD-RWs; decent headphones.
Soft carrying case has no clip. This is a fine solution
for playing MP3 CDs on the go. |
|
| iRiver
iMP-350 SlimX |
CNET
Rating: 7.3 Very good |
Superthin
and lightweight; good antiskip protection; excellent remote;
FM radio. No belt clip; display on remote may be hard for
some to read. This svelte MP3 CD features solid antiskip
protection and handy extra features. |
|
| Rio
Volt SP250 |
CNET
Rating: 7.0 Very good |
Rechargeable
batteries; excellent navigation and display; wired remote;
FM tuner. Can't search songs by genre or year. Although somewhat
bulky, this portable MP3 CD player comes through with solid
features and performance. |
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SOFTWARE
SEARCH |
MOZILLA
FIREFOX |
|
Mozilla
Firefox 1.0 is the dream Internet browser you've been looking for.
Featuring a host of small technical improvements, including tabbed
browsing, built-in and customizable search bars, and a built-in
RSS reader, Mozilla's Firefox browser is the one that should finally
put a dent in Microsoft Internet Explorer's unrivaled market dominance.
While its lack of ActiveX support might prevent some sites from
working properly, after more than three weeks of use in our tests,
Firefox 1.0 remained fast and stable and displayed an impressive
range of cutting-edge browsing options. We were able to view every
Web site just fine, thank you. If you're fed up with the latest
Internet Explorer security patch issued from Microsoft or with the
latest virus to capitalize on some flaw in IE, you should switch
to Firefox - now. |
Firefox
is more secure than Internet Explorer, in part because most criminal
hackers look for holes in the industry leader. But there are also
several structural differences that make Firefox an inherently more
secure browser. First, Firefox doesn't support VBScript and ActiveX
Controls, which are often the source of attacks and vulnerabilities
within IE. Unfortunately, the lack of ActiveX support also affects
the performance of some Web sites. |
| Another difference from
Internet Explorer is in how Firefox handles secure Web sites, such
as e-commerce or online banking sites. When visiting a secure site,
Firefox highlights the address bar's URL in yellow and shows the Lock
icon. The domain name of the site you are visiting is also listed
in the right-hand corner of secure windows, so you know the true source
of every page. A criminal hacker might be able to spoof the location
bar address, but he or she won't be able to spoof this secondary address
display. Given all this security, we were still able to log on to
secure financial sites, including Citibank.com and Fidelity.com, without
any problems. |
|
|
| The
Good |
Tabbed
interface; includes a pop-up blocker; built-in, multiple search
tools; built-in RSS reader; stable; free. |
| The
Bad |
No
ActiveX support, so not all sites work. |
| The
Bottom Line |
Firefox's
tabbed browsing, RSS support, security features, and overall cool
factor make it more attractive than Internet Explorer. |
| See
the full review at www.cnet.com/reviews. |
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to Top
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WEB
WARY |
Viruses,
Hoaxes, and Scams on the Internet |
SPYWARE,
ADWARE, AND SCUMWARE |
|
Most
of the urgent emails you get about "deadly viruses" are
just hoaxes. But there are a lot of very serious real ones out there
as well. Computer viruses aren't the only threat, there are also
worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, and scumware. |
Spyware
is software that tracks your actions and/or your Internet use. It
can capture what you type on your keyword, including passwords,
and send it to the spyware creator. Spyware is "any software
that covertly gathers user information through the user's Internet
connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising
purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden
component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded
from the Internet; however, it should be noted that the majority
of shareware and freeware applications do not come with spyware.
Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet
and transmits that information in the background to someone else.
Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even
passwords and credit card numbers." |
"Spyware
is similar to a Trojan horse in that users unwittingly install the
product when they install something else. Aside from the questions
of ethics and privacy, spyware steals from the user by using the
computer's memory resources and also by eating bandwidth as it sends
information back to the spyware's home base via the user's Internet
connection. Because spyware is using memory and system resources,
the applications running in the background can lead to system crashes
or general system instability." |
Adware
is "a form of spyware that collects information about the user
in order to display advertisements in the Web browser based on the
information it collects from the user's browsing patterns." |
Scumware
changes how you view websites you visit. It replaces the actual
content of sites with ads from scumware advertisers, and generates
traffic for the scumware advertisers. |
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ASK
TIZZIE |
From
the Email Files of our Resident Computer Monster |
|
How
do you restore the taskbar on your screen in Windows XP if it disappears? |
Generally
when your taskbar disappears it is hidden. Hold your mouse near
the bottom of the screen (or whichever side your taskbar disappeared
from) and the taskbar should reappear. To prevent it from disappearing
again -- right-click on the taskbar and select Properties. Uncheck
the AutoHide the Taskbar box and check the Lock the Taskbar box.
Your taskbar will never disappear on you again. |
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to Top
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TIPS
AND TRICKS |
Center
Text Vertically in Word |
|
A
page of text, such as a title page of a document, can be centered
vertically. If the document consists of more than one page and only
the first page is to be centered vertically, a section break must
be inserted at the end of the page by selecting Insert, Break, then
Next Page. To center the page, position the cursor on the first
page, select File, Page Setup, Layout, and select Center from the
Vertical Alignment box. The Apply to box should indicate the formatting
will be applied to This Section. |
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