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The Holiday season is upon us once again and you may be surprised to learn how useful your computer can be for your holiday preparations. You can use your computer to create unique invitations to your holiday party or make personalized greeting cards and gift tags. Having trouble with your holiday card list? No problem - use your computer to track the cards you send and receive each year. The wealth of information on the internet can be your ticket to new holiday recipes, travel news, or crafts to decorate your home in holiday style. Use your imagination and your computer and have a wonderful holiday season!

We are amazed how quickly a year has flown since the first issue of our email newsletter. We want to thank all of you who sent us your thoughtful and creative comments and suggestions.

WindowWalk Computer Education has just celebrated its 4th anniversary and it is all due to the support and encouragement of our clients and associates. Thank you!!

WindowWalk Computer Education offers on-site courses and hourly training ranging from the basics to advanced "power user" features. We pride ourselves in making your computer education a fully personalized, comfortable, and convenient experience.

Find out more about our Free Business and Home Software Assessments for Small Business Owners and Home Users.

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.

SURFIN' SAFARI

Some Useful and Interesting Web Sites

WHAT DOES IT DO?

Quick Descriptions of Popular Software

Adobe Reader

Adobe Reader is free, universal software that lets you open, view, search, and print Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files with built-in security features. This is a program all web surfers need and often don’t know they use. Adobe Reader allows you to display and download PDF files from the Internet. PDF is a popular file type that is used for large documents online. Adobe Reader integrates with your web browser and automatically opens and displays the document when you click the link.

If you want the latest version of this indispensible program, visit the Adobe Reader download page or the Adobe Reader main page on Adobe.com. You can also download Adobe Reader wherever you see the Get Adobe Reader icon. Once you have clicked the link or icon, you will be led through easy steps that allow you to identify your language, platform, and connection type. Once you have completed this simple process, the Adobe Reader software downloads and installs automatically on your system.

SAY WHAT!?

Sound Like a Computer Wizard

HARDWARE HELPER

TOP 5 LAPTOP COMPUTERS

Combining TV, DVR, stereo, DVD player, and high-performance PC in one big laptop, the Toshiba Qosmio G25-AV513 delivers the most complete multimedia experience available in a laptop.

Specs: 9.5 lbs, Intel Pentium M (2 GHz) , 1 GB DDR II SDRAM , 17 in TFT active matrix , Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

The Dell Inspiron 9300 packs advanced multimedia features and blazing performance for gaming and home or business applications.

Specs: 9.4 lbs, Intel Pentium M (1.73 GHz) , 512 MB DDR SDRAM , 17 in TFT active matrix , Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

Sony VAIO VGN-A690

Though it relies heavily on its accessories, the Sony VAIO VGN-A690 successfully delivers TV, DVR, stereo, DVD player, and high-performance PC functions in one big laptop.

Specs: 8.8 lbs, Intel Pentium M (1.86 GHz) , 1 GB DDR II SDRAM , 17 in TFT active matrix , Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

The foxy Apple 17-inch PowerBook delivers the performance and the features most users will need, but it's more expensive than a similarly outfitted Windows laptop.

Specs: 6.8 lbs, Motorola PowerPC G4 (1.67 GHz) , 512 MB DDR SDRAM , 17 in TFT active matrix , Apple MacOS X 10.4

In addition to a pleasing design, a good basic set of multimedia features, and solid performance, the HP Pavilion dv8000 has a competitive price that undercuts much of the competition.

Specs: 8.1 lbs, AMD (1.8 GHz) , 512 MB DDR SDRAM , 17 in TFT active matrix

SOFTWARE SEARCH

Adobe Photoshop Elements 4

Rarely do I encounter a piece of software so well designed that words fail me (at least until my editor pointed out that she wouldn't pay me for a "words failed me" review). So, I'll say this: if you need a phenomenal image editor and organizer package, buy Adobe Photoshop Elements 4. And if you're thinking of taking up video editing, get the bundle with Adobe Premiere Elements 2.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 4 is more than just a scaled-down version of Adobe Photoshop. Aside from the fact it makes the feature set and interface comprehensible to non-graphic-designer types, the program incorporates automatic image enhancements and extremely intelligent selection tools that are missing in Photoshop. However, Photoshop users will find both the tools and the features familiar in both appearance and effect. I actually prefer Elements 4 for editing photos--it's a bit easier to browse around and perform quick fixes. And though it's a tiny bit sluggish, especially when loading the different work spaces, we turn to Photoshop only for batch operations or sophisticated color correction. Alas, this version drops Windows 2000 support, and the Mac version is "in the works." Otherwise, Elements is just about perfect for Windows XP users.

CNET Rating: 8.1 Excellent

Read the full review at Cnet.com.

WEB WARY

Viruses, Hoaxes, and Scams

Sony's Rootkit CDs

Earlier this month, it was discovered that Sony BMG, the world's second largest music label, had secretly embedded antipiracy technology, called XCP and included something called a rootkit, on some of their music CDs.

Expert security researchers have described Sony's technology as "spyware" because it is hidden, difficult to remove, and transmits information back to Sony without users knowing. This antipiracy technology cloaks itself so that it appears invisible to users. (Sony executives have denied that their technology is a form of spyware.)

Even worse, it opens up computers who have the rootkit installed to other more malicious programs that can then get installed and remain undetected -- and leave computers vulnerable to hackers.

Recently, it was discovered that virus writers had already taken advantage of this security hole created by the installation of the Sony rootkit, by modifying an old Trojan that now takes advantage of the shielding that the Sony technology provides.

Most experts agree that Sony's action is ethically wrong. And now, a California class action suit against Sony BMG claims it is illegal as well. Other lawsuits are also being considered.

How do you know if you've been infected? Sony has used this XCP technology on a number of its titles, which include different labels and musical genres.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has a list of CDs with this XPC technology on their website, as well as other excellent info on this topic.

Fortunately, some of the leading antivirus companies have already created updates to detect Sony's antipiracy program, disable it, and prevent it from reinstalling itself.

Sony has finally responded to the furor by announcing it will temporarily suspend production of CDs that contain this antipiracy technology and stated that they will review their digital rights management strategy.

Sony has said that about 4.7 million CD's containing XCP have been shipped, and of these, about 2.1 million have been sold. Sony announced recently that the offending CDs will be recalled.

What to do: We recommend that you do not buy or install Sony BMG CDs that have the XCP technology on your computer.

To read the full article, click here.

ASK TIZZIE

From the Email Files of our Resident Computer Monster

Question:

I have WordPerfect 10. I am trying to print business cards. I have typed all the info on to the ONE card showing on the Avery #8371. How do I get it to show 2 columns of 5 cards down so I can print them?

Tizzie's Answer:

This feature is available in WordPerfect but it's not easy to find unless you know it's there. Open the business card file that you have created and then go to the Window menu and choose PerfectExpert. A panel will open on the left side of the document window (The PerfectExpert) click the Finish button at the bottom of the panel and select "Print Page of 10 Cards". This will create and print a full sheet of business cards for you.

TIPS AND TRICKS

Sort Messages by Multiple Columns in Outlook

Sorting by a single column in Outlook is a simple matter of clicking on the column head. Sorting by multiple columns, however, is not so obvious. But it's actually quite easy. First, sort by the first criterion, such as From, by clicking on the column head. Then hold the Shift key down as you click on a second heading, such as Received. Your messages will be sorted primarily by sender, and all the messages from each sender will be ordered chronologically. You can even add additional columns to sort by. Outlook will sort your messages by each additional criterion within the earlier criteria to give you a multicolumn sort.