|
Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, January 16, 2004
In this Issue:
Special Feature: The Office Assistant
Tips & Tricks: Keyboard Shortcuts - Copy and Paste
Featured Webpage: Computer Dictionary
Featured Computer Term: Computer Acronyms
This Week's Topic: Change the Desktop Color
Questions: USB Flash Drive
Question: Internet Search Engines
Featured Webpage: Martin Luther King Jr.
Websites of Interest: Harry Houdini; Pet Education; Asian Recipes; Celebrity Corner; Whatever Happened To?
**************************************************************
Using Links
A Link is a reference to a website. In this newsletter you will see links to
many worthwhile, informative and fun websites. Here are the instructions on
how to use links:
A link will be used one of two ways, depending on your email program.
If you see the link in blue, underlined text, all you have to do is click on
it and a window with the Website in it will automatically appear on your
screen.
If you see the link in plain text, you can copy and paste it into the address
bar on your browser. Highlight the link with your mouse, click Edit up on
the menu bar, and then click Copy from the menu that you just opened up. Open
your browser (click the Start Button, point to Programs, click on Internet
Explorer); click on the address bar. Click Edit up on the menu bar, and then
click Paste from the menu that you just opened up. Press the Enter key on the
keyboard and this will take you to the Website.
**************************************************************
ATTENTION AMERICA ONLINE USERS
Don’t forget to check your SPAM folder each time you check your email. In their attempt to block junk email, AOL will frequently divert good email to your SPAM folder. Don’t miss an important email from someone you know!
To check your SPAM folder, sign on to AOL and click the mail icon (You’ve Got Mail). At the bottom of the window, you will see Spam Folder with a number next to it in parenthesis. If there is a number other than 0 in there, click on Spam Folder to review the emails that are in there. If you find an email that is not spam, click the This is Not Spam button. Click the Delete All to remove all the spam emails.
**************************************************************
Special Feature: The Office Assistant
Question: First of all, thank you for all your awesome newsletters! I use Microsoft Word for writing letters. There is a little character that always shows up and gets in the way. Is there a way of getting rid of this?
Answer:
That is the Office Assistant. You will see that in Word and Excel and the other not-so-frequently-used Office programs. While Office Assistant’s animations are supposed to be entertaining, its primary purpose is to answer questions and give help.
To use, double click on the Office Assistant. The What would you like to do? box opens. Type in a description of what you need help with. Click the Search button.
It is easy to turn the Office Assistant off. Just right click on it. A menu will appear; left click on Hide.
When you want help, display the Office Assistant again. Click Help on the menu, then click Show the Office Assistant.
**************************************************************
Tips & Tricks: Keyboard Shortcuts - Copy and Paste
Highlight the text you would like to copy. Instead of clicking Edit on the menu and then Copy, hold down the CTRL key and press c. Click where you want to paste the text in. Instead of clicking Edit on the menu and then Paste, hold down the CTRL key and press v. Your copied text will appear at the insertion point.
**************************************************************
Featured Webpage: Computer Dictionary
If you come across a computer term that you do not understand, you can get a definition at our website. This is a good page to bookmark.
http://stsico.com/html/dictionary.html
Read more about bookmarks at this site:
http://stsico.com/html/bookmarks.html
**************************************************************
Featured Computer Term: Computer Acronyms
An acronym shortens a frequently-used group of words by making a word out of the first letters of each word in the group. For example, BRB stands for Be Right Back or IMO for In My Opinion. Since they can save a lot of typing time, acronyms are very popular in electronic communications – email, instant messages, and message boards.
Here are some examples of acronyms that you may see:
AFK - Away From Keyboard
BBFN - Bye Bye For Now
BBL - Be Back Later
EG - Evil Grin
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
FYA - For Your Amusement
GMTA - Great Minds Think Alike
LOL - Laughing Out Loud
OIC - Oh, I See
ROFL - Rolling On Floor Laughing
THNX - Thanks
TTFN - Ta Ta For Now
**************************************************************
Today's Topic: Change the Desktop Color
Windows XP
Right click on the desktop and then left click on Properties from the resulting menu. This will open The Display Properties dialogue box; click on the Desktop tab at the top.
The Color box is towards the bottom right of the dialog box. The current color is displayed. Click on the small arrow next to the current background color; this will display the available colors. For a larger selection of colors, click the Other button.
Click to select the color you would like for the desktop. When you have chosen a color you can preview it by clicking on the Apply button. To close the Display Properties dialog box, click the OK button.
Windows 98
Right click on the desktop and then left click on Properties from the resulting menu. This will open The Display Properties dialogue box; click on the Background tab at the top.
The Display box is towards the bottom right of the dialog box. The current color is displayed. Click on the small arrow next to the current background color; this will display the available colors.
Click to select the color you would like for the desktop. When you have chosen a color you can preview it by clicking on the Apply button. To close the Display Properties dialog box, click the OK button.
Note: The background color will not change if you have a background picture on your desktop.
**************************************************************
Question: USB Flash Drive
My grandson wants a USB flash drive for his birthday. I’m curious as to what this is. Can you explain? Thank you for sending so much useful information and making these difficult computers so easy to understand.
Answer:
A USB flash drive is a small device about the size of your thumb. It is used for storing files externally or moving files from one computer to another.
It plugs into the USB port on a computer and operates just like a hard drive. There are, however, some significant differences between a USB flash drive and an external hard drive:
-- Unlike a hard drive, a USB flash drive has no moving parts so expect it to last much longer than any hard drive would.
-- USB flash drives are much smaller than external hard drives.
-- Because it has no moving parts, a flash drive isn’t as likely as an external hard drive to break if dropped.
-- The flash drive isn’t nearly as time consuming to setup as an external hard drive is.
Flash drives also have advantages over recordable CDs and DVDs:
-- Reading or writing to a flash drive is much faster than to a CD or DVD.
-- Files can be added and deleted at any time. With a CD-R or DVD-R, files can be added only once; once a disk is burned, files cannot be removed.
-- A flash drive is smaller than a CD or DVD disk.
Sizes of flash drives on the market right now are 32 MB, 64 MB, 128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB and 4 GB.
Prices vary greatly due to different features such as size. Currently, a 256 MB flash drive with no extra features would be in the $40 to $60 range. Many electronics stores, computers stores and office stores offer sales with rebates on these devices.
To use with Windows XP or ME, simply plug the drive into the USB port. Windows will find the drive and do the setup for you. Using Windows Explorer, the flash drive will appear just like the floppy drive, hard drive or ROM drive. Files can be dragged to or from the flash drive. In programs, files can be saved to or opened from the flash drive.
Using Windows 98, depending on the flash drive, it is possible that the computer may need additional software installed in order to use the device. The flash drive manufacturer would supply this software. Once installed, though, the device will be available for use in Windows Explorer or programs as detailed in the above paragraph.
**************************************************************
Question: Internet Search Engines
I collect and am very interested in vintage motorcycles. Do you know of any websites that have information on this topic? Thank you.
Answer:
A Yahoo search for vintage motorcycles gave almost 500,000 results. To find information on any topic, visit a search engine. Some of the better ones are:
yahoo.com
google.com
dogpile.com
In the search box, type in several keywords – these are words that describe what you are looking for. The search results page will include the names of the websites that match your search, along with several lines describing the contents of the site.
In most searches, the majority of the results are usually websites that sell a product related or similar to what you are looking for. But, by reading the description, you should be able to find the information you are looking for.
While the search for vintage motorcycles gave many sites selling motorcycles and motorcycle parts, one interesting find was a site containing photographs of motorcycles from the early 1900s.
http://www.statnekov.com/motorcycles/
**************************************************************
Featured Webpage: Martin Luther King Jr.
Monday, January 17th is the observation of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Visit our website for links to sites for more information, to listen to his speeches, websites for children and more.
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/mlk.html
**************************************************************
Websites of Interest:
Harry Houdini
Learn about the magician, escape artist and daredevil at this PBS site.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/houdini/
Pet Education
This site contains interesting and useful information on pet healthcare, behavior and more.
http://www.peteducation.com/
Asian Recipes
Information on food ingredients, equipment, herbs, recipes, main dishes and sauces from eastern countries ranging from China to Bangladesh.
http://www.asiarecipe.com/
Celebrity Corner
These two websites contain databases of websites of actors, athletes, musicians, TV and radio personalities and other famous people.
http://www.mencelebs.com/
http://www.womencelebs.com/
Whatever Happened To?
Ever wondered what ever happened to celebrities and famous people from years ago? This site gives you an update on people from TV, the movies, sports, pop culture and more.
http://www.weht.net/ |
