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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, March 7, 2004
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Give Menu Commands without the Mouse
Tips & Tricks: Make that Laptop Battery Last
Featured Computer Term: Online Shorthand
This Week's Topic: Guarantees Against SPAM - Your Own Domain Name
Question: Microsoft Word – Insert Special Characters
Question: Remove Name from Email Address
Question: Erase Desktop Icons
Websites of Interest: Senior Health; International Women’s Day; Womens History Month; Dreams; Magazines Online
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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.
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Special Feature: Give Menu Commands without the Mouse
You can use your keyboard to open menus and give commands.
Press the Alt key and you will see that File on the menu bar is now highlighted. To open the File menu, press the down arrow. To open one of the menus to the right of File, use the right arrow.
Once the menu is opened, use the up or down arrow to maneuver to the command you want to give. When the command is selected, press the Enter key on the keyboard.
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Please tell your neighbors, friends and family about our classes and our
email newsletter.
If you would like us to send this newsletter to a friend, please send your
name and their email address to info@computerkindergarten.com with the words
Subscribe to Newsletter in the subject line of the email.
If you think a friend or family member would like to attend our classes,
we'll send them a printed list of upcoming classes. Send a stamped,
self-addressed envelope to: STSI - Class Schedule, 50 Lee Avenue, Babylon NY 11702.
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Tips & Tricks: Make that Laptop Battery Last
Laptops drain batteries fast. To maximize the time spent between charges, try some of these tricks.
New batteries usually come uncharged and need to be broken in. Charge and immediately discharge your batteries a few times before relying on them. After that, fully drain and recharge the battery at least once a week.
Clean the contacts on the battery and charger. Use a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol.
Setup the laptop to run as efficiently as possible. Go to Control Panel, open Power Management (Performance and Maintenance) and make adjustments. Then the laptop can shut off the hard drives when they aren't being used, for example, or turn off the screen.
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If you are reading this newsletter because someone forwarded it to you, there are directions for subscribing at the end of this newsletter. Or you can go to our website at http://stsico.com/html/newsletter.html where you can subscribe and view our newsletter archives.
http://stsico.com/html/newsletter.html
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Featured Computer Term: Online Shorthand
Many people use shorthand to speed up their typing. This is the online version of acronyms or abbreviations. Here is a list of the most commonly used acronyms that you may see in email, instant messages, chats and message boards:
AFK = Away From Keyboard
BAK = Back At Keyboard
BRB = Be Right Back
BTW = By The Way
GMTA = Great Minds Think Alike
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
LOL = Laugh Out Loud
OIC = Oh, I See
ROFL = Rolling On Floor, Laughing
TTFN = Ta-Ta For Now
WTG = Way To Go
Is there a computer term or phrase that you'd like to see an explanation of?
Email it to info@computerkindergarten.com and we'll put the term and its
definition in an upcoming newsletter.
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Manual: Computer Cleanup and Safety
Not all cookies are bad. But the bad ones — spy cookies in particular — can be very irritating. You can end up on spam lists. Your personal information could go to somebody you've never heard of. Your Web-surfing habits could be collected and used to deliver even more annoying advertising.
Learn how to remove cookies, spy ware, viruses and much more in our manual, Computer Cleanup and Safety.
To order a copy of this manual, send a check or money order in the amount of $9.95 made payable to Sharper Training Solutions, Inc., to Book Orders, 50 Lee Avenue, Babylon NY 11702. Please include your name, address and a phone number (for any questions about your order).
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Today's Topic: Guarantees Against SPAM - Your Own Domain Name
Question: Is there any way to get an email address where I will get absolutely no junk email at all?
Answer:
There are no guarantees with any email address that spammers won’t find you. The closest you can come though is to get your own domain name. With your own domain name, you won’t be targeted by spammers like you are when you use AOL, MSN, optonline, yahoo, etc. You are going to have to pay extra though.
A domain name will cost you somewhere between $10 and $25 a year, depending on who you register with. Your own domain name could be anything you want – if it’s available and not being used by anyone else. An example might be your last name – smith.com or johnsonfamily.com.
Once you get your domain name, you need a web hosting service. There is a lot of competition here so you can find this for as little as a few dollars a month. Shop around for this.
When you are set up with a host, you can then create email addresses. Examples: john@smith.com; mom@johnsonfamily.com. Most web hosting services will allow you multiple email addresses, so each family member, or, if you are using this for a business, each employee, can have their own address.
Your domain name and web hosting does NOT include Internet access. Note that you will still have to pay for access to the Internet, with services such as AOL or Optimum Online (or whoever you use now as your Internet Service Provider).
However (and this part is very important!), you must NOT use this address for any online activities that are considered to be spam magnets. Spam magnets are things you use your email address for where spammers can then have access to this address. Examples are chat rooms, message boards, shopping at websites.
Use your email address only for personal email – to friends, family and business associates. When you have to register at a website to shop or use the services offered there, use a free address – yahoo or hotmail.
If you have your own website, don’t publish your personal email address there.
If you post messages on boards, use a free address.
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Do you have friends who aren't as computer literate as you but would like to
be? Tell them to attend our Computer Kindergarten for Grownups class at the
library. To send them our schedule, send a stamp, self-addressed envelope to:
STSI, Class Schedule, 50 Lee Avenue, Babylon NY 11702.
Or, visit our website and print our schedule:
http://stsico.com/html/classes.html
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Question: Microsoft Word – Insert Special Characters
In the writing I do, I need to use characters like the copyright or trademark symbols. How do I do this? I love getting your newsletter, there is always something to learn.
Answer:
In Microsoft Word, you can insert these symbols. Click Insert on the menu bar, then Symbol. Click the Special Characters tab where you will see symbols for special hyphens, quotes, copyright and more.
Here is a nice shortcut to input some of these symbols:
For the trademark symbol, for example, type the open parenthesis (shift 9), type tm and then the close parenthesis (shift 0) and the symbol will be correctly inserted and formatted.
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Question: Remove Name from Email Address
When I send an e-mail with Outlook Express, it displays my full name. Can I remove this? Thank you in advance. I enjoy this newsletter very much - keep up the good work!
Answer:
Yes, you can remove your name from displaying with your email address.
In Outlook Express, click Tools on the menu and then Accounts.
In the Accounts window, click on your e-mail account in the list. You might have to click on the Mail tab first, depending on your version of OE. Click the Properties button on the right.
In the Account Properties window, click the General tab. In the Name section, delete your name. You can leave this blank or type in whatever you want.
Click OK.
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Question: Erase Desktop Icons
Can I remove some of the icons on my desktop that I do not use on a regular basis? I don't want to erase the program, but I would like to clean up some of the mess on the screen.
Answer:
To remove an icon, right-click on it. From the resulting menu, left click on Delete. You may get a message asking if you want to send the icon to the Recycle bin; yes, you do.
This will delete the icon on your desktop, but not the program that it opens. If you want to open that program, you will now have to use the Start Menu.
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If you are enjoying this newsletter and find the information useful, please
feel free to forward it to your friends and family members. If you would like
us to subscribe a friend, please send your name and their email address to
info@computerkindergarten.com with the words Subscribe to Newsletter in the
subject line of the email.
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Websites of Interest:
Senior Health
This informative site provides useful health information for older adults. For those who are vision impaired, there are read aloud capabilities.
http://nihseniorhealth.gov
International Women’s Day
Monday is International Women’s Day. Learn more at this website:
http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/women/womday97.htm
Womens History Month
March is Womens History Month. Visit this very interesting website for timelines, quotations and facts, information on female CEOs, politicians and other influential women, and much more.
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/womenshistory1.html
Dreams
Many people think that you can find out a lot about yourself by analyzing your dreams. This website can help you. Type in a keyword from your dream, and you’ll get information on what it means.
http://www.swoon.com/dream/
Magazines Online
At MetaGrid, you can read the online edition of your favorite magazine.
http://www.metagrid.com/
If you have a favorite website that you think might be of interest to members
of this newsletter, email the address and a short description to
info@computerkindergarten.com and we'll spotlight it in an upcoming newsletter.
Does your business, club, organization or group have a website that you think
would be interesting or useful to members of this newsletter? If so, email
the address and a short description to info@computerkindergarten.com and we'll
spotlight it in an upcoming newsletter.
Do you know of any holidays or observations coming up that you'd like us to
spotlight in this newsletter? If so, let us know; we'll research them and list
some websites here. Send an email to info@computerkindergarten.com.
Questions? Send an email to info@computerkindergarten.com.
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Got a topic you'd like to see addressed? Send an email to
info@computerkindergarten.com
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Links
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You can read a copy of every Computer Kindergarten Newsletter written, since
the beginning, at the Newsletter Archives at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/computerkindergarten/messages/1
To send us an email:
info@computerkindergarten.com
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If you're enjoying the Computer Kindergarten newsletter, let your friends
know about it; feel free to forward this to them.
To subscribe to this newsletter, send us an email at sharpertraining@aol.com
with the words SUBSCRIBE TO COMPUTER KINDERGARTEN NEWSLETTER in the body of
the email.
If you would like to subscribe a friend to this newsletter, send us their
email address and we'll invite them to join (make sure you include your name).
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Thank you for reading the Computer Kindergarten newsletter. If you have any
comments, suggestions or questions, please send them to
info@computerkindergarten.com.
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To subscribe to this newsletter, send an email to
info@computerkindergarten.com with the words SUBSCRIBE TO COMPUTER KINDERGARTEN NEWSLETTER in the body of the email.
Although we'd hate to see you go, to unsubscribe from this newsletter, send an email to:
computerkindergarten-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Legal Stuff
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Copyright 2000-2004 by Sharper Training Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
You may forward this newsletter to your friends or store it for your own use,
but any other broadcast, publication, retransmission, copying or storage in
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All quoted sources used with permission.
Sharper Training Solutions, Inc. makes no endorsement or warranty, expressed
or implied, with regard to featured websites, topics, products, services or
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Sharper Training Solutions, Inc. provides this newsletter and e-mail
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Sharper Training Solutions, Inc. has no control over the content of websites
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Computer Kindergarten is a registered trademark of Sharper Training
Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Computer Kindergarten c copyright 1987-2004 Sharper Training Solutions, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
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Training Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
Computer 1st Grade for Grownups, Computer 2nd Grade for Grownups, Computer
3rd Grade for Grownups, Computer 4th Grade for Grownups, Computer 5th Grade
for Grownups, and Computer 6th Grade for Grownups c copyright 1987-2004
Sharper Training Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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end-computer kindergarten newsletter.
Any content below this line is input by Yahoo! or Yahoogroups and not under
the control of Sharper Training Solutions, Inc.
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