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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, July 24, 2005
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Phishing Warning
Tips & Tricks: Quick Text Sizing
Featured Computer Term: Cursor
This Week's Topic: Fix a Frozen Computer
Question: Bypass Windows Welcome Screen
Websites of Interest: Lance Armstrong; Steam Locomotives; Optical Illusions; Congressional E-mail Directory
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Special Feature: Phishing Warning
The eBay phishing scam is back! If you get a message, supposedly from eBay, saying that your account needs updating, ignore it. These emails look legitimate, but are part of a scam and are not from E-bay.
For more information on phishing, check out our web page:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/103104.html
Important Reminder: No bank, investment company, Internet Service Provider or any other business will ever send an email asking for personal or financial information. If you get an email asking for this kind of information, no matter how real it looks, ignore and delete it.
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Tips & Tricks: Quick Text Sizing
To quickly change the size of text in Outlook or Internet Explorer, hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard and roll the scroll wheel on the mouse (that is the wheel between the two buttons). This makes the text larger or smaller depending on which way you turn the wheel.
Note: This works in some other programs as well. Try it in your favorite programs.
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Featured Computer Term: Cursor
Question: What's the correct name for the mouse pointer?
Answer:
The arrow that moves on the screen when you move the mouse is called the cursor.
The cursor may change into a small hand when you point it at a link or into an hourglass when Windows is opening a program or carrying out some other command you gave.
In word processing programs, when writing email, or when pointing to text on a webpage, the cursor turns into an I-shape called the I-Beam.
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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Today's Topic: Fix a Frozen Computer
Question: Sometimes my computer freezes up and nothing short of turning it off helps. Do you have any suggestions?
Answer:
If the freeze is being caused by a non-responsive program, which is usually the case, you can usually use Task Manager to correct the problem.
Hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys on your keyboard. Press and release the Delete key; then release the Ctrl and Alt keys. This will open the Task Manager window. Note: Windows XP users, click the Applications Tab at the top of the Task Manager window.
Task Manager will list all the currently open programs. If the freeze is being caused by a non-responsive program, this will be noted next to that program. Click the program to select it and then click the End Task button. Sometimes you may need to do this several times before it closes the program.
This should close the non-responsive program. It is usually a good idea to then close all other open programs and restart the computer.
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Question: Bypass Windows Welcome Screen
I have a new computer with Windows XP. When I turn it on, it shows my name, which I have to click on, before I get to the desktop. I would like it to go directly to the desktop without showing the User Account Welcome screen. Is this possible?
Answer:
Yes, it is. You really only need the User Account/Welcome screen if there are multiple users of the computer and each person wants to customize their account. If you are the only one using the computer, you can set it up to start directly at the desktop.
Click on Start and then on Control Panel. Click on Users Accounts (depending on how you have Windows XP set up, you might have to click User Accounts a second time).
To start at the desktop, you can have only one account listed in the user account window, and the Guest account must be turned off.
To delete an account, click on it and then click Delete the account. Note: If your computer has a user account named ASP.net, you can delete that account, just keep the files that are associated with it. To do so, click on the ASP account. Click on Delete the account and then click on the button that says Keep Files.
If your guest account is turned on, click on it, and then click on the button that says Turn off the guest account.
Now, when you start your computer, you will start right at the desktop.
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Thank you for reading our newsletter. We hope you enjoy it. We welcome any comments or suggestions you may have.
info@computerkindergarten.com
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Websites of Interest:
Lance Armstrong
He won his 7th consecutive Tour de France! Learn more about this amazing athlete at his official site.
http://www.lancearmstrong.com/
Visit Yahoo! Sports for complete coverage of the Tour de France.
http://sports.yahoo.com/sc
Steam Locomotives
Here is a great website for anyone interested in trains – you’ll see some nice pictures and videos of steam locomotives.
http://www.cffviseu.ro/Presentation.htm
Optical Illusions
Do you like optical illusions? If you do, you must take a look at this website. It has some amazing illusions and explanations of how and why they work.
http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/index.html
Congressional E-mail Directory
This website provides easy access to your representatives in Congress. Visit your Senators and Representatives websites, learn more about them and get their email addresses.
http://www.webslingerz.com/jhoffman/congress-email.html |
