FReeper Canteen ~ Technology Tuesday ~ 27 September 2005

Canteen Computer Resource Center

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Welcome to the Canteen Help Desk!
We hope you are ready for some serious Computer information. For the next month (or however long folks can stand this), we're going to be focusing on Computer/Technology on Tuesdays.

There are so many changes that affect how you surf the web, monitor your computer's performance, and viruses that can endanger your fun. We're here to provide information, tools, tips, and hopefully a fun experience.

And guess what? You don't have to travel to India to get the information. It's all right here at the click of a mouse. How convenient is that?

Cost: Free

The
Experts

MoJo would like to introduce our Canteen Experts. And ignore them if they tell you they aren't experts. MoJo and Ma most certainly believe they're experts. That's all you need, right?

El Gran Salseron and GummyIII have been gracious with their time, energy, resources, and knowledge. If you have any questions for our experts, please FReepmail them to MoJo2001.

Without them, this wouldn't be possible!!

GummyIII gives us a rundown on software that is very useful!! While El Gran answers questions that many folks would like answers to!!

Oh! Have I mentioned that MoJo totally (borrowed) these tables from GummyIII? She's totally awesome!

Cost: Free (although, you can send them a check if you'd like) Have I mentioned they're located in America? Makes life more convenient, huh?

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Q. I am looking for a great program to make graphics for the Canteen. I am not an expert and worry that most of the programs are over my head. Do you have any suggestions?

Gummy's comments are in red.
El Gran's comments are in blue.
MoJo's unexpert opinions are in purple.

Lady Jag could answer this one better than I!!! I use a lot of graphics software, but when I tell others it is "easy" they don't agree. LOL!! I love Adobe products, and use Adobe Photoshop Elements (easiest one of the Adobe products), Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 2, Snag-it's Capture and editing software (www.techsmith.com...free trial...I can put that on my list for next week if you want). Microsoft has a new program out called Acrylic which has a free trial/beta copy. It's found at http://www.microsoft.com/products/expression/en/graphic_designer/default.aspx and looks really good. I love the Adobe products because they have built-in tutorials plus free tutorials online.

If one clicks on the link below one will find several freeware programs that are for html beginners. Anyone who wishes to learn how to do this can read the summaries of each of the programs offered and decide which one suits him/her. These are very basic programs. No html knowledge is required. The listed programs are much like Frontpage but with less bells and whistles:

http://www.snapfiles.com/Freeware/webpublish/fwwysiwyg.html

I use Paint Shop Pro 9. I was taught how to use it from a former FReeper. Actually, I was taught how to use the Animation Shop. I tooled around with Paint Shop Pro on my own. I really enjoy it and it is easy to use. The best part? There's a million tutorials online that will help you create really easy and cool graphics.

Paint Shop Pro X free trial version

Tutorials Online

Q. When burning CDs, do you have a preference in burning software?

I used Adaptec/Roxio software when CD burners were first offered. It worked well, but Adaptec/Roxio CD Creator software has had many issues over the years causing problems and not working properly. I no longer trust it. Whether or not they have finally cleaned up their act is not known by me.

I have never had any problems nor heard of any with Nero Burning ROM. I use it exclusively. Adaptec/Roxio is an American company. Nero is a German company, but their software works.

If WinXP is being used then XP can burn CDs. As well, Windows Media Player has the capability of burning music CDs. One can read the help file of WinXP or Windows Media Player to find out how to burn CDs.

I also began using Roxio (CD Creator whatever number that was back in the day). I found that I didn't really like it for burning audio or data. I began using Nero as well. I love Nero.

The best tribute I can give to Nero is their ability to think ahead when it comes to what will be coming onto the market. They're dual layer capabilities is one of the best for those of you that have that burning ability. Pretty soon--everyone will have that ability.

When you spend a lot of time burning, you need a software program that is reliable and does exactly what it intends. Nero definitely delivers.

I do not use Nero exclusively. From time to time, I will use the following:

Clone CD

To find out more about Nero, click here.

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Q. I have Norton's Internet Security loaded on my machine, but I have no idea how to configure the firewall settings. Should I worry about that?

YES!! Norton's Security Suite can be a big pain in the derrierre when installing other programs. http://support.gateway.com/s/tutorials/index/Tutorials.asp?cat=3&CatTitle=Internet%20and%20Email&subcat=19&SubTitle=Security&topic=142 has a great set of tutorials. (I hate the program and refuse to use it.) (GummyIII)

Norton products should be avoided. All of their software has issues with Windows. This inherent problem has existed since Windows 3.11. The Anti-Virus program has never worked well in Windows and has caused many issues over the years.

Specifically, Norton Internet Security makes decisions on its own without consulting the user, about whether or not a particular site or application should have internet access. Sometimes, the computer should have access but Norton Internet Security won't let it have access. The user should be able to decide whether or not the computer needs access. Sometimes, the computer shouldn't have access and Norton lets it have access.

If it were my computer I would uninstall Norton Internet Security and install either ZoneAlarm or Kerio Personal Firewall. However, with that said, if Norton Internet Security is to be used then the user has to trust it to make the correct decisions. It can be configured to allow the user some input but then the user is obliged to learn which sites and applications should and should not have access so it is better to trust Norton. If issues arise whereby a site/application should/should not have access then they can be dealt with on an individual basis as the issues arise. (El Gran Salseron)

Don't get MoJo started on Norton's. The worst part about Norton's? Their tech support is in India. MoJo doesn't mind anyone wanting to make a living, but it sure is hard to understand what they're trying to say. When people are frantic about fixing their computer issues, they need someone that will speak the same language well and effective.

Q. I am shopping around for a Video Graphics card for my computer. Have any suggestions??

YES!! CNET has great reviews and videos on how to install them, too! http://reviews.cnet.com/Install_a_blazing_graphics_card_Getting_Started/4660-3002_7-6229354.html

The video makes a great point on upgrading the power supply when upgrading the graphic card. I prefer the NVDIA GeForce cards, but dang...there are a lot of good cards. I'd suggest going to this site, look at the reviews, pick the price-range one wants, and then go from there. The one installed here is a GeForce 6800. It's a high-end for a decent price. The really high-end ones such as the 7800's aren't even supported by most software. They WILL be, eventually. There are some smokin' cards out there in the $50-$75 range. (GummyIII)

Any name-brand software that has the NVidia chipset is good for many applications, graphics, games, etc. Matrox and ATI are two of the biggest names in video adapters. With that said, any video card that has the NVidia chipset should be good as long as the card has at least 64 Meg of video RAM and provided that it is not a cheap imitation. ( The mfr name can be xyz company but the card can still have the NVidia chipset. One has to read the fine print on the box to make sure that the card has the NVidia chipset. ) (El Gran Salseron)

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Q. If there is one software program that you couldn't live without, what would it be?

LOL....ROFLMAO...JUST ONE????? (I'm assuming this is aside from the normal anti-virus/spyware sweeper/pop-up blocker/firewall stuff.... if not, then Zone Alarm) If it is aside from those, then I guess I'd pick Microsoft Office 2003. I use it extensively. I do presentations, type up documents, store data, use Outlook for email, manipulate graphics, (LOL...Word makes doing WOOHOO's easy), manipulate photos, etc...etc..... (GummyIII)

That's a pretty wide-angled question. I have to try to look at this issue from a user standpoint or maybe even from a Canteener's standpoint. With that in mind I would say Microsoft Office but that is actually a suite of programs so I would narrow it down to Microsoft Word because it is so universal. After that, Frontpage and maybe a basic photo viewing program but again, the photo viewing program is IE. ( That is excluding an email program that is supplied with IE. )

IF the user has DSL or Cable Modem whereby they are connected to the internet 24/7 then my answer is "anti-virus software and a software firewall." (El Gran Salseron)

MoJo couldn't function or do anything in the Canteen without FrontPage, Music Express (MP3 Organizer), WS_FTP Pro, and numerous other programs. So? I couldn't place it to only one program.

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Ever wonder what the heck folks are saying?

Fret not! We're going to provide a weekly dose of common online lingo and especially those at FR.

Lingo

LOL -> Laughing Out Loud

ROTFLMAO/ROTFLMBO ->Rolling On The Floor Laughing My *Butt* Off

FWIW -> For What It's Worth

IOW -> In Other Words

IIRC -> If I Recall Correctly

GMTA -> Great Minds Think Alike

BBL -> Be Back Later

BTTT -> Back To The Top/Bump To The Top

STM -> Stop The Madness

Troll -> A disruptor on a board or forum

Zot -> What happens to a troll at FR. See Ya! Banned!

GAG -> Get A Grip

Misc Items

To get a complete rundown on how to fix your computer issues and external links that El Gran Salseron has provided, please click here to view it. Thank you El Gran Salseron for all the hardwork. By the way, absolutely ignore the Disclaimer section that mentions Mojo by name. Thank you!

As issues arise or interest steadily comes in, El Gran Salseron will probably update the website with further links. In order to do so, you must sign your life savings over to him. (hehe! Just kidding!)

Here's a few things to look forward to next week!

O N T A P	Computer Lingo Are you down with all the computer lingo used at FR and elsewhere? Software Check in to see what other programs GummyIII suggests!	Ask The Experts For those of you that sent in questions, we'll provide the answers if we can. Have all questions in by Friday of this week please!
D I D Y O U K N O W	Fred Cohen created his first computer virus when studying for a PhD at the University of Southern California. He added his virus to a graphics program called VD that was written for a make of mini-computer called a Vax. He then presented his results to a security seminar on 10 November, 1983. *This is the first known* computer virus. Take it for what it is..could be true or may not be.**	You can easily translate languages as easy as a click. Here's Google's Translations

Disclaimer:
Do you ever wonder why companies always put disclaimers at the bottom of their pages? And then they expect you to read the *fine print* as well? Well, this is done for a reason. It allows them to make up a bunch of unecessary rules and BS that no one will read nor thinks about reading. As a matter of fact, the disclaimers are really *Dating Ads* that those anonymous computer geeks put out to the general public. It's a way to get them a date via their disclaimers. It's risk free and also a sure way to ensure that their name will appear in the ad somewhere. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then you totally understand the ideas about disclaimers. They're useless for the most part.

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