| Dear Barb, One of the questions I'm asked most often is, "How and where do I dispose of my old computer?" The biggest concern is the information on the hard drive. In this day of identity theft you don't want your personal information floating around the neighborhood Goodwill Store. I've asked a couple of my computer techie guys for a recommendation on computer disposal and they have given me two suggestions here in the Denver area. The first is Executive Recycles. Their phone number is 303 791-0808. I called them and they said they charge $16 to recycle your entire computer system (monitor, tower, keyboard and mouse) if you drop it off at their office. This includes the destruction of the hard drive. Their address is 3245 S. Platte River Drive, Englewood, CO 80110. Another company is Guaranteed Recycling Xperts. They are located at 4920 Washington St. Denver, Colorado 80216. Their phone number is 720-377-7700. In addition to recycling computers, printers, scanners, etc., they shred hard drives. They charge by the pound and suggest that you call for a quote.
| Free shipping is back |  | | Last December I offered free shipping on orders of my books. Did you miss it? Well, it's back. From now until the end of May shipping is free when you order one or both books. It also applies to larger quantity orders of five or ten copies of each book. There is a 20% discount when you order five copies and 30% discount for orders of ten copies. Several people ordered five or ten and used them for gifts. Do you know someone who needs a little extra help taming their computer? Click the link below to go to my website to order by credit card or print an order form to mail to me with your check or money order. They are wonderful gifts for Mother's or Father's Day. I received an e-mail about a month ago from a gentleman who has enjoyed using my books. He said, "Unlike so many computer instruction books, your book contains no unnecessary or undefined jargon. Your explanations are written in a remarkably clear, direct, simple, no-nonsense, easy-to-understand and elegant style. Your book took me only a few hours to read, yet it covers more practical information than some of the five or six hundred page books that I've seen. Your book stands out among the best written and edited computer instruction books that I've seen. It exemplifies writing at its very best and I send you my highest compliments." His words not only made my day, they made my year. Every author wants to know if they have accomplished their goal of sharing information in a way that the reader can understand and make use of. I can't thank him enough for his words. |
| Tax Time Scams | | | The AARP Magazine and website have lots of good information and I browse through both of them on a regular basis. One article on their website was especially pertinent -- an e-mail scam supposedly from the IRS. It's one more example of attempted identity theft. This article explains two recent phishing scams and gives links to two other articles. Click here to read the articles. Another helpful AARP article discusses making a list of where all of your valuable documents are stored in the event you or a family member needs to locate them in an emergency. AARP has created a fill-in form to make this project relatively easy. You will need Adobe Acrobat to be able to open the document and print it out. Click here to go to the document. |
| Printing wide web pages | | | Do you have difficulty printing text from a web page without having the text along the right side of the page get cut off? There is a solution for this problem. You can print "sideways" on the paper. To do this, LEFT click File on the Menu Bar, LEFT click Print, and when the Print dialog box opens, LEFT click the Preferences button. Look for Landscape and click the circle beside it. Then click OK. When the page prints, the text will print across the wide layout of the paper instead of the usual portrait or narrow size page. |
| Upcoming Internet Genealogy class | | | Researching your ancestors using the Internet gives you access to so much information. I have downloaded and printed census pages from as far back as 1830 as well as originals of WWI draft registration cards (with your ancestor's signature) and much more. Lots of the information is free and it saves you the hassle of driving all over the country visiting courthouses and libraries. On Monday, May 15 from 1-4 p.m. I will be teaching "Find Granny on the Web" at Colorado Free University. The classroom is located at Colfax and York in Denver and the cost is $54 if you are not a member of CFU and $49 if you are. There is an $8 materials fee for the handouts. Click the link below to go to the Colorado Free University website to read a description of the course. At the bottom of that page you can click another link to take you to the registration form. The class will be held again on Monday, June 5 from 1-4 p.m. Hope to see you there. |
| Norton AntiVirus | | | | Norton Antivirus and other Norton products have always been my preferred software to protect your computer, but many people have run into problems recently when they need to renew their subscription. The problem occurs when Nortons sends you a message telling you that you need to renew your subscription. They tell you to click on the link to their website and when you do, you see a button labeled Upgrade. If you have Nortons 2004 or newer, you do NOT need to upgrade. An upgrade is a brand new copy of the software. DO NOT CLICK THE UPGRADE BUTTON. If you do, you will download the new version of the software which can take a very long time if you do not have a high-speed Internet connection. Instead, scroll down the page and look for another button, this one labeled Renew. It's like a newspaper -- you renew your subscription for another year. The cost is considerably less. If you have Nortons 2003 or older, you do need an upgrade, but I don't recommend purchasing it online and downloading the program. Rather, I suggest that you go to Sam's, Costco, Office Depot or a computer store and purchase the package which includes the CD. In that way, if you ever change computers or need to reinstall the software for any reason, you can do it from the CD. |
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