Mousin' Around

Computer tips and tricks for beginning and intermediate computer users -- especially senior citizens! Learn new things that you can teach your kids and grandkids -- they really don't know it all!

Monday, November 19, 2007

Computer Tip of the Week

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Greetings!
Keep your mind sharp -- not rusty!
Do you Sudoku?

Do you enjoy playing Sudoku, the number game? You can play it online at AARP's website. Click here to check it out. I haven't become addicted yet, but my granddaughter is a math whiz and she can do them in no time. There are other things to do on the site. When the main window opens, wait a moment and the large picture in the middle of the page will open. Just click on Sudoku Daily and a puzzle will appear.

Have you upgraded to Windows Vista and Word 2007? Are you having trouble finding a good manual? I don't plan to write another manual, but I have recommendations for a good manual for both. Click here to go to my website where you can view them and order from Amazon.com. Click on either manual and it will show you the order page on Amazon.

I've added several new senior friendly links to the links page of my website. These are sites that offer lots of good information and opportunities for seniors. Click here to see for yourself.

Do you have friends or family who would find this tip helpful? Please click on the link below, Forward email to a friend!, and send it to them. They're also welcome to sign up for my monthly newsletter as well as the Tip of the Week. Thanks for sharing.

Barb Walker
Taming Your Computer Inc.

phone: 303 752-2152

Forward email to a friend!

This email was sent to mycomputerlady.newest@blogger.com, by mycomputerlady@aol.com

Taming Your Computer Inc. | 12768 E. Harvard Circle | Aurora | CO | 80014

Monday, November 12, 2007

Computer Tip of the Week

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Greetings!
Penny Postcards
Old pictures of your state

A friend forwarded an interesting e-mail to me last week. It's called Penny Postcards and it's on the USGenWeb Archives website. This is a genealogy website and I have done lots of genealogy research on it. This feature, however, lets you choose your state, your county, and in some cases, your old hometown.

Click this link to go to their website. First click on your state, then your county, and scroll down to see if your hometown is there. If so, click on it. A page of postcards with scenes from long ago will appear. If you want to see the picture in a larger size, click on the picture. I printed several of the pictures to put in my genealogy material. Really cool!

Remember, from now until Dec. 31, 2007, you can order my book, Taming Your Computer -- The Simple Basics and Beyond, and not pay shipping. That's a $4.50 savings. There are discounts for 5 or 10 copies or a while case of 26. Click here to check it out.

Do you have friends or family who would find this tip helpful? Please click on the link below, Forward email to a friend!, and send it to them. They're also welcome to sign up for my monthly newsletter as well as the Tip of the Week. Thanks for sharing.

Barb Walker
Taming Your Computer Inc.

phone: 303 752-2152

Forward email to a friend!

This email was sent to mycomputerlady.newest@blogger.com, by mycomputerlady@aol.com

Taming Your Computer Inc. | 12768 E. Harvard Circle | Aurora | CO | 80014

Monday, November 05, 2007

Computer Lady November Newsletter

Barb photo I've said it before and I'll say it again:  Where has this year gone? Every time I turn around another month has flown by. Did you notice holiday decorations were in stores in September? What happened to The Good Old Days when they waited until AT LEAST November before they pulled out all the stops?
 
Speaking of time flying by, I celebrated my 62nd birthday last month and I'm planning to retire in about six months. If you are one of my clients, I've mailed you an announcement. If you live in the Denver area and you've been planning to call for an appointment but just haven't gotten around to it, don't wait. The clock is ticking, so if you need help, give me a call at 303 752-2152.
 
I'm happy to tell you that I have found someone to replace me. Jennifer Wallace of Denver Geeks is already handling my computer repair services as well as Vista training. Continue to call me for help, and if you need Jennifer's advanced skills, I'll give you her number. She's really sharp and I know you will love working with her.
Mass e-mails
I am a fan of Bill Husted, a columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His technology columns are printed in the Rocky Mountain News on Mondays. I was reading some of his old columns online recently and found this one about sending mass e-mails to all 250 of your closest friends (everyone in your address book).
 
He makes two good points:
1.  Before you send out the next joke or alleged virus warning (most of them are hoaxes, even if they say they've been confirmed on Snopes.com), ask the people you plan to send to if they REALLY want to receive this type of message. Most people really do NOT want to receive all that stuff, but they're too polite to tell you so.
2.  If you insist on sending them, use the BCC option in your  e-mail program. BCC means the recipient will only see their own e-mail address and not all the other addressess you've sent to. It's a privacy thing. If you're not familiar with the BCC option in your e-mail program, use that program's Help menu to learn how to use it.
 
I also received the following message in one of those mass e-mails:
Any time you see an e-mail that says "forward this on to 10 of your friends,"  "sign this petition, you'll get good luck (or bad luck if you don't!)," etc., it has either an e-mail tracker program attached that tracks the cookies and e-mails of those folks you forward to, or the host sender is getting a copy each time it gets forwarded and then is able to get lists of active e-mails to use in spam e-mails, or sell to others that do. 
 
I've checked it out with a couple of my geek friends and get varying answers as to its validity. But if it is true, just think how much spam you could avoid by NOT forwarding all those messages.
 
If you would like to check out Bill Husted's other columns, click here to go to the archive website of his articles.
Get off junk mail lists
Does junk mail fill your postal mailbox day after day? It's possible to have your name removed from these lists by notifying them you no longer want to receive their "stuff."  Click here to go to the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Services page. You may register online and pay the $1 fee with your credit card, or you may fill in the information, print the form and mail it with $1 to be removed from these lists. I did this several years ago and it's very seldom that we receive more than 5-6 pieces of mail per day -- and none of it is junk (other than all that political stuff we're receiving right now). Think of all the trees you can save -- as well as room in your trash can! 
Digitizing and Archiving Old Photos
I received an interesting e-mail this morning from one of my genealogy websites. It gives excellent information on how to save old photos, especially those old family photos that are irreplaceable. Click here to read the article. It discusses scanning as well as taking digital photos of your old photos. It's great information.
Do not upgrade to Family Tree Maker 2008 yet
If you're a fan of Family Tree Maker, my favorite genealogy program, do NOT rush right out to buy the new 2008 version. I've been reading evaluations of this program and the most important thing to know is that it's not a typical upgrade. This program is an entire REWRITE and they're still working out the bugs (tech support folks call them "issues.") Give them another couple of months to resolve these problems and then get the new version. As is true of any new version of a program, it's advisable to back up your data before installing the new program. "Just in case....."
Maxine
Maxine 
Sincerely,
 
Barb Walker
Taming Your Computer Inc.
303 752-2152
 Barb's book
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This email was sent to mycomputerlady.newest@blogger.com, by mycomputerlady@aol.com
Taming Your Computer Inc. | 12768 E. Harvard Circle | Aurora | CO | 80014

About Me

My photo
I love teaching senior citizens to use computers. I'm a senior myself, so I'm working with my peers. When I work with you in your home on your computer, I don't sit in front of your computer and TELL you want to do. You sit in front of your computer while I TEACH you what to do. I also write step-by-step instructions for you to follow when I'm not there.