The Handicapped Computerist

The Fat Lady Can Sing?

2007-03-15T14:24:00.000-05:00

Being fair minded while discussing Microsoft is difficult for me considering the illegal activities their management has engaged in, and have been convicted for, in both U.S. and International Courts, over the years. But, I do try hard to be as open-minded as I possibly can when talking about their software.

With that in mind, I wanted to talk to you about Vista and all the hype that has been blowing around on the wind. It is confusing, conflicting, and in some cases, just too hard to believe!

On the one hand, you hear Microsoft touting the virtues of Vista as the Best OS since sliced bread! The jury is still out on that, of course, but there is strong evidence that it is not, under the hood. Yes, it does have a pleasing look to it with the Areo Desktop, but XP can be made to look the same way! Linux distributions have, for years, had several different desktops that could, with a little configuring, look as good, if not better, than Vista’s best, and with more useful features, too.

Performance is another area that Microsoft has been pushing. “Vista is faster!” as the advertisements say. When you examine the criteria used, however, you start seeing a few things that seem to skew the results a bit. For example in a trial between XP and Vista, the Vista machine was configured to optimize for speed doing whatever the test is trying to prove (downloading, file access, etc.) while the XP system was not, and even then, the timings that I have seen are in the range of less than a few milliseconds. Not enough to make a real difference, but enough for the claim. If the test was completely fair, the XP system would show to be the quicker.

One area that shows more dramatic results is downloading ‘races’ between Windows and Linux. Downloading a large file on windows you might see speeds of 50 to 100 KBS which isn’t bad at all. BUT, downloading the same file, even on a slower processor, on Linux can yield speeds in excess of 500KBS, using the same Internet connection! Hmmm… I think it’s obvious who won THAT race, don’t you?

Other things, however, aren’t so easily compared. One of those, DRM, offers no advantage to the users at all. DRM controls what you can watch or hear on your PC. If you have a favorite movie you watch from time to time, you may not be able to much longer. DRM will not allow it! DRM is designed, and implemented, strictly for the benefit of Microsoft and the Recording and Movie Industry. Forget about downloaded music or movies via peer-to-peer methods, it can’t be shared. Not that I totally support P2P but I still consider DRM an encroachment on my right of ownership. If I bought my copy of whatever from a ‘legit’ dealer or retailer, I expect to be able to play it wherever I wish. But, now I will need to pay a ‘licensing fee’ to use my computer to play it. Who gets paid? Microsoft, who then shares the fee with the product producers (or will they?).

If you listen to the ‘market speak’ from Microsoft, Vista is sweeping the world and selling like crazy, but if you pay attention to what is being said to stock analysts by Microsoft, the words are ‘…not as strong as predicted’ and ‘…softer market than expected’ (Mar 12 issue of InformationWeek). With Government agencies stepping back both in the U.S. and abroad and with large businesses saying ‘2008 before implementation’, Microsoft has a serious problem on its hands. Oh, they are still on their marketing soap box pushing Vista, but there is another refrain being stated more quietly that the consumer won’t hear unless they are paying attention to ‘the man behind the curtain’ and not the bad magician waving his hands.

Like the Carney Barker says, “It ain’t over until the Fat Lady Sings!” Stick around for the show!

A Case for Anti-spyware - The Julie Amero Case

2007-03-02T18:35:00.000-06:00

I noticed and started following, a news story that raises my ire! No, it isn’t about Microsoft and Vista, although that tends to upset me, too. It’s about a substitute school teacher that has been caught in what is termed a ‘Porn’ Trap.

To begin with, a ‘Porn’ Trap (or a ‘Mouse’ Trap) is when an Internet surfer clicks on a web site and is treated to a cascade of pop-ups, usually advertising a ‘Porn’ site. These ads come in at such a high rate of speed, the user cannot keep up with them. The content is also rather offensive since they depict minimally dressed or totally undressed women. If you have ever experienced the pop-up ‘storm’ you have no idea how frustrated it will make you since you lose any control over your browser and system. The only way to stop it is to power your system off, risking damage to system files on the drive.

The substitute teacher, working in a Middle School in Connecticut, had started her first day in the classroom of a seventh grade language arts class. As she was taking over the class, she was instructed to leave the computer powered on since she did not have a password for it. When, during the morning, the Trap was triggered, the ‘Porn’ Trap proceeded to display dozens of offensive pop-ups to the open view of the youths in the classroom. The series of errors, misconceptions, and misunderstandings have resulted in the teacher being convicted of various charges that could result in her receiving a prison sentence of up to 40 years!

Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D., who works for The Center for Safe and Responsible Use of the Internet, has prepared a monograph that expresses the concerns and views of the Internet Security community.

The general viewpoint of computing professionals is that although Ms. Julie Armero did not know how to stop the pop-up’s, she was not responsible for them appearing on the monitor.

The whole story brings out one specific thing about the Internet, computers, and children. You have to take an active part in Internet usage in the home! If you have school age children in your home, you MUST take preventative action to protect them. They won’t like it, but it has to be done!

There are two areas that must be addressed.

Technical security

Computers need effective firewalls, security software to protect against all forms of malware, and a browser that limits pop-ups. Filtering software can provide some protection (while presenting other concerns). But it is likely less effective against the malware and porn traps because these devices will frequently lead to access to sites with URLs that have not yet been found by the filtering company. Peer-to-peer networking software should never be installed on any computer that a child has access to because this can be a source of pornography and malware. It is critically important that everyone understands that none of these technologies will provide 100% protection.

Education

All Internet users – adults and children – must understand how to avoid accidental access and exactly what to do if they get “porn trapped.” Unfortunately, the false security that is grounded in reliance on fallible filtering software has resulted in a failure to teach these strategies.

I suppose it could safely be said that Malware does have a negative effect, then. From a rather minor annoyance to a possible 40 year prison sentence is a rather large jump. What is even worse, the Internet is truly global geographically as well as in scope. There are cultures left in the world that take a dim view of such things if not to exact a far worse punishment then prison.

We can’t shut down the developers of such trash, but we can do some things to stop it from being displayed on our screens.

1. Install a good firewall is the start. There are several really good free firewalls available so you have no excuse for not having one. Don’t count on the Microsoft firewall since it is easily breakable!

2. Install a good Anti-Virus application. Again there are several to chose from, some free and some not . 3. Install a good Anti-Spyware/Adware application. Again, there are both free and commercial applications available. I have my own ideas about what is best in this arena. I like AdAware SE and Advanced Windows Care V2. Spybot Search & Destroy and others are paid registration applications that will do a good job for you.

In closing, I want to point out that the computer in your home, AND at work, is your responsibility. If you don’t have the necessary protections, get them! You will be glad you did!

Mac vs PC TV Ads

2007-02-15T21:27:00.000-06:00

We have all seen them, the Apple Mac vs Microsoft Windows PC. Some times funny, sometimes scary, but always leaving us with a question in our minds as to which is better.

I must admit, I do not own a Mac. I do own a number of Windows and UNIX/Linux based PCs though. I seem to, without conscious effort on my part, to have collected mostly Compaq systems. They are, for the most part, reliable. I can count on them starting up in the morning if they have not been running over night to finish a task. In fact, of the systems I own, two are Windows XP SP2 (Home and Pro). One is a Gateway that my wife uses, and a Compaq 5410US. Her system has been in the shop because of overheating problems and I have replaced the PacTel Modem in the 5410 because it got hit by lightening! (another story some other time).

The rest of the group is comprised of Ubuntu running on a Compaq 550, FreeBSD on the ancient Compaq ESP1000, x86 Solaris 10.0 on a hand-built AMD Athelon 2800+ system, and an AMD Duron 1300 running Fedora Core 6. At the moment, none of these system knows any of the other exist, but that will change in the future. With the exception of the 5410 and Gateway systems, all of the other were salvaged from discarded systems or purchased as a box of parts.

With that being said, I think I can be accurate when I talk about the issues involved in upgrading hardware for one reason or another.

I stumbled upon a blog the other day that stated Bill Gates had voiced distaste for one of the newest of the aforementioned television advertisements. His comment was the idea of having a PC undergo major surgery just to be made ready for Windows Vista was false when comparing to Mac OS X and the Mac. To be honest, I don’t see how he can complain too much. Mainly because the concept of the ad it true. It does take a lot to upgrade an existing PC to Vista readiness.

There are basically three areas that need to be addressed. First is Memory. The MINIMUM recommendation from Microsoft is 512 MB. In actuality, you will need double that if you want to run things at full speed. The extra memory is needed if you wish to view movies and such in a smooth manner. If you don’t, the movie will be jerky, making it difficult to watch. Secondly, the display adapter or video card. We are told that we need to have 128 MB of video memory on our cards, but the truth is 256MB or even more will be needed to make sure the Aero Desktop looks ‘pretty. That’s before we start showing those movies we just talked about. The third thing is far more invasive to your system, the processor. If you have work to do that requires some processing power over and above Vista’s needs, you will have to upgrade the processor. That means you also need to replace the system (or Mother) board, the memory, and your various interface cards, virtually replacing the entire system except for the case and power supply, and that may need to be upgraded as well.

With Mac OS x and Apple Macs, I haven’t seen any such requirements. Upgrading the OS on a Mac may require additional Memory, but that isn’t as expensive nor as invasive as the Vista PC requires.

I don’t see where Microsoft can complain! There are too many alternates to Vista. Over 1200 different distributions of Linux, a family of BSD versions (FreeBSD and NetBSD), free UNIX (x86 Solaris 10), and several additional free PC OSs. And then there is the Apple Mac system. You need to purchase a new computer? Don’t get in a rut! Look around and have fun!

Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam

2007-01-26T02:35:00.000-06:00

Shades of Monty Python...

As I was working with my email today, I realized that I was not alone in trying to combat Spam! Many others are trying to reduce the space and time it takes to transfer the stuff, in many cases at very real expense since there are a few Service Providers that charge for the amount of data being moved to the subscribers email client.

Some companies, such as AOL and Yahoo, have come up with strategies that don’t really work all that well and tend to cause difficulties for everybody. Others (Hotmail, AOL, etc.) say they have spam filtering, but don’t seem to be able to get it to work at all.

Step One - Being Proactive

So then, what to do to reduce, if not eliminate’ spam in our email inboxes? For the most part, it’s fairly easy, but time consuming, to do. The first step is basically Prevention! Don’t get on the mailing lists in the first place. It is a truth that Spam causes more Spam. On most of those ‘pretty’ advertisements, you will notice a space for you to type in your email address and sometimes even more information such as your name, mailing address, phone number, and other information. Beware of filling out that form! You have no idea where all that information is going to wind up. Yes, it could be used for legitimate purposes, but it could also be used for Identity Theft. It will also be used to subscribe you to a list to receive 'interesting advertisements’ (Spam) that fill your inbox.

Step Two - Unsubscribe When It Arrives

Here in the US, and perhaps other countries as well, it is Federal law that such advertising must include an easily accessed method of ‘opting out’ from the subscription list. In fact, if you do unsubscribe, they must stop sending you ‘stuff’ within 10 days or face substantial fines.

To unsubscribe is, in most cases, a two step process. If you read the fine print at the bottom of those ‘messages’, you will find a paragraph that tells you the procedure you need to follow to remove yourself from their list. Actually, there are two such paragraphs, one for the ad and one for the list owner. Do both! You will be asked to type in your email address, but don’t be too concerned. When you ‘opt-out’ they cannot place you on any list except the removal list. If they don’t, they risk their business. It can take as little as a few hours to as much as 10 days to stop getting spam from them so be patient. Go through the entire list of spam you have received, one at a time, and unsubscribe from both the advertiser and the list owner. You will see positive results by the next day.

I have managed to cut my spam folder contents from 700+ messages a week to less than 15, just by following the two-step procedure, so it really does work. Now, if only I can resist the free laptop ads, I’ll be fine!

Microsoft Gets Involved

In an effort to help decrease spam, Microsoft made some changes in Outlook and Outlook Express that is causing an uproar in the spam ‘industry’. The changes included a reassignment of the way the email clients decode (or interpret) HTML. Instead of using the Internet Explorer HTML Engine to do the work, they decided to use the HTML engine in Word, which is not as ‘complete’ as IE’s. Specifically, it disables the developers’ ability to use CSS (Style Sheets) in emails. The end result being their ‘fine’ work will look garbled and messy which is severely hampering their ability to create eye-catching advertisements to send out as emails. You may have noticed a marked decrease of graphic loaded spam and an increase of textual spam in recent weeks so it must be working.

I suppose you could say, that like death and taxes, Spam will be around for ever. But by using the procedures I described, you should be able to regain control of your email.

Have Fun!

The leopard is still spotted!

2006-11-26T15:12:00.000-06:00

This is an Editorial. Actually, it is more of a commentary on my last posting concerning Microsoft’s CEO and his remarks that declared his ‘position’ on the Novell/Microsoft agreement.

Mr. Ballmer stated that Microsoft was preparing to take Linux to task over Intellectual Property rights. He stated he was doing this for his ‘share holders’ to increase their ‘profits’. It appears that Mr. Ballmer was speaking about himself more than anyone else since he owns a fairly large chunk of Microsoft stock.

There are a few things that Mr. Ballmer needs to be made aware!

Linux is the kernel and only the kernel. It doesn’t have an interface, Graphical or otherwise, so how can Linux be infringing on Microsoft’s Intellectual Property?
The Graphical Desktop is provided by several different software platforms, KDE, Gnome, and a dozen or so others.
The Desktops mentioned are not ‘owned’ by any specific company. Since they are Open Source, there are thousands of individuals, around the world that have developed, tested, and maintained those desktop packages. Is Microsoft going to go ‘hunting’ for them?
I can still remember Apple suing Microsoft over the same thing in the early 80s. Apple had several systems that used GUI Desktops at the time Windows first came out. Has Microsoft forgotten about that?

Mr. Ballmer’s obvious lack of knowledge on the subject has created a rather hefty belly laugh in the community as well as a healthy amount of skepticism over Microsoft’s internal health (at least, in my mind). Keeping in mind that Microsoft has been rather militant about removing Open Source and Linux in the past, I can’t help but wonder if Mr. Ballmer didn’t accidentally voice his ‘hidden agenda’ with his remarks.

The deal with Novell, on the surface, was intended to foster a wider use of Microsoft Office and other products, much as has been done with Apple and the Macintosh platform. I have no difficulty with that, it’s a good idea. This is exactly what Novell thought the agreement was for. You can imagine their surprise to discover their ‘buy in’ actually was a licensing fee for the GUI (Graphical User Interface) Desktop, which Novell doesn’t own anyway.

I wonder what is flitting around in the halls out at IBM, HP, and Sun after hearing those remarks. I’d be willing to bet any future ‘deals’ with Microsoft will become subject to extreme scrutiny if they happen at all.

How will all of this affect us, the consumers? We will have to pay the price at the checkout counter with raised prices on software and hardware. I can understand a company striving to gain market share, It’s part of being in business. But this isn’t something you would learn at the Harvard School of Business, is it?

The Leopard's Spots

2006-11-19T00:02:00.000-06:00

In my last article, I likened Microsoft to the fabled leopard that couldn’t change its spots. As it happens, Microsoft, in the voice and actions of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, has proven that indeed, the leopard is still covered in spots.

Mr. Ballmer declared his belief that the Linux operating system infringes on Microsoft's intellectual property. What is so laughable about his assertion is that Microsoft has had those same charges leveled at them for infringement of the very same Intellectual Property of Apple, Xerox, and several other entities.

(Full Source Article

What is Intellectual Property?

IP was designed to be a method of legal protection for ideas or "property of the mind". It's a controversial topic, especially in computer science, because it deals with concepts and methods rather than something concrete like a physical object. When you own some intellectual property, you can apply for special governmental protection for your ideas to ensure other people can't use them. In short, it's a defensive measure designed to protect someone's original work.

From the Wikipedia entry: "In law, intellectual property (IP) is an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attach to certain types of information, ideas, or other intangibles in their expressed form. The holder of this legal entitlement is generally entitled to exercise various exclusive rights in relation to the subject matter of the IP. The term intellectual property reflects the idea that this subject matter is the product of the mind or the intellect, and that IP rights may be protected at law in the same way as any other form of property. However, the use of the term and the concepts it is said to embody are the subject of some controversy."

Groups like the Free Software Foundation believe that exclusive rights to ideas are a bad thing for society. Instead of encouraging individuals to market their ideas in a protected environment, intellectual property is used as an offensive tactic by some companies to force others to pay for common ideas or technologies that have been used for a long time or are widely used in the marketplace.

Ballmer: Linux users owe Microsoft

Full Source Article

In comments confirming the open-source community's suspicions, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Thursday declared his belief that the Linux operating system infringes on Microsoft's intellectual property. Mr. Ballmer further asserted that “…Microsoft was motivated to sign a deal with SUSE Linux distributor Novell earlier this month because Linux uses their intellectual property and Microsoft wanted to get the appropriate economic return for our shareholders from our innovation.“

The Nov. 2 deal involves an agreement by Novell and Microsoft to boost the interoperability of their competing software products. It also calls for Microsoft to pay Novell US$440 million for coupons entitling users to a year's worth of maintenance and support on SUSE Linux to its customers. In addition, Microsoft agreed to recommend SUSE software for Windows users looking to use Linux as well.

On the face of it, that seems like a reasonable idea. Well, it got worse. Mainly because some folks haven’t learned the lessons us Texans learned at our Mother’s knee. Basically, “If you are in a big hole in the ground, stop digging!” Mr. Ballmer didn’t even slow down!

"Novell pays us some money for the right to tell customers that anybody who uses SUSE Linux is appropriately covered," Ballmer said. This "is important to us, because [otherwise] we believe every Linux customer basically has an undisclosed balance-sheet liability." There is a term for that kind of talk. It’s called FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt).

What does this all mean? Basically, that Microsoft is trying to get us to reimburse them for using Linux, of which they have had no part. The claim is that the Windows Desktop concept is ‘copied’ by the various desktops used in Linux, and therefore needs to be paid for. If you look at the first URL in this article, you will find several examples of pre-dated Intellectual Property that were used against Microsoft when Windows was first introduced, proving that Microsoft doesn’t ‘own’ the property they are claiming has been ‘stolen’.

Novel is wondering where all this has come from because the agreement they agreed to said nothing about Intellectual Property.

One comment made stated, “If Microsoft thinks it has a case, it should get it into court to prove or disprove its claims.” If that happens, Microsoft should look to its market place, because the customers are going to make their point of view very plain!

The time has come

2006-11-09T01:28:00.001-06:00

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,” to speak of many things.”

Not that I liken myself to the Walrus in Lewis Carroll’s “The Walrus and the Carpenter”, but it is still time to speak of many things. Things are changing with the speed of a run-away freight train, and you need to know the facts before things get out of hand. This is truly a cautionary exercise and not a case of ‘Chicken Little’ism.

Microsoft/Novell

First off, Microsoft and Novell entered into a collaborative agreement last week to develop a set of applications, interfaces, and ‘drivers’ to allow Microsoft Office and other formerly Windows exclusive applications to function under Linux. More specifically, a distribution known as SUSE (Sus-uh), which was purchased by Novell from the German development company known as SuSE. On the surface, it sounds like a good deal but, knowing how Microsoft has done business in the past, and considering the active role Microsoft has taken to ‘eradicate’ Linux from the marketplace, I have serious doubts things are going to happen the way they have been stated. Microsoft has ‘promised’ to behave nicely towards the Linux Community and to actively support the GPL (General Public License) which, in a nutshell, says the source code and compiled applications are free as in freedom to copy and pass around. Information Week has reported that other computer and software manufacturers like Sun, IBM, and Hewlett Packard are giving their blessings to the effort. We should know more about the whole deal before the end of the month.

The Linux Community is seeing a different view of the situation, however. The GPL, which was proposed by the Free Software Foundation and Richard Stallman some years ago, may be tested in court. If it fails, the concept of Open Source Software is in danger of disappearing. Microsoft is looking to apply a license to Linux, which means someone (you and I) will have to pay for the right to use it, much like the Windows EULA (End User License Agreement). That, my friends, will not be a good thing. It would be like you inventing and building a useful device that someone else takes, manufactures thousands more, and then sells them, keeping all proceeds in their pocket. Microsoft is guilty of a lot of things, some we know about, but one thing we must agree upon, they are looking for the income and little else. I’m hoping the leopard has changed his spots, but like the saying goes, it just doesn’t happen that way.

Web 2.0 problems

Network Computing had an interesting set of articles relating to Web 2.0 and it’s underlying structure. It seems the concept, which is already showing up in dozens of new sites, has a few serious problems in the area of Security and performance. We are all aware that the Internet is not a safe and ‘friendly’ place. If it were, we would not have need for such things as firewalls and anti-spyware, anti-adware, anti-virus utilities. As it turns out, the security holes prevalent in Web 2.0 make it look like a round of Swiss Cheese and the performance of the applications on those sites are slow and prone to making errors. Is the situation hopeless? Only time will tell.

Vista Limitations?

Microsoft is releasing Vista on November 20th (or so they say). It has been six years since XP Pro and XP Home were released Does Vista show any sign of being all that much better for being worked on for six years? Unfortunately, no. Don’t get me wrong, Vista does have a few things that are an improvement over XP, but if it took six years to do it, I am not terribly impressed. About all they accomplished is a pretty desktop with a few glitzy tricks (eye candy). A point to ponder! If a software company is having problems getting a piece of software out the door, one way to get the software in the hands of the consumer is to trim features, Especially if those features are causing the delay. A few months ago, I read an article that talked about all the broken promises in undelivered features that Vista was to have had. Knowing the well publicized six month plus delay in releasing Vista, I wonder what they pulled from the OS. I suppose it makes sense to release Vista with things missing and then add the missing features by the update channel. But I get the feeling I’d be ‘buying a pig in a poke’ in that circumstance.

I’m not crying “Sour grapes!” Nor am I bashing Microsoft, although it would be easy to do so. I’m just pointing to the horizon with concern. This kind of stuff makes having fun with my computer very difficult.

Windows vs Linux Reason 6

2006-10-17T02:49:00.000-05:00

We all know that Windows has a convenient tool called "Windows (or Microsoft) update", which allows you to update your system with the latest updates available. All you need to have is the ability to prove, or Microsoft to validate, your installation as being ‘Genuine’ . That’s fine for your Microsoft Windows and Office software.

But what about getting updates for all your non-Microsoft software that you have installed, such as Adobe applications, the ZIP compressor, Spyware and adware cleaner, CD or DVD burning program, non-Microsoft web browsers and email clients, etc.? You need to update all of them, one at a time, and that takes a lot of time, since not all of them have their own updating system. Most of them may require accessing a web page and downloading the new version. Then you have to run the installer for those programs. It takes a lot to keep your system up to date, doesn’t it?

Linux, on the other hand, has a ‘better’ idea. Why not update everything that needs it all at the same time? Is it possible to have one program to launch, which will allow you to pick and chose exactly what you want to update?

Yes, there is, and it works like a charm! Linux provides a central "Package manager", which not only maintains your system’s kernel software, but also every single piece of software your computer has installed. So if you want to keep everything up-to-date, the only thing you need to do is press the "Install Updates" button. There just happens to be several of these ‘Managers’ available for Linux. Yum (Yellow Dog Update Manager) is used with RPM packages that support RedHat, Fedora Core, SUSE, and others. It doesn’t have a GUI but there is yumex *Yum Extended) that does provide one. The GUI makes it easier to do updates and additional software installs. RedHat and Fedora Core also have Update which does just updates. Debian based Linux systems use APT, which also doesn’t have a GUI, but uses the Debian installation package file format.

In each Package manager, you have Repositories for the distribution you are using, which are supplied by the publisher of that distro. There are additional repositories (e.g. Fresh RPMs and DAC RPMs) that are not associated with the publishers, but maintain the work of the various developers that produce most of the fine software you have installed on your Linux environment. If you decide to install additional software that wasn’t on the install CDS, you will be glad to know that getting updates for that software is handled automatically for you without any action on your part.

The advantages of handling updates like this are obvious. You don’t need to visit the web pages of the software publishers to check for updates. The mechanism is easy to use and is highly efficient. And finally, you have complete freedom to choose what to update and when you wish to update.

Windows vs Linux Reason 5

2006-10-15T00:47:00.000-05:00

Linux and "Open Source" software are "free". This means their license is a "free license", and the most common is the GPL (General Public License, or the CopyLeft license). This license states that anyone is allowed to copy the software, see the source code, modify it, and redistribute it as long as it remains licensed with the GPL. Also, being free doesn’t just mean free of charge, but also free as in free range (chickens?) and Land of the Free!

So what do you care about freedom? Imagine that Microsoft disappears tomorrow (okay, that's not very likely, but what about in 5 years, 10 years? Wishful thinking? Not me, uh uh, no sir!). Or imagine it suddenly boosts the price for a Windows or Office license. If you're tied to Windows, there's nothing you can do. You (or your business) rely on this one company, on its software, and you can't possibly make things work without it. What good is a computer without a functional operating system? That is a serious problem! You're depending on one single company and trusting it wholeheartedly to let something so important nowadays as your computer, work the way they should. If Microsoft decides to charge $1000 for the next version of Windows, there's nothing you can do about it except switch to Linux, of course. If Windows has a bug that bothers you and Microsoft won't fix it, there's nothing you can do and submitting bugs to Microsoft isn't that easy.

With Open Source, if a particular project or support company dies, all the code remains open to the community and people can keep improving it. If a project is especially useful to you, you can even take over yourself. If a particular bug annoys you, you can submit it, talk with the developers, you can fix it yourself or hire someone to do it for you, and send the changes back to the upstream developers so that everyone gets the improvement as well. You're free to do just about whatever you want with the software. If you aren’t a developer, you can’t do much, of course, but as a user you have a lot of clout. .

That brings up the subject of Updates. In Windows, you get a large block of ‘Critical’ updates and a few ‘Not-so-Critical‘ ones that are supposed to fix discovered flaws in the various components that make up Windows. You have very little control over what gets updated and, if an update breaks something, you are stuck until you can convince Microsoft that they broke your system. (Good luck with that!) Sometimes an update fix creates one or more additional flaws which will require another update.

In Linux distros, updates are a regular thing, too. The difference is the update does far more than just installing a set of patches. The Linux update process also keeps your system up to date with new versions of installed applications. If a developer improves an application by adding a few new features, the update process is the method used to update all the installed copies of the application. Don’t want the new stuff? No problem. You just select the updates you want and let the rest slide by.

It’s all about maintaining control over your computer!

Windows vs Linux Reason 4

2006-10-11T19:12:00.000-05:00

You're probably saying to yourself: "Oh, I didn't pay for Windows". Are you absolutely sure? If your computer came with a copy of Windows, then you paid for it, even if the store didn't tell you about it. The price for a Windows license amounts to an average of one fourth of each new computer's price. So unless you obtained Windows illegally, you probably paid for it. Where do you think Microsoft gets its money from?

Another thing, you don’t own it! It’s like the road system and your driver’s license. You bought and paid for your license, but do you own the highway? Some of us drive like we do, but no, we don’t own the road. We have purchased the right to use it. It’s the same with Microsoft Windows and most purchased software. You bought the right to use it. The ugly thing about that is that Microsoft has been talking about changing their licensing procedures to force you to re-purchase the license on an annual basis. Microsoft owns the software on your system! If they wanted to, they could come to your door and demand its return. Don’t believe me? Get out the EULA (End User Licensing Agreement), that nobody really reads, and take a look for yourself. Nowhere in that document does Microsoft transfer ownership of your copy of Windows to you, the user.

On the other hand, you can get Linux completely free of charge. That's right, all those people all around the world worked very hard to make a neat, secure, efficient, good-looking system, and they are giving their work away for everybody to use freely. If you wonder why these guys do such things, drop me an email and I'll try to explain the best I can. ;-) Of course, some companies are doing good business by selling support, documentation, hotline, etc. for their own version of Linux, and this is certainly a good thing. But most of the time, you won't need to pay a cent. In fact, if you buy a copy of Linux from a retail store, what you are paying for are the physical CDs (or media), books, and the pretty box along with a limited length of time support contract.

With Linux, you own the software. You can’t buy a license for it like Windows because the concept is not used. You have a document similar to the EULA that is called the ‘Copyleft’. All it really says is that if you make changes to the source code and you wish to allow others to use it, you can do so, after doing a couple things like making sure the previous developers names are kept in the documentation and you don’t charge folk for getting your application. Otherwise, it is yours to do with as you wish.

The question now becomes, “Is it really free?” The answer is yes. You can access the Internet and download all sorts of distributions, free of charge. Well, free except for the connection charge you pay monthly to access the Internet. But compared to the charges you pay for a Windows license, which have been announced for Vista ($300+), you can’t find a better deal.

Windows vs Linux pt 3

2006-10-11T14:41:00.000-05:00

Viruses, Trojans, adware, spyware... Windows lets all these enter your computer easily. The average period of time before a Windows PC that is connected to the Internet and with a default "Service Pack 2" installation gets infected is 40 minutes and it sometimes takes as little time as 30 seconds.

So you can either install a firewall, an antivirus program, an Adware/Spyware scanner program, stop using of Internet Explorer and Outlook (you can’t remove them) replacing them with Firefox and Thunderbird, and pray that pirates aren't smart enough to overcome these protections and, if a security flaw is discovered, Microsoft will take less than a month to make an update available which hardly ever happens. Or you can install Linux and sleep soundly, or at least stop worrying about it.

As we have already said in the previous posting, Open Source software (e.g. Linux) has more eyes to check the code. Any programmer on Planet Earth can download the code, have a look, and see and repair any security flaws. On the other hand, the only people allowed to look at the Windows source code are people working for Microsoft. That's hundreds of thousands of people (maybe millions) versus a few thousand. That makes a big difference. Also, on top of that, where the Microsoft developers are dedicated to helping the company make money and not necessarily a better product, the developers of Open Source Software are dedicated to the product. They want to make the software better for the joy of it.

In actuality, it isn't matter of how many flaws a system has, compared to the other systems. If there are undiscovered flaws of a serious nature or are minor in that they don't compromise an important part of the system, pirates won't do much damage until they find them. It is really a matter of how fast a security flaw can be solved once it has been discovered. If a security flaw is discovered in an open source program, anyone in the open source community can have a look and help solve it. The solution and the update usually appear within a few days, sometimes even a few hours. In the case of Linux, security patches usually get released and applied before anyone really notices. And, due to the amount of testing, checking, and even more testing the software goes through, the patches are infrequent. Most of the time, any updates applied are for the addition of new features to the various effected software packages.

Microsoft doesn't have that much manpower, and usually releases a flock of security patches a month or more after flaws have been discovered and sometimes published. A lot of the time, updates to Microsoft products don’t fix the flaws. That gives more than enough for pirates to do whatever they want with your computer.

Windows vs Linux Reason 2

2006-10-11T11:48:00.000-05:00

How long has it been since you rebooted your Windows system because of a system error of one sort or another? Have you ever lost your work because Windows crashed? Do you always shut down your computer properly, or do you sometimes just switch it off because Windows has gone crazy and won’t shutdown for some reason? Have you ever gotten the "blue screen of death" or error messages telling you that the computer needs to be shut down or reboot for obscure reasons?

The latest versions of Windows, especially the XP or 2000 "Professional" ones are more stable than previous releases. Nevertheless, this kind of problem still happens fairly often.

Of course, no operating system is perfect, and people who tell you that theirs can never crash are lying! However, some operating systems can be so stable that most users never see their systems crash, even after several years. This is true for Linux.

Linux can run for years without needing to be restarted, in fact, most internet servers run Linux, and they usually never restart. Of course, with heavy updates, it still needs to be rebooted the proper way. But if you install Linux, and then use your system as much as you want, leaving your computer on all the time, you can go on like that for years without having any trouble. Most of the time, you won't leave your computer on for such a long time, but this shows how stable Linux is.

From personal experience, I know this to be true. I had a system I was using for development and testing purposes that ran continuously for 3 years, without error. The system finally failed, but not because of the software. The bearings in the main drive failed and the system died. I had to replace the hard drive, of course, but I was able to have the entire system back in operation in a matter of hours since I had backups of everything on the old drive.

As far as Windows is concerned, a week is a long time between reboots. A lot of folk experience system ‘glitches’ the require rebooting three or four times a week. By any standard, Windows is not a stable system in comparison to Linux.

Windows vs Linux - Reason 1

2006-10-10T18:33:00.000-05:00

I was chatting with a handful of my friends the other day when my favorite subject was raised. Linux! Over the next few weeks, I’ll try to write down the various things we discussed. It may open your eyes and get you to thinking more about Linux.The topic that got the ball rolling was the question, “Can you give me just one good reason why Linux is better than Windows?” This was from the Microsoft Certified Engineer (MCSE) in the group. He is one of those guys that has to have solid, factual, and absolute proof, not just so-so reasons.

The FIRST item mentioned was ‘Malware’! We all have been fighting the war on Spyware, Adware, and viruses of all sorts. What you may not know is that such things are all but nonexistent in the Linux world.

Linux hardly has any viruses. And that's not like "Oh well, not very often, you know". It is more along the lines of, "I think I may have heard of one a year or so ago but I may be mistaken.” Of course, a Linux virus is not impossible to find. However, Linux makes it very difficult for this to happen, for several reasons.

First of all, most people use Microsoft Windows, and pirates want to do as much damage (or control) as possible: therefore, they target Windows. But that's not the only reason; the Apache web server (a web server is a program located on a remote computer that sends web pages to your browser when you ask for them), which is open source software, has the biggest market share (against Microsoft's IIS server), but it still suffers from much fewer attacks/flaws than the Microsoft one.

Linux uses smart authorization management. In Windows you (and any program you install, including malware) have the right to do pretty much anything to the system. If you feel like punishing your PC because it just let your precious work disappear, you can go inside the system folder and delete whatever you want: Windows won't complain. Of course, the next time you reboot, you pay the price. If you can delete this system stuff, other programs can, too, or just mess it up. Linux doesn't allow that. Every time you request to do something that has to do with the system, an administrator (or ‘root’) password is required and if you're not an administrator on the system, you can’t change or erase a thing. Viruses can't just go around and delete or modify what they want in the system for the same reason. They don't have the authorization. Spyware can’t run at all without permission. In fact, most (98%) of the system configuration files can only be changed by the administrator directly modifying them.

“What about security flaws in the program?” Unlike Windows, Linux Distros (Linux speak for distributions) are Open Source. That means the source code is freely available to anyone. With the hundreds of programs in a distro, there are thousands highly skilled and experienced developers along with a very large group of testers that spend hundreds of hours trying to find the errors and eradicating them. There is that old Chinese proverb, “Many hands make light work!” and it is very true in the Linux world.

Another thing, if the user community (folks like you) find something they missed, it will usually take just a day or two, when reported, to get a fix written and made available to the entire community.

One Click System Maintenance

2006-09-22T02:26:00.001-05:00

One of the things I dislike about Windows is the need for software utilities to take care of system settings and conditions. Battling such things as Spyware, viruses, registry hacks, and other things that directly impact the usage of our systems just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I’ve been involved with Information Technology for over 37 years on any number of systems, both large and small, and needing something to ‘stick a thumb in the dike’ seems wasteful of my time when there are other things I want and need to do.

Don’t get me wrong, some of the utilities have become highly respected and ‘loved’ because they work well. Registry Mechanic, Spybot Search & Destroy, Adaware SE, and Anti-Virus software from Norton and others have become cornerstones of my daily system ‘experience’. A lot of you folks have found the satisfaction of improving your system’s operation by installing some of these tools and using them to good effect. The only problem is they are individual programs and need to be executed at different times (not all at the same time). I can, and sometimes do, spend almost 2 hours just running Spybot, Registry Mechanic, etc. That’s 2 hours I could be spending in getting productive work done. I have been searching for a ‘One Click’ solution that I could launch and take care of all the functions at one time and either match or exceed the results from all those separate programs.

I’m glad to say that I found one! Advanced WindowsCare by IOBit. They have just completed their Beta testing and have now declared their Release Candidate and I must say, it is well worth a look.

The software combines several tools into a single pass. The package will scan Spyware, Registry, do a Privacy Sweep, Optimize your system settings to tune it for your usage habits with System Analysis. The Security Defense installs specific spyware filters to prevent the stuff from even installing on your system. Then, after all that, will scan for, and remove, the temporary files that get written during normal operations. It also has a Memory Cleaner that will release memory being hoarded by a poorly written software package.

In my testing, I ran Registry Mechanic before and after a repair run of AWC. Both programs found the same registry problems. The really interesting result after the scans was, Registry Mechanic xame up empty after AWC repaired the Registry. The Spyware ‘filtering' works so well that Spybot AND Adaware SE found nothing to do after scanning. That says a lot for AWC.

Another powerful feature is that a Restore Point is made prior to the actual scan run and everything that is found can be manually deselected for repair. It also does it in just a few moments. The only things it won’t do is scan for viruses and defragment your hard drives. IOBit has a dandy defragmenter as a separate product that you might want to consider, too.

The really impressive part of this, however, is that it performs all of those tasks, and more, without requiring a large chunk of money. They will be releasing a ‘Personal’ version that will be free, but the Pro version is still not to expensive. The task performance is as good as, if not better than, the list of tools mentioned at the top of this article.

So check it out and have fun!

32-bit Vs 64-bit Systems

2006-08-20T21:02:00.000-05:00

Not so long ago, we received a query concerning buying a computer and what all the hype was about concerning 32 bit vs. 64 bit and so on. Since the gift giving season is rolling around and prices for computer equipment is going down, I decided to try and give you all some help.

To start, the difference between 32- and 64-bit systems and the 'why' behind it. In your computer, you have several 'items' that, normally, you don't need to concern yourself about. One of those is called the 'data buss'. It doesn't go across town or anything like that, but it does provide transportation. It connects memory to the microprocessor, which does all the thinking in your computer. The 'data buss' is used to move the data around inside your computer. In a 32-bit computer, the width(or size) of the data buss is 32 bits wide. A 64-bit buss system can move twice as much data around. Being able to process more data means a faster system. But only for specific things. Normal office productivity and web surfing will show no advantages at all but graphics processing and scientific calculations will go faster. .

Processor manufacturers are working out ways to provide 64-bit processors that are faster and cooler running temperatures so you may hear about multi-core processors and other highly technical terms that are related to 64-bit computing. So, as they say, the band is in the bandwagon, playing, the parade has started, and 64-bit is being touted as the up and coming technology for computing.

However, it is also said that the thing about bandwagons is, it never takes you where you want to go! Windows for 64-bit is not where it should be. It has been reported that Vista, Microsoft's next Windows release, already has severe problems in the 64-bit code. It also already, prior to release, has had critical updates applied. Nothing like getting a head start, is there. Other problems with 64-bit is the general lack of stable software to run on these Ferrari of the computer world. The entire system has to be designed and built for the wider data buss, too, so the system will cost more

One good thing, however, is that the price of the 32-bit systems has been dropping. Looking around the web nowadays is disclosing some really surprising price drops almost across the board, even on laptops. Already, prices for desktop systems are running about half of what they were this time last year. Over the next few months, those prices will drop even further what with the retail sales rush during October through December. If you need (or want) to buy a new system, this is the time. Start looking for good deals on new equipment now.

It's also a good time for the used computer market. Lower prices on new systems will cause more used equipment being made available and at rock bottom prices. Don't ignore them!

I suppose the question now is ,”Who would benefit for buying a 64-bit system?” Mostly businesses, universities, scientific groups, and government. If you produce videos, computer art, or develop programs, 64-bit systems will be helpful. But for the home user, 64-bit is definitely overkill. You won't see faster activities like writing, spreadsheet processing, or web browsing so don't waste your cash.

Have Fun!

Linux 103, Updates?

2006-05-04T16:30:00.000-05:00

As we continue wandering along, looking at all the Linux Distros parked on the lot, kicking a tire or two, and test driving a few, there is one area of Linux operation you need to know about and consider before taking the plunge and installing one of them. Oh, there are many things you will need to learn and we will get to those later, that is a promise. The one area we need to talk about, though, is Updates and the Update process.

Thanks to Microsoft's repeated issuance of Critical Updates over the years, I am sure you have a bad taste in your mouth at the very mention of the word. However, an update in Linux does not need to be either as scary or as confusing as a Windows update.

Because of the nature of Windows, the updates you download from Microsoft tend to be huge and complicated. They also occur frequently and do not always 'fix' the problems they are intended to address. The reason for this is that Windows is considered by Microsoft to be a single massive application. A change in one area of the software can affect another as well as having additional errors raising their ugly heads. You also see patches on top of patches, which can cause other strange and unwanted problems. As a result, changes in behavior of the whole package can be expected and, I suspect, are desired by Microsoft. There have been times where a MS Update has actually broken Windows to the extent that it needed to be reinstalled from scratch. It is no wonder we look upon the word 'update' with a jaundiced eye.

Updating Linux, however, is a very different situation. Since Linux is a collection of programs, the update process is highly selective. Updating also does not address the whole of the Linux installation. Rather, it addresses the various modules and components that make up the Linux system as individual programs. This approach to software tends to make updating far more accurate and complete since, frequently, the entire updated program is replaced, not patched. Another benefit of Linux updates is that software developers can provide you with new features and improved operation by giving you the latest version of a software package. One last thing to mention before we look at the tools used and that is that you can choose which programs you want to update. Unlike Windows where an update is a wholesale change that happens all at once, you have the choice to apply or not any part of the update. You have total control of the process. Moreover, if part of the update breaks something, the part that caused the problem can be removed and functionality restored without affecting the rest of the system except in the specific case of the kernel and even then, restoring your system to functionality can be done without too much difficulty. If you absolutely cannot restore it, you only need to reinstall the broken program and not the entire system.

The tools used for updating have, over the years, evolved to the point that controlling the process is easy. With names like 'apt' (intended for Debian based distribution installs), 'yum' (Yellowdog Update Manager for RPM), 'yumex' (Yellowdog Update Manager EXtended), and 'update' (Which is Redhat's update tool), each provides you with the ability to select the specific program or module to update or install. Of the group, 'yumex' is my choice for RPM based installations because it provides a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the update/installation process and is simple to use.

Although you change Operating Systems from Windows to Linux, updating your system will still be a part of your regular activities. However, it will not be as 'hidden' a process as it is with Windows. You will have far more control over what is updated and when, as well as keeping your system functioning with the latest new software available. You will also get to know your system.
Running Linux can be a positive experience but, just to make sure, it is not Windows, so do not expect to see 'the same stuff' on the screen. But, hey! That is part of the fun of computing. Linux will challenge you, or be simply a platform for writing, email, and web browsing. One thing is sure; you do not have the constant worry about 'Malware' you have with Windows now.

Have fun!

Linux 102 - Decisions, Decisions

2006-04-16T14:17:00.000-05:00

In my previous article, we discussed choosing a Linux ‘distro’. The choice is highly personal and depends upon your needs, so I will not go much further than that.

Before you start installing Linux your application needs should be decided upon before you start as well as HOW you want to install it.

Let us start with the Desktop. There are several to choose from. If you were to ask twenty people that used Linux regularly, which they would recommend, you would get a handful of answers, but the two that would get the most responses (or votes) would be Gnome and KDE. In fact, these two cause heated debates over which is best. To add to the debate, a newer Desktop called XFCE is becoming very popular. There are several others, like GNUStep, that enjoy a rather limited popularity and provide some rather interesting displays. If you want, you can install all of them and play around with them to see which you like best.

KDE was the first. It provides a wide array of applications that cover almost everything from Office Productivity to Gaming. When it was originally developed, the Qt library and tools used were not Open Source nor was it free. (It is now.) KDE was free for use but a group of developers did not care for the idea of having to buy a library from someone to develop software for the Desktop so they developed Gnome. Everything about Gnome was Open and no cost. There is not quite as much software developed specifically for Gnome as there is for KDE, but the Application Framework for Gnome is loose enough that most applications developed for Linux will fit nicely into the Gnome environment. Which is better? Neither and both is the only answer you will get from me. It is up to you to decide. Either Desktop will do what you need. Just keep in mind that Linux is not Windows and it will not look or operate the same.

XFCE is a good choice, too. You can closely approximate the Windows look with it and it also has a selection of Applications written for it, but it is ‘the new kid on the block’ and still being developed in some areas. That is not to say that the Desktop is not usable. Far from it! XFCE is a well-tested and mature product that performs as well as Gnome and KDE! It is just being improved and expanded as new services and capabilities are being regularly added.

Most Linux distros allow you to install one or more of the Desktop environments as well as the ability to switch from one to another, so install what you want and try them.

There are a few ways to install Linux that need to be decided upon as well as the application mix. There are three methods to consider, each with advantages and disadvantages.

The first and easiest is using a dedicated system for Linux. In this instance, Linux uses the entire system for operation. You actually replace everything on the hard drive(s) with Linux software. It is a bad idea to go this route if you want to keep Windows on the machine since Windows will be totally removed.

Another method would be to use a hard drive partition or second drive for Linux. This is called ‘Dual Boot’ and will allow multiple Operating Systems to be available for use. With this choice, Windows will be left alone on the system so it will be there if you need it. There is little chance Windows and Linux will intermix files since they use different file system protocols so it should be safe. To shift from Windows to Linux and back requires you to shutdown whichever OS you are using and start up from initial boot.

The third is to use VMWare. The VM in VMWare stands for Virtual Machine and is rather interesting for its own sake. It allows you to install Linux along side Windows and the VMWare system literally builds a virtual system inside your computer that recognizes each environment separately and keeps them apart. It does require a bit more memory and a faster system because of VMWare’s overhead, but if configured correctly, will allow you to run Linux and Windows with ease. In addition, switching from Windows to Linux requires a predetermined sequence of keystrokes but not a full scale reboot. VMWare is free for Home use and they have good support available.

Since Linux will run happily on older equipment, I suggest getting a separate system (Pentium I or even an 80486 system) for Linux use. The cost is usually low since the older systems will not run the newer Windows, and they should be plentiful and available (possibly in your own closet, garage, or basement). You might want to invest in additional memory and perhaps a larger hard drive but Linux will run in 128 MB of memory quite nicely and you can install a full Linux Personal Workstation onto a 1.2 GB hard drive with a lot of space left over. Whatever the distribution has as a default should be your starting point. Get used to Linux before trying to get ‘fancy’. If you are new to Linux, leave the server and development stuff alone and just install either the workstation or Personal system. Learn your system first and then add stuff.

Next time we will discus update methods.

Have Fun!

Linux 101 - How to begin!

2006-04-13T10:16:00.000-05:00

Linux is on the rise and we can all thank Microsoft for it! People around the world are tired of Microsoft’s heavy handedness in their marketing ploys and in foisting off a lousy Operating System commonly known as Windows. After years of putting up with high pricing, program bloat, and the constant need to Update and Upgrade because of coding errors and insufficient operation, people are turning to Linux in greater numbers. Are you one of them?

This article is offered to help you decide which Linux will be right for you and to give you a few resources so you can make an educated decision. At first glance, the process is daunting because you have over 1,000 different versions of Linux to choose from, but I think I can help by trimming that list down to just a handful.

Linux is the name of a UNIX-like operating system for the PC user. Versions of Linux have been developed for several PC ‘architectures’ like Intel x86, Intel x86-64, and PPC, to name a few. As a result, you should have no problems finding a Linux distribution that will run on your system.

A Linux distribution (or Distro) consists of a kernel and several dozen applications. The difference between distros is the combination of applications that are furnished. The kernel is, basically, the same. The applications include office productivity, games, utilities, and a few other categories. Some distros are great for the office, others for general home use, others for servers, and still others for software development. You can even install a personalized version where you choose which applications you want from long lists of applications. Fun!

The first thing to do is find out what distro to start out. You can get a dandy idea by using the Linux Chooser. The site has a good listing of distros that fall into the ‘better-known’ category. They cover a wide range of user experience from First timers to Experts. Go to the web site and take the quiz. Answer the questions and you will wind up with a name of a distro or two, or three! Decide on one of them and either download it or buy it from a computer store or on-line. If you are a first time user, look at Ubuntu. You can order copies of both a Live CD and an Install CD free of charge (free shipping, too). If you have friends who are interested in Linux as well, order extra copies for them (still free). While you are waiting for the order to arrive, it is time to read up on Linux and get a bit of learning out of the way. . It will make the start up a lot easier for you. The Windows to Ubuntu Guide is an interesting read that details the shift from Windows to Ubuntu Linux. You may find it informative and helpful There are dozens of other sites on the web that offer free How-To tutorials on Linux installation and operation. For those that want a desk reference at hand, get a copy of the following books from your local bookseller. “Linux in a Nutshell” and “Running Linux” from O’Reilly Publishing. The first is a desk reference for the commands used in Linux and the other is a ‘necessary read’ to familiarize you with the inner workings of Linux.

One last point, before the actual installation of Linux on your system you are going to need a network connection that is always on like cable or DSL. Many of the distros will download applications directly to your machine so having a connection is vital. A dial-up connection will work, but it will take a lot of time to complete the download. There are distros that do not require it, but they are usually for the more experienced user.

This is the first of many articles dealing with the installation, use, and administration of Linux on a Home PC so keep an eye out for them.

Have Fun!

Changes on the Horizon? Part 3

2006-02-17T15:09:00.000-06:00

After reading parts 1 and 2, you may get the feeling that I do not like Windows. Nothing could be further from the truth. I like Windows just fine. In fact, here at Computerist Tower, Windows XP Pro is running communications and home network, and most of my writing tools are Windows applications. I also run a Fedora Core 4 Linux system that runs my database, software development, and web development tools. Both systems are central to my operations. I have a third system that I use to test Linux distributions and a forth that runs Windows 98SE for my library of Win95/98 software. If I did not like Windows, I would not be using it.

There are a few final things I would like to point out to you before I close these articles. Earlier, I mentioned the software bloat that Microsoft has foisted off onto their customers. That bloat is driving the computer industry to develop improved hardware and software to match. Games have been getting to the point that serious gamers buy the fastest and biggest home PCs available if not building systems that are the envy of most commercial developers. The trend has no end in sight.

Nevertheless, what about the systems we bought last year? They still work! Will they still work when we upgrade to Microsoft Vista? Maybe! We spend anywhere from $400 to $5,000 and more for the system of our dreams only to find that the new Windows operating system will not function without this or that hardware upgrade. That is when the question becomes, “Should I upgrade?” If you do, what about the system you have on your desk? You have not had the system long enough to get your money’s worth out of it yet but to use the new Windows, you have to buy new. Let us not forget the other software we have invested in and use daily. Will we need to buy replacement packages? It is frustrating and a lot of us ‘lose our cool’ when we see the drain on our pocket book.

Consider this, though. Linux has gone through upgrades since its release, just as Windows but you can run the latest release Linux on that old 80486 processor-based system you pushed into the corner years ago. Memory concerns? The latest release of Linux will run on 128MB of memory just fine. No slowdowns and is highly productive. Why is that, you ask.

It is all due to the way the operating systems were developed! Windows was and is still developed as a monolithic application. That is, everything is in a single piece. Hundreds of software engineers work on features, developing file system support, threading, and other features that are assembled into one, massive whole. Is it any wonder there are bugs in it. Testing becomes a nightmare, bug correction a full time occupation. Moreover, we, you and I, pay for it. We get the ‘end’ result, except it is not the end. Continuous updates of a critical nature, viruses and malware designed just for Windows.

Unlike Windows, Linux does not have that problem. The kernel is separate from everything else. Integration (putting it all together) problems are minimized since there are established interface standards published. You still have hundreds of software developers and engineers working on portions, but there is no integration involved. Each piece of a Linux system is independent of the rest of the system. In Windows, each part of the system depends on all the other parts. Like a house of cards, one part fails, the whole thing collapses (the ‘Blue Screen of Death’). In Linux, one part fails, the rest of the system keeps running and the failed process is restarted automatically.

The BIG question, though, is how hard is Linux to operate? Yes, there are differences. It can be challenging to administer as well, but there are dozens of web pages that cover the in’s and out’s of that, so information is readily available. The biggest problem you have is not the ‘how’ but the ‘which’. There are over a thousand different distributions of Linux out there.

Want to try Linux? Go to your closet, storage shed, basement, wherever you have stuffed that old computer, drag it out, dust it off, plug it in, and say, “Hello, old friend!”. Install a copy of Linux and start learning about the other side of computing. In an effort to help you decide, many Linux distributions are available as Live CD systems. They do not install anything on your hardware and are fully functional systems on a CD. You can see and hear what that version of Linux is all about before deciding. Try a few! Go hunting and find the one that best fits your needs. We, at Handicapped Computerist, have our favorites and I am sure, wherever you live, there is a group of Linux users that will happily extol the virtues of their favorite, too.

Computing is fun so, for Heaven’s sake HAVE FUN!

Changes on the Horizon? Part 2

2006-02-16T18:52:00.000-06:00

As I said in Part 1, The industry has been ‘driven’ by Microsoft to provide bigger, faster, better hardware just to support Windows. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Yes, Windows has created a ready market for hardware and software. However, the problem that most folk do not see is the lack of Downward Compatibility that I also mentioned. It is not just with Windows either. Case in point is Word for Windows. Part of the Office suite, Word has become a virtual standard for clean and efficient operation while providing the writer with a rich set of tools for productive writing. I doubt there is much argument with that. However, do not bother trying to edit a document written with Word 95 with Word 2002. It cannot do it in the .DOC format. In fact, you may not be able to do it at all. Therefore, if you have a lot of documentation written with an older version of Word, you may have lost all that work. Microsoft has you over a barrel since they do not support very many older versions. If you want to keep Microsoft support, you need to buy the newer, if not newest release of MS Office at $550 a pop.

Software is another area that causes a problem when upgrading Windows. Most software written for windows use Microsoft libraries to provide functionality the developer does not have to build from scratch. Unfortunately, these libraries are specific to a particular version of Windows. That means a software written for Windows 3.1 or 95 will not run or at least not run correctly on Windows XP or 2003 or even Vista! I, myself, have a large library of Windows 95 software that I cannot run on my system. My solution? I have a second system setup with Windows 98 Second Edition that WILL run that software. Not the best solution, but it is cheaper than trying to find and then purchase replacement software. It is no wonder that I spend a lot of time searching for freeware or shareware solutions. Fortunately, there is a huge array of software that fit the bill.

Other solutions to the difficulty are readily available free or a small fraction of the cost. I know what you are saying and you are right. Linux is one such solution and a good one as well. However, I want to give you a ‘case study’ to watch.

This scenario is taking place in Spain right now. I am not making this up, it is really happening.

In Merida, Spain, Luis Millan Vazquez de Miguel, a college professor turned politician, is succeeding where multibillion-dollar, multinational corporations have failed. He is managing to unseat Microsoft Corp. as the dominant player in the software industry, at least in his little part of the world.

Vazquez de Miguel is the minister of education, science and technology in a western region of Spain called Extremadura, a mostly rural expanse of olive trees and tiny towns with 1.1 million inhabitants. In April, the government launched an unorthodox campaign to convert all the area's computer systems, in government offices, businesses and homes, from the Windows operating system to Linux, a free alternative.

"We are the future," he said. "If Microsoft doesn't become more open and generous with its code, people will stop using it and it will disappear."

It has not been easy, and there have been a few glitches, but so far, there has been over 10,000 systems converted. In addition, there are 70 proposals and laws in twenty-four countries that will allow the use of Open Source solutions instead of Windows or Microsoft software.

Microsoft Spain is not handling the movement at all well.

The biggest problem the Spanish government is facing with this is the incompatibility of documents created on Windows systems being printed out by Linux systems. Nevertheless, with the use of such software as Open Office, that hurdle is being easily bypassed.

Part 3, a few comparisons between Linux and Windows.

Changes on the Horizon? Part 1

2006-02-16T14:45:00.000-06:00

Being in the business of computers as I am, wide varieties of publications are produced on a weekly basis that contains useful information. Information that relates to the computing industry for both services providers and users. Since I receive a few of these publications, I see developing trends and the direction the industry is going.

I find new hardware such as keyboards and hard drives and read about the new software being developed for the consumer market. Some of the news is exciting and I almost wish I could get my hands on some of the stuff coming soon.

But, there has been some rather disturbing news along with all the ‘hype’! News and views about Microsoft and Windows. Many of the things I am reading about I can see from my own personal experience. And it bothers me, to say the very least.

A bit of history for you (don’t worry, I’ll keep it brief). Back in the early ‘80s, Bill Gates bought a small company that had developed an operating system for IBM’s new Intel based PC-1 and called it PC-DOS. It managed the PC, used a small amount of memory, and enabled the advent of the highly lucrative PC industry we see about us today. Microsoft continued to improve and enhance MS-DOS through several versions. All through the life cycle of MS-DOS, things that were written for the earlier releases tended to work fine with the later releases of DOS. This is called Downward Compatibility.

Incremental enhancements included better memory management, improved system services, and, of course, bug fixes. Unfortunately, the improvements included in the releases caused the software to grow, size wise. Each release consumed slightly more memory to run and took up more space on the diskette. When hard drives became available for the PC, MS-DOS got even bigger. What used to be on a single diskette suddenly required 4 or 5 diskettes, and not the 360 KB floppies, either, but the high density 1.3 MB diskettes. But nobody said anything and Microsoft pressed on.

Apple released their little machine with a graphical user interface (GUI) and Microsoft responded with Windows, a graphical user interface for the PC. Now we had a choice, DOS or Windows. However, Windows required more space to operate and more storage on the system, which meant more memory and bigger hard drives. That meant a user, you and I, had to go out and buy new hardware. The hardware industry was not sitting idle during this time either because systems started running faster, memory got bigger, and so did hard drives. I shudder to think of trying to run Windows on a 10 MB hard drive today. Back then the thought for most of us was, “10MB, Wow! How will I ever use that much space?” Microsoft Windows, arguably, caused the growth of the computer industry and common computer use in the world today. MS said,” We need more space to run our system!” The industry developed bigger memory chips. MS said,” Windows needs more storage space!” The industry responded by inventing better ways to store data and bigger and better hard drives.

There’s only one problem. Each time Microsoft releases a new Windows version, it requires more. More space, more storage, more power. You want to upgrade your copy of Windows, you will have to buy a new computer or upgrade your old one. It is becoming a vicious cycle. To a degree, Windows is creating a market place for computer hardware.

Now, that’s not altogether a bad thing. If you have the money to pay for it. If, like me, you have a pocket full of pennies with my finger print embossed on them (form pinching) you are getting to the point where you start asking why you should buy more system just to run an operating system that doesn’t really do all that much more than the previous release.

Next time, “Is anybody doing something about it?”

An Automated Approach to Personal Web Pages

2006-02-15T14:29:00.000-06:00

I have used personal web pages for a while now, and I don't know how I ever survived without them. I currently have several sets for different purposes. I enjoy the process of creating the pages almost more than I enjoy using them, and I've even changed templates for some of my sets. Of course, creating and editing the pages requires knowledge of html.

If you've wanted to have a personal web page of your own but do not know how to write html or don't care to take the time to do it, all is not lost. Check out ProtoPage. This free service is based in London. With ProtoPage, you:

Can create a personal page using a "modular", point-and-click approach.
Can include localized content, such as for news and weather.
Need not register to create a page, but any page(s)created without registration expire within 48 hours.
Can choose colors for the background and panels, even add your own photos and backgrounds by uploading them to the web first.
Can have a handy bookmarklet available to make it easy to add links to your page.
Can add multiple panels, sticky notes (good for "to-do" lists and reminders), news and blog feeds, local weather and even an e mail panel.
Can set the page(s) to open as home pages in your browser. (The service is best used with Firefox.)
Can dock panels at the top of the screen to save space and still allow quick access.
Can have several pages, and
Can choose to make pages public or keep them private.

You can also contact the owners of the site to make suggestions about features you would like to see added.

I do not plan to discontinue using self-created personal pages by any means because of the greater flexibility they afford, but ProtoPage is a nice addition to "my" pages.

The "iPod' Laptop?

2006-01-24T12:36:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while, things pop up in the news, tehcie types of things, that makes the old crystal ball start glowing. This being the first of the year, the Computerist watches the news for innovations that gives birth to ideas of what the future holds for us.

We just read that Samsung has announced the development of 16 GB (GigaByte) Flash Chips. Flash chips are persistent memory devices that can take the place of hard drive components. The only limitation, up to now, is that the capacity has been 2 GB or less per chip. The Apple Nano iPod uses 16 of the 2 GB chips to store the songs and such instead of a mini hard drive like the older and bulkier iPods of the past.

Read Me

So, what does this mean? Plenty! Samsung went further to say that they are developing a laptop computer the will have no moving parts, other than the keyboard, but will have 40 GB of system storage. No hard drive! It means we will not have to be worried so much about knocking the laptop around and damaging the hard drive and that, since there are no moving parts to wear out, the laptop can be relied upon to work for a long time. They weigh less so the laptop will not drag your arm to the ground. .Plus, since the chips fit in a much smaller space, the physical size of the system will depend on the human interface things like the screen and keyboard. As far as battery life is concerned, a flash chip does not require as much power to operate as a hard drive so the operating time per battery charge should be much longer as well.

To take this a step further is not too difficult. What about the Desktop systems? The impact on the desktop arena is already being felt. Thumb Drives that plug in to the USB port of a computer system are already being used for a wide variety of purposes. Everything from a portable file system to actually having a bootable operating system installed. There has even been talk of some folks actually installing Windows on a Thumb drive and running a system with it.

The biggest change will be in physical size. Systems will be smaller, faster, and less expensive. All good things. The pricing may start out high, but if the past has shown us anything, it is that pricing drops significantly after time passes.

Some computer vendors have already unveiled their ideas of the future. One was to have a ‘component’ computer much like the stereo systems of the past. Each major component group would be in a book shaped container and would snap together like Lego blocks. Assembled, the computer would sit on a bookshelf and appear like a set of books.

I think this year is going to be interesting.

HAVE FUN!

Linux for the Human Race

2005-12-28T12:44:00.000-06:00

As a long time UNIX Systems Administrator, I enjoyed the ebb and flow of data processing in a rather intense world of Commercial UNIX. Working with operating systems with names like AIX, Solaris, HP/UX and Irix, I was surrounded with a complex but orderly set of environments that although similar at first glance, were fascinating in their strengths and differences. Each was UNIX at the very basic core, but the different philosophy and approach of each vendor made working with each one an interesting experience. I mean that in a good way!

When I discovered Linux in 1994, I had no problem understanding the software and installation of Slackware Linux 2.0. Running it was no problem although I could see how it would be daunting for a PC hobbyist. Going from DOS or Windows to Linux could be a long drawn out and painful process. Installation was not straightforward and operating it after installation could be confusing and frustrating to say the least. Learning curve was lengthy because you not only had to learn the basics you also had to learn the finer points of operating it as well.

Nevertheless, for me, it was comforting to have a UNIX-like OS running on my own personal computer wherever or whenever I wanted. It also enabled me to either sharpen or keep sharp my skills. I could even develop software on the system that could translate easily into functional tools on the Real UNIX systems. I had languages and compilers, databases and scripts to play with. Moreover, all for a few pennies. Ah, paradise!

Over the years, I have installed and used a variety of Linux distributions ranging from Slackware to Red Hat and SUSE Enterprise Linux. As before, each one has unique traits that make learning a new release interesting.

But in each case, it took more than inserting the CD in the drive and booting the system to install. There are a daunting number of complex entries that must be made to install the Linux environment successfully. Drive partitioning and sizing, package selection, and a whole array of decisions need to be made to properly install Linux. Until now!

Enter Ubuntu Linux! Suddenly, installing Linux is as easy, if not easier, than installing Windows. If you have ever wanted to try Linux, this is the distribution to get your hands on. It will run on almost any PC you can get your hands on from the high powered 3MHz+, 64 bit, multi-core systems to the Pentium II plodding along at 300 MHz. Installation is so painless, you can take a nap while it is loading and wake up to a fully functional Linux environment.

What you need to start the process is a Internet connection, a hard drive and a comfortable chair. A cup of coffee or tea is optional. Just to give you something to do while it is installing. Load the CD in the drive and power up. You will be asked two questions referring to where you want to install and your choice of log in information. Then you sit back, sip your cup of whatever, and watch the fun! That is it.

Ubuntu loads the core system, sets up and initiates the network connection and then downloads and installs the rest of the system for you. When it finishes, you are asked to remove the CD and it boots itself! Suddenly you are looking at the Ubuntu login screen and you are off on safari!

If you were wondering how complete an installation you will have, it is perfect for a Personal Workstation. The distribution is based on the popular Debian Linux and is a full Linux system with the current stable kernel and a full complement of tools. Getting additional software is not hard! Just pick out what you want and the system will download and install it where it needs to be.

The nice thing about Ubuntu is that it is totally free. Download the ISO and burn your own or order a CD from them, no charge. Need or want more than one copy for friends, no problem. Free! They even have a Live System CD available to try out to see what Ubuntu is all about.

Therefore, if you were thinking about trying Linux on for size, this one should fit your needs! Check out their web site and see what the system is all about!

Ubuntu site

HAVE FUN!

Used Computers, Pt.2

2005-12-23T20:27:00.000-06:00

We apply power to the system and suddenly, we have a problem. I think I would have been more surprised if there were not a problem or two.

Even though I had correctly installed that wonderful 20 GB hard drive, including the Master/Slave/Cable Select jumper the drive was not identified by the system! After a lot of additional research and a fair amount to testing, I discovered the awful truth! The 20 GB hard drive was too big! Yes, that is correct. The system would not accept a drive much bigger than 10 GB. Time for a BIOS upgrade since the Dell systems allow BIOS Flashing. It is time to download an appropriate BIOS load for the system. However, when I try to apply the load, it is not accepted! Something about a “Banff” flash load would not overlay on a “Durango” BIOS! I am going to have to check that out later.

Moving on I decide to install a 10-Gb drive I had in the spares box. The system starts fine and, after running fdisk to set the partitioning done and formatting the drive, Windows 98SE is installing while I do some thinking and head scratching. I wonder what else I am going to find that needs attention?

When the install completes, I decide to disconnect my network from the system and, sure enough, I find another problem. The system tells me, during boot up, that a cable is missing and needs to be connected. The system has network interface with PXE! Go to ‘setup’ and disable the networking until I get ready to connect things up. The system boots up fine now without the network so I can see what else I am going to need. I will come back to the network problem later.

I notice the screen is display looks a bit strange. Graphics is not right and it is set for 640X480. Well, I know how to fix that! Open properties and change the settings, which are set for 16 colors, 640X480. However, I cannot change the settings. I only have the one display mode available. (I am starting to get grumpy by this time.)

A little more searching and I find a download for the ATI Graphic Interface that is an integral part of the system. The package is applied and “TADA!” I have all sorts of colors and a selection of screen resolutions. Now things are looking better.

Now, for the network stuff! I check the specifications for the system and find that the integrated network interface is one from 3Com. In fact, it is a 3C905B-TX! The 3Com folks, like the Dell folks, have a very fine web site that has driver downloads for most anything they make. I download the full driver set and I’m ready to get networking going. I apply the new drivers to the system, turn on the network interface that I shut down earlier and connect the cable from my network. After quickly configuring the system to accept daddress information from my router, we are communicating to the world.

I have a real system and it is working fine, or is it. No, it isn’t. I have one last task to perform before I can load software. I need to get all of Microsoft’s Critical and Recommended updates for Windows 98 SE! (Yes, they are available.) This process is long and boring. After 75 minutes of work, most of it waiting for completion of either download or installation processes, the system is finally ready for use. Since it is connected to the internet, I download OpenOffice 2 (which I’ve talked about before) and a fresh copy of Adaware. I also found the Abexo Free Registry Cleaner.

It is finished! I call the woman and tell her that the system is ready for her to give to her husband. There is dancing in the streets and joy abounds everywhere. Christmas will be joyous in her household.

As for the Computerist, a glow of satisfaction and the knowledge that he will not be forgotten. Yes, that’s right. First time that computer has a problem, who do you think that family is going to call? I’ll give you three guesses. Ha! I’ll hear from them again, I’m sure. Like the Old Sage said,” No good deed goes unpunished!” I don’t mind though. I had fun working on the system and the couple are friends! It’s all worth it!

HAVE FUN! Happy Holidays!

Used Computers, Pt. 1

2005-12-23T20:25:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, a good friend was talking about buying a PC for her spouse. Her problem was that funds were extremely tight and she did not have the funds to buy a new computer. At least, nothing that was current. This posting is about the things done and the tasks completed to get a system into her hands for Christmas.

This saga starts with a phone call describing the desire to purchase a computer for her husband. He was sharing her system that was normally used for business purposes and it was difficult at times for him to have the use of it. Therefore, the need was real. The Handicapped Computerist got busy and started looking around to see what might be available.

Buying a new system was ruled out because of the prices being out of reach. “I only have $100 to spend, what can we do for that?” With prices starting in the $400 range, it was obvious that was not going to work. So, it became a hunting expedition to find a $100 computer that was reasonable in capability.

Here, where I live, we have a thriving used computer marketplace. There is any number of computer manufacturing companies and other companies around that recycle older computers. What I had to find was something available in her price range. Fortunately, there was. One store had a consignment of Dell GX1 tower computers that were built around 1998! Now, the GX1 is NOT a speedy machine. 350 MHz compared to the 3 GHz systems available new. Nevertheless, the GX1 was a nice stable system that should provide several years of solid performance. The price? $19! Yes, I said $19! What did we get for that? 128 Mb of memory and a 3 Gb drive. If you do not know the system, it can run with 3 each 256 Mb SDRAMs which makes for 768 Mb. Quite a respectable amount of memory! The 350 MHz processor, a Pentium II, could be replaced with a 500 MHz processor, so the whole system is a solid performer for a home PC. Since the system was going to be used for writing, playing old Win 95/98 games, and some web browsing, the older system would be fine.

With that decision being made, where to find the funds to purchase the system? In today’s job market, at least around here, jobs are hard to come by. If you do get a job, it is short term and does not pay very well. Therefore, she had a problem. Her husband had been looking unsuccessfully for a job. My friend was working, but her income was taken up by household needs and what bills she had. The solution was rather surprising and, as it ended up, rather annoying. The husband found work delivering telephone books. Several hundred telephone books, and corresponding Yellow page volumes later, my friend had lost her temper because of the mess and high traffic in her home, along with a very sore body due to having to handle the phone books. Stuffing one copy of both White pages and Yellow pages into a plastic bag, stacking them where they could be picked up for delivery and then stuffing them into their car was a lot of work. To top it off, my friend is disabled! The final end result, after working 7 delivery routes, was enough cash to have a nice Christmas for the whole family, including the computer.

She bundled what funds she had for the computer and sent it to the Computerist, who then went shopping. After a short trip, the store was entered and looking around at all the treasures, I got to work. The Dell GX1 was stacked with several dozen others, so I picked one from the stack. The salesperson was extremely helpful since I too am disabled. (I cannot lift and carry) He grabbed the system I pointed out and we started picking out the additional parts needed. A 20 Gb hard drive, additional memory, and we were well on the way of getting everything we needed. Since the system was to be connected to the same cable modem she was already using, we needed some networking equipment and cables. We needed a router to connect the new network to the cable modem. We also needed a small 4-port hub to distribute the network. Cabling was also needed to connect everything together. Fortunately, the store had a single unit that combined the hub and router in the same device. A keyboard and mouse completed the list and so,it was done. How much did we spend for all that ‘stuff’? $99 was the total including tax. Not a bad deal to be sure. Now all that needed to be done was the final assembly and software load. The Computerist’s favorite task!

Installing the hard drive was simple. Remove a single screw and the drive cage lifts out. A few screws later and all that was needed were to replace the drive cage, connect the power and data cables and that was done. . A final check of all the various cables and cards and we were ready to start testing the system. It was ready to be powered up and havesoftware installed.

In Part 2, Oh oh! Troubles!

Ultra Hal Revisited

2005-12-08T12:46:00.000-06:00

Over the past few months, the Computerist has found, and reported on, several interesting and useful programs. During a team meeting here at ‘The Handicapped Computerist’, the subject of usage came up with the question as to whether we should talk about and offer suggestions for them.

Before I get too far into this, I need to tell you about our meetings. If you were a fly on the wall, it would not seem like much of a meeting! It is more like a session at the Comedy Club! A lot of giggles and laughter, joking, and not a lot of business takes place. We really do get a lot done but it just seems our laughter is not too far away. I guess you could say that we enjoy working on the Computerist. We all hope you find what we do interesting and helpful. With that out of the way, let us see what we have.

Some weeks ago, in the post titled “Read it to me!” we introduced Ultra Hat Text-to-Speech. We brainstormed a few applications of the program and, based on our experience, a few really ‘neat-o, nifty’ things you can do with it.

For those of us who write a lot, getting a proofreader can be a challenge, especially if we are reluctant to have our work read before it is ready. Since getting Ultra Hal installed, I have found it to be a very useful tool in that I can mark the text I want checked and Hal reads it. I follow along and as Hal reads, I mark corrections on a hardcopy of the document and then, make the corrections to the document. Ultra Hal, amazingly, stumbles very infrequently in pronouncing the words I normally use. It can even pronounce ‘Computerist’ without problem.

Another feature of Hal is the ability to save the spoken text to a WAV file. With a WAV to MP3 converter, the file can be transferred to an iPod and can be listened to whenever or wherever you like. College students might find that interesting. Finding research material on the web is a common practice for college work. So let us suppose for a moment that you need to read an article posted on the Internet but time is of the essence. Have Hal read it into a WAV file and, after converting it and loading it on an iPod, listen to it as you move across campus. Most people retain the spoken word better than reading anyway. The best way, though, is to combine both listening and reading. No iPod in hand? No problem! Create an audio CD and play it on a portable CD player.

I hesitate to mention this, but with an OCR application and an optical scanner, printed material can be converted, too. Just be careful with this and make sure you will not be violating copyright laws.

Entertaining children can be a challenge on family trips. It can get noisy and distracting for the driver. Why not find a few children’s stories on the web, convert them and load a couple iPods for them to listen to as you go. It would take some time and planning, but it would keep things busy and quiet. With different stories on each iPod, the devices can be swapped around and shared.

These are a few of the dozens of ideas we came up with. I am sure you will come up with a few of your own. If you come up with more uses for Ultra Hal (or any of the other programs we’ve mentioned) let us know and we will share them with the rest of the folk that read the Computerist.

Be inventive and, above all, HAVE FUN!

A Bit of Wisdom

2005-12-04T10:18:00.000-06:00

This may seem to be a bit off subject and will seem to be out of place on a blog relating to computing, but here goes anyway.

I want to pass on to you a bit of wisdom and advice to consider. I will get to the application of it in a moment. I got this from my third grade teacher, Miss Maag. Where she got it, I will never know, but I have never forgotten it and I hope you will take it for what it is really worth.

“Love many,
Trust few,
But always paddle your own canoe!”

Good advice for almost anything in life isn’t it? I got to thinking about Malware (Adware and Spyware), Spam, and eMail Virus attacks today as I was scanning and clearing my system of the stuff. It struck me that I was applying that little rhyme to my Internet activities as well as other areas of my life.

Consider this; you spend a lot of time on your system cruising around on the Internet looking for information and entertainment. We all enjoy finding things that open our eyes and minds and so we ‘bookmark’ web sites. When we find something of interest and want to stay informed of additional information and changes on a site, we subscribe to their newsletter. We also communicate with our friends and neighbors on various subjects ranging from sharing a joke or two to passing on the latest news. We also have business contacts we pass information to and get information from on a regular basis.

So, ‘Who do you trust?’ becomes a question that gets lost in all the noise. Nevertheless, it is important to keep in mind as we poke about, peering into our screens. Whom should we trust and of whom should we be wary? It is a hard question to answer.

We all know there are some sites that ask you to ‘subscribe’ to their newsletter and others want you to ‘sign up’ for one reason or another. Be careful. You would not believe how valuable your eMail address and personal information happens to be to some people. A company can realize a goodly sum of cash for a copy of their ‘mailing’ list. Spammers buy these lists and then make money by sending Spam to the addresses on that list. Your address! Remember, if you sign up, you might wind up with a few Spam messages. Most of the time, the use of your information is legitimate, but not always! Personal information can be purchased as well and in the wrong hands can cause serious problems for you. It is your information, so it is up to you.

I have been noticing quite a few Web Sites popping up that offer repositories (off site storage) for things like documents, bookmarks, and eMail address books. Is it wise to subscribe to them? It is your call! As far as I am concerned, some things are fine in such a storage facility. Things like Web Site URL’s (addresses) would be fine since they are publicly available anyway and anybody could have them bookmarked. Sharing bookmarks is a common thing. You share with your friends and family and they share with you. But eMail addresses are different. In my address book, I have friends, family, and quite a few business contacts of various sorts. I am extremely careful when it comes to ‘sharing’ that information. Why? Most of my eMails are private or of a sensitive nature because of pbusiness critical information contained in them. Also, a lot of virus’s use your address book to spread themselves, like the flu spreads from person to person. I do not want to be responsible for infecting my friends and family with whatever I have caught, so everything I receive is checked for virus infection. If it fails the scan, I throw it away. Attachments are scanned and tossed if suspect.

When Miss Maag wrote that little poem in my autograph book back in the early ‘50s, computers were huge, expensive things that were operated by research groups and the government and were not able to do what our desktop systems can today. There was no World Wide Web, no Internet, and no Spam or viruses. It was intended to be for personal relationships but it has withstood the times and has remained relevant even in today’s world. Therefore, I offer it to you. Love many (sites), trust few (subscribe sites), but always paddle you own canoe (it is your system and your Internet, take good care of it).

In closing, I want to say “Thanks, Miss Maag! You had no idea, I’m sure, how far reaching that tiny bit of wisdom would go!”

HAVE FUN!

Grab Bag for the Season!

2005-11-24T16:38:00.002-06:00

The posting today is more of a ‘grab bag’ than anything else. Mainly because I have had many little things come across my desk that deserve to be passed on but not enough information to make up a full post.

First off, Open Office. There is a new release of the Open Office office suite, Version 2, and it is a corker. If you want or need an office suite for Windows, Linux (any distribution), UNIX (almost any flavor), or the Mac, this is the one to download. There are many goodies in the package and it works like a dream! Database, word processing that also does web pages, spreadsheet, presentation tools, and a lot more.

OpenOffice 2

I received an eMail from a person that wanted us to look at a program that surprised me. WaxMail is an interesting little add-on for Outlook and Outlook Express that enables you to attach an audio file to an eMail message. Normally that is not so impressive until you hear the rest of the story! WaxMail allows you to record the message in Real-Time, that is, when you write the eMail you are sending you record the audio message. It requires a microphone to be connected to your sound port. All you need to do is install the software and click the big button when you want to record. There are very few controls involved and best of all, the software is free. When the attachment opened, the recording is played. Think of it! Being able to send your friends and family a message in your voice! Now how cool is that, I ask you!

Wax Mail

The last item I want to tell you about is a ‘new’ Linux distribution called Ubuntu. The package is really quite nice in that, first, it is totally free and secondly, very easy to install. You can down load the single installation CD (around 645 MB) as an ISO image and burn it to CD. There is also a Live CD (about the same size) that will run on your system without installing if you want to see it in action that is also an ISO image.

Installing Ubuntu is so easy you will be able to have a fully functioning system in a matter of minutes with minimal input from the keyboard. Everything is clearly described as far as what is going on and, after telling it where to install and your login identification and password you want to use, all you need to do is sit back and drink your favorite libation. The basic core system installs and then sets up a network connection. When it has the networking setup running, it then downloads and installs a very nice selection of programs to make the system a proper workstation. Takes a bit of time (there is a LOT of software to download and install) but the end result is really quite nice. For those of us in the know, the distro is based on Debian Linux, which is one of several popular versions of Linux.

I not only like Ubuntu from a technical point of view, I also like their philosophy - “Ubuntu Linux is a complete desktop Linux operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customize and alter their software in whatever way they see fit. "Ubuntu" is an ancient African word, meaning "humanity to others". The Ubuntu Linux distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.”

Their choice of a name says a lot about how these folks think. You can order copies of Ubuntu (one or more for sharing) from them and in 4 to 6 weeks, you will have your set of CD’s. I have seen the artwork they impress on the CD’s and they look very nice. I will not repeat their verbiage here because I think they do a better job of getting their point across so surf over to their web site and read their descriptions.

For years, Linux has been viewed nervously because of the hoops you have to jump through to get a working system. Ubuntu does away with all of that with their build process. Adding software to the mix is easy and updates are a mouse click away. They say that they do a major release of Ubuntu every 6 months so it will be as current as can be expected. The package also supports a large multitude of languages spanning the world.

One last note on Ubuntu. Ubuntu Linux (or any Linux release) is NOT Windows. You can do most of the things you can do in Windows, but it takes a bit more to use it. Fortunately, there are tons of books and tutorial web sites around to take you by the hand and guide you through the ‘maze’. Nevertheless, once you get into it and use it for every day tasks, you will find it just as powerful, if not more powerful than Windows.

Ubuntu Linux

Ok! That is it! During this holiday season, we want to wish all of our readers an joyous and profitable year. I hope we are adding to your enjoyment of your system. We have a great time so you do too.

HAVE FUN!

"Danger, Will Roobenson!"

2005-11-23T13:40:00.000-06:00

Tis the season to be.. Faa la la la!

Yes, it is that time of year again. It seems that virus infections happen about this time of year. Flu bugs, fevers, and computers.

Oh, yes! Computers too. Case in point, I have received, in my eMail Inbox, a large number of strange messages. All of them with attached ZIP files. Who from you ask? How about the CIA, the FBI, and various and sundry Internet Service Provider’s Email servers. The server messages say that a message that I ‘supposedly’ sent had been declared undeliverable and the ‘bounced’ message is returned to me in a zip file.
Funny thing is, the CIA and FBI messages said I had been tracked visiting 30 illegal web sites and that I needed to open the attached zip file and answer the questions.

You may have gotten a few of these things yourself. If you have, I hope none of you actually opened the things because there is a nasty surprise inside that you DO NOT want on your system. A VIRUS! If your service provider has an up to date virus filter, you may not even see the things, but if you do, please erase them. Do not do anything else, because you will be ‘helping’ the virus authors in spreading the sickness to all your friends.

What happens is that your address book is scanned and a copy of the virus is sent to every address in it. It also buries itself inside your system to make eradicating it is difficult.

A couple of points for you to consider.

1. The CIA and FBI do not send out eMails in situations like that. They will come to your door. Besides, I have yet to find an ‘illegal’ web site!
2. ISP’s do not take the time to compress the ‘bounced’ eMail message they return to you. It comes back the same way it was sent.

So, in light of the ‘threat’, don’t open the attached zip file. Make sure your Anti-Virus scanner is up to date, and don’t get curious as to the content of that zip file. Ok?

Computers are fun! But this kind of ‘fun’ wastes time, money, and effort. All because some ‘jerkoid’ wants to see how much damage he can cause.

We’re all in this together, folks, so keep an eye out for this stuff.

And, above all else, HAVE FUN!

Just who is The Handicapped Computerist?

2005-11-15T11:39:00.000-06:00

As you have possibly noticed, The Computerist has grown into a team effort. There are four writers contributing to the mayhem! Since you may be curious as to just who we are and why we think we are qualified to write these postings, I asked each of the team members to write a short introductory paragraph to let you all know who the Handicapped Computerist really was. So, in their own words…

I am Barbara Sanders. I was born with Cerebral Palsy. I completed high school in 1983. In 1985 I received my Associates Degree in Mental Health. While studying for my Bachelor's in Social Work, I was married. I am now a single parent of twin boys who reside with me. In 2001, I earned my Masters in Special Education and plan to use my skills and knowledge in both Special Education and Social Work to help others. In 2004, I became a Cancer survivor. I could not have accomplished all this without God's Grace.

I am Karen Carter. I was born with Cerebral Palsy and optic nerve atrophy; I am legally blind, but have usable vision. I hold both a Bachelor's degree and a Master of Science degree in Social Work. I have many interests, including my work with families, children, the elderly and disabled to intervene in and prevent abuse and neglect of these vulnerable populations. I also enjoy web design and helping others acquire and enhance computing skills. One of my passions is creative writing. I am an avid computer user and blogger. I especially enjoy helping people to learn, and to communicate more clearly.

I am Paul Koteras. I have been involved with various aspects of computer technology professionally for about 10 years. Currently I work in the IS department of a large, international software company. I have my bachelor's degree in Computer Systems Management, and I deal primarily with desktop technology, networking, and NT administration. Partnered with Doug, I have also spent a great deal of time doing volunteer technology work for the school district in my area over the last 3 or 4 years.

I am Doug Godbey. I have been involved in Information Technology in one form or another for the past 37 years and I am a Stroke Survivor. I have worked as a UNIX IT Contractor for the past 15 years. I started The Handicapped Computerist because I recognized the changes I needed to make to stay productive with my computers and to share those ideas to assist others with disabilities and other users to use their computers effectively as well. The rest, as they say, is history. Paul and I collaborated to provide direct site technology support at one of our local schools supporting the servers and desktop computers on a volunteer basis for the past 3 or 4 years.

There you have it. Each of us has a slightly different viewpoint when it comes to PC computing. We have all encountered the problems and kinks involved in working with our systems.

Barbara is involved in Education for Special Needs Children and will be writing about the concerns and needs of those folk. Karen seems to have a very real knack for writing tutorials and is a real whiz when it comes to developing web pages. Paul is our MCSE specialist. Look for hints and tips to improve you computing experience from him. He also has a good knowledge of security issues.

Finally, there is myself. I do the testing and reporting of software the team has searched out and a few of the 'special' things we encounter along the way. I will also be writing about Linux distributions soon and maybe a tutorial on such things as installation, operation, and maintenance of the Linux system.

We all have the same credo though. That is, simply put, that computers are fun to use and work with. That is why we end our postings with the following (in one form or another). HAVE FUN!

Firewalls, Revisited

2005-11-12T15:06:00.000-06:00

As I was sitting here at my desk, a few things came to mind that I feel should be passed on to you. I have spent the past month or so reading about firewalls on web sites and industry publications. Taken together, the subject is complex and confusing. Only one point is clear from all the noise. You need a firewall if you get on the Internet. Period. The arguments start when the topic of what kind of firewall is best. Therefore, I figured the thing to do is try and clear away the confusion as best I can.

I want to tell you, right now, that I am a strong proponent of dual barrier firewall solutions. However, I will try my best to give you the clearest viewpoint of the ‘firewall wars’ that I possibly can. Therefore, here goes!

First off, there are three different camps when it comes down to which is best. Folks are quickly deserting the first camp because they are saying ‘I don’t need a firewall!’ It has become plainly clear that in today’s World Wide Web, a firewall is essential to the operation of your computer. We will not discuss that any further for obvious reasons.

The remaining two camps are evenly split over the issue of single or dual barrier firewalls. There are also smaller areas of argument in the camps regarding whether you need to pay substantial amounts of cash for a firewall or if a free or Open Source solution is appropriate. So let us look at the ‘free or pay’ controversy a bit. You can chose from a wide array of good solutions, but the costs range from $200 on up to several thousand dollars US. These solutions also require, in most cases, expensive additional hardware to implement the firewall. More money. Most of us do not have the resources to put together a full firewall solution like this. If you do have the funds, and are convinced that road is better, I tip my hat to you and wish you well. However, if you do not have those resources, there are several software solutions available that come from the Open Source arena and several free packages are available, too, that are more than capable of protecting your computer. I refer you to the three-part firewall posting on this blog presented previously.

The last issue is single or dual barrier. Simply stated, a single barrier firewall is one that blocks incoming attacks. Outsiders trying to gain control of your computer for their own purposes or folks trying to extract as much information about you as they can for such things as identity theft and other forms of computer fraud. Blocking those folks is a good thing! Microsoft’s XP SP2 firewall falls into this category.

The dual barrier camp takes it a step further. We (yes, I am in this camp) feel that the attacks from outside are not the only dangers we face. Adware and Spyware, these so called ‘invited’ attackers, get into your system as ‘cookies’ and start collecting information about where you’ve been on the web, what you looked at, what kind of system you use, the operating system, even the type of browser you use. They then transmit that info somewhere where the cyber-gnomes read it and make decisions as to what you like to see (so they can show it to you) and what kinds of products you investigate (so they can sell you products). You do not have to download anything to get these things; they jump on board when you just look at a web site that uses them. I will tell you a little secret. The Computerist uses a cookie to see who is reading the posts. So sometimes, the cookie is just a one-shot thing. However, adware and spyware are continuous monitors of your web activity. In addition, software producers sometimes install a method of monitoring that reports the usage of the application. Microsoft does this with Windows to keep track of who is running it and how it is performing. Dual barrier firewalls are not going to stop the cookie. However, it can control the outbound traffic when setup right.

There are other, more complex points we could go into, but for now, this will suffice. If you have a question or a comment you would like to make on the subject, please do. I will answer all that I can.

Therefore, basically, there it is. The decision is, of course, yours. I tend to go for the more complete coverage on this issue since I want to be certain my system stays as safe as possible.. You may decide to take the position that you do not need the additional protection. It is up to you to decide.

Computing is fun and educational. So, as always, HAVE FUN!

Can You Read the Sign?

2005-10-30T21:06:00.000-06:00

Credit for the idea for this post belongs to a nineteen-month-old child. My daughter called recently to tell me that my grandson has learned to say “please” and “thank you”. That is developmentally appropriate and was not really a surprise; it was when she told me he has also learned the signs for the words that I really took notice. Thankfully, my grandson is not disabled; he spends time with a three year old disabled child who is being taught Sign to help him communicate, and is picking it up just by being present and interacting with the three year old.

The ability to communicate verbally is one of the characteristics that makes us human. Babies learn to communicate by a process of listening and imitating what they hear. This process takes several years to fully master, but it is possible for even very young children to begin to communicate their wants and needs much earlier via the use of signs. Even children born deaf or mute can learn to sign.

Perhaps the best-known example of the importance of communication to functioning is Helen Keller. In “The Miracle Worker”, Anne Sullivan holds Helen’s hand under a stream from a water pump, at the same time that she uses fingerspelling to spell the word “water.” This is what finally helps Helen understand that objects and people have names…and it opens up the world to her. For the rest of her life, she spoke and wrote about the power of communication and what it meant to her. She was freed from a prison of silence and darkness, and her intellect began to grow. Had it not been for Anne Sullivan’s use of sign, Helen Keller likely would have remained out-of-control and largely confined to her home. Sign opened doors for her, and made it possible for her to go to college, and later to meet and interact with the public and with world leaders for the rest of her life.

The loss or absence of the ability to communicate verbally due to congenital or later onset disability due to trauma from head injury, stroke or even cancer can create many difficult challenges for both the affected person and his or her family, friends, and even helping professionals whose job it is to help restore functioning. The frustration of needing to communicate basic wants, needs and thoughts to others can contribute to depression, anxiety, and anger, all of which can and do contribute to delays in recovery or may even prevent recovery at all.

American Sign Language (ASL) is one of many “languages” that have been used by and for persons with a communication disability. Rather than using a sign for each word in a sentence, ASL seeks to convey concepts. Signed English, on the other hand, does use a sign for each word in a sentence, and is most often used in a classroom setting. The various languages have developed in and around communities of deaf and otherwise speech-disabled populations, and take their names from those communities; an example is Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language. Martha’s Vineyard had a population of persons with hereditary deafness. These languages have developed not through the work of a single individual, but with many contributors. They have structure, and even grammar. They are visual in nature, but can also be used with the blind, as demonstrated in the example of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan (who studied under Alexander Graham Bell).

Sign language interpreters are used in almost any large meeting or gathering, and various professionals (doctors, nurses, social workers and others) either learn sign themselves or have the services of interpreters available via contract to provide care or intervention to clients. Sign, however, is not as globally available as it should be to serve people who need assistance to communicate. Many such persons learn some form of sign within their own families, and often must rely on family members who are unimpaired to assist them to communicate in public. This is a barrier to independence that can, and should be removed by offering sign as readily available as Braille is in most areas for the blind. When was the last time you saw a deaf person communicate with a computer technician in a store? Yet, people with communication deficits can and do spend money as consumers, and should not be excluded from full participation in the process of learning and using technology.

One encouraging development is that more colleges and universities are offering classes in Sign, with credit for the courses provided as fulfilling foreign language requirements. This is a step in the right direction, but more is needed. It may be that interpreters are so costly because they are in short supply and in high demand in some communities. More people need access to Sign classes, and not just at the college level. Sign could be as easily taught in elementary school or even beginning in kindergarten.

There are many online resources available for learning ASL, including online dictionaries, tutorials, and even at least one font of the manual alphabet. Sign is available, in one form or another, worldwide. If you are not in the US, just use a search engine to locate local resources in your community. It is high time Sign resources are readily available to everyone, not just a select few professionals and the clients they serve. I plan to learn Sign myself, and to do everything I can to nurture my grandson’s use of Sign and to help increase his fluency as he matures, so that it doesn’t become “something he used to be able to do but forgot.” By learning and practicing Sign, he will be comfortable communicating with even those who cannot hear or speak, and both he and the persons with whom he interacts will be enriched.

Remembering Stuff

2005-10-29T11:58:00.000-05:00

As a disabled person, I find there are a few things that pose difficulties for me. Keeping track of things is one of them. Things? Sure! Things like telephone numbers, addresses, dates, appointments and other small bits of information that we need and use every day. I realize that some of you reading this aren’t disabled but would still like to have all that information at your fingertips, and for the same reason.

Now, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to have your very own Personal Assistant? Sure it would. In fact, there’s a lot of corporate upper management folks (like Chief Executive Officers, Chairmen of the Board, Presidents, and Vice Presidents, etc.) that have a Personal Assistant working with them in their office. They do all sorts of things needed of them like researching information, keep track of schedules and appointments, and keep the manager on schedule by reminding them of events, and so on. Some folks make a good living being a PA.

But what about us? We can’t afford to hire someone to keep track of things for us. But it sure would be nice if we had something like that, wouldn’t it? Well, we can! There are several software packages out there on the download sites that can do all of those things and a lot more.

This rather broad group of software called PIM (or Personal Information Manager) usually ranges from the extremely simple to the mind bogglingly complex. The complexity comes mainly from the database system used for the most part. Everything else is just interface to the database. Building the database is usually easy since the package includes the necessary forms to fill out to build the various records, one per address or phone number for example. Once the information is entered, the program is basically ready for use. This is true for the entire group. However, some of the group adds features and abilities that tend to extend far beyond the scope of a PIM. When that happens, it becomes a PA. A PIM will remember names, addresses, phone numbers, web site addresses and other similar types of information organized in some order you specify and can retrieve with a mouse click or key stroke. A PA goes further. A PA will maintain your TO-DO list, appointments, schedule of meetings, and other date related information and give you reminders or alarms at specified times to help you stay on track. Some PA’s will even help with research on a topic by running Web searches for you and presenting you with a list of appropriate sites that contain the requested material. There is even one that will talk to you and TELL you the information!

So, let us begin. We’ll go for the simpler ones first and then move to the more complex ‘systems’ available. I will say this, though, before we start. These programs I’ve selected are what you might call All-In-One in that they are comprised of several functions. There are various and sundry programs that do just one thing like Address books and such. I’m not going to cover those this time. My feeling is there are so many different functions involved, why have a dozen or so programs loaded on your system when one would do as well.

EssentialPIM This absolutely free personal information manager can store, manage and encrypt data: day/week/month/year schedules, to-dos for keeping of all your tasks in shape, notes (pictures, tables, any formatted text), and contacts. It offers Rijndael 128-bit encryption, MS Outlook import/export, Windows address book import/export, search capabilities, versatile print-out capabilities, and adjustable contacts storage with unlimited fields. Automatically import your existing data from Outlook, Outlook Express, or pretty much any PIM software that just isn't doing it for you. All your data in one place, interconnected so you don't have to mess around, and just the data you need without a lot of clutter. Get information whenever you need it. Print whatever you want and only what you want! Save your data to HTML, RTF, CSV or TXT. Every feature you need to organize your life: scheduling, contact info, To Do lists and versatile notes, easy import from MS Outlook or Outlook Express, simple printout of any or all modules and quick export of your data into the most useful formats strong data protection using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm, and, last but not least, multilingual interfaces. This little gem of a program is small enough, even with its database, to be loaded directly onto and work from a USB Flash Memory device which makes it truly portable.

www.essentialpim.com

Kirby Alarm, is an alarm clock and task scheduler that will pop up a note, or run a program, or play a sound, or send an email at user defined intervals. Various options are available to set alarms (or programs) to run every few minutes, hours, days, months, years, or the last Friday in the month, or the last day in the month. Plus lots more!!

www.kirbyfooty.com

This one is my personal favorite. Ultra Hal Assistant is an artificial intelligence conversation simulator. It is capable of being your digital secretary and companion. Talk to Hal in natural English language and Hal will speak back to you. Hal has a huge conversational database and will discuss anything. Hal speaks out loud to you in one of many high quality voices and has several 3D animated characters to choose from. Hal will learn from every sentence that you tell it and over time it will learn the things you do, and to talk about topics you like to talk about. In addition to being able to chat with you for entertainment purposes, Ultra Hal can also act as a personal information manager (PIM). Hal can remember and remind you of appointments, it can keep an address book, it can keep a phone book, and it can dial phone numbers for you. Hal will also run programs and display recent documents on voice command, and can help you browse the Internet. You can also run your Hal bot on the AOL Instant Messenger network. Sound good? Well, don’t get too excited because there is a catch to Ultra Hal Assistant. I mention it because the Assistant isn’t really free. It is available for a small price though; less than $40 will get you the full version with all the bells and whistles mentioned above. They do offer a free version that is really nice but it doesn’t include the voice recognition software that the full version uses. Conversation is by program speech and keyboard entry and not voice recognition. The free version has the bot, and all the tools, a handful of voices, and a couple of characters to talk to you. I do want to mention here that the voice generation on ALL of Zabaware’s packages is extremely good. Some of the voices, in fact, sound totally normal and not machine generated. www.zabaware/assisant.com is the web site so slide over there and take a look.

As you can imagine, I’m only scratching the surface with these tools. There are a bunch of them available. Do be careful, though. If you aren’t going to pay to register, don’t place any serious information into one if it’s going to need to be registered to work beyond a specified amount of time. All of the PIM packages I mention here are free or have no limitations imposed so start with them.

That should get you started. HAVE FUN!

Basic Backups Can Help Prevent Disaster

2005-10-15T15:08:00.000-05:00

Most people think, "It won't/can't happen to me." They sometimes do not bother making backups of the data on their computers...or of their blogs. But, count on it: Every computer user will, sooner or later, learn the value of doing regular backups. Sometimes, people have to learn the hard way, after loss of data has occurred. Other times, users have the foresight to plan ahead to avoid disaster. Recent events concerning this blog serve as a case in point regarding the value of keeping data backed up. Yesterday, Doug sent me a message saying something was very wrong with the blog. I quickly checked it out, and he was correct. Somehow, at least half of the HC template had vanished. That left the entire blog broken; it was unreadable and un-usable. Fortunately, we were prepared. We know the actual posts are stored on Blogspot's servers, so we were fairly confident they would be okay. Just in case they were not, we do have backups of individual posts.

Note: To make a backup of your blog's template in Blogger, follow this procedure: From the Blogger Dashboard, click the title of the blog to go to the edit window. Choose the Template tab. Place your mouse anywhere in the large editing window where the template code appears, right click, and choose select all. This will highlight all of the text in the editing window. Now, open your favorite text editor to a blank document, right click again, and choose, "copy". All of the template code is now in your text editor. Name the file, and save it in a place that is easy to find. Follow this same simple process each time you make major (or several minor) changes to your template, and you will always have a backup available if needed. The procedure for making a backup copy of your template may be different if you are using a different blogging platform than Blogger; simply refer to the documentation for your platform.

Doug had a fairly recent backup of the blog's template stored on his hard drive, so he used that to restore the template. From the Blogger Dashboard, he clicked the title of the blog, then chose the Template tab, and selected all of the code in the template editing window and deleted it. He opened a text editor, and then opened the backup copy of the template in the editor, selected all of the code text, and simply copied it into the template edit window. He saved the changes and republished the blog. The template was thus restored quickly and easily. From that point, we could see that the posts themselves were intact, so we did not need to restore them with backup copies. Had we needed to do so, it would not have been difficult; it would have meant opening the Create Post window, and simply copying the posts into the window, individually, and publishing them. (This would have taken some time, since we have 40-plus posts, but it would have been do-able.)

I needed to replace one recently added link in the sidebar, which took about 20 seconds. Then, as long as we needed to update the categories anyway, we decided to make a change in HC's postings on Del.icio.us. Since I started entering tags for HC on my personal Delicious account, a lot of them were there. Doug also had a Delicious account he began using for HC posts when I told him about Delicioso (I've published a review of Delicioso previously.) So, we had two partially complete De.licio.us accounts for HC. To make things simpler and better organized, we consolidated the two partial accounts for HC on Delicious into a single account specifically for HC. Doug used Delicioso to quickly tag each of the posts in the entire blog. Then I pulled the information from the HC-Delicious account pages and created a new, updated and expanded categories list in the new template, after I deleted the old categories list from the template. Finally, we each copied and saved a fresh, dated copy of the new HC template. Now, we are fully protected in the event of another crash. It does pay to be prepared for such events, because in the world of computing, as well as in the world of blogging, strange things can and do occur, often with little or no warning. And yes, it can happen to anyone, including experienced computer users and bloggers.

Firewalls Pt 3

2005-10-14T15:18:00.000-05:00

On the software only side of things, there are quite a few possibilities available. These all install directly on your PC. They use the internal resources like any other program you run on your system such as memory, disk space, CPU cycles and so on. These all do a good job of preventing both inbound and outbound traffic and are easy to install and configure.

First up is the firewall package I use. Zone Labs has produced a really fine product in their Zone Alarm 6.0. Download is free as is the firewall product itself. They will try to get you to buy the Pro version which adds a handful of additional protections for Adware, Spyware, and so on. If you have tools installed to handle those problems, you don’t really need to go with the Pro package. After installation, which is simple, you’re asked to make a few decisions as to how you want the firewall to act. Go with the recommendations ubtil you get familiar with the software. The package has a learn mode that will ask for permission to allow an application to access the internet. After the first time you approve of the access and tell to software to remember the action (via a small check box), you won’t be asked again about that application. After a few days, the firewall is ready for the configuration fine tuning. The manual is pretty good and they have a video you can watch that will give you additional information.

FREE for personal use, Sygate Personal Firewall 5.x provides security in a user friendly interface, protecting your PC from hackers, trojans and DoS (Denial of Service) attacks. Features include full-ICS support, protocol driver level protection, enhanced logging, and more. Sygate Personal Firewall is the first FREE personal firewall to offer protection from malicious code intrusions, keeping the information on your PC safe and private.

Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF) protects connected PCs from Internet threats. KPF inspects both incoming and outgoing connections ensuring that only legitimate traffic is allowed. MD5 signatures are assigned to all applications to prevent Trojan horses from posing as a trusted application. Kernel monitoring prohibits installation of potentially dangerous kernel drivers that may bypass the firewall inspection. KPF offers a remote administration, logging of suspicious activities, open connections overview and automated update checker.

For home users, Kerio Personal Firewall 4 is available in two flavors - the full edition and the limited free edition. After installation, KPF works as the full edition for 30 days, after which it becomes the limited free edition. Limited free edition does not provide the content filtering capabilities such as blocking pop-up windows, ads, VB scripts, cookies, etc. and other extra features.

Jetico Personal Firewall protects your computer from unwanted hacker's attacks from outside as well as from malicious programs living secretly inside your computer's memory and hard drive. Three levels of protection are included: low-level network packets filtering, application-level network events filtering, and filtering of user-level process activity. Jetico Personal Firewall checks every packet that comes in or out of your computer.

Omniquad Personal Firewall is a personal security system that protects your computer from unauthorized access over the LAN and/or Internet. In addition to making your computer invisible, it gives you full control over what programs on your computer can gain access to the Internet. It is areal time network activity indicator. You can define and enforce trusted zones. Automatic lock shuts down Internet access after specified period of inactivity.

As usual, all the software I recommend is free for the downloading. All of the software in Part 3 is accessable through my favorite download site, downloads.com so type the package name given in the search box and go.

Not having a firewall is dangerous. Having one just makes good sense, so go out there and get one installed. If you want to explore the possibilities a bit, enter ‘Firewall’ in the search box on Downloads and see what you find. There are over 330 entries on Downloads alone, so …

as always, HAVE FUN!

Firewalls Pt 2

2005-10-14T14:51:00.000-05:00

I suppose a bit of explanation is required for this posting. I promised that I would write the second of two articles on Firewalls as soon as I could. Well, here it is! Finally! Why did it take so long? Because of my need to check out everything I write about, I have been busy testing the various firewall packages I'm going to tell you about. This kind of testing takes a lot of time. Oh, installing each firewall and letting it work while I monitor it isn’t hard work or anything. Sort of like watching grass grow, if you know what I mean.

The process I followed included installation and configuration as well as some time to allow the firewall to actually do its intended job. That last part is what takes time. Fortunately, since I have a small network here, so I can cause a few things to take place, but it’s waiting for the outside world to impact my environment that takes all the time. That and the fact I have only one system to test the software.

What I was looking for was the ability of the firewall software to stop both inbound and outbound traffic. All of these packages will do that for you with a minimum of fuss and bother.

If you're thinking Microsoft XP SP2 firewall module answers the question of proper fire walling of your system, think again. It does a fair job on the inbound side but it does nothing for blocking outbound. That means that if the attacker figures out how to get around the inbound blockade, they can do whatever they want to your system like streaming data , reading files, etc. Not good.

I’m also going to have to take back something I said in Part 1. If you’re doing dial-up connecting, you need a firewall. In fact, ANY computer attached to any mode of communication will benefit by having a firewall installed. Dial-up, DSL, Cable, LAN. Yes, LAN! Even systems in a ‘protected’ environment like PCs on a LAN in a place of business are better off if a firewall is installed and properly configured.

I’m going to tell you about two types of firewalls. The first is a software/hardware combination and the second is a software package you install on your PC.

Smoothwall is a software firewall that is built around a Linux core. When downloaded, it is an ISO image that you burn onto a CD. You need a separate PC with two or more network (NIC) interface connections and a multi-port hub. The PC doesn’t have to be ‘state of the art’. In fact, an older 486 machine will work fine. You install Smoothwall on the PC, make a few configuration settings and you’re ready to go. Just install the PC between your system and the outside world and you’re pretty much set. The software has an extensive manual so you’ll have to do some reading to do, but it will be an interesting way to learn fire walling. I will warn you, though.

The Smooth Wall folks say it like this:

The initial design goals are still the foundation of SmoothWall Express today:

1. Be simple enough to be installed by home users with no knowledge of Linux
2. Support a wide variety of network cards, modems and other hardware
3. Work with many different connection methods and ISPs from across the world
4. Use a web browser to manage and configure the software

SmoothWall Express is intended for use by anyone from a home user to a systems administrator. It can run on almost any PC from a 486 upwards, which becomes a dedicated firewall appliance (the SmoothWall box). Apart from the PC, all that is required is an Internet connection and some simple networking equipment to connect the SmoothWall firewall to the rest of your local, private network.

The current stable version is ver. 2. The download is a bit over 46 Mb with the manuals included and 33 MB without manuals. The 13 Mb of manuals covers everything you can imagine and then some so go for the larger of the two downloads. Version 3 is also available but it’s still in test so wait a while to collect it. So, if you have a spare PC laying around, this package will do a good job for you.
Smooth Wall

Another package, Gibraltar, is a firewall and router package, based on Debian/GNU Linux, which meets all individual requirements for a state-of-the-art firewall. Independent of the kind of Internet connection (dedicated line, DSL, dial-up connection), Gibraltar provides for secure connections. Gibraltar

Software firewalls is covered in Part 3.

Announcing the Launch of The Learning Tree

2005-10-09T19:05:00.000-05:00

I have been posting tutorials here and in my own blogs for some time, and I decided the tutorials deserve a space of their own...Therefore, I am pleased to announce the launch of The Teaching Tree. The Teaching Tree will not only be home to the tutorials that I write; I plan to seek out tutorials from others as well, and to include links to them as well as reviews. I invite you to check out this new endeavor, and hope that you will participate so that everyone will learn and benefit from it. I will still be posting tutorials here from time to time, as well as on my own blog, but you will find more information in the Teaching Tree's content. I have posted all six parts of my Blogging Central 101 post on The Teaching Tree, to get off to a solid start.

Blogging With Blogger 101: Everything You Always Wanted to Know (But Didn’t Know Where to Ask)

2005-10-08T08:12:00.000-05:00

This tutorial was wrtiten in response to someone who told me he wants to start blogging and needs "Blogging 101", because he needs to learn the basics.

If you’ve been out and about on the Internet at all, you have likely seen references to “blogs”, “blogging” and “bloggers”. You may even have read a blog or two, (if you are reading this, it may even be a blog entry!) and now you’ve decided you want a blog (or several) of your own. Welcome to an exciting and dynamic part of the world of online writing and publishing; come on in! This tutorial will help you get started by providing some basic blogging information plus somewhat more advanced information and resources. I know I am presenting a lot of information here; this is a collection of resources and information I’ve gathered in a little more than a year of blogging. To make it easier for you to use and refer to, I’ve created sections. Take what you need, use it, and then come back for more when you are ready. No rush, no pressure; you can proceed at any pace comfortable for you.

What is a blog? Defining a few terms:
Let’s begin with a few definitions. A “blog” is short for “weblog”, which is simply an online journal or diary to which one or more people post entries on a regular basis. A blog can be used for a business, to share news and information about a product, service or company, or it can also be personal, to document events in day-to-day life. A blog can also be useful for instruction via posted tutorials. For some people including myself, a blog may be their first foray into the world of online publishing, and can be a way to gain certain skills, such as writing or editing hypertext markup language (HTML) or cascading style sheets (CSS) code, via editing a blog’s template. I will provide more information about templates and editing shortly, so keep reading . . .

“Blogging” is the process of creating and maintaining a blog. A blog is maintained via postings, or entries made on a regular basis. A “blogger” is a blog’s writer or contributor.. Note: I draw a distinction between “blogger” and “Blogger”. For the purposes of this tutorial, Blogger refers to a specific blog platform, which is owned and operated by Google. (There are many other choices of blogging platforms available; you can search them out on the Internet. Some of these are free; others require a fee. Also, some, such as Blogger, are hosted; others require you to have a web server to upload them onto. Blogger is hosted on Blogspot. This discussion focuses on Blogger, since that is the one I am currently using and therefore the one with which I am most familiar.)

Blogger is a good choice of blogging platform for beginning bloggers, because it offers useful features that are fairly easy to use (such as editable templates) and it is free. New features are planned for Blogger, and several have been added to make it easier and more productive for new users. One such feature is Blogger for Word. This is a downloadable plug-in for Microsoft Word that makes it possible to write, edit and post a blog entry from inside Word. This tutorial is being composed in a Word document. It is also possible to include photographs in a blog entry, using Blogger. Formerly, a user had to do this via two external programs. Currently, all it takes is a few mouse clicks in Blogger. You can also host photos and other types of small files such as icons on an external site such as ImageShack.

Next: Blogging with Blogger, 101: An Introduction

Web Server Code Description

2005-10-04T21:54:00.000-05:00

Have you ever seen the Server Code pages flash on your screen? So have I! In fact, I got curious as to what those codes really mean. I was surprised to find so many.

Anyway, I decided to make a list and share it with you, so here it is, the entire Web Server Code list. Print this out and save it for when you’ll need it.

100-199 SRCs provide confirmation that a request was received and is being processed. (silent)

100 This is good. The request was completed and the process can move along.

101 Request to switch protocols (like from HTTP to FTP) was accepted.

200-299 SRCs report that requests were performed successfully. (silent)

200 It simply means all is OK. What the client requested is available

201 This means a new address was successfully created through a CGI or posting form data.

202 The client's request was accepted, although not yet acted upon.

203 The accepted information in the entity header is not from the original server, but from a third party.

204 There is no content in the requested click. Let's say you click on an image map section not attached to a page. This allows the server to just sit there waiting for another click rather than throwing an error.

205 This allows the server to reset the content returned by a CGI.

206 Only partial content is being returned for some reason.

300-399 Request was not performed, a redirection is occurring.(usually silent)

300 The requested address refers to more than one entity. Depending on how the server is configured, you get an error or a choice of which page you want.

301 Page has been moved permanently, and the new URL is available. You should be sent there by the server.

302 Page has been moved temporarily, and the new URL is available. You should be sent there by the server.

303 This is a "see other" SRC. Data is somewhere else and the GET method is used to retrieve it.

304 This is a "Not Modified" SRC. If the header in the request asks "If Modified Since", this will return how long it's been since the page was updated.

305 This tells the server the requested document must be accessed by using the proxy in the Location header (i.e. ftp, http.)

400-499 Request is incomplete for some reason.

400 There is a syntax error in the request. It is denied.

401 The header in your request did not contain the correct authorization codes. You don't get to see what you requested.

402 Payment is required. Don't worry about this one. It's not in use yet.

403 You are forbidden to see the document you requested. It can also mean that the server doesn't have the ability to show you what you want to see.

404 Document not found. The page you want is not on the server nor has it ever been on the server. Most likely you have misspelled the title or used an incorrect capitalization pattern in the URL.

405 The method you are using to access the file is not allowed.

406 The page you are requesting exists but you cannot see it because your own system doesn't understand the format the page is configured for.

407 The request must be authorized before it can take place.

408 The request timed out. For some reason the server took too much time processing your request. Net congestion is the most likely reason.

409 Conflict. Too many people wanted the same file at the same time. It glutted the server. Try again.

410 The page use to be there, but now it's gone.

411 Your request is missing a Content-Length header.

412 The page you requested has some sort of pre-condition set up. That means that If something is a certain way, you can have the page. If you get a 412, that condition was not met. Oops.

413 Too big. What you requested is just too big to process.

414 The URL you entered is too long. Really. Too long.

415 The page is an unsupported media type, like a proprietary file made specifically for a certain program..

500-599 Errors have occurred in the server itself.

501 What you requested of the server cannot be done by the server. Stop doing that you!

502 Your server has received errors from the server you are trying to reach. This is better known as the "Bad Gateway" error.

503 The format or service you are requesting is temporarily unavailable.

504 The gateway as timed out. This is a lot like the 408 error except the time-out occurred specifically at the gateway of the server.

505 The HTTP protocol you are asking for is not supported.

So the next timeyou see that Server Code page flash on your screen, you’ll know what that 3 digit number really means.

HAVE FUN!

IBM Announces...!

2005-10-04T19:01:00.000-05:00

IBM has released a set of software programs to help older workers with age-related disabilities stay productive at the office.

The free programs, which Big Blue introduced Monday, are part of the company's efforts to help U.S. businesses deal with a growing proportion of older people in the work force. Seven out of 10 Americans plan to work past the age of 65, according to a recent survey by the American Association of Retired Persons, which IBM cited.
"Organizations face the need to maintain an older and productive work force to preserve years of valuable work experience and expensive job turnover," IBM said in a statement. "Accessibility technologies can help the maturing work force remain productive by providing features and functions that make information technology usable by a person with a disability."

Among the programs, which IBM is giving away online, are mouse-smoothing software that filters out the shaking movements for people with hand tremors and a keyboard program that adjusts for longer- or shorter-than-normal key presses as well as for one-handed typing.

Another tool automatically reformats Web pages to accommodate people with poor eyesight, magnifying text and modifying fonts and layouts. It also offers a text-to-speech feature.

In addition, IBM launched an online resource guide for software developers concerned with computer accessibility. It plans to distribute accessibility technology, including these free programs, through the site.

In a related effort, IBM announced last week a new business consulting service to help companies deal with a growing number of workers hitting retirement age. In August, the company pledged to donate to the Mozilla Foundation software designed to make the Firefox Web browser friendly to people with disabilities.

Look here for the programs.

Special Education: An Introduction to Inclusion

2005-10-02T20:40:00.000-05:00

Preface
This preface is meant for those who are new to the topic of Special Education.
Since the Kennedy Administration Congress has been concerned with equality of education for all persons. The US Civil Rights Movement set the stage for special education. Before this legislation was enacted. People with disabilities were hidden away in institutions and/or homes. It has taken a long time to change public perception of people with disabilities. As a society the US has come a long way, but we still have a long journey ahead of us before we achieve equality in the public schools and work place. This is demonstrated by my own experience in high school. I am sharing my experience so that you as readers will gain some understanding. In these postings we will be examining special education laws and related issues. I invite your questions or comments.

A Personal Experience With Inclusion

This posting is written from the perspective of a former student with a congenital disabilitiy I spent the first thirteen years of my education in a self-contained campus environment, then in the Spring of 1980, I was informed that because US Public Law 94-142 was being implemented, I would be transferred to a public school campus. I was very much afraid even though the principal from the school I was coming from held a special meeting with the supervisor of Special Education of the new school.

When it was time to have the official Annual Review and Dismissal (A. R. D, a term used in the State of Texas for the meeting to discuss my needs and plans for meeting them), my mother and I were in attendance plus other staff members from the new school's Special Education Department. The staff of the new school did not expect me to attend the ARD meeting, so furniture had to be moved so that I could get inside the room in my wheelchair.

A statement was made that they had never had a student attend their own ARD meeting. At that meeting we agreed on thirty days trial in the cottage. We were not informed at that time that the cottage was for self contained students that were mostly mentally retarded (M.R.).
At the beginning of the fall semester I started in the cottage. This only lasted two weeks, because I was learning my colors, and I was assigned to write my name fourteen times everyday. I knew I had to do something about this because it was not in my Individual Education Plan (I.E.P). This term is used by most States in the US.

There was no instruction given. The teacher had the attitude she was just a baby sitter, therefore I knew I would have prove to the people in authority that the allegations that I was making were true. I started gathering my work sheets and bringing them home. At this time I told my mother I felt like quitting school because I was leaning nothing new. I was just repeating what I already knew and it was degrading to me. I was eighteen years old at that time, and I could make this decision myself. My mother informed me that this was not the right thing to do, and I pulled out the assignments that I had done for the past few weeks, and I gave them to her.

At this time my whole family was going through a grieving phase due to the loss of my father. The day after I gave my mother my assignments, she made a surprise visit to my classroom. When my mother arrived, the teacher placed a tenth grade biology book in front of me. This was the very first time I had ever seen anything appropriate for my grade level. My mother called a emergency ARD meeting at that time, where they asked us to prove that the curriculum was not appropriate for me. My mother pulled assignments I had given her out of her purse. They were all taken by surprise that I had samples of my work. We were reminded that we had agreed to a thirty day trial, but my mother proceeded to let them know that the longer I stayed in the cottage the further I was going to get behind and it would be harder for me to catch up with the other students. So that day, a Friday, I was checked out of the cottage and on Monday morning I checked into the high school. One of the reasons they wanted me placed in the cottage was that they didn’t have ramps at the high school, but by the following Monday when I arrived they had the ramps ready. At the high school I was placed in several resource classes; the only regular education class I was allowed to take was American History. I had to struggle to get used to the regular campus and the need to be changing classes every fifty minutes. To enable me to move from class to class, they hired a paraprofessional to stay with me through out the day. The Texas Rehabilitation Commission evaluated me for services that I would need while I was still in high school and beyond. I was supplied me with an electric chair that enabled me to increase my mobility on my own. Therefore I did not require a paraprofessional full time only when I needed her, then I would go get her.

During my senior year the wheel chair became a issue for some of the freshman and sophomore students. They reported that I had hit them with the wheel hair, but they were the ones walking or jumping in front of me. After being reported to the office the principal had the paraprofessional follow me from class to class, but I was not aware of this as did not know that I had been reported.

My curriculum remained a challenge for my mother and myself. It was a continuing battle to get me placed in regular classes. However in my senior year I was in all regular classes, with the exception of math. My math teacher discussed my goals and he asked me “what I wanted to learn or achieve in that year” I explained to him that I needed algebra. He backed me up at the ARD meeting as I felt I needed algebra, but I did not know his way of teaching me algebra consisted of placing me in back of the class room with the paraprofessional who knew nothing about algebra. The first year that I had the resource math class my skills level jumped five grades. I was so happy because I planned to go on to college There were times when the amount of the homework was so great that I went to school looking tired and because of this some staff members tried to talk me into going back to resource classes, but I refused to go back. It was very much a challenge for me. I knew to be able succeeded in college I was going to need as much regular education exposure as possible. I was eligible to graduate with honors but because no one expected me to, my records were not elevated, therefore I did not graduate with honors. I found out later that if I had paid attention to my grade point average and had been able to bring it to their attention I would have graduated with honors.

I earned my Masters Degree in Special Education in May of 2001. This account should reflect my reason for wanting to be a Special Education Consultant. I am looking forward to combining my social work degree with my Masters degree in Education.

Firewalls Part 1

2005-09-30T21:16:00.000-05:00

Basically, a firewall is a barrier to keep destructive forces away from your computer. In fact, that's why it’s called a firewall. Its job is similar to a physical firewall that keeps a fire from spreading from one area to the next.

Firewalls use one or more of three methods to control traffic flowing in and out of the network:

Packet filtering - Packets (small chunks of data) are analyzed against a set of filters. Packets that make it through the filters are sent to the requesting system and all others are discarded.

Proxy service - Information from the Internet is retrieved by the firewall and then sent to the requesting system and vice versa.

Stateful inspection - A newer method that doesn't examine the contents of each packet but instead compares certain key parts of the packet to a database of trusted information. Information traveling from inside the firewall to the outside is monitored for specific defining characteristics, and then incoming information is compared to these characteristics. If the comparison yields a reasonable match, the information is allowed through. Otherwise it is discarded.

There are many creative ways that unscrupulous people use to access or abuse unprotected computers:

Remote login - When someone is able to connect to your computer and control it in some form. This can range from being able to view or access your files to actually
running programs on your com
Application backdoors - Some programs have special features that allow for remote access. Others contain bugs that provide a backdoor or hidden access, that provides some level of control of the program.

SMTP session hijacking – SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the most common thod of sending e-mail over the Internet. By gaining access to a list of e-mail addresses, a person can send unsolicited junk e-mail (spam) to thousands of users. This is done quite often by redirecting the e-mail through the SMTP server of an unsuspecting host, making the actual sender of the spam difficult to trace.

Operating system bugs - Like applications, some operating systems have backdoors. Others provide remote access with insufficient security controls or have bugs that an experienced hacker can take advantage of.

Macros - To simplify complicated procedures, many applications allow you to create a script of commands that the application can run. This script is known as a macro. Hackers have taken advantage of this to create their own macros that, depending on the application, can destroy your data or crash your computer.

Viruses - Probably the most well-known threat is computer viruses. A virus is a small program that can copy itself to other computers. This way it can spread quickly from one system to the next. Viruses range from harmless messages to erasing all of your data.

Spam - Typically harmless but always annoying, spam is the electronic equivalent of junk mail. Spam can be dangerous though. Quite often it contains links to Web sites. Be careful of clicking on these because you may accidentally accept a cookie that provides a backdoor to your computer.

The level of security you establish will determine how many of these threats can be stopped by your firewall. The highest level of security would be to simply block everything. Obviously that defeats the purpose of having an Internet connection. But a common rule of thumb is to block everything, and then begin to select what types of traffic you will allow. You can also restrict traffic that travels through the firewall so that only certain types of information, such as e-mail, can get through.. For most of us, it is probably better to work with the defaults provided by the firewall developer unless there is a specific reason to change it.

One of the best things about a firewall from a security standpoint is that it stops anyone on the outside from logging onto your computer.

One last thing. If you are connecting to the Internet by a DIALUP connection, you may not need a firewall, but if you connect through a Non-Dialup type connection, you NEED a firewall as much as you need an Anti Virus software package.

Next posting I’ll talk about some firewall software that should be considered because of its cost (Free) and its ease of use as well as how easy it is to configure.

Why-Fi Security?

2005-09-30T13:36:00.000-05:00

So many people have become enamored with home wireless internet access, and with good reason. It’s simple, relatively cheap, and very convenient. Now you can watch TV in the family room while playing poker online. Yeah! It’s so easy in fact, that all you have to do is run out and buy a wireless router, a wireless card, plug them up and then by basically using the default configuration for both, start surfing! Unfortunately, that is exactly what most people who don’t know better do. What many people don’t realize is, as easy as it is for you connect to your new wireless connection, it’s equally easy for someone else nearby to do the same. I can connect to no less than three wireless routers from my home and surf the internet. Yikes!! Operating with such a huge security hole is just asking for trouble. Most people are unaware of, or confused by the difficulty of setting up, wireless security on their wireless access points leaving themselves susceptible to all kinds of mischief. Well you are in luck, because I am going to give you some basic security measures to help secure yourself from outside intrusion.

Let’s start with basics about wireless security. The original security mechanism for wireless connections was called WEP which stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy. WEP can use either 64 or 128 bit encryption (its actually 40 bit or 104 bit encryption with a 24 bit initialization vector, but lets keep it simple) and until recently was just about the only security option available for wireless connections without third party add-on equipment or software. WEP basically works by encrypting a pass phrase to be shared between the wireless card and the connection point for authentication. The problem with WEP is that there are many security flaws in its encryption method and it has become easily crackable by those who know they are doing. The FBI put on a demonstration using popular hacking tools to crack WEP on a wireless connection in just three minutes (Read More). And if the government can do it, just think what the hands of capable 16 year-old computer geek could do! However, if your only option is WEP or nothing, then WEP is obviously more desirable. At least it will keep the neighbors from perusing your personal files or looking at internet porn on your connection.

But all is not lost, you do have an alternative. Because of the security flaws in WEP, a non-profit association called the Wi-Fi Alliance introduced a new security specification called WPA. Wi-Fi Protected Access also has a distribution for Enterprise use, which will not be covered here. After all, if you are implementing an Enterprise security solution based on internet blogs, you have other, more serious problems. Anyway, WPA works with a PSK, or Pre Shared Key, encrypted with a stronger encryption method called Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). All you really need to know is that it’s better and stronger than the WEP encryption method. There is also a second generation WPA specification called (oddly enough) WPA2. WPA2 uses an even stronger encryption method called AES using CCMP, and meets governmental security requirements. Wi-Fi Alliance's white paper on WPA/WPA2 also states that it "has been adopted as an official standard by the Department of Commerce and the National Institute of Standards and Technology." In other words, it’s really, really good! If you are feeling confused by all these acronyms like WEP, WPA with TKIP, or WPA2 with AES/CCMP, don’t worry, you are not DUMB. It’s a lot of information, so let’s make it EZ, and cover what you, the home user, need to do to secure your home wireless connection.

First, pick your encryption method. WEP should be available on any wireless access point you use. Like I said earlier, WEP is better than nothing, but not nearly as good as WPA or WPA2. Newer hardware should support WPA/WPA2, and some older hardware may be made compatible through firmware upgrades (check with the Manufacturer). Once you’ve decided on your method, follow these best practices listed below.

1) First, when creating pass phrases, use random strings of letters numbers, and non-alphanumeric characters like @#$%? (No, I am not cursing at you), or phrases that mean something only to you. Never use common words that can be found in a dictionary, or names of family members, etc., because they can be easily deduced by a savvy hacker. Make your pass phrase a decent length, short pass phrases are easier to attack through brute force methods.
2) Always change the SSID provided by the manufacturer for your hardware or disable the broadcast of it altogether. Hackers who know what they are doing, can still find it with special tools, but it will deter most people.
3) Always change the default password for your networking hardware, and unless you really need it, turn off the remote administration option if there is one.
4) Change the default channel for your access point. Most hackers are aware of what all the default passwords, channels, and SSID’s are, so anything you can do to make it tougher can make it more trouble than it’s worth to them, and they may choose to move on to an easier target.
5) Use MAC address access control lists by providing the MAC addresses of the systems that ARE allowed to access the network, and denying access to any others.

Following these best practices should limit your exposure to hackers and provide you a little security at home. Unfortunately, a talented and determined hacker will be tough to stop, but anything you can do to make it tougher, the better off you are.

Happy Computing!

Where's a Super Hero when you need one?

2005-09-27T00:24:00.000-05:00

It’s a hostile environment out there, folks. Filled with thieves, robbers, and others that desire their chance to ruin your experience on the Internet. Thieves and robbers that want to steal you computer’s time, AND others that want to relieve you of your hard earned cash!

Is there anything that can be done to keep us safe? A super hero that will leap into the fight and ‘beat up’ the bad guys? Well, unfortunately, Wonder Dog and Superman don’t really exist. But never fear! There are things we CAN do to safe guard our systems and our bank accounts.

Let’s discuss the bank account thing first since that will take less and actually is easiest! I’m talking about the class of SPAM known as phishing. This is a Cyber crime! State and US Federal laws have been put in place to catch and stop these people. It’s a form of Fraud!

Someone writes an eMail that tells of an unfortunate or fortunate occurrence where millions of dollars are involved and you have either won a Lottery, have been chosen to be next of kin to some poor deceased person who left his or her millions in a foreign bank, or they need you to represent them in some business deal. All you need to do is give them your banking information, your name and address, and other personal information and they will contact you and tell you all about the situation. Don’t do it!! They will ask you to go somewhere, taking an amount of money to pay ‘legal’ fees or some such thing. They take the money and it’s payday for them and you lose! You’ll never see the money again, nor will you be contacted again. Or if you are, it’s to pay out more cash! These folks prey on any one they can find and there is no huge fund of money in a bank somewhere just waiting for you. There isn’t a lottery involved. All that’s involved is relieving you of your cash, and that isn’t good.

What to do with these things? You can do three things to fight this junk. First, don’t respond! If you want to check out the validity of the eMail, don’t. It could be another avenue of theirs to get you involved in supporting their life style. Secondly, see if your local police have an Anti Fraud or Computer/Cyber Crimes Unit and contact them. This stuff is grist for their mill. In other words, it’s what they are there for. Get in touch with them, forward the eMail to them, whatever it takes. Let them ‘follow up’. If it’s legitimate, they’ll let you know. If not, they’ll catch them and put a stop to it. If you don’t want to do that, then ignore the eMail; delete it. Do nothing!

I read an article from Bob Rankin today where he says the biggest cause of Viruses, Spyware, and adware is an uninformed user community. He calls them ‘etards’. Unfortunately, he’s right. Yes, the term is mildly insulting, but we all know people that do idiotic things like respond to SPAM, buy from adware, and respond to phishing eMails. Do they get what they deserve? I say “No!” We need to see to it that our friends and families understand that their responses encourage more of this junk. After all, doesn’t it make more sense to buy products from a local merchant than some faceless business that throws an popup ad on the computer? The local business will be there if you need them while the other guys are miles, maybe even oceans away. I have to tell you, I can find most things I want or need locally so I don’t need to buy from a SPAMMER that is selling anything. If I have to go on-line for something, I shop around and if the deal looks good and the name is well known, I will buy over the internet.

So spread the word! Let’s become those super heroes and help stomp out the stuff that slows down, gets in the way, and damages our computers and our lifestyles!.

You know, when I started this posting, I was intending to write about Firewall software. I guess the ‘Soap Box Syndrome’ sort of took over. I’ll do the Firewall next so watch for it.

Be careful out there. But, no matter what else happens, HAVE FUN!

Keep Your Cool: The Golden Sound of (Relative) Silence

2005-09-21T11:05:00.000-05:00

We've covered various issues having to do with hardware and software in this space. This morning, I had an experience I'd like to share in the hope it will save someone a major headache. My computer normally has a nice, mellow hum, and it is generally not noticeable unless I consciously listen for it. Today, however, things were different. My computer seemed to be doing it's usual good job opening e mails, finding websites and generally walking around the internet and opening and working with various files on my hard drive. BUT . . . it sounded like a 747 about to depart runway 5. Loud! Noisy clattering! Uh, oh...Houston, we have a problem. The longer I listened, the more concerned I became. On a hunch, I asked my husband to open the case to have a look. When he turned the heatsink fan on the CPU with his hand, there was the same clattering noise, although not quite as loud, since the unit was of course powered off. Time for a new heatsink/fan. The heatsink/fan we purchased cost around six dollars, including tax. It was a matter of a few minutes work to remove the old one from the case and install the new one. When we closed the case and rebooted the computer, it was back to it's usual contented hum. Spending this small amount of money and time has likely saved us the cost of a new processor or motherboard and a longer than comfortable downtime. It does pay to "listen" to your system.

It's a Date!

2005-09-21T07:19:00.000-05:00

I freely admit to being a very organized person. I liked keeping track of things on paper in the "old" days; I carried my planner everywhere I went for a long time. Now I've moved things to my computer, but old habits die hard, and I have my new, personal web pages to help me stay sane these days. One of the features I wanted in my personal pages was a calendar, to help keep track of important dates and appointments. I wanted a calendar that looks sharp, is easy to use, and can be customized and easily edited. Just by the way, it would be nice if it didn't cost mega-bucks. Doug found the perfect calendar package for my needs.

The HTML Calendar Generator meets all of my criteria, with style. The software will generate a calendar for your webpage by creating files for the entire year, the current month, and for individual months. There is a simple FTP client that will publish the files to a server for a live web page. (At first, we thought this would be a problem, because my personal pages are not on a server; they are of course in a directory on my hard drive.) It turned out this was not an issue, because once the files are created using the generator (more about that in a minute), there is an option to "write" the files to the program's directory on the hard drive. When the files are written (which takes no time at all, I simply went to the folder, following the path provided in the generator, and moved the calendar.html file plus the files for the individaul and current months to the same folder where my personal pages files are stored. Then, I opened the page the calendar would appear on in my text editor and simply pasted an html link to the calendar.html file, saved it, and refreshed the page in my browser. No javascript to deal with, and it worked in a flash.

The Calendar Generator Screenshot: The first thing to do after you've downloaded the software is to click the Configure button. There are more than 80 configuration options to work with, and more information is availabe by choosing Configuration from the software site's main page menu. If you need to make changes after you generate your calendar, just run the generator again, make your changes, then write (or publish) the files again, and if necessary, move the files to the appropriate directory.

Cool features:

Set recurring dates (holidays, birthdays, other special events occurring on the same date each year) by clicking the Recurring tab under the configuration menu. View Screenshot.

Notice that in the screenshot of the main window of the software that, on the bottom of the main screen, a calendar for the current month appears. Double-click on any date in the calendar, and add up to ten notes and up to ten URL's for that date. This is handy for noting appointments or other important information. You can also add images to the dates by entering the image path and filename or the image filename for image files that are stored in the same folder or directory with the calnedar files.

Add additonal html for your calendar page: Screenshot. This section allows you to modify the default html that the program writes for your calendar. This option tells the program whilch additional html option to use You can learn more about this by clicking the tab on the customize menu.

The Bottom Line:

If you need a calendar for your webpage or local personal page, you will find the HTML Calendar Generator has an attractive interface; it is easy to use, easy to customize, and best of all, it's free!

Programming Tools Pt 2

2005-09-16T08:14:00.000-05:00

I am a Software Junkie! I freely admit that I have a need to find the next great piece of software that does something really useful. Over the years I have collected, tested, and used thousands of programs for the PC. To give you an idea of how bad it’s become, I offer the following.

I started collecting PC software just after IBM offered the PC-1 (1981 or 82). An Intel 8086 processor, less than 64Mb of memory, and two 5.25 inch floppy drives. MSDOS was the operating system and Basic was THE language (pre-Windows). In those days, the Basic Interpreter was part of the BIOS, so all you had to do is boot up the system and go. Most programs were either compiled assembler or Basic. Anything you bought from commercial sources was in a compiled state so you never knew for sure what it was written in. But it didn’t really matter. Some of those companies have long since disappeared, leaving curious and unusual pieces of them scattered across the landscape.

As time progressed, those of us that had the time and resources available wrote programs to do various and sundry things. Mostly games and graphic ‘things’ that really didn’t do anything useful other than demonstrate something of interest. All of these programs, and lots of others, were collected by Interest Groups and PC User Groups from all over. One such group, PC SIG, has been around almost as long as the PC. They have produced huge libraries of PC software that include databases, compilers, games, and all sorts of other programs. I managed to buy into a few of their libraries early on and that’s when I got started collecting.

Now, every once in a while, I would run across a software package that is so good, has so many features it blows my mind. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does I just can’t keep it to myself.

Well, I’ve found one! Actually, Karen found it, and knowing how I am about software, thought I would find it interesting. Little did she know!

The program is ConTEXT and all I can say is “WOW!” I have never seen a text editor as feature rich, or as flexible as this one. Oh, I have had editors that I am fond of, but this one knocks my socks off! And it’s FREE! The author, Eden Kirin lives and works in Croatia. He states on the web site “ConTEXT is a small, fast and powerful freeware text editor, developed mainly to serve as secondary tool for software developers. After years and years searching for suitable Windows text editor, I haven't found any of them to completely satisfy my needs, so I wrote my own.” I’m glad he did write his own!

The program uses ‘highlighter’ files to highlight language keywords and structures. There are 170 languages supported currently, each available for download. In addition, there are 39 language translations available. As installed you can select any of 20 programming languages and 30 international translations. And that’s just the beginning. If the editor doesn’t have the programming language you need, go download it from the web site. They have almost everything from ‘0 to z’ in their list.

If you need to use a code template to get started, this thing has a bunch of them. The list of features is as long as my arm so I can’t give them to you here, as much as I would like to. I do, however, urge you to take a really serious look at this editor. I’m including any Main framers out there in this. You need a PC editor that understands IBM ISPF forms? This one does, and a whole lot more. The template and highlighter definitions are modifiable, too, which means you can add new ones or change old ones if you need to.

If you’re seriously into programming or want to be, this is the editor to have.

HAVE FUN!

Programming Tools

2005-09-11T02:31:00.000-05:00

It occurs to me that there are a lot of folks that, like me, enjoy using the computer. It becomes more than a fancy typewriter or a games machine or even a jukebox for playing music. We start thinking about how much we would like to make the computer do what we want. We want to ‘program’ the machine!

Strangely enough, it doesn’t take years of education at the college level to do that. There are tutorials and free software available that we can collect and use to become the magician. Not to mention the thousands of books that are sold in book stores that cover the subject. So, exactly what tools should we consider necessary to venture into the ‘Woods’ and make a start?

First thing you need to do is decide what type of programming to start with. Since Karen has started writing about HTML and Off-line web pages, we’ll start with HTML. There are tutorials and resource sites available that can get you started and a good distance down the road when it comes to programming in HTML. To top it off, it really isn’t hard to learn but it is a challenge to master. As the man said, “You gotta start somewhere!”

So, let’s say you’ve taken the initial steps and have read a few pages on HTML on one of the tutorials and you’re excited about getting started to try out the things you’ve learned. How do you start? You have to get a program called an editor. You could use your word processing program, but that entails handling the code (the stuff you write) in special ways and it just isn’t necessary. There are several different editors that will ‘fit the bill’. One of them is Notepad, that small but useful editing program that is installed as part of the Windows system. But, it just doesn’t have the power or features you will need to ease the task. MetaPad is another nice little editor that free for the asking and it does have quite a few more features than Notepad, but even that editor isn’t best for this kind of task.

Crimson Editor is the best little editor I’ve found for General editing. This editor allows you to edit different text-based files such as programming languages including HTML, C/C++, Perl, Java, Matlab, LaTeX, ASP, PHP, JSP, EDIF, VHF and Verilog-HDL. Basic FTP functions are provided for uploading your code. You can also create macros and use search-and-replace. Column mode editing is supported in this update. Depending on the programming language you’re writing in, the editor will highlight keywords and a long list of other visual cues to help write or maintain your code. Another nice feature is the ability to have several files open and available so you can switch between files and compare code, check syntax, etc. You can also close the editor and, when you start it, it will load all the files you were working with in you last editing session, even opening the last file you touched and place you where you left off. Do get a copy of this one. You’ll find a lot of uses for it!

But, since we’re thinking of writing HTML code, why not use a Web Page Editor? These editors are designed specifically make web page development easier. Some of them even provide a browser function that allows you to write a little and then look at it as though you were using your web browser with out loading it. There are a lot of them available; some are quite expensive and have a learning curve (time to learn) that is really long before you become proficient. I have tried out a lot of these things and I’ve come up with a list of programs that do the job easily and support the process of developing web pages fully and don’t cost you except for learning time.

The first is AlleyCode. This editor comes with a tutorial that will actually end up with you writing a web page. It even teaches web page essentials. It will support developing the full range of coding types that are used in web page/site development.

HTML-kit is another interesting editor that has a wide array of plug-ins. There are CSS style formaters, html page refinements, code verifiers, and lots of other nice tools that are supported by the editor (hence the name ‘kit’).

The last editor I’ll present is NVU. For those of you who run Linux, Mac, and/or Windows, this is a full featured product that deserves a good look, and the newest version is out of beta.

Each editor in this class approaches the task of web development slightly differently. They all handle the process of development nicely and cost nothing (Free Software) so you should be able to grab your copy of each of them and find the one you really like. free

And, as always, no matter what you do with your computer, HAVE FUN!

Personal Pages: The Web, Your Way (Part 3: Content, etc)

2005-09-09T23:25:00.000-05:00

You've been learning html, and have survived the process, since you are reading this. Congratulations. So you have some shiny new html skills, and you are eager to use them. A wonderful and interesting way to do so is to make your very own personal page (or pages). You can include almost literally anything you can imagine (eventually, as your skills improve, so will your page!)

The first step was to download a template, which came in a zipped file containing an index.html page and a css page. I unzipped the file, and opened the index.html page in my browser and displayed its source code in my text editor. (I've detailed how to do this below, so keep reading...)

I originally began with a single Start Page, and it had a lot of different links and resources I use all the time on it. Just as I thought I was done with it, a suggestion was made that I could actually create several pages, still stored in a folder on my hard drive, and link them together. (I link the pages together by using an (< a href="title of my page.html">page display name< /a> )string in the source code page for my main page to link to others. Check out the html tutorial for the exact format of this string.) That opened up lots of new space and vast potential.

I took some time to search for various components such as javascripts and other resources and links I knew I wanted to include, then saved that information in folders so that it was easy to find and quickly accessible when I was ready to work with it by putting links on my pages or adding it via scripts. Be careful to "set limits" for yourself with this step; the internet is a vast place, and without some kind of cap, you will "never" finish finding neat "toys" to include!

I kept my main or "index page" and opened it to the source code page and simply retitled the page and saved it as an html document. I repeated this process for each of my other pages, one at a time. To open the index page in Firefox, I choose File>>Open File, then browse to the directory (folder) where the file "index.html" is stored, and click "open". Voila! the page appears in my browser. If I need to edit the index.html file, I do so in my text editor, then save the edits. I come back to my browser and simply reload/refresh the page, and my edits appear. Use this same process to open/edit/view any of your other pages; just browse to where they are stored and select their file names, instead of "index.html".

My index page: For the main page, I asked myself what I most needed or wanted to have immediate access to at any given moment. So, this page includes links and information I use constantly. The point is to keep things well organized and orderly, in an attractive "package", which is the page itself. I have a site index, listing all of my current pages in a clickable menu. I have some of my favorite places online similarly available with one click. There are links for RSS feeds in one section; starting page links for sites such as Start.com in another. Many of Yahoo.com's services are available in another section of the page, grouped together for ease of use. I have the weather from a couple of sources displayed in a section of its own; Google resources; work-related links; sections for frequently accessed download sites and search engines plus search boxes for Yahoo, Google and even Yahoo and Google combined. There is a section for online magazines and periodicals I enjoy; links for my blogs, even a monthly calendar. I have a To-Do List, which acts as a type of weekly calendar. All of this content is on a single page. You can imagine how much time that saves...but wait! There's more...

Another entire page is set aside for all of my bookmarks. These can be quickly and easily updated when desired. No more loss of bookmarks! Similarly, I have a page to hold an index of my software CD's and the CD keys. (Since the page is not online, I have no anxiety about doing this because I do use security procedures on my computer. This single page has already been a huge help; it prevents me from needing to search for an elusive CD key if I need to re-install registerd software.) Web Design links and information get another page; blogging and related resources yet another. I have one page for a monthly appointment calendar, and another for a yearly calendar. I have a page just to keep track of the freeware and downloaded software I use; this way, I don't have to wonder what that cool piece of software was! As you can see, you can include nearly anything you like on your page(s); let your imagination and personal needs be your guide to deciding what, if any, other pages you want to create. I've even used Javascripts from Javascript.com to implement some of the features (like the calendars) on my pages. The scripts come with installation instructions, and like the other resources mentioned in this series, they are free.

A few of the benefits of having personal pages:
--information can be collected, displayed and stored in a manner that makes sense to you. It is highly customizable and can be edited at any time.

--you do not need to pay for a server to be able to view your pages; they open withing your browser. You can of course choose to host any pages you desire online if you like.

--you can include information you may not want others to have access to, since the pages are not online. Use security procedures of course.

--you have offline as well as online access to your pages.

--you have another outlet for your individual creativity, and you can experience seeing your pages "happen" before your eyes and under your fingertips. Pretty powerful!

And...It is FUN!

Personal Pages: The Web, Your Way (Part 2: html)

2005-09-09T21:55:00.000-05:00

Ok. You're intrigued by the idea of having your own personal pages. But...you've never written html code in your life; you've never even seen html code, and wouldn't know it if it walked up and said "hello!"? Not to worry. There is a way for you to get acquainted with html, relatively easily and painlessly. For this, you will need your browser (either open two windows, in Internet Explorer or open two tabs, side by side in a tabbed browser such as Firefox.) You will also find it helpful to have available an html tutorial site such as htmlbasix or the w3c html tutorial provided in Part 1 of this post topic. Also check out html Goodies. As you can begin to see, there is no shortage of excellent resources available online for any level of learning, and a lot of it is free!

For Internet Explorer: Chooose View>>Source to view the source code for any webpage you like (including the source code for this blog entry!) With the page itself loaded on one page, and the source code page (which may not look like anything that could possibly make sense) open in another window, you will need to begin at the top of the source code page. Notice there is a tag,"html" enclosed in brackets (<>) This is to tell the browser to prepare to "read" the html document. Similarly, at the end of the document, the closing "html" tag (in <> wwith the html preceded by a /) indicates the document < head > tag near the top of the page. That's where the heading of the page will appear, and you can place code in that section as well, to help the page look and work as it should. There is also a < /head > tag, to show where the heading information should end.

Further down the page, there is a < body > tag, which is where the code for the body, or main part of the page, is placed. Look at the loaded page, then at the source code, and compare them to see where things show up in the source code page. Incidentally, viewing source code is a great strategy for learning how an author made a page look terrific...or terrible. Go ahead and practice viewing the source code for some of your regular sites of interest. Use the tutorials, and pretty soon, html will begin to make much more sense.

In Firefox, you can open two tabs, side by side, and use the View Source With extension to open the source pages with your favorite text editor, then just follow the same steps as outlined for Internet Explorer.

Also, get out your text editor (notepad, or whatever flavor you like best; it needn't be fancy to work), and use what you've seen in the source code pages and in the html tutorials to see if you can write some html code yourself, then save the document as .html or .htm format. Don't forget to save your work frequently (after every three to five edits, to make it eaiser to spot when you make mistakes (and so that the errors you do make will be easier to correct.) Now, open it using your browser! That's right. It will work. This is also the way you will write the code for your personal pages. Don't worry if you don't get it exactly right at first; most errors are easily fixed, and it is a learning process, so give yourself permission to experiment, just to see what happens. Nothing is carved in marble. You can even create several pages and link them together into your own personal mini-site with the pages stored on your hard drive in a folder (or several). Coming up, we will explore what could be included in your pages and some benefits of using them.

BitTorrent

2005-09-08T23:25:00.000-05:00

In the world of computing, especially home computing, one of the things we enjoy most is gathering new and interesting programs to make a difference in our lives. Generally, we go to a download site (you all know my favorites by now) and browse the lists looking for the one thing that will make the entire day. We find it and click the file we want. We get connected to the server that is storing the file and the file is transferred to our system. From there, well we know what goes on. It’s really easy.

The entire transaction usually involves two computer systems. The server and the client (your desktop). For most file transfers, the transaction doesn’t take too long. But there are times when the file is really large and connection time can become hours or even days. For those where you pay by the minute, that isn’t economically feasible. For the rest of us, it can be too long a time before having the file on hand.

In the later case, some really bright folks came up with a better way of handling the problem. BitTorrent!

What is BitTorrent?

BitTorrent is a free speech tool.

BitTorrent gives you the same freedom to publish previously enjoyed by only a select few with special equipment and lots of money. ("Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one" -- journalist A.J. Liebling.)

You have something terrific to publish -- a large music or video file, software, a game or anything else that many people would like to have. But the more popular your file becomes, the more you are punished by soaring bandwidth costs. If your file becomes phenomenally successful and a flash crowd of hundreds or thousands try to get it at once, your server simply crashes and no one gets it.

There is a solution to this vicious cycle. BitTorrent, the result of over two years of intensive development, is a simple and free software product that addresses all of these problems.

The key to scaleable and robust distribution is cooperation. With BitTorrent, those who get your file tap into their upload capacity to give the file to others at the same time. Those that provide the most to others get the best treatment in return. ("Give and ye shall receive!")

Cooperative distribution can grow almost without limit, because each new participant brings not only demand, but also supply. Instead of a vicious cycle, popularity creates a virtuous circle. And because each new participant brings new resources to the distribution, you get limitless scalability for a nearly fixed cost.

BitTorrent is not just a concept, but has an easy-to-use implementation capable of swarming downloads across unreliable networks. BitTorrent has been embraced by numerous publishers to distribute to millions of users.

With BitTorrent free speech no longer has a high price.

How does it work? Instead of having just one server transferring the file, several systems act as servers. If you downloaded, say, a Linux ISO image (up to 2.5Gb), the server would upload a small descriptor file that would tell the BitTorrent program where and how to get the file. The BitTorrent program will poll the net looking for special identifiers for the file and start collecting it from where ever it might be. In actuality, you might be downloading from dozens of systems instead of just one. After you have downloaded the file, you are asked to leave the BitTorrent up and running so it could help someone else get the same file. Your system becomes a server ‘helper’. The longer you leave it running the better for whoever is downloading. The process continues over and over again. At least until you get tired of letting your system run. But if you don’t mind running over night, this is a good way to keep your system busy.

One word of caution, this is not the best thing to do with a dial-up connection due to the speeds involved as well as the time. BitTorrent works best, though, with a high speed DSL or LAN connection.

With that being said, there are several BitTorrent clients available for downloading. My personal favorite is a program called Azureus. It is written totally in Java and has a wide range of features and capabilities, including an auto-update feature to keep it up to date.

So, if you are so inclined, go get a copy, install it and go hunting for the files you want. BitTorrent is still fairly new and there aren’t a lot of files available, but they are out there. Half the fun is finding the files. The other half is using them! HAVE FUN!

Personal Pages: The Web, Your Way (Part 1: Introduction)

2005-09-07T20:44:00.000-05:00

Every time you open your browser to a website, you are presented with a start page. Yahoo.com, MSN.com, and any other site you can think of does this, and you may not even think aboout it. The problem is, you are presented with someone else's idea of content that is useful. There is another option: you can make your own personal pages, with content that is relevant to your needs.Here is the information on how to create your own Start Page for your browser. I find this a very useful thing, because all of "my" favorite, most-used and often-needed links and resources are just a mouse-click away.

First, gather your tools: You will need a template. If you don't want to make your own, you can find scores online for free. One of the best sources I've found for free templates is Open Source Web Design. Once you've chosen your template, you will need a text editor. I use Notepad,but I've also found Notetab and
Crimson Editor which is a good freeware product, especially useful.

You will of course need some basic knowledge of html and/or css. You will find many excellent tutorials for these on the Internet if you don't already know them. One excellent tutorial source is W3C HTML; this site includes CSS tutorials and information, plus all sorts of other useful guides and help files. Another good source of html information is found at HTMLBasix. I've also used some Javascripts on my page; Javascript.com is one of the resources I've used for the scripts, which are also available for free. The site includes helpful Guides and Reference materials you can download as well; they are for beginners as well as advanced users, so don't be afraid to have a look around.

What do you do, though, if you've never even SEEN html code? Don't panic. I'll talk about that in Part two...

eMail Pt 2

2005-09-02T21:56:00.000-05:00

In part 1 we discussed the various protocols used in handling eMail as well as what a client and a server were. I also mentioned that I would tell you a little about MIME. No, it isn’t a street performer trying to get out of a non-existent box or juggling air.

MIME is short for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, a specification for formatting non-ASCII messages so that they can be sent over the Internet. Many eMail clients now support MIME, which enables them to send and receive graphics, audio, and video files via the Internet mail system. In addition, MIME supports messages in character sets other than ASCII. There are many predefined MIME types, such as GIF graphics files and PostScript files. It is also possible to define your own MIME types. In addition to e-mail applications, Web browsers also support various MIME types. This enables the browser to display or output files that are not in HTML format.

So, now that we’ve covered the background information, let’s talk about the client side of things. Usually, the most difficult part of installing one of these packages is in the area of set up. Before you start, determine what your server names for both sending and receiving eMail, your ID, and name, as far as the server knows. Some of these packages have set up tools that will simplify the process. But, if you run into a problem, give the folks at your ISP a call and ask for assistance. It shouldn’t take but a moment or two and you’ll be up and reading email before you know it.

Now, to begin.

Thunderbird makes e-mailing safer, faster, and easier than ever before with the industries best implementations of features, such as intelligent spam filters, a built-in RSS reader, and quick search. It gives you a faster, safer, and more productive e-mail experience. Thunderbird was designed to prevent viruses and to stop junk mail so you can get back to reading your mail. Thunderbird provides the most effective tools for detecting junk mail. Our tools analyze your e-mail and identify those that are most likely to be junk. You can automatically have your junk mail deleted or you can put it in a folder you specify, just in case you like reading junk mail. View your e-mail the way you want it. Access your e-mail with Thunderbird's new three-column view. Customize your toolbar, change its look with themes, and use Mail Views to quickly sort through your messages.

Eudora, which is the client I use, is a robust e-mail client whose features include multiple address-book-formatting options and the ability to filter, redirect, and forward mail. It supports QuickTime- and HTML-enriched e-mail, letting you include stylized, formatted text and in-line graphics in your messages. Other features include a multipane interface; background mail-checking and sending; the ability to import existing settings, e-mail, and address books from Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, or Netscape mail programs; a Qualcomm PureVoice plug-in that allows voice-message exchanges; and a customizable interface, including movable, dockable window groups and toolbars. Eudora also features support for regular expressions in filters, field auto completion, an automatic spelling checker, and a filter that will speak the name and subject of incoming messages (requires sound card).

Pegasus Mail is a free, standards-based electronic mail client suitable for use by single or multiple users on single computers or on local area networks. It has special support for Novell NetWare LANs that allow it to operate intuitively and with almost no maintenance. Pegasus Mail gives you multiple viewing options; automated rule-based filtering and content control; MailMerge and distribution list functions; support for SMTP, POP3, IMAP4, LDAP, and PH protocols; comprehensive HTML mail generation; address books with aliasing functions; and even a spelling checker.

All of these clients have set-up wizards and supports MIME. IMAP , and POP servers so consider these as being good choices. But, they may not fit your needs. So go to our Favorite download sites and enter Mail as a search entry and be careful. You don’t want a Server and you’ll find a lot of them. Read the descriptions and select the Client you want.

HAVE FUN!

eMail Pt 1

2005-09-02T20:04:00.000-05:00

Just about everyone who surfs the Web has an eMail account any more. Most of the Internet Service Providers on the Net have a set of mailboxes they provide their customers, but the software they provide for folk to get to their eMail account sometimes doesn’t provide the tools needed to effectively use their eMail Inboxes. There are several “eMail Clients” available that we be presenting. Before we get to that, there is some information you need to know to be able to select the best fit for your use.

But first we need to define what and where a client and server are. An eMail client is the software package you install on your desktop or lap top and is used to display messages you receive from family and friends as well as advertisers and such. You know! SPAM! The server sits on the Internet and collects your eMail. Sort of like a Post Office. It controls your Inbox and, if you are lucky enough to have a modern ISP, some form of SPAM filtering. The server uses eMail Protocols to handle messages for you in one fashion or another.

Ok, then. It’s time for the penny tour.

Of all the mail protocols, (and there are several) there are essentially two that are used most often. IMAP and POP.

IMAP is the Internet Message Access Protocol, or as it was once known, the Interactive Mail Access Protocol. It represents a communications mechanism for mail clients to interact with mail servers, and manipulate mailboxes thereon. IMAP is centered on the notion that the server is your primary mail repository. Messages are always retained on the server. The client may issue commands to download them or delete them, access and set message state information, but the server always maintains the mailboxes. The protocol also provides for the entire structure of a message to be transferred, which can provide a client mail program with an outline of a complex MIME (We’ll cover this later) message, but without requiring the client to read the entire message and parse it locally to determine that structure, which is how POP works.

Perhaps the most popular mail access protocol currently is the Post Office Protocol (POP), which also addresses remote mail access needs. IMAP offers a superset of POP features, which allow much more complex interactions and provides for much more efficient access than the POP model.

So, which is better? IMAP is of course, but it is more costly to the ISP because of the resources required of the server. Therefore, POP (or POP3)is the more popular because of reduced resources required.

MS Office Tips

2005-09-01T15:16:00.000-05:00

For those of us fortunate enough to have Microsoft Office, I have collected these tips. They don’t work for other applications, but I decided to share these with you.

Zooming with Office: If you have a scroll wheel mouse, you can use the wheel to enlarge or shrink the screen size of your document or worksheet. Hold down the key and spin the wheel toward yourself to zoom out or away from yourself (forward) to zoom back in. You may need to enable this feature to make it work properly; to do so,in Word or Excel, choose Tools, Options, click the General tab, and check the Zoom on Roll with Intellimouse box (a scroll mouse of any brand will work).

The shortcut to shortcuts: Not sure of a keyboard shortcut, or just want to learn more of them? Let Office help you by turning on the keyboard shortcut display. Select Tools, Customize, click the Options tab, and check the Show shortcut keys in ScreenTips box. Now when you hover the cursor over something like a toolbar icon, no only will a description of the icon function pop up, but so will its keyboard shortcut (if available).

A Word for the Wise Automate with AutoText: Word has a surfeit of built-in boilerplate phrases ready to be summoned with a mouse click instead of requiring you to manually type them. To access AutoText phrases instantly, right-click anywhere on the toolbar area and select AutoText. You'll find a menu of phrases (such as "To Whom it May Concern") as well as a button for adding your own AutoText entries.

Return to where you left off: Wouldn't it be nice to quickly return to the place in your document where you left off when you last saved? Press - and you're there. In fact, you can repeat the key combo to go to the last three places you made changes.

Two windows, one screen: When you're editing a document or just want to compare parts of one, it's particular handy to have two independently scrollable window panes of the same document. Select Window, Split and a split bar will appear. Using your mouse, move the line to where you want the split to appear and then click the mouse. Any changes you make in one pane will be made in the other because only the number of viewing/editing panes has doubled--not the number of copies of the document. To return to a single-window view, double-click on the split bar.

Excelling With Excel

Changing directions: With so many places (or cells) to go to in Excel, navigation expertise is essential to productivity. One of the simplest--but often overlooked--forms of navigation is the Enter key. By default, when you press Enter, the cursor goes to the next cell down. But it doesn't have to be that way. To change the default direction to right, left, or up, select Tools, Options, click the Edit tab, check the Move selection after Enter box, and then select your direction choice from the pull down menu. Then click OK.

Moving from one worksheet to another is as simple as clicking the Sheet tabs at the bottom of the screen. But if you want to keep your hands on the keyboard, press - and - to toggle through each sheet.

Time for a page break: Unlike with dating, in Excel, breaking up is not hard to do--but clean page breaks are essential. Have you ever printed a worksheet only to find a few stray columns or rows orphaned on a separate page? To avoid this problem, preview where the page breaks are set to fall. Select View, Page Break Preview. The first time you visit, you will see a welcome screen that's not particularly helpful. Check the box offering not to show it again. Use the vertical and horizontal scroll bars to view the breaks. Pages will be marked with large labels and page breaks with bold lines. You can then adjust the break lines with your mouse.

To manually set a page break, select the cell that will be the first one on the next page. Choose Insert, Page Break from the menu. To remove a page break, select Insert, Remove Page Break.

Fill 'er up with AutoFill: Excel can remove the drudgery of entering sequences of numbers, dates, days of the week, months, or years, among other boilerplate items. All you need to do is enter one or two items of a sequence in succeeding cells (rows or columns) and AutoFill can do the rest. Here are some examples:

Fill in a series of numbers: To try this out, enter the number 1 in one cell and 2 in the next, then highlight both of those cells. Now hover your cursor over the small black square in the lower right of the selection until the cursor turns into a plus sign (not the plus sign with arrows). Next, drag the corner down or across and in each succeeding cell, Excel will fill the cells with increments of 1 (3, 4, 5, and so forth). If you originally entered 100 and 200, the cells would be AutoFilled with 300, 400, and so on.

Fill in dates: Similarly, enter a single day of the week or month of the year, and Excel will AutoFill each succeeding day or month. When it reaches the end of a series of named days, it will repeat them again in order until the end of your selection. At the end of a month's worth of dates, it will automatically go into the next month. Excel will even fill in a sequence of years or quarters beginning with the one you start with such as 2004, 2005, 2006 or Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4. By default, AutoFill copies both the formats and values of the cells you choose. To select one or the other, hold down the right mouse key while dragging. Upon release, choose Fill Formatting Only or Fill Without Formatting. If you don't like how AutoFill has filled cells, click AutoFill Smart Tag to display more options.

Looking Out With Outlook
Faster contacts with nicknames: Every contact record in Outlook includes a field called Nickname. While you could actually enter a friend's nickname there (which is what most users think it is for and therefore don't use it), it is a great way to make name matching more precise when sending e-mails.

To use this field, go to a contact's record, click the Details tab, and enter a name that you'll use as a shortcut for calling up the person's info. It can also be useful for differentiating similar close names. For instance, if you have a series of Smiths--Anne, Barrett, Charles--you could enter a nickname for each, such as AS, BS, or Chuck. You don't have to type the full name, or choose the right Smith from a pop-up list, to pinpoint the Smith you're addressing: you simply type their nickname into the "To:" field of your e-mail message.

Find a contact's address on a map: If your PC is connected to the Internet, you can get a map and driving instructions of a contact's address. Click Contacts on the Outlook bar, then select the contact. From the File menu, select Open, Selected Items. Under the Address button, click the down arrow, then click the address you want mapped: Business, Home, or Other. Now go to the Actions menu and click Display Map of Address. Outlook now goes to the MSN Maps Web site to pinpoint the address on a map. Use the controls on that page to further customize your exact directional needs.

Open Office has released a new version, 1.1.4, which further polishes up an already fine package. Download it. You will also need to download Java Runtime Environment since Open Office uses it to good advantage.
HAVE FUN!

Printing

2005-08-26T14:21:00.000-05:00

One area of computing that we haven’t touched on yet is printing. With today’s hardware prices, I suppose it would be safe to say that most home computer owners have an ink jet or bubble jet printer connected to their system.

The first, commercially available for the PC market, ‘bubble jet’ printer was introduced back in the early ‘80s. It was small, about the size of a cigar box, and consumed paper and ink to produce a fairly good copy Quietly! You have to understand, this was during the time when dot-matrix printers were at their height. Noisy, buzzing, clunking machines that were slow and consumed whole blocks of paper where each sheet was still attached to the next in line. Buying paper usually resulted in having several hundred feet of paper rolling in to the printer and coming out the other side with text or graphics imprinted on it. You needed to separate each printed page from the pile to get the sheet you wanted plus remove the pin feed strips from both sides of the page. Messy and wasteful from the view point of the tree it took to make all that waste paper. Did I mention the printer was noisy? It was so bad that most commercial organizations that used them set aside a small room to contain the printer and its noise. The bubble jet however was silent. You heard the scrape of the paper as it slid into the mechanism, but that was the extent of it. It was also much faster, and it printed on single sheets of copier paper. Because of its size, the printer could be set on the desk. Benefits all around!

How does it work, you ask? An inkjet or bubble jet printer (there is a difference, see below) is any printer that places extremely small droplets of ink onto paper to create an image. The printer uses ink cartridges to do the work. The next time you need to replace your empty ink cartridges, take a look at the bottom of the cartridge. You will see a series of tiny holes. This is where the ink comes out. When the printer moves the cartridge back and forth across the page, the electronics in the printer ‘pumps’ the ink out of the tiny holes in the cartridge. By regulating yhe timing of the ‘pump’ with the position of the printing assembly over the paper, an image is deposited.

A few facts:
1. The dots are extremely small (usually between 50 and 60 microns in diameter), so small that they are tinier than the diameter of a human hair (70 microns)!
2. The dots are positioned very precisely, with resolutions of up to 1440x720 dots per inch (dpi). Expect this to go up even higher as printer manufactures improve their products.
3. The dots can have different colors combined together to create photo-quality images.

The main difference between the bubble jet and ink jet is in the way the ink is ‘pumped’ onto the paper. In the bubble jet printer, tiny heaters create heat, and this heat vaporizes ink to create a bubble. As the bubble expands, some of the ink is pushed out of a nozzle onto the paper. When the bubble "pops" (collapses), and a vacuum is created. This pulls more ink into the print head from the cartridge. The ink jet printer has a crystal located at the back of the ink reservoir of each nozzle. The crystal receives a tiny electric charge that causes it to sort of do the hula. When the crystal moves one way, it forces a tiny amount of ink out of the nozzle. When it moves the other way, it pulls some more ink into the reservoir to replace the ink sprayed out. Given the size of the droplets given above, the bubbles and the movement of the crystal are very, VERY small. Watch your printer move when you print something. It’s truly amazing to see how the text and/or images are printed when you consider the size of each droplet and the speed of movement.

There is a drawback, though. The cost of the cartridges! If you purchase from the manufacture, prices range from $25 US and up. You can purchase Off-Brand cartridges starting around $7US, but be careful. You can save money that way, but the cartridge may clog or cause problems for the printer. Buy from companies that guarantee their products, just to be on the safe side. Anyway, some of us need to use the printer a lot for various reasons, making a permanent copy for filing, a form for mailing, etc. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to conserve on ink, AND paper? Well, I found something that does the trick.

I didn’t find this one on the down load sites. The name of the program is FinePrint. www.fineprint.com is the site for it. Registration is $49.00 US so it isn’t cheap but it will pay for itself with the savings in paper and ink. How? The program enables you to print multiple pages of text or images on a single sheet of paper. It also has the ability to extend the life of the ink cartridge by limiting to amount of ink used. The really nice thing about it is that even with the maximum number of pages (up to 8) printed on the sheet, they are still legible. It installs like a print device on Windows and will install cleanly on Windows 95 to XP. If you need to be able to do a LOT of printing with an Ink Jet printer, this is one tool you need on your system.

And, as always, HAVE FUN!

Password, Please!

2005-08-16T23:31:00.000-05:00

As many of us know, a lot of Web Sites require registration and passwords. But coming up with one can be a real chore. Some software, notably registered Shareware, also asks you to enter a password to enable functions and features that are normally locked. In those cases, you are given the necessary information. Then, on top of all that, you have to be able to remember it. So, how do we handle all that?

Actually, it isn’t as hard as it looks. .Let’s start at the beginning. I’m going to give you a few ‘Rules’ to keep in mind when you need to come up with a ‘good’ password. There are several neat little tricks used by the professionals that make password selection easy. Number one is to NOT use anything that someone could decipher by using personal information like the names of your pets, parents, spouse, children, street you live on, etc. Instead, use the lyrics of a song you like. No, don’t use the whole song! Use the first line of the chorus or maybe a line in one of the verses. Take the first letter of the word phrase, tack a number to the end from 1 to 9, and you’re done! For example, remember the Coke song? “I want to buy the world a Coke…” Applying my little trick to it you get the password “IWTBTWAC1”. Now then, this is a demonstration so don’t use this one your self, OK? But you get the idea, right? A word of caution though. Don’t use song lyrics like the Beatles song “All Together Now”. You don’t want a password that uses repeating characters (ATNATNATN1). That’s just too easy to figure out. The very best password is a totally random sequence of 6 to 8 (or more)characters with a number dropped anywhere in the sequence.

So, the first Rule of Passwords goes like this. “Don’t use familiar words, names, or phrases.”

Second Rule – “Don’t use repeating characters.”

And the Third Rule – “Add a number (or a couple numbers) to a string of characters.”

Rule four? “Use something you can remember.”

In actuality there are several more ‘good’ rules, but since we are talking about using our systems at home, they could be considered to be unnecessary. You may even consider a few of these four rules unnecessary for your use. However, if you are banking on-line through a Web Site, for example, be careful and DO follow the four rules listed!

So now that we can come up with the password, how do we remember it for the particular situation? And how about the weird and strange randomized character passwords we need to get into locked applications. Or the pass codes you get when you register that Shareware program you can’t live without.

Go to my favorite download sites and search using the word “Password”. You will find lots of items. You will find password retrievers and other utilities of the same category. You will also find a few Password Generators. Pick one to make passwords for you if you can’t come up with one of your own.

The Quicky Password Generator is designed to be fast, efficient, and small. It generates up to 5000 passwords of 4 to 20 characters in length at a time. The passwords are displayed and can be copied to your clipboard. There are options for alphanumeric, uppercase only, variable length, and special characters. This new version has increased the maximum number of passwords to 100,000. It has added code to detect when a unique password could not be formed because the maximum length is too short to create ALL unique passwords and a button to create a file of the passwords that were generated. All passwords generated in one cycle are certain to be unique.

The password Safe system I use on my PCs is the KeePass Password Safe. With this package you can store your passwords in a highly-encrypted database that can only be unlocked with one master key and/or a key-disk. A database consists of only one file that can be transferred from one computer to another. The program supports password groups and you can drag and drop passwords into almost any other window. The auto-type feature types your login information into other windows automatically (just press a hot key). The software can import data from various formats like CSV, CodeWallet TXT and CounterPanes PwSafe. The password list can be exported to various formats (including TXT, HTML, XML and CSV files). The password list can of course also be printed (complete database or only current view). I use a 20 Mb USB Mini-Drive Keychain device that cost me about $30 US. The Password Safe is installed on the device with the database file. Whenever I need to get a password, I use the device. Nothing is kept on my systems and the device is on my keyring whenever I need it.

There are a lot of interesting tools available so find the ome you like and, as always, HAVE FUN!

Rearranging The Furniture...An Adventure In Template Coding

2005-08-15T16:50:00.000-05:00

First, a bit of history. I began blogging last summer, using a standard Blogger template. I liked it well enough, but I soon felt I needed room to stretch and breathe, because I kept finding things to add to the single sigebar in that tempate unttil there was just little room left. Eventually, I found the template I'm currenttly using, and set about learning to edit thee template code to make it my own personal space. I did learn, but I banged my shins and skinned my knees a couple (or more than a couple) of times in the process. I stopped looking for wolves in the bushes who were going to scare me to pieces; template code may nip at times, but it seldom draws blood, especially since I know where the delete key is and I'm not afraid to use it.

If you've been reading this blog for a while (and I hope you have), and if you are very observant, you will notice some changes in the sidebars. Things have been re-arranged, and yes, more new content has been added. It was not my original intent to make such large-ish changes, but I'm not displeased with the outcome. I was trying to add a couple more Compactible Headings Scripts to the left sidebar, and couldn't get them working, even though I was careful to ensure there were no typographical errors and no errors in copying/pasting the code. I tried several times to get the headings working, to no avail. Finally, I decided to just toss my entire template and start fresh. Drastic? Yes. But well worth it in the end.

Before I started deleting the code in my sidebars, I made sure to copy the data into separate text files for each heading. Thus, I didn't lose even the newest links I'd added. Finally, I deleted the entire template code and reloaded a new "blank" (no personal edits) template. Carefully, I began inserting the code for each of my headings, making sure to preview after each new insertion, then saving my work. I did this after each major insertion or after a few less major ones. Along the way, I encountered several issues that I was able to resolve on my own.

One issue: When I inserted the code for my Delicious Categories, the menu extended all the way across the screen horizontally. I had an extra < div > tag in the coding, and when I found it and deleted it, it was fine.

Then, I inserted my Ad-Sense code. Now, my sidebars and the center content section were vertically misaligned. I had put the Adsense code one line too high in the sidebar. I lowered it, and everything was once again aligned perfectly. All it took was moving some text and a few clicks of the mouse. It's all in knowing where to move text and where to click the mouse; that is a skill anyone can learn with practice.

I had a difficulty with Haloscan commenting. When I tried to use the automatic feature in Haloscan to enter the required code into the template, Haloscan would say it was successful...but when I viewed the template, I was looking at an old version Haloscan had considerately backed up for me in June that I discarded a while ago. I didn't want to revert that far back in time, so I ended up just inserting the code manually. Success! There were a couple other issues such as these, and I was able to resolve all of them without assistance. Some of these same issues would have had me frantic just a few months ago, but this time I had a mehodical approach. I just made sure to do one task at a time, preview, save, republish, add more code, and repeat the cycle until I had everything where it needed to be. I was even able to place a compactible header inside the profile container for my contact information. I've wanted to do that for a long time. Doing these things successfully and without help is immensely gratifying. I could literally feel my confidence increase as each issue was resolved.

The very next step I will take is to save a complete backup of this fresh template...because you never know.

The Konfabulator and The Widgets Combine Functionality and Fun

2005-08-15T15:58:00.000-05:00

What is a Widget, and what in the world is a Konfabulator? Never fear, the answers are right here. The Konfabulator is software that you download, then you can choose from approximately 1,000 small applications that run on the Konfabulator. If you have a Mac, you may already know what a widget is; they are part of the Mac OS. Don't have a Mac? You're in luck: The Konfabulator also runs on Windows. As the website says, "cross-platform goodness." There are widgets that are serious, and widgets that are fun. Example of a serious widget is the Atomic Clock Widget, for keeping your computer's time accurate, or the Weather Widget and the Radar Widget. There's even a blogging widget for Blogger that I grabbed, plus Kaim Widget, for AOL's Instant Messenger. For fun, there's a Classic Memory game Widget, and if you really want to know how fast you type, check out the Typing Speedometer Widget. Want to know what traffic is like in South Carolia, London, Canada, Stockholm, New York or Mexico City? No problem. The cam widgets are just the thing. If you read or speak German, play the German Lotto...the Dutch Lotto or the UK Lotto, yes, you guessed it...with a widget. Look up information on drugs and their side effects. Listen to a radio station. You can keep track of stocks, football schedules, and movie times. RSS widgets, a calculator widget (Green, no less), and a nifty little alien type guy in a flying saucer to keep you company as he drifts around your desktop will all help make your day more productive and more tun. Fun is a good thing. The array of widgets is wide enough to ensure just about anyone can find ones they enjoy. Read a scripture from the Bible; learn a new word,m play a gaame...the possibilities are nearly endless.

All of these nifty little gadgets -- er, widgets can be found in the Konfabulator Gallery. I found a Book Search Widget that would've been very handy when I was adding titles to my BookList; you can read reviews and compare prices also. I launched the Book Search Widget and typed in Harry Potter, then hit the Enter key and voila! listings of all the Harry Potter books appeared in my browser window. Can't get much handier than that. There are also Search Widgets if you're the type who can never get enough of searching and search engines. There are even widgets to make managing your widgets easy. THese folks think of everything. All of the widgets in the Gallery are free to download and free to use. They are neatly stored in a folder in your My Documents folder...but you can put them wherever you like.

If you are the do-it-yourself sort, you can even use a tutorial in the Konfabulator Workshop to build or improve your own Widgets. if you need help, click over to the Konfabulator Forums to post questions, sort out problems with a script, or even just to chat on the boards. Widgets are brought to you by Konfabulator and by Yahoo.

Read to me. Please?

2005-08-10T19:56:00.000-05:00

How many parents have heard these words from our small children? “Read me a story, Daddy!” For some strange reason, we all enjoy having a story read to us from time to time. Just look at the stories we see and hear on television or movies. In some areas of the world, the Story Teller is a VERY important person, passing on tales of family and tribe. Teaching the young and reminding the older folk. It’s a basic need of he human being to learn through speech. We seem to be able to learn faster and easier through the spoken word. Of course, a lot of speeches don’t teach much (and we all know what I’m talking about).

The tradition is still very much alive and well. Libraries have story time, schools have lectures (a kind of story telling), parents read stories aloud for their young ones, and computers can tell stories, too. Oh oh! I just saw an eyebrow or two jump into a hairline on that last one. Now, calm down over there. It’s true! Yes, you can get your computer to talk to you, and for free. Oops! There it went again!

In all fairness, I had mentioned in a previous posting here, that Adobe Reader release 7 could read text aloud from PDF documents. Right? Well there are other programs that will read other things like eMail, eBooks, and almost any text you could display on the computer’s monitor.

It’s fun time again, folks. Time to go digging around in the archives to see what we can find! I went hunting today when my Sister mentioned the need for a reliable Text-to Speech program for visually impaired folk and Special Needs children. Well, guess what Sis! I found a bunch of them! Our favorite download sites (Downloads.com and Tucows.com – Link in the side bar over there under Helpful Links ) have so many, I’m only going to get you started. Downloads.com has over 200+ items in the list when you use ‘Speech’ as search criteria. A lot of them look like fun to play with and a lot are priced. A few, though, are free. There’s even one that will let you make a photograph talk to you. The two I’m featuring here are both free and have some interesting features.

The first, Natural text to speech Standard lets your computer read any part of the news, weather forecasts, e-books, and your e-mail. Or even a Blog like this! The application also can read Word documents, rich-text files, and PDF files. The speaking speed and voice quality can be changed. The application is very easy to use, just one click, you can have your computer read any selected text from any program aloud without having to copy and paste the text from other programs.

The next one, Ultra Hal Text-to Speech, will read your documents out loud in one of its many high quality voices. This can be a great tool for proof reading because hearing your text out loud helps you spot all mistakes. This program can also be used for reading e-books, reading clipboard content, speaking instant messages, and much more. It is also able to save its output as a WAV file which can be converted into MP3. This would be great for reading stories to small children. Copy the MP3 to an iPod or to CD and it can be played over and over again or whenever it was wanted. It would also be useful from those times when you don’t have a computer handy and yet you still want to listen to the stories. When traveling, or outdoors, or anywhere away for the computer.
This subject will be fun for all of you to get involved in! Tell you what. When your casting around, looking for something to do, why not take a stab at finding THE! FREE! Text-to-Speech Application. Go Hunting and see what you find! Be sure to let me know what you find by using the comments. They will show up at he bottom of the posting and YOU could help the rest of the folks. Now, is that neat or what!

Have Fun!

Now what do I do? Part 3

2005-08-06T11:44:00.000-05:00

Now that I have given you two different methods of keeping your data/information/sanity safe, I guess I should expound on why the two should be used – together. The two methods are Symantic Ghost and a backup program such as Simply Safe Backup 2005.

The two have very separate and useful advantages. Ghost quite literally takes a Snapshot of your system and saves it in what is termed an Image. This Image contains all of the set-up data, program files, and every scrap of data you have on the hard drive at the time you build it. Everything! That means that you can reconstruct your system on either new media (a freshly formatted hard drive) or a completely different system! So, if the unthinkable happens (your system is totally destroyed) and you have the Image saved on one or more CD(s), you can resurrect your system in a matter of minutes.

To build an Image, a good procedure to follow would be to configure your system the way you would want it to be if you restored it from scratch and make the Image. If you’re working with a new system, install all of the programs and configure them. Then make your Image. From that point on, anytime you need to restore your system, it will be exactly the way you configured it. System name, programs, operating system, all of it. I suggest when you make the Image CDs that you make then bootable. Otherwise you need a diskette in addition to the CDs.

Ok! Got it so far? Good. Now for the Backups! The Backups are best viewed as being a source to recover lost files. A backup will NOT give you a fully functional system in case of disaster like the Ghost Image will. The Backup is used to recover the various documents, downloaded files, etc. So then, a procedure for Backups? Ok, first decide what you want to have backed up. Since you have the Image built, any file that is changed, like the files for your ‘Opus’ you were working on, are good candidates for backing up. You have a lot of downloaded software you want to have on hand? Back them up, too.

Now, the ‘unthinkable’ happens and you HAVE to buy a new system (yeah, right!)( wink, wink, nudge, nudge), how is it done? You power up the new system, access the BIOS and set the CD drive as bootable. Insert the Bootable Image CD (number 1 if you have several). And boot your system. Follow the directions on the screen, sit back, and enjoy the feeling of owning a new system (IF that’s what you did). You’ll soon have a functioning system. BUT, you aren’t done yet! Now is the time to use your Backup to restore files. NOW you’re done!

It sounds complicated but take my word for it, the whole process won’t take anywhere near the amount of time it will take to manually install all of your software. In the amount of time it would take to install Windows XP (around 35 minutes) you will be romping around in your new system and enjoying the rest of your day.

Have Fun!

Now what do I do? Part 2

2005-08-05T23:14:00.000-05:00

In the previous posting, I mention what is considered to be a worst case scenario. Total loss of the drive. Unfortunately, that isn’t the only situation that a backup should be considered necessary. Accidental deletion of a folder or a file is another problem that can happen. Hitting the wrong key of clicking on the wrong icon is easy to do and many times you will hear groans of anguish echoing down the halls or even screams of angry similar to “Not Again!!” That’s when it’s smart to quietly walk away stifling your giggles.

Fortunately, I have found a good answer to that problem. The application has a fairly long name but it does the job extremely well.

Simply Safe Backup 2005 gives you all the tools used by the professional System Support people use in the Business world. It’s fast, accurate, and it’s free. Downloads.com has it listed so go get it. One caution I will offer you, however. Read the manual. The application has a lot of options to set and you need to know what they are before running the archive. But, it’s well worth the effort.

What can it provide you? Well, you can backup single files, a group of files, or one or more whole folders in a ‘project’ (their label for the stored process) or any number of folders up to the full drive. It will back up to a hard drive folder, a (zip) file, a file server, a zip drive, a tape, FTP server, CD or DVD; Split Data Files, Locate-Compare-Verify tools, Perform Smart Backup, Perform Unattended Backups, 1-Click Windows NT Service-Start-Stop, Backup & Restore Wizards! With the MySQL backup agent, backup any number of MySQL servers and databases with your backup job (unattended). You can maintain backup jobs with Backup Inventory. You can also backup changed or new files simply by selecting the appropriate “Project” and clicking START.

This thing is fast. I ran a backup on 350 Mb of files and it took 75 Seconds and I wound up with a 162 Mb archive. It would have been faster except I selected Verify Archive. The process is clearly displayed so you know what is going on. The sequence of events for my backup was setting the backup wizard options, clicking Start and watching it build the archive, write it, verify, and then compare its contents to the source. Exiting the application will prompt you to save the ‘Project’.

The ‘Project’ file is used the next time you want to backup the same group of files. All you need to do is select the ‘Project’ and click Start. Any file with a date/time that’s after the archived file is processed. Any other file is ignored unless you specifically request it.

The recovery wizard will allow you to select anything from one or more files to whole folders with ease. You can literally recover all or any part of an existing backup. You are presented with a listing of the contents of the archive and you just select what you want or need.

Oh, and one more thing before I close this posting. If you are planning to write the archive to CD, you can create the archive to fit the capacity of the CD, either 650 Mb or 700 Mb, and the files can be written to the hard drive for copying later instead of writing them to CD at the time of the backup.

This is a really good answer to the problem of backing up your system. Its well worth the time and effort to use.

Have Fun!

Now what do I do?

2005-08-05T13:50:00.000-05:00

Ah, yes. The creative juices are flowing and you have just spent a few hours working on your latest opus. It looks like a best seller, maybe a Book of the Week in some newspaper. The characters are interacting and the suspense builds to the point even YOU get excited.

Suddenly, without warning, you hear it. A soft faint sound that chills your blood. Skreeeeeeee! Oh, NO! Head crash! The hard drive has just played bulldozer on the surface of the hard drive’s platters. What to do!!

As Douglas Adams cautioned in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide” (in fact it’s printed on the front of the Guide), “DON’T PANIC!!” If you are working on the “Opus” you have some of it, if not all, in memory. Grab a diskette (you DO have one, don’t you?) and save your work on the diskette. Don’t bother with the hard drive, its toast! . It might be possible to recover data from the hard drive, but you don’t have the necessary equipment.

Got it saved to diskette? No? I am so sorry! Yes? I am still so sorry! You have lost everything on the drive. Wait! You do have a backup, right? Backup? “I ain’t got no stinkin’ backup!” OK, then. You’re toast.

Won’t happen to you? Don’t count on it, because it can and does happen every day. First things first. You need a new hard drive, as soon as possible. Well, fortunately, hard drives are NOT as expensive as they used to be. Huge drives are available that will surprise you at how little they cost so go for it. Bigger drives mean more space to store stuff. They still aren’t cheap but a good sized drive, say 80 GB will run about $120 or so. If you feel up to the task, install it your self. They come with full instructions so give it a try. Don’t want to do it yourself? Call around to the various computer sales/repair shops and have them do it for you. Now that the system is sitting there, what should you do now? Find and install a CD Burner. There are several on the market at various prices so get the best you can afford. In fact have your Professional Dudes install one for you. You might even get the software for free. Ok, done. Unfortunately you still have to reload your software. From Scratch! Hours (or days) later you’re back. After a sigh of relief, you go back to work on your “Opus”. Oh, yeah! While your system is in the shop, ask about a data recovery company to collect as much from the dead hard drive as possible. You never know.

Here’s a tip for you. Most PC’s have space and connections for a second hard drive. Get one installed that is the same capacity as the first drive, if not larger, and use it to store COPIES of your work. My system came with a 36GB hard drive and I installed a second (80 GB) to do just that. I also use it for saving the downloaded software I collect from time to time. I also keep copies of system files like the registry there, too. Symantic has a software package you should seriously consider, too. Ghost! You have a CD Burner now, right. Well, with Ghost you can make an Image of your drive and use it to restore your system. What actually happens with Ghost is that EVERYTHING on the drives you select is archived and compressed down to a smaller size and stuffed into an Image file. You then Burn the image onto CD for permanent storage. You can restore your entire system from the CD (may take more than one) in a matter of minutes. That will save you hours of time and get you back in business in a snap.

In the next post I’ll go into the backup process and give you a few software packages to look over to ease the process for you

Have Fun!!

Is Anybody Out There?

2005-08-03T21:24:00.000-05:00

One thing that impacts us all is in the area of being alone. For the disabled, it is unrelenting since we cannot go out to the corner Pub or go Bowling or whatever takes our fancy. Even going shopping for “toys”, clothing, or food is difficult if not impossible. So, what to do? Communication with others is the only answer. For those that aren’t disabled, the problem still exists but in a lesser degree. So how do we do that?

We could use the telephone but calling a friend becomes expensive when you are separated by large distances. Long distance charges pile up rapidly and that isn’t good! Email works well but it’s more like sending a letter. There is a definite delay between sending and receiving messages to a friend, We need something close to actual conversation! Enter Instant Messaging. There are several Messaging systems available but which one is best? I have a few that I like and one I don’t.

The one I don’t like will surprise you but I have a good reason. That one is ICQ. When first introduced it was pretty good. Easy to use and flexible enough to meet the needs of all the subscribers! But, the reason I’ve turned my back on ICQ? SPAM! Yes, the ugly phenomenon of useless, annoying, and major waste of resource messages have infested ICQ. If I want to talk/chat with a friend, I don’t want to spend my time skipping lengthy messages from who knows where selling toothpaste or whatever when I’m trying to share the day’s events with a friend. You also become involved in fending off unwanted requests from people you don’t know but are selling something (another type of SPAM) of questionable Moral value. Don’t waste your time and resources on it. There are others available that don’t have that problem..

AOL Instant Messenger doesn’t have the SPAM issue since you connect with specific people you chose to talk to and you have control over message sources. Yahoo Instant Messenger is also a good choice for much the same reason. Likewise Windows Messenger. With all three of these, setup is easy and doesn’t take but a few moments. Selecting a screen name appears to be the most difficult Part of the process. Actually, since the three use different communication methods, you can use the same screen name for all of them if you wanted all of them. Windows Messenger is part of Microsoft Windows. If you DON’T have it, you can get it from the Microsoft Web site

The Yahoo IM is downloaded from the Yahoo.com site. Nice thing about Yahoo’s version is that you sign up and you get access to Yahoo mail and other stuff in addition to the Messenger. Free Email, Instant Messaging, and various chat groups. Talk about communicating! You wind up with an entire community of people that share common interests. Wander around a few chat areas and see what is going on. Just be aware that sometimes the folk in those chat areas may not be who or what you think they are so be careful. Some chat areas can also be confusing since everyone seems to talk at the same time. It’s sort of like trying to talk to someone in a noisy bar or pub. You have to filter out ‘noise’. But, just as you can see everyone else’s messages, they can see yours. Instant Messaging gives you the ability to chat with someone privately. No ‘noise’ of other people’s chatting to distract.

So, check my favorite download sites and pick one to try out, Call a friend and have them do the same, and have fun.

Read it to me!

2005-08-01T13:43:00.000-05:00

Many years ago, too many to remember, IBM developed a Document Markup Language that eventually became known as PostScript. As a language, it was cryptic and complicated, but, with just a few lines of code, an entire document was transformed from a ‘plain Jane’ into a ‘beauty Queen’. Suddenly, you were able to use several different fonts, character sizes AND charts and graphs in a portable document. Marketing types went wild and Postscript programming was the rage. For a short time, anyway. The user community was limited to commercial printing companies, but the results were fantastic. Instead of having dozens of hardcopy pages to show what the customer wanted, it was delivered in one file, document AND instructions. Massive amounts of time were saved and, more importantly, production costs went down. It was one of those win-win situations.

As the process became easier and the language was refined, it became evident that the general public would benefit from PostScript files. The thought became ‘Why not let the end user receive and translate the file on their own. That way we won’t be killing trees by the score printing material that some folks won’t read.” PostScript became a ‘Standard’ for document processing. PC’s were common by this time and printer manufactures started installing PostScript in printers that were attached to those PC’s. A competing Document Formatting Language had been developed around that time known as HyperText Markup Language. (Oh, oh! Do you see what I see? HTML!) Well, HTML didn’t catch on as a serious Document Production language until the Worldwide Web came into view and browsers were invented. You know about that. If you’re reading this you see and use HTML daily.

But, PostScript kept getting better and more capable. A call went out to make it possible to display the PostScript documents on the PC monitor and not have to be printed to be viewed (saving trees again). A few companies tried to accomplish that task. Adobe succeeded with AccroRead. What made it the defacto ‘Standard’ was that Adobe decided to sell an authoring toolkit and give the Reader away for free. Talk about locking in! The direct result of all this activity was that Adobe ‘introduced’ the PDF document. Since then, the language was further refined and graphics were introduced, then photographs were imbedded in documents. Adobe continued to improve the Reader (as it is now known). The current version (at the time this was written, anyway) is version 7. This release is a boon to those of us that are vision impaired on several fronts. Reader has, for a long time, been able to change displayed print size to a larger size at he click of a mouse button.. NOW, in version 7, the application can vocally read the PDF file to you. At install you can select the voice you want to use. It won’t be ‘sultry’ or a realistic voice, but it will be understandable (I think English only, I don’t know for sure, though.). It’s actually sort of cool to sit in front of your computer and have it ‘read’ to you. If you haven’t gotten it yet, get it. It will install on your system, attaching itself to your Browser(s) so you will be able to view Web based PDF files without downloading them.

I do realize that most of you already have the Reader installed but if you don’t…

You will find it on my favorite download sites, Downloads and Tucows. Enter ‘Reader’ in the search box and hit enter.

Have FUN!

Choose The Right Tools

2005-07-30T18:55:00.000-05:00

There are few things more frustrating than trying to do a job without the right tools. Think about it: When was the last time you saw a carpenter try to hammer a nail using the heel of a shoe, or a mechanic try to turn a screw using a butter knife? Yet, many people regularly try to perform tasks on their computers without using the "right" tool for the job. It is far easier to do much of your work if you have the utilities and tools at hand. With that in mind, I've created a list of some of my own favorite utilities. Feel free to try them out, or look for ones you like, and leave the butter knives in the kitchen drawer.

Utility: PikyBasket
What it Does: It makes moving files fast and easy. No more having to scroll through folders to find the right one to put your files. Move one file, or several, with just a couple of mouse-clicks. Add a Command Prompt to any folder. FREE.
Where to find it: Read More and Download

Smart FTP
What it Does: SmartFTP allows you to transfer files across the Internet. It features an Explorer-like, customizable interface and supports drag-and-drop functions. Multiple FTP connections can be opened at the same time, and you can copy files from one remote host to another (FXP). Remote-host directory information is cached for future viewing, and FTP URLs are supported. Other features include a Favorites list; the ability to resume broken downloads; a global history; background transfers; proxy support; a passive transfer mode; and the ability to perform recursive downloads, uploads, and deletes. Version 1.5.988.48 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes. Note: This program is free for private, noncommercial use only.
Where to find it: Find it Here

LaunchMate
What it Does: Launches your applications. Category-Button interface; up to 50 categories with unlimited buttons.
Download: LaunchMate

Ki-Bookmark
What it does: A desktop organizer for your shortcuts and bookmarks. Tabbed interface.
More informaton: Ki-Bookmark

Picasa
What it does: Find, edit and share the photos/images on your system.
Freeware from Google.
More information: Picasa

Irfanview
What it does: View and manage your photos and images easily.
More information/download: Irfanview

These are just a few programs I've found useful. Try them yourself, and if you find other great ones, be sure to let us know.

The Window of Opportunity

2005-07-30T14:24:00.000-05:00

Doug has covered some important and informative topics relating to the operation of your computer. Now, I'd like to talk about another aspect of computing and why a computer can be so important (aside from taking care of "necessary" day to day tasks.)

Before I do that, I will share a little about myself. Unlike Doug, I was born with my disabilities (Cerebral Palsy and optic nerve atrophy causing low vision. I am legally blind, and do not drive...I also don't climb ladders or wash windows!), so I've had a lifetime to learn and employ coping skills; it's second-nature to me. Disability notwithstanding, there hasn't been much in my life that I've wanted to do that I haven't eventually been able to accomplish. I just do some things differently from most folks. My world was once restricted because there were so many things I could not physically do. Then, I got my first computer, and everything began to change. I knew I would never again want to be without a computer when I used one to write my first term paper on a long Friday night/early Saturday morning when I was in college, then turned my rough draft into a final paper in ten minutes flat.

One major issue that many people with physical limitations face is isolation. Being able to use a computer can provide a tremendous advantage if you can't go out: You can bring the world to your desktop, on terms you can manage. A computer can serve as an open door to the rest of the world. You can keep in touch with family and friends via e mail and chat, take online classes, do research, keep personal and household records, pay bills, shop, play games, and learn about virtually any topic you care to explore. The possibilities are only bounded by your imagination. You can even get your computer to "speak" for you, if you have a speech impairment! It is easy to grasp how being able to use a computer goes a long way toward reducing or even eliminating depression that can occur when social contacts in the "real" world are limited due to lack of mobility or other issues related to disability....and the sheer sense of accomplishment, of "I can do it!" is not to be underestimated. It is empowerment, in the best sense of the word. Fortunately, one does not have to have a physical disability of any kind to experience that sense of accomplishment.

Like many people, I found the computer initially daunting, (you don't need to have physical limitations to feel intimidated by a machine, either.) Once I learned to use one, I found I could "go" literally anywhere in the world and experience things I would not have otherwise had an opportunity to take part in. All for the price of the machine, the software, and the ISP. What a DEAL! It's like having the keys to the candy store. (When I felt anxious in the early days of my computer use and afraid to push any buttons lest I break something, it did help to remember that ultimately, I knew where the "off" switch was! That helped me overcome a lot of anxious moments.)

Freedom. Creativity. A sense of mastery. Productivity. Empowerment. These are just some of the things a computer can and will provide for the user, regardless of physical limitations, with the right combination of software, hardware, skills and a solid sense of adventure. With The Handicapped Computerist, we want to help you open a window on the world, to feel free enough to step across the threshold of that open door so that you can reach your fullest potential.

Hello, My Name is: Hello, My Name Is;...

2005-07-29T17:15:00.000-05:00

One of the more bothersome tasks a writer, or anyone else for that matter, has to put up with is entering repeated text. Wouldn’t it be nice if all you had to do is to copy and paste that little phrase or that one or two line sentence (or almost any amount of text) from a little window next to your word processor or email program?

Well, you can by using the clipboard function of windows. Using it is really easy and the benefit is large. In most Windows programs that deal in text, all you need to do is place the mouse cursor at the beginning of the text you want to reuse and, holding the left mouse button down, drag the mouse cursor to the end of the text you want. Release the mouse button. You have marked the text you want. Didn’t get all you wanted? No problem, just repeat the process until you have marked the desired text. Now click the RIGHT mouse button and you will be presented with a menu. On that menu are the words cut, copy, and a bunch of other things. If you need to MOVE the marked text from where it is to someplace else, left click on CUT. This will erase the marked text from your screen, but don’t worry; it’s saved on the Clipboard. But if you want to repeat it, left click COPY. Move the mouse cursor to the place you want the marked text to go, RIGHT click, and find PASTE on the menu. Left clicking PASTE will insert the text wherever the cursor is located. You can repeat the paste process as many times as you want. The same text will be inserted wherever your cursor is pointing. Moving text in Word is as simple as marking it , placing the cursor on the marked text and, holding the left mouse button down, drag the cursor the wherever you want it and releasing the mouse button. Play with this process a bit to get comfortable with it. Once you do, you will use it fairly often.

But, what if you have a LOT of phrases and sentences you want to repeat? How do you do THAT? Windows Clipboard isn’t going to be much help since it will only handle one block of marked text at a time. Go to my Favorite download sites and see what you can find. Yep! Go to Downloads or Tucows and enter ‘Clipboard’ in the search box and click the ‘Go’ button. Downloads show 485 items (not all clipboard programs) andTucows has five pages to look at, but I can give you a good starting place.

FlashPaste lite is a free utility for making it easier to enter the frequently used text blocks: greetings, standard phrases, e-mail addresses, Internet addresses, logins/passwords, etc. You enter the necessary text once in the database. When you need to enter a pre-defined phrase, you just press the hot key and select the necessary line from the popup list.

Flashpaste Pro is a beefed up version of Lite, of course. With Pro, you can do the same neat tasks As in Lite, plus use various macros while generating lines. The second feature is clipboard history. It also adds a toolbar in the String Selection dialog box and a Wizard for new users. Lite is free but Pro costs $20 to register. Get Lite first to see if you like it and then get Pro if you need the extra features.

Just so you know, we are working on a series of postings on Special Education. We’ll be sharing software, hardware, and techniques used by the professional Special Ed Teachers. The Computerist will pass on the techniques, and whatever else we can discover to let you see what is going on in a world most of us never see or hear about. So watch for it.

Adapt Part 2 (How Do I Do That Now?)

2005-07-26T23:13:00.000-05:00

In the previous posting, I threw down the gauntlet and asked you folks to think of a way to do a two handed task one-handed. I’m still waiting for most of you, BUT I got a response and a question from Bob. He wrote -

“Thinking about it, it would be really hard to open a bottle or can with the use of only one hand... And I can't really think of a way to do it. I suppose you could use a deep cup holder type thing, to keep it steady.” A good question. Here’s my answer.

“To answer your comment, yes. Opening a jar is one of several things that can prove difficult. But not impossible. Here's how I go about it.Here in the States we have a product that is intended for lining flatware drawers. It is a very loosely woven fabric that is coated with latex. The resulting material is easy to cut and provides a non-slip surface for almost any jar or bottle. With a piece cut about 6 inches square, you place it between your knees, place the jar so that the material covers the bottom and up the sides, squeeze with your knees, and grasp the lid. From there it's simply a twist of the wrist and you're open. It works with almost any bottle or jar, even medication bottles that have child proof caps on. Now a can is a bit tricky. You have to depend on a mechanical device for the task. I use a device that is given to the military called the 'P-38'. It’s found in Surplus shops and Sporting Goods Retailers. A cup holder IS useful for this. Put the can into the cup holder, grab the 'P-38' can opener and work your way around the can. Works quite nicely so you had a good idea on that one.

I hope that you never have to do these things for yourself, but if you ever have the chance to help someone else with this idea, I hope you remember and share it. You never know! “

Now I know that doesn’t really have a lot to do with computers and computing, but it was a good question and deserved an answer here (since I asked).

So, after going through that, what are we looking at this time? Looking, that’s what. Vision impairment is NOT limited to stroke survivors, as I’m sure you all know. There are hundreds of reasons someone’s view of the world is dimmed or reduced. Even folks that have to wear glasses or contacts fall under this category, so how to handle the problem.

Lets take a look at general solutions. Number one factor in improving visibility is to make what you’re trying to read larger. How to do that? Easy, if you can afford it. Purchase a 21 inch monitor! That will make a really serious improvement the enhancing readability. Those of us with serious impairment HAVE to go in this direction.

I had to add an additional tool for improvement. I bought a special prescription pair of glassesfor use with a computer. No problem. I gave my Optometrist the problem and what I needed. After answering a couple of questions, I had a pair on order. They really make a difference. Can’t afford the 21 inch monitor? Ok. Use the one you have. Decrease the resolution of you video card to 800X640. Don’t go lower than that since a lot of programs that use graphics won’t work below that.

Don't forget about colors. Some color combinations are much easier on the eyes than others. You may need to experiment to find the ones that are most comfortable for you. Change your screen colors in Windows by right-clicking a blank area of the desktop, and choose Properties, click the appearance tab, then the Advanced tab.

Anything you can do to increase the size of print on your screen will help. Web Browsers (FireFox, IE, Netscape) have option settings to increase the point (or size) of the type. So, if you’re having difficulty reading your screen, boost the size of the type and see if that will improve things. Windows has access tools that are used to enlarge the type in a selected area of the screen.

After all, using a computer needs to be enjoyable because if it isn’t, you won’t want to use it for very long. And that isn’t being productive. It’s also no fun! Using a computer IS fun (or it should be). So, as always, HAVE FUN!

Adapt (or How Do I Do That Now?)

2005-07-26T00:05:00.000-05:00

Ok, for some reason better not discussed (diet, life style, physical condition) you have been ‘blessed’ with a disability. Suddenly, you have limitations imposed on you that just a few days ago you would have smiled or even laughed out loud at the thought. Well, you’re not laughing now. It has happened but your life isn’t over. Your friends look at you strangely as if to say,
”What a shame.” You feel like giving up because you can’t walk down the hall like you used to do. Or you talk ‘funny’, or your vision is impaired as if someone flipped a switch. Yep! You, my friend, have survived a stroke. Survived? Yes, SURVIVED! It’s nothing to smile about. For those of you who haven’t thought about it, a stroke is the SAME THING as a heart attack except for the location. You can recover, perhaps 100%. Maybe not that much, but you will get better.

So, the question is, how do you cope while you recover. How do you do the little things? You only have one hand to type, write, drink a cup of coffee, eat a bagel. What can you do?
You adapt. Yourself and things.

Yourself: You learn how to dress yourself. Easy you say? Well, yes. An exercise for you to try. Put on a T-shirt with one hand. properly without moving one arm AND hand. Hint: slip the shirt on the immoveable arm first. No fair not putting both arms in the sleeves. You learn how to feed yourself. Try cutting a steak using one hand, (If you can, you are eating one fine steak.) You learn how it prepare your meals. Basically, you start from scratch.

Computer and Desk: If you’re a touch typist, you have a major problem. Old habits don’t work. Typing by touch REQUIRES both hands. You have to go back to the old ‘hunt and peck’ method. Your typing speed drops to almost nothing. Typos are a given. You find yourself hitting the Alt key instead of the space bar which is next to it. So, you practice typing one handed. Takes a little time but it does work. If you need to write things (like blog postings) you use software that includes really good spell checker systems. You adapt.

Paper tablets. I had a problem with this. My solution? Any kind of foam rubber pad placed under the tablet keeps it stable – a mouse pad! Hey, that works! Post-it notes? Easy! Remove the backing sheet or bottom sheet and use the sticky part on the last note sheet to stick to the desk. Doesn’t move! Hey, we’re on a roll.

You're bed ridden and want to use the computer. Ever try to balance a keyboard on your stomach, or use a mouse like that? Can’t be done, right? Wrong! Have someone go buy you a bed tray and a couple hand clamps. Home Depot or Lowes carries the Irwin Quick-Grip clamp. Get a couple of them. They’re cheap and can be used all sorts of ways. Get the 4 inch ones. These things can be operated with one hand. Clamp something; it stays where you want it. Squeeze the trigger lever and it releases. So, clamp the keyboard so it won’t slide around and go to town. A lap top will work well this way. Not enough room to use a clamp? Put a spare mouse pad under the keyboard/lap top and it stays in place. It's amazing what you can do with a mouse pad besides running a mouse on it.

Mouse: Avoid the run-a-way mouse. RubberMaid make a chair arm tray that has partitions. One of them will hold a 'standard' mouse pad and is deep enough to provide a barrier to keep the mouse from racing off. The other areas will hold a note pad and pen, and there's a place to put a cup.

OK. You get the idea? How about some help, folks? This post is an Audience Participation post. Put your thinking caps on and try to come up with a way to do something useful one handed (that you can do in public and not offend someone’s sensibilities). Send me your ideas and I’ll post them. Silly, crazy, creative, doesn’t matter. Let’s get an idea of what YOU would do if YOU were disabled. Use the gmail icon or the comment area to submit your ideas.

HAVE FUN!

The Registry

2005-07-25T11:13:00.000-05:00

One of the scariest parts of Windows is the “Registry”. Why? Well, you can reduce your Windows computer into a low wattage heater with a single keystroke if you start playing around in it. This thing is the one area that MUST be approached with care. No, I’m not kidding!

The registry is important for the smooth and efficient operation of the computer. It tells Windows where, how, what, and when to run. It’s cryptic and complicated, and the smallest thing can cause problems so don’t mess with it without knowing what you’re doing. But, sometimes you have to. If you don't fix registry problems when they arise or try and prevent them from even happening at all, then you may soon find yourself faced with sudden crashes, system stalls, or a severe degradation in operating speed. Working to fix registry issues and prevent system crashes should be a top priority whether you use your computer for business or pleasure, and you'll find a greatly enhanced computing experience by doing so.
Fortunately, there is a safe way to handle the beast. Reg Clean is a freeware utility from Microsoft that helps to repair a number of registry problems that are somewhat common to Microsoft products. While Reg Clean isn't nearly as thorough or useful as some proprietary solutions such as Registry Mechanic, it does serve the needs of millions of low-risk users.

Registry Mechanic goes further down the road than Reg Clean, and is intended for the more adventuresome users. Like me! I suggest getting both. Reg Clean for day-to-day use and Mechanic for really heavy duty use.

If, like the elephant child, you have a bad case of ‘satiable curiosity, go to http://www.winguides.com/registry for a really good start. You’ll find a number of tools there but be careful, you won’t need some of them for a while. Just get the Mechanic and read to your hearts content, because this is THE place for information. When you get to the site, you’ll see some downloads listed first. Go ahead an get Registry Mechanic, but skip over the other packages for now. Below the software are the information icons. These Guides and Forums cover just about everything you wanted to know, and maybe a lot you don’t. When you get through all that ‘stuff’, you’ll be knowledgeable about windows. So treat yourself to a few hours of learning and surprise your friends. You’ll be glad you did.

And, as always, HAVE FUN!

Writing can be fun

2005-07-25T10:13:00.000-05:00

Last post we discussed office suites, the all-in-one office solution. If you need all of those tools to get your work done, an office suite makes good sense. But, if all you need is a word processor, why load your system with a lot of programs you won't use? You don't need a suite, just a good word processor. Believe me when I say there are quite a few available.

When I first started working with the PC back in 1983, I had few candidates to chose from. WordStar was THE word processor. If you had a copy of the old workhorse, you were cutting edge. But I had one that was better! Bruce & James had one that was called WordVision. It was fast and easy to use. The learning curve for it was short. So short that I was working within 5 minutes of installation. When Windows was released, Write came on the scene.
WordVision has long since gone the way of the dodo bird and if you mention WordStar you'll get a strange look from whoever you happen to be talking Well, today’s word processing selection list is lengthy and the members on that list are small, fast, and free. If you don't believe me go to Downloads or Tucows and enter a search using Word Processing as search criteria and stand back because the list you get will be fairly long. If you enjoy playing and looking for neat software, you're going to have a ball. The list you get will contain two separate types of word processors. They are either Wordpad based or non-WordPad based. What's the difference? To the program developer, it means he doesn't have to worry about much except for the interface or "wrapper". The hard part is done already. The NON wrodpad based program was developed from the ground up. The developer had an idea or came up with a new way of doing the task. Sort of 'a better mouse trap'. For you and me, though, it doesn't make much difference. They both get the job done. I do have a couple suggestions to try, though, as usual.

Jarte (Wordpad based) is a compact word processor and WordPad replacement with a unique, easy-to-use interface. Features include ability to edit Microsoft Word documents, OLE support (insert pictures and sounds), tabbed document access, quality spell checker, page breaks, print preview, visual header and footer designer, clip history, reference bar, multi-level undo and redo, and single click bookmarking. A detailed help file is included. Downloads lists release 2.5 but if you go to the developer’s web site you’ll find Release 2.6 is available. This thing is cute! You’ll see what I mean when you install it. The interface is so simple, a child will enjoy using it. But don’t let the Fun user interface fool you. This thing is all serious business when it comes to being productive. With a few settings you can produce several different file formats. At install, it supports Rich Text Format files, which are supported by most Word Processors. The package is downloaded with either an English, Danish, Dutch, French, or Spanish dictionary. If you need them, you can download just the dictionaries. You also have a free access to Word Web, the online dictionary in addition to the installed dictionary. Spell checking if fast as are all the functions. Try it, I think you’ll like it.

AbiWord is a lean yet full-featured word processor. It features a familiar-looking interface, basic character formatting, paragraph alignment, a spell checker, interactive rulers and tables, styles, unlimited undo/redo capabilities, find and replace, and image support. It can also import Microsoft Word and RTF (Rich Text Format) documents, as well as support superscript/subscript and ruler toggling. Also contains a help system (called AbiWord end-user manual), a column dialog, a GOTO dialog, a new tabulation dialog, and more update localization. Abi is serious. It has the features and capabilities to make any look professional and yet still be a joy to use.

As I said before, there are dozens more out there. Try these! I think you’ll like what you find.

Reading, Writing and Arithmetic

2005-07-24T13:17:00.000-05:00

Some of the more common uses for the computer seem to be the area of office work in one form or another. Word processing or writing is the more common function a personal computer user will need. Game playing, though diverting and fun, isn’t productive in the sense that it doesn’t produce anything useful. But we’ll get into game playing in a later posting. To begin at the upper end of this subject first, the office suite combines all the necessary tools, bells, and whistles needed to be fully productive in an office situation.

So, what is in an office suite? Let’s take a look at Microsoft Office, a truly good example of a fully functional suite. First is Word (word processor), next is Excel (spreadsheet), then PowerPoint (presentation), and Access (database). There is a version of Office that doesn’t include Access since not every one needs a Database system. You will pay a premium price for Office but considering what you can get from Microsoft.com to extend the suite for free such as templates and macros and such, it isn’t all that bad.But, if you don’t have a few hundred dollars in your pocket to spend, it’s still a lot o’ bucks. But, if you’re lucky enough to have MS Office and if you have a need for some special tool or macro you can’t find on Microsoft.com, take a look at Downloads or Tucows and you’ll find dozens of things to add to the mix. All for free.What can you do if you need something like MS Office and you don’t have the money? I have a couple suggestions for you.

OpenOffice.org or its brother StarOffice! For one thing, it’s free and for another, it’s downloadable. It’s huge, but once you have it downloaded and installed, it’s equivalent to Office. The product is a multiplatform office productivity suite which means that there are versions that work on lots of different systems including many different types of UNIX systems and Windows releases starting with Windows 95 on up to XP. It includes desktop applications such as a word processor, a spreadsheet program, a presentation manager, and a drawing program, with a user interface and feature set similar to those of other office suites. OpenOffice.org also works transparently with a variety of file formats, including those of Microsoft Office. Localizations of OpenOffice.org are available in 27 languages, with more being constantly added by the community. If you decide to get it, I recommend you install Java, too; since OpenOffice uses Java for things (when it’s available), having Java on your system is a seriously major benefit anyway. Other things use Java as well. Things like Browsers. Anyway, OpenOffice has so many features that I don’t have room for them here, but you can see its praises being sung in a multitude of places. Check it out on downloads.com or tucows.com.Though it's a capable office suite on its own, EasyOffice boasts support for the ubiquitous Microsoft Office, resulting in a solution that's both impressive and complicated. EasyOffice features virtually every component an office suite needs, including a word processor, an image browser, a spreadsheet application, a database, a contact manager, an e-mail client, scheduler and calendar, and antiviral protection. Just about the only thing you won't find is a dedicated Web browser. However, since the word easy prefaces every application name, searching for a specific program can be a frustrating affair. Also, although the interface is highly intuitive, many of its pull-down menus are long and cumbersome. On the bright side, EasyOffice supports several languages and gives you options for compact and custom installations. EasyOffice also adds a rigorous backup system to capture and autosave data at different session points.

These are but two of the many free and downloadable office suites that are available. To see what is available, enter Office Suite as a search parameter on both Downloads.com and Tucows.com then find the one that fits your needs best. Don’t need all the software tools in an office suite? I’ll tell you about Word Processors in the next posting. Have FUN!

Adware and Spyware

2005-07-23T23:03:00.000-05:00

Any software application in which advertising banners are displayed while the program is running is called Adware. And any software that sends data back to a third party - WITHOUT ASKING the user - is Spyware.

This means that a software can be Adware and Spyware at the same time! More importantly, not all Adware is Spyware and most Spyware is NOT easily detected by displaying ads.

The primary problem folks have with these things is the privacy issue. Like most folks, I don't want someone I've never met and I'll never meet, knowing what web sites I go to, what applications I use or even specifics about my computer. As far as Advertising showing up, this is MY computer. I didnt say, "Sure, sell me something while I'm trying to do something."
That was rather simplistic, wouldn't you agree. Actually, I may not have a problem with one or two Spyware programs running on my system. Unfortunately, though, there are dozens of research companies trying to collect information and each one uses several Spyware programs to collect data. I could wind up with over a hundred programs on my system trying to collect and report information to all those companies. Now, if they are all running on my system, I don't have enough memory to run my applications like my Browser, Word Processor, etc. My system becomes slower and slower until I throw up my hands in disgust and shut down the computer. I lose the ability to be productive or, whats worse, play my favorite games.

So, what can be done? Actually, quite a bit. There are several good eradicator programs available that will make short work of removing all those programs. If you go to Downloads or Tucows you can search with the words adware or spyware and youll be presented with a nice long list of packages that are either Freeware, Shareware, or Commercial. I use Lavasoft's AdAware and Spybot Search & Destroy. The Lavasoft packages are inexpensive and efficient. They do a very good job of cleaning your system. If you purchase the AdAware packages on CD, they include a few treasures to make it a really terrific value. One of the programs included is called AdWatch. It blocks the installation of adware so you won't get it installed in the first place. Microsoft has a nice package in Anti-Spyware. The Microsoft package is in Beta, which means they are testing it using your system (not a problem since the paxkage is not being tested for operation but for data gathering). It is also free. I have it installed and it does a creditable job of cleaning while not causing additional problems. All of these use Definition Libraries similar to Anti-Virus Software so there will be occasional on-line downloads (2 or 3 times per month) that take very little time. The nice thing about the Lavasoft software is that you can download free trial versions to try out. They don't clean everything but registration will get you a license key that will enable all the features and you're off to the races.

These are installed on my system and they work well for me. But, you can take the opportunity to try out several others to find a combination that will work for you. The important thing to keep in mind is the goal of keeping your system healthy.

With all that being said, the last point is to enjoy your system. HAVE FUN!

Virus Attack! Where did it come from!?

2005-07-22T12:49:00.000-05:00

Where, did you ask? Your E-mail account is the most common answer. Yes, it's disturbingly true. E-mail attachment is the favorite method of passing an infection. No matter what E-mail program you use or what version of Windows you're running, you can help avoid some viruses by following a few basic rules. Not using windows? You're still not safe. The rules listed here are good to follow no matter what operating system you're using. Mainly because you might wind up sending it to someone who DOES use the targeted environment. I want to thank Microsoft for the rules.Follow these basic guidelines when dealing with attachments in an E-mail message, no matter what E-mail program you're using:

1. Don't open any attachment unless you know whom it's from AND you were expecting it. Be careful on this one. Some viruses send themselves using the address book on a system that has been infected. If you have an AVS package (Anti-Virus Software) enable E-mail scanning for incoming messages. Don't have one? Get one as soon as possible. McAfee, Norton, whatever, get one! Consider this a necessary expense or an investment. There are FREE AVS packages available (AVG is a good one) SO THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR NOT HAVING ONE!

2. If you receive an E-mail message with an attachment from someone you don't know, delete it immediately. A lot of us can't afford to do this. Such messages sometimes mean paying jobs. A good AVS, again, scanning incoming emails minimizes your exposure here.

3. Use antivirus software and keep it updated. Amen, brother!! 'Nuf said!

4 If you need to send an E-mail attachment to someone, let them know you'll be sending it so they don't think it's a virus. Sometimes this just isn't feasible. If you're scanning incoming messages with an AVS, you probably have the option of scanning Outbound messages, too. Do it! Prevent the spread!

5. Use span filters to help block unwanted E-mail, much of which contains dangerous attachments. Check with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) to see if they have SPAM filtering and learn how to use it. Many ISP's provide a way for their subscribers to customize the filtering they provide. Also, some Mail Clients, like Eudora, provide the ability for the user to pick out Junk E-mails. The application will remember the Junk tag for the senders address and will mark any incoming message from that address. Then setting a filter in the application, you can file the junk in a directory or just throw it away. I suggest putting it into a folder and check the folder once in a while to make sure it really is junk. You might miss something important otherwise.

I mentioned Eudora before. I recommend installing it. It has a lot of neat features (spell checking, etc.) that makes it a really nice thing to use. Setting it up is fairly easy and it comes with a really good manual in PDF format. It is also FREE! It's produced by Qualcomm, Inc. and if you want to check it out, their web site, www.eudora.com is a great place to start. You can interface it to any mail server I've ever heard of except for Lotus Notes and I'm not sure if it can't do that. In my setup, I use Eudora and Norton AVS. The AVS scans both incoming and outbound mail plus automatically updates the Virus Definitions so it's always as close to current as I can get.

Spyware and Adware is covered next time so stay tuned.

Have Fun!

Update, Update, Update and Software

2005-07-21T10:16:00.001-05:00

Keeping your system running well is not as hard as you may think.The first thing that needs to be explained or encouraged is Operating System Updating. If you haven’t been doing it, start – NOW! Not only does it install improvements, it also takes care of Security problems that have been identified. For the Windows user, Microsoft has a Windows Update page that’s on the www.microsoft.com web site. Look for and mouse click ‘Windows Update’ on the left of the page. Follow the instructions on the screen and you’ll get all necessary updates. You might need to access a few times if you’re really behind, but you’ll be glad you did. There’s also an Office Update that is handled the same way. Takes a bit of time but the benefits greatly outweigh the time spent. For the Mac user, www.apple.com has a link to the OS X update area on the front page. Click it and follow the directions.Why are there updates? Simple! The operating system contains weaknesses that can be exploited by ‘evil doers’ to borrow a phrase(thanks ‘W’). These folk are determined to either mess up your system or hijack it to use for their own agenda! When those weaknesses are found by the good guys, the developers that wrote the OS make corrections to strengthen it, thereby ‘closing the door’ on the bad guys. So, to make sure your system stays healthy and yours, update it and keep it updated. Microsoft has an Autoupdater that will take care of it for you. I don’t know if Apple has such a thing but in any case you should go to the sites and check to see if you are up to date.

This might sound silly but the next biggest need for any computer user is software. If you need a special program or a driver to update your system or maybe a game or two for fun, take a look at www.downloads.com for that special program. The site is part of CNET’s product review site and has an impressive reputation. You can feel assured that if there’s a program written that does what you need, it will most likely be available. Not all the software is free, but you should be able to find something, even if it’s only a demo or timed trial. The search facility is quick and will match your entered criteria surprisingly fast. Downloading is easy and the packages install with no problem. Access is free, too. Just for fun, enter the word ‘blog’ in the search box at the upper right of the screen and hit enter. You will be presented with a list of entries that will contain the word ‘blog’ in the supplied text. Another good site to look over is www.tucows.com Basic functions are the same, just a different organization. Tucows uses mirror sites for the collection and you’ll need to select the mirror you want to use, but don’t let it intimidate you. Just like Downloads, you can enter a program name or descriptive word (don’t get too wordy) and the site will display a list of matches.

I guess I should say something about the software. Basically, it comes in one of three different distribution methods. Freeware, Shareware, and Commercial. Freeware is just that, FREE. The author may want you to register but it doesn't cost you anything. Shareware is free up to a point. You will be asked to register but it will cost you something. Usually it isn't too much, so it's affordable to register. The Commercial is boxed, bought off the shelf. Purchased from a retailer like CompUSA or somplace like that. Which is better? Quality wise, it's hard to say. I've seen Commercial software that should have been dumped to the trash and Freeware that couldn't be beaten. As we go along with this blog, we'll try ro point out the really neat and cool Freeware and Shareware AND the Commercial software that is just too good not to buy. Until next posting...Have FUN!

The Beginning

2005-07-20T16:37:00.001-05:00

Welcome to The Handicapped Computerist! I'm happy to see you found this! Really!

As it says at the top of the screen, I will be offering hints, tips, and helps that are aimed at helping my fellow handicapped friends in using their computers (PC,Mac, etc.) more easily and become more productive.
A little bit about me. Yes, I am handicapped. I had the experience start Nov. 19, 2004 when I was 'blessed' with a stroke. I lost the use of my left side, some of which has come back. My vision was also affected. With all that, the State of Texas agreed with me that I am disabled.

This Blog is a direct result of my experiences in trying to adapt to my handicap. What I'm going through and how I've managed to succeed could be of interest and help to others, so here it is.

I'm not going to be so arrogant as to say my solutions are the only ones. Some of you have had to go through the same process so I invite you to share your experiences in the comments area. I'll be happy to include your experiences in the next posting of the Blog. If you have a question, let me know. I'll either answer it right away (if I know the answer) or I'll do reasearch and get an answer for you.

I plan to tell you about various tools and applications that will make your computing more pleasent or interesting. A good case in point would be Adobe Reader version 7. Did you know it can READ to you?

Need a word processor or spreadsheet program? A full featured Office Suite? I'll tell you about them and where to get them. I will try to list only FREE software but if there's a specific application that is REALLY useful but isn't free, I tell you what the pricing is. I will also tell you what sites to avoid because of AdWare and SpyWare and how to remove them if you catch a few.

So, stay tuned and keep your eye on us. I plan to update as often as needed (Weekly at a minimum) so I just might be providing a solution for your problem.