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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, January 18, 2004
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Shut Down, Leave on or Hibernate?
Tips & Tricks: Changing Filenames and Folder Names
Keyboard Shortcuts: Using Program Menus without Using the Mouse
Tips & Tricks: Solitaire Shortcuts
This Week's Topic: Copy Outlook Express Address Book to a New Computer
Websites of Interest: Martin Luther King, Jr.; Time Magazine Covers; Mars Exploration Rover Mission
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Special Feature: Shut Down, Leave on or Hibernate?
Question: I turn my computer on and off about 4 times a day. Can you tell me if it is best to keep turning the computer on and off each time I use it, or just leave it on or use Standby?
Answer:
If you expect to use the computer periodically throughout the day, after you use the computer for the first time that day, leave it on until after you use it for the last time that day. If you use it early in the morning and do not expect to use it again until the evening, turn it off.
Wear and tear is the main reason for not turning the computer on and off several times a day. When you turn the computer on, it warms up and the circuit boards expand. When you turn it back off, they cool off and contract. The electronics expanding and contracting like that is not good for your computer.
Question: Please help me with this, I’m so confused. Some people I speak to tell me that I should always leave my computer on. Others tell me to turn it off at the end of the day. And still others tell me to put it into hibernation. Which is correct?
Answer:
Always shut down the computer at the end of the day; there are several reasons why this is better.
Some computers do not easily come out of hibernation (also called Stand By on some systems) and the only way to get the computer back up and working is to use the power button to turn the computer off and then back on again. Turning the computer off that way is not good for it.
Second, the computer does not reboot when left on and does not completely reboot when going in and out of hibernation. When you turn off the computer the correct way, it completely reboots and clears out the memory and loads Windows and all programs fresh. This keeps the memory in good condition and helps your computer run better.
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Tips & Tricks: Changing Filenames and Folder Names
Question: I have several folders whose names I would like to change. Can you tell me if I can do this? Thank you.
Answer:
Yes, you can do this. Here’s how:
Right click on the folder; from the resulting menu, left click on Rename. Type the new name for the folder and press the Enter key on your keyboard. The folder name is now changed to the new name.
This process will work for filenames, too. If you want to change the name of a file, right click on it. From the resulting menu, left click on Rename. Type the new name of the file and press the Enter key on your keyboard.
Note: Filenames of files created by some programs cannot be changed if the file is currently open in the program. To change the filename, close the file before following the above steps.
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Keyboard Shortcuts: Using Program Menus without Using the Mouse
Older versions of Windows had underlined letters in their menus. Instead of clicking the mouse on menu items, you could press the Alt key on the keyboard and the underlined letter to activate that menu item. For example, the f is underlined on File. On your keyboard, hold down the Alt key, press and release the f key, and release the Alt key. You will see the File menu open up. To continue using the keyboard, use the down arrow to highlight the command you want to give. Once that command is highlighted, press the Enter key.
In Windows XP, this feature works differently from program to program. For example, it works the same way in Microsoft Word. You will still see the underlined letters.
In Outlook Express, WordPad or Solitaire, for example, you will not see underlined letters but if you press the Alt key, the lines will appear. Follow the steps above to use the keyboard to give commands.
Other programs, such as America Online, work differently again. If you press the Alt key, you will then see that File on the menu becomes highlighted. Press the down arrow to open the menu. From there, use the arrows to highlight the choice you want and the Enter key to give the command.
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Tips & Tricks: Solitaire Shortcuts
Double-click a card that can be moved to a suit stack, (the dark outlines on top where the aces go) and Solitaire moves it there for you.
Right-click and Solitaire automatically moves all the eligible face up cards onto the suit stack(s).
You don't need a mouse to play solitaire. Use the arrow keys to move the pointer. Press Enter to grab a card, press the left and right arrow keys to move it, and press Enter again to release the card.
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Today's Topic: Copy Outlook Express Address Book to a New Computer
Question: Can I copy my address book to my new computer or do I have to start from scratch again?
Answer:
You can copy your address book to your new computer. The following steps will also apply to making a backup copy of your address book. This is a good thing to do; in case anything happens to your computer you will not have to input all the address book entries again.
Outlook Express uses the Windows Address Book to store the information you have collected, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, etc, in an address database. Following are the steps to copy this database:
Click the Start button; click Run.
In the Run box, type WAB and press the Enter key on the keyboard. This will open the Windows Address Book.
In the Windows Address Book, click File in the menu bar, point to Export and click Address Book (WAB).
A window will appear where you will tell the computer the place to save your exported address book file. At the top of this window, click the down arrow to the right of Save in and click on the floppy drive.
Near the bottom of the window there is a place to put the file name. Type in a filename and click the Save button.
Now your address book file is on the floppy disk. If this is a backup copy of your address book, store the floppy in a safe place in case you ever need it. You should repeat this process periodically to make sure you have an up-to date backup.
If you are copying the address book to a new computer, follow these directions:
Click the Start button; click Run.
In the Run box, type WAB and press the Enter key on the keyboard. This will open the Windows Address Book.
In the Windows Address Book, click File in the menu bar, point to Import and click Address Book (WAB).
A window will appear where you will tell the computer the place to look for your address book file. At the top of this window, click the down arrow to the right of Look in and click on the floppy drive. In the middle pane in this window, click on the name of your address book file. Click the Open button.
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Websites of Interest:
Martin Luther King, Jr.
His birthday is observed on Monday, January 19.
Take a look at the Seattle Times website for stories, photo, some audio clips and a very interesting Civil Rights timeline.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/
Also from the Seattle Times, how the holiday came about, ways it is
celebrated, and other related topics.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/holiday/index.html
The Stanford University website provides a biography and some of his speeches and letters.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/
From Louisiana State University, this website provides a biographical sketch and much more information.
http://www.lib.lsu.edu/hum/mlk/
Time Magazine Covers
Visit the Time Magazine website where you can view any cover all the way back to March 3, 1923.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/coversearch
Mars Exploration Rover Mission
Take a look at the NASA site for information, up-to-date news, photographs and videos of Mars and the Rover Mission.
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html
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