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Welcome to today's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, March 17, 2002
From all of us at Sharper Training Solutions, we wish you and yours a
Happy St. Patricks Day!
An Irish blessing for both our Irish and non-Irish friends:
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Internet Cache
Featured Computer Term: Upward Compatible
This Week's Topic: Search Engines
Question: Viewing Pictures
Learning Series: Microsoft Word - AutoComplete
Featured Website: St. Patrick's Day
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Special Feature: Internet Cache
Thanks to newsletter subscriber Cindy for the following question:
I've been told that every time one goes into a web site it is stored somewhere in the computer like a file and that it takes up space. Is there a way this file can be deleted from a computer?? I would appreciate your reply. Thank you in advance for your help. I like your weekly column; I never fail to read it and have saved most of them for future references.
Answer:
When you view a web page, the HTML file and any graphics that make up the web page are stored on your computer. That store is your computer's cache (pronounced cash). When you go back to a web page that you previously visited, your browser looks in the cache to see if the page is there. If it is, it is displayed for you right off your own hard drive. It's faster that way to view a web page, since it doesn't have to load via the modem connection.
But what if the page has changed since you viewed it last? You won't see the new web page. You'll see the old one stored on your computer. To be sure you're seeing the latest pages, you can click the 'Refresh' or 'Reload' button on your browser.
The size of this cache folder is limited and when it is full, the newer files replace the older ones. Over time the web page will be replaced with newer pages that you visit.
To clean out your cache so it's not taking up any extra space (those web pages and graphics do take up some space, and you should regularly clean out your cache) do the following:
Internet Explorer:
1. Click on Tools in the menu bar, then Internet Options.
2. Click on the General tab, and under Temporary Internet Files, click on the button that says Delete Files.
3. Click OK
Netscape Navigator:
1. Click on Edit in the menu bar, then Preferences.
2. Click the plus sign next to Advanced, and you'll see Cache.
3. Click once to display your cache settings. Click the button that says Clear disk cache.
4. Click OK
America Online
1. Click Settings
2. Click Preferences
3. Click Internet Properties (WWW)
4. In the General Tab, click Delete Files
5. Click OK
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Today's Computer Term: Upward Compatible
The following question is from a newsletter subscriber:
I had to call tech support about a problem I was having with my computer. The person helping me said that the old program I was trying to use might not be upward compatible. What does this mean?
Answer:
Upward compatible refers to software that runs not only on the computer for which it was designed, but also on newer and more powerful models. For example, a program designed to run on an Intel 386 microprocessor, which also runs on a Pentium, is upward compatible. Upward compatibility is important because it means you can move to a newer, larger, more sophisticated computer and still be able to use your old programs and files that you created with your old programs.
In contrast to upward compatibility, downward (backward) compatible means that a program runs not only on the computer for which it was designed, but also on smaller and older models. For example, a program designed to run under MS-DOS 6.0, which also works under MS-DOS 5.0, is downward compatible.
Upward compatibility is sometimes called forward compatibility.
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Today's Topic: Search Engines
You got yourself onto the Internet. Youve worked out the basics of Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator or America Online, but now you need to find a good way to find the information that you are want.
The answer is a search engine.
Search engines are websites that perform a specific task for you -they help you find the information you want. All search engines are basically big databases of information (like a filing cabinet). There are two types of search engines: ones that are edited by people (people write the reviews that go in the filing cabinet) and ones that are compiles by programs called spiders or robots (where computers write the reviews that go in the filing cabinet).
Computer driven search engines like Google have bigger databases but their reviews are not written by a person; they are instead produced from the contents of the Web pages they list.
Search engines that have reviews written by people tend to have less Web sites mentioned, however, they mention a greater proportion of quality sites. The best examples of these are Looksmart and Yahoo.
If you are looking for a search engine that you can ask a simple question to, try Ask Jeeves. It allows you to enter a question and then will try to match that with a category or more specific question that it has an answer to.
Eventually you will probably find a search engine that you like and stick to it. Following are listed some good search engines, however there are many more out there. Some are specific to a region or topics and others for languages other than English.
hotbot.com
altavista.com
dogpile.com
google.com
yahoo.com
excite.com
looksmart.com
askjeeves.com
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Question: Viewing Pictures
The following question is from a newsletter subscriber:
Is there a program I can use to view pictures people send me via email?
Answer:
Windows comes with a very nice little utility called Imaging. This program can be used to open just about any kind of image file.
If you put your downloaded pictures into your My Documents folder, going to that folder and double clicking the filename of the picture will open the picture in the picture viewing program that your computer chooses.
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Progressive Learning Series: Microsoft Word - AutoComplete
Word's AutoComplete is an interesting function that you can use to help speed you along with some kinds of documents. For example, suppose you often write letters. If you use AutoComplete, you could type in
best w
and Word will show you a pop up that says Best Wishes. Press enter, and Best Wishes is typed into your document for you.
To experiment with this feature, choose Tools, AutoCorrect. When the AutoCorrect dialog box opens, click the AutoText tab. Look through the AutoText entries to see what is available. Click OK to close the dialog box. Now, go try out some of the entries.
This feature is pretty helpful. AutoText and AutoComplete can really be a lot of help if you create your own entries. It's easy to create and store commonly used blocks of text and recall them with just a few keystrokes. For instance, you might need to routinely type a disclaimer, a legal clause, or a set of instructions. Or, you might have a clumsy-to-type item such as a long Web address that you want to make sure is accurate each time you enter it. Instead of typing it over and over, store it in AutoText and recall it with just a few keystrokes. Best of all, Word stores the formatting along with the text.
To create an AutoText entry, type and format your text, select it (including the paragraph mark at the end), and choose Insert, AutoText, New. When Word presents the Create AutoText dialog box, type a logical name for your entry in the "Please name your AutoText entryâ field. Make sure your name is at least four characters long so that AutoComplete can recognize it later. Click OK to complete the entry. That's all there is to it.
To use your new AutoText entry, begin typing the name you assigned it. Once you've typed the first few letters, the AutoComplete box pops up. Press Enter and your stored text appears in your document (the name you started typing will disappear). If the AutoComplete pop-up appears when you don't want it, just keep typing and it will go away.
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Today's Featured Website: St. Patricks Day
Take a look at this Website for a history of the Shamrock, how to find a leprechaun (and his pot of gold, of course!), Irish blessings, a little bit about St. Patrick, funny Irish toasts, recipes and St. Patricks Day links.
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/stpat/stpat.html |
