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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, April 24, 2005
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Web Bugs
Tips & Tricks: Selecting Text
Keyboard Shortcut: Internet Explorer Bookmarks
Featured Computer Term: System Administrator
This Week's Topic: Modems – Dial Up, DSL, Cable and Wireless
Question: Windows XP Desktop Icons
Websites of Interest: Passover; Babe Ruth; Etymology Dictionary; American Museum of Photography; Arbor Day; Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day
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Special Feature: Web Bugs
Advertisers can monitor your surfing habits with Web bugs. A Web bug is a graphic, usually invisible, embedded in a Web page or an e-mail message designed to monitor who is reading the page or message and return this data to the tracker's Web site.
A web bug sends information back to the tracker that includes the address of the computer that viewed the page or message, the browser used, the date and time the page was viewed, and any previously set cookies.
While Web bugs aren't always a threat to your personal privacy--many Web sites use them to count site visits without identifying individual users – it is a good idea to keep on top of any technology that monitors your actions on the Internet.
Bugnosis is a free program that analyzes the pages you visit and alerts you when it finds a questionable graphic. It runs tests on each suspicious graphic and, if it finds a possible Web bug, notifies you with an audible alert ("uh-oh!") and display of the graphic.
Bugnosis works only with Internet Explorer (version 5.0 or later).
For more information on web bugs and to download a free copy of Bugnosis, visit this website:
http://www.bugnosis.org/
Sharper Training Solutions, Inc. is not the developer of this software and cannot offer technical support for this program.
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Tips & Tricks: Selecting Text
Question: I’m having trouble when I try to highlight text. I can’t control the mouse very well. Do you have any suggestion to make this easier? Thank you so much. Your newsletter is so informative.
Answer:
Click at the point where you want to start highlighting (selecting) the text. Hold down the SHIFT key and press the arrow keys through the text you want to select. You'll find when you hold down an arrow that the text becomes selected at a much more manageable rate.
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Keyboard Shortcut: Internet Explorer Bookmarks
Hold down the ctrl key and press b to quickly display the Favorites side panel in Internet Explorer. To close it, press Ctrl and b again.
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Featured Computer Term: System Administrator
Question: My granddaughter just got a job as a system administrator. My daughter knows as little about computers as I do and couldn't tell me anything about what she does. Could you explain what this job is?
Answer:
A system administrator is the person responsible for maintaining a company’s computer system, which usually includes many computers and users, possibly even hundreds or thousands. They are also in charge of the local-area network (LAN), which is how all the computers connect to each other and the big main computer.
Typical jobs of a system administrator include:
Adding and setting up new computer workstations
Setting up user accounts so people can log in and out of their computers and use the programs they want
Installing system-wide software so all the users can work with the same programs
Performing procedures to prevent the spread of viruses, spyware and other threats
Is there a computer term or phrase that you'd like to see an explanation of?
Email it to info@computerkindergarten.com and we'll put the term and its
definition in an upcoming newsletter.
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Today's Topic: Modems – Dial Up, DSL, Cable and Wireless
Question: What is the difference between dial-up, DSL, Cable modems?
Answer:
Modem, which stands for demodulator/modulator, is a device that allows a computer to send or receive information through a connection. It changes the analog signal, which is the type of signal the connection usually uses, to a digital signal, which is the type of signal used by a computer.
There are different types of modems - dial-up, cable, DSL, and wireless.
A Standard Dial-up modem uses a traditional phone line to connect to the Internet through an Internet Service Provider connection. These modems have the slowest speed of all modems. Dial-up modems are capable of speeds of up to 56 kilobits per second, but usually do not reach this number.
DSL, which stands for Digital Subscriber Line, also connects through the phone lines, but higher speed phone lines that are used specially for this service. DSL speeds can differ depending on the quality of the connection but typically will be about 1000 kilobits per second on a good connection.
A cable modem runs over cable television lines. The coaxial cable gives extremely fast access to the Internet. These modems can have a speed of about 2000 kilobits per second. However, speeds may vary depending on the location or other concerns such as how many computers in the immediate area are accessing the Internet through the same cable connection.
Wireless Internet (Wi-fi) connects using radio frequency signals, rather than phone or cable lines. You can connect to the internet within a limited range of a Wi-fi connection, which means an equipped laptop can connect to the internet away from home where a connection is available. Wireless Internet is popular in PDAs, cellular phones, and other portable devices including laptops and notebooks. Download speeds of Wireless Internet can sometimes reach about 1.5 megabits, which is almost 2 million kilobits.
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Question: Windows XP Desktop Icons
Question: I just got a new computer and it doesn’t have icons for My Computer n, My Documents or Internet Explorer on the desktop. I use all of these and find this very inconvenient.
Answer:
By default, these icons are not displayed on the desktop. You can change your computer’s settings to display them. Here’s how:
Right-click on a blank area of the desktop. From the resulting menu, click Properties. You will now see the Display Properties dialog box.
Click the Desktop tab. click the Customize Desktop button.
You will now see the Desktop Items dialog box. Click the General tab.
There will be check boxes for different desktop items: My Documents, My Computer, My Network Places, and Internet Explorer. Click the checkbox to display the icons you want.
Click the OK button to register your changes and to close the Desktop Items dialog box. Click the OK button to close the Display Properties dialog box.
You should now see desktop icons for the items you checked.
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Thank you for reading our newsletter. We hope you enjoy it. We welcome any comments or suggestions you may have.
info@computerkindergarten.com
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Websites of Interest:
Today is the first day of Passover
We've put many interesting Passover links on our website. Please take a look:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/passover.html
Babe Ruth
Visit the Official Babe Ruth site to learn all about his statistics, his life, his achievements and much more.
http://www.baberuth.com/
Etymology Dictionary
When and how did words originate? Take a look at this website for information on the earliest uses of word and what they originally meant.
http://www.etymonline.com/
American Museum of Photography
This site is full of wonderful and unique American photography. Take a look when you have some time to browse.
http://www.photography-museum.com/
Arbor Day
Learn all about this observation at this website:
http://www.arborday.org/arborday/
Send an Arbor Day e-card to your tree loving friends.
http://www.arborday.org/cards/
Thursday is Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day
Learn about this program and how it began at this website:
http://www.daughtersandsonstowork.org/ |
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