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Welcome to today's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, May 19, 2002
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Transferring Old Files to your New Computer
Featured Computer Term: Crawler
This Week's Topic: Resizing Desktop Icons
Question: Internet Radio
Learning Series: Microsoft Word - Full-Screen
Featured Website: National Police Week; Donate a Phone; I Should Be Working
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Special Feature: Transferring Old Files to your New Computer
The following is a question from a newsletter subscriber:
I have been receiving your great info e-mails for quite a while and they have been very interesting. More than once you have made it easy for me to be able to understand some of the mysteries of this machine.
I have been thinking of upgrading from my four year old PC and I have found out if I want to keep my files and software, I must copy them somehow to be able to reload them into my new computer. Is the only way to do this, to use a Zip drive?
Answer
There is more than one way to copy files from your old computer to your new one.
To transfer your data, you could copy the files to floppy disks. This would not require any extra equipment except for floppy disks. The down side to this approach is that you are limited by the floppy disks’ 1.44MB size, and the process is time-consuming if you have a lot of files.
Another choice would be to create a direct connection between the two computers using a parallel or serial cable. This is a bit more technical in nature, but the only cost would be the special cable. Very clear, detailed directions for this process can be found in Help on your computer.
Purchasing a Zip or CD Writer drive that connects to the serial or parallel port would certainly be another option, but if you will not need to use the drive after the transfer, it would seem to be a little expensive.
Another way transfer files from an old to a new computer, is to remove the hard drive from the old computer long enough to hook it up to the new one and copy the files through Windows. This is a good choice if you are comfortable working inside computers, but may not be for everyone. You could, however take the two computers to a local shop, and have them transfer the files for you. It would probably cost half of what you are thinking of spending on the Zip drive, and you would not have to worry about getting it configured to work on each computer.
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Today's Computer Term: Crawler
The following question is from a newsletter subscriber:
How do search engines come up with those entries that tell you what's on a specific web page?
Answer:
Search engines use a program called a Crawler, which is also known as a Spider or a bot. This program goes through Web pages and assembles information for an index that is then stored on the search engine’s computer.
When you use a search engine, the program looks at the keywords you put in, and then it goes through its index to produce search results for you. These results have the name of the Website and usually a brief description. The name, which is usually displayed in hypertext (blue underlined text), can be clicked on to go directly to that Website.
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Today's Topic: Resizing Desktop Icons
The following is a question from a newsletter subscriber:
I just bought a new computer and the icons are very small and hard to see. When I took your class at the library, the icons on your computer were very large and much easier for me to work with. How can I change mine to look more like yours?
Answer:
You can change the size of your Icons and Shortcuts on both laptop and desktop computers. If you have a lot of icons on the desktop, you might want to make them smaller. Or if they’re already too small and you’re having trouble seeing them, you might want to make them bigger.
Here's how to change the size of your desktop icons.
1) Right-click on a blank area of the desktop and click Properties.
2) Click the Appearance tab.
3) If you have Windows 95, 98 or ME, click the selection list for Item and click Icon. If you use Windows XP, click the Advanced button; then click the selection list for Item and click Icon.
4) Next, resize your icons under the Size option and click OK to save your settings.
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Question: Internet Radio
Can you describe a quick method of locating radio stations on the Internet?
Answer:
Yahoo Internet Life has a very diverse selection of radio stations. Go to yil.com, then click on Net Radio (you’ll really have to scour the page for this one -it’s a very busy website). You'll see stations categorized; click on whatever you're interested in.
For AOL user, go to keyword Radio. There’s a very nice selection there, too.
Once you find a station you like, click on it. You'll hear music coming through your computer speakers!
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Progressive Learning Series: Microsoft Word - Full-Screen
There may be times when you want to see as much of your document as possible. You can quickly maximize your document to replace virtually everything else on your screen by choosing Full Screen from the View menu. When you are done working with Word in this manner, click on the on-screen button to restore the regular Word view, or simply press the Esc key.
In addition, if you move the mouse cursor off the top of the screen when viewing your document in full-screen, the menu bar appears and you can use it to manipulate your document.
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Today's Featured Websites
National Police Week
This week we honor our heroes in blue with National Police Week. Take a look at the Website of the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum for a touching tribute to New York City and the officers lost at the World Trade Center. You'll also find history, programs, safety and much more.
http://www.aphf.org/
Donate a Phone
If you’ve replaced your mobile phone, think about donating the old one to a good cause. This Website gives you information on an organization that refurbishes old cell phones and gives them to people in need -specifically women who are the victims of domestic violence. Take a look.
http://www.wirelessfoundation.org/12give/
I Should Be Working
Are you bored at work and feel like goofing off a little? Have some fun at the I Should Be Working Website. Fun and games, jokes, sports, entertainment, music and much more. A great website for the slacker in all of us.
http://www.ishouldbeworking.com/ |
