|
Welcome to today's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, July 21, 2002
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Printing Parts of this Newsletter
Special Feature: More Error Messages: Illegal Operation and Blue Screen
of Death
Special Feature: More Error Messages: Hard Drive Failure
Featured Computer Term: Undo
This Week's Topic: Getting Help In Dialog Boxes
Question: Weird Characters in Emails
Learning Series: Word Processing - Selecting Text
Featured Website: Learn Another Language Online; Pick a Cell Phone Plan; Association of BellTel Retirees
***********************************************************************
Using Links
A Link is a reference to a website. In this newsletter you will see links to many worthwhile, informative and fun websites. Here are the instructions on how to use links:
A link will be used one of two ways, depending on your email program.
If you see the link in blue, underlined text, all you have to do is click on it and a window with the Website in it will automatically appear on your screen.
If you see the link in plain text, you can copy and paste it into the address bar on your browser. Highlight the link with your mouse, click Edit up on the menu bar, and then click Copy from the menu that you just opened up. Open your browser (click the Start Button, point to Programs, click on Internet Explorer); click on the address bar. Click Edit up on the menu bar, and then click Paste from the menu that you just opened up. Press the Enter key on the keyboard and this will take you to the Website.
***********************************************************************
Special Feature: Printing Parts of this Newsletter
Want to print out parts of this newsletter without printing all that other stuff that's necessary but that you're really not interested in?
The best way to do this is to copy and paste the articles you want into your word processing program, and then print from there; you’ll get only what you want and everything will be done with one print command.
Here's how you can accomplish this: with this email on the screen, open your Word Processing program. This is easy: click the Start button and maneuver your way to your word processor -whichever one you use, Word or Works. Click on it to open it.
Notice there are now at least two buttons on your taskbar -that’s the grey bar that goes across the bottom of your screen. One is for your email program and the other’s for the word processing program. To move to the other program, simply click on its button.
Now, go to the email program, highlight the article you want to copy and click Edit on the menu, then Copy. Click on the Word Processing program’s button on the taskbar, click Edit on the menu and then Paste.
Congratulations! You just copied an article from your mail program into your Word Processing program. Go back to the email and do the next article you want to print. Once you have all the articles in your word processing program, give the Print command in your word processing program: click File on the menu and then Print. You’ll get everything printed in one command.
***********************************************************************
Special Feature: More Error Messages: Illegal Operation and Blue Screen of Death
The following question is from a newsletter subscriber:
Can you tell me what an illegal operation is and what is the blue screen of death?
Answer:
An Illegal Operation and the Blue Screen of Death are both error messages.
Illegal Operation
When a program is running on your computer, it is constantly sending instructions to your processor. The processor has a limited number of instructions it understands. This is referred to as its Instruction Set. One instruction might tell it to add things together, another would tell it to subtract. When the processor gets an instruction it is not programmed to understand, or is not able to process, it complains to the operating system, which in turn gives you the Illegal Operation error message.
Illegal Operation problems are caused by errors on the part of a programmer. Today's programs are so complex that often it is difficult to find everything that could possibly go wrong. Testing finds many errors, but usually it does not find them all.
Blue Screen of Death
The blue screen of death will appear as a blue background with white text. It is generated by the Windows Operating System when the system encounters an error that is serious enough to lock the system up. You can usually only recover from this type of error by restarting the machine. Most Blue screens are caused by either hardware problems or driver problems.
***********************************************************************
Special Feature: More Error Messages: Hard Drive Failure
Every computer has a hard drive. This is where the computer keeps its data -the programs that you use and the files that you create. So what happens if your hard drive crashes? What is a hard drive crash?
Inside your hard drive is a tiny read/write head that floats just above the drive. Jolts, normal usage, and other events can eventually cause your hard drive's head to touch the drive, causing failure.
You can limit your damage by backing up your data frequently; save those important files to another storage medium such as a floppy disk or ROM disk if you have a readable/writable CD or DVD.
If your information is important to you, set up a backup schedule for yourself.
***********************************************************************
Today's Computer Term: Undo
Ooops! I clicked something that I shouldn’t have clicked!
Whatever you do your computer can Undo.
As soon as you realize you made a mistake, find Undo and click on it. By clicking on Undo, you will reverse your last action -whatever it was. If you erased a paragraph, Undo will restore it. If you moved part of a picture, Undo will put it back to where it originally was.
Almost every Windows program has an Undo feature.
You can usually find undo in several places; you have your choice. Some programs have an undo button on the toolbar (look for a counterclockwise arrow). If the program you’re using doesn’t have it on the toolbar, you’ll find it in the Edit menu. A shortcut to access Undo is to hold down the Ctrl button on the keyboard and press Z to Undo the most recent change.
***********************************************************************
Today's Topic: Getting Help In Dialog Boxes
Most Windows programs use dialog boxes (small windows that pop up in the middle of your screen) to present information and allow you to make changes to various settings.
Sometimes, however, the overabundance of options and choices in a dialog box can be somewhat confusing. If you need help on a particular option within a dialog box, then you can use one of the built-in Help features of Windows.
Next time you’re in a dialog box, take a look at it; in the upper-right corner you will see some control buttons. The most common control is the Close button, which is a little X. In many dialog boxes there may also be a button with a question mark on it, to the immediate left of the X button. If so, you can click on the question mark and then click on the option for which you want information. In many cases the computer will display a small information box that gives an explanation and a limited amount of help related to the specific option.
To learn more about getting help right from your computer, take a look at our website:
http://www.stsico.com/html/help.html
***********************************************************************
Question: Weird Characters in Emails
The following question is from a newsletter subscriber:
Why do I get weird characters and symbols in some emails?
Answer:
When the email goes through the sender’s server (they’re Internet/Email Service Provider’s computer), then gets mailed to your Internet/Email Service Provider’s computer, some characters are read differently by the two servers.
This tends to happen with some of the symbols that are used, or if the sender is formatting text into different colors, fonts, sizes, etc.
There’s not much you can do about it; hopefully, from the context of the email, you’ll be able to get the idea of what you’re reading. If it’s impossible to read emails from a particular sender, you may want to ask them to refrain from formatting their emails.
***********************************************************************
Progressive Learning Series: Word Processing - Selecting Text
If you need to select small amounts of text in a Word document, then use the mouse to select the text or the Shift + arrow keys. For really large text selections, click at the start of the text block that you want to select. Next release the mouse button and hold down the Shift key and click at the end of the text block you want to select.
Selecting An Entire Word Document
There are several ways to select an entire Word document. The most popular is probably the Ctrl + A. It's simple and effective. One selection method that many Word users don't know is that you can hold down the Ctrl key and then click in the left margin of the document. You can click anywhere as long as you click to the left of the text. The best way to do this is to hold down Ctrl and then move the mouse cursor over to the left until it turns into an arrow. When the cursor becomes an arrow, click.
***********************************************************************
Today's Featured Websites:
Learn Another Language Online
The Internet offers information on just about anything. If you want to learn a second language, there are a number of websites out there; for just about every major language. Most offer lessons; some even offer recorded pronunciations that you can download and listen to.
Italian.
http://www.cyberitalian.com/
Latin. http://www.wannalearn.com/Academic_Subjects/World_Languages/Latin/
French.
http://www.jump-gate.com/languages/french/
German
http://www.globalserve.net/~ihayes/lang/german/index.html
Pick a Cell Phone Plan
Everybody has cell phones now and they’re certainly handy to have; in the case of an emergency or just to keep in touch.
If you've having a problem picking a cellular provider or deciding between mobile phones, there are plenty of Web sites designed to help you shop and compare. Many will tell you about discount and rebate programs.
In most cases, all you need to do is enter your zip code for products, services, and features available in your area and compared side-by-side.
http://www.cnet.com/wireless/0-5939516.html?tag=dir
Association of BellTel Retirees
Thanks to newsletter subscriber Robert for recommending the following website:
The Association of BellTel Retirees Inc. is a 501(C)(3) Not for Profit Corporation, located in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 11724, who's mission is to protect and enhance retirement health and pension benefits for NYNEX, Bell Atlantic and Verizon retirees. The organization is run entirely by volunteer retirees and now has 90,000 members of the 167,000 retirees. We are trying to locate the remaining retirees and Verizon will not help us by providing a list. The Association publishes a 10-12 page Newsletter 4 times a year which contains significant information related to retirement, Verizon, healthcare and pension benefits, government programs and regulations, etc.
http://www.belltelretirees.org |
