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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, November 2, 2003
Tuesday, November 4, is Election Day. Get out and vote!
In this Issue:
Email Hoax Reminder/Warning
Special Feature: Put a Picture on Your Desktop
Tips & Tricks: Straighten Up Your Desktop
This Week's Topic: Create Your Own Icons
Questions: Using BCC
Websites of Interest: Alzheimer’s Awareness Month; Phone Dog
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Email Hoax Reminder/Warning
Microsoft never ever sends emails with attachments. If you have received an email saying the following: this is the latest version of security update, the September 2003, Cumulative Patch update which fixes all known security vulnerabilities affecting...
Don’t believe it !!! it isn’t true and don’t download it !!!!
When you get email warning you of viruses, security updates, or anything else, do a little research first before you take any of the steps that the email suggests. There are plenty of websites where you can check out hoaxes and potential hoaxes (one such website is listed below). Look into it first; it’ll save you a headache in the long run.
http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/
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Special Feature: Put a Picture on Your Desktop
Question: My daughter sent me a picture of my grandchildren. I would like to put this picture on my desktop like I’ve seen other people do on their computers. Would you tell me how to do this? Thank you very much.
Answer:
This is a pretty simple thing to do and nicely dresses up your desktop for you. For step by step graphical instructions on how to do this, please visit our website at this link:
http://stsico.com/html/wallpaper.html
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Tips & Tricks: Straighten Up Your Desktop
Question: the icons on my desktop are all over the place which makes it hard to find what I’m looking for, and also looks very sloppy. Can I easily line them up without having to drag each and every one?
Answer:
Yes, there is.
You can choose Align to Grid. Each icon will then line up in a straight line, both horizontally and vertically. You can still move them to any location on your desktop, but they’ll remain in the grid format. To do so, right click on the desktop, point to Arrange icons by, left click on Align to Grid.
Or, choose Auto Arrange. All icons will align in a straight line, both horizontally and vertically and stay on the left side of the desktop. To do so, right click on the desktop, point to Arrange icons by, left click on Auto arrange.
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Today's Topic: Create Your Own Icons
Icons are the small pictures on your desktop that identify a program or file; that you double click on to open a program or file.
You can easily createyour own icons using the Paint program. Here's how:
Open Paint: Click Start, Programs, Accessories, and Paint.
In the Paint program, click Image on the menu bar, then Attributes.
Make the Height and Width 32 pixels, and click OK.
Click View, Zoom, and Custom. Choose 800% and click OK. (this magnifies the image, making it easier for you to create your drawing.
Click View, Zoom, and then Show Grid. This will display horizontal and vertical lines for you to help you create your icon. These lines will not display on the final graphic.
Create your new icon.
Save it as a ico file. To do so, type the filename you want, then .ico (note – the period followed by ico. Ex cat.ico)
Close the Paint program when you are done.
Using Your New Icon
Right click on the Program icon you want to change. Left click on Properties from the resulting menu. Click the Change Icon button. (Windows versions will differ; click on the tabs at the top of the dialog box to find the Change Icon button)
Click the Browse button. Maneuver to the My Documents folder or to the My Pictures folder (if you saved your new icon in a different folder, go to that folder)
Click on your icon to select it; click the open button. Click the OK button.
Note: depending on your Windows version, you may have to turn the computer off and on again to see the icon change.
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Question: Using BCC
I’ve recently switched to Optimum Online and now use Outlook Express for my email. I’m the treasurer for a club and frequently send out email with addresses in the bcc line. My old email had bcc; Outlook does not. Is there anything I can do?
Answer:
BCC, an acronym for blind carbon copy, is a copy of an email sent to a recipient without the recipient's address appearing in the message where other recipients can view it. This is considered the correct way of sending email to multiple recipients when it is likely that the recipients do not know each other and may prefer that their email addresses are not viewable to others.
With Outlook Express, you have two choices for using BCC:
You can display the BCC line in Outlook Express. Click on View on the menu bar of your message, and then click on All Headers. You’ll then have a BCC line that you can use.
Your other choice would be to type all the email addresses in the CC line, and surround them with parenthesis, ex (john@aol.com, mary@msn.com, sue@optonline.net)
In email programs that do not have a BCC line, input email address in the CC line and surround them with parenthesis.
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Websites of Interest:
November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. Learn more at the Alzheimer’s Association website.
http://www.alz.org/
Phone Dog
If you’re thinking about finally getting a cell phone, or maybe you aren’t happy with the plan you have, take a look at phonedog, a website that reviews the many plans offered by cellular phone service providers so that you can find the cheapest and best service for your needs.
http://www.phonedog.com/ |
