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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, December 14, 2003
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Shut Down, Leave on or Hibernate?
Tips & Tricks: America Online – Check the Status of a Sent Email
Featured Webpage: Celebrate the Holiday Season
Tips and Tricks: Windows XP: Create your own Screen Saver
Tips and Tricks: Locking the Taskbar
Featured Computer Term: Landscape
This Week's Topic: Disable Call Waiting
Questions: Power Save Settings
Websites of Interest: Chanukkah; Boston Tea Party; Earth View from NASA; Just for Fun – Mr. Picasso Head; For the Kids – Online Christmas Games
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Special Feature: Shut Down, Leave on or Hibernate?
Question: Please help me with this, I’m so confused. Some people I speak to tell me that I should always leave my computer on. Others tell me to turn it off at the end of the day. And still others tell me to put it into hibernation. Which is correct?
Answer:
Always shut down the computer at the end of the day; there are several reasons why this is better.
Some computers do not easily come out of hibernation (also called Stand By on some systems) and the only way to get the computer back up and working is to use the power button to turn the computer off and then back on again. Turning the computer off that way is not good for it.
Second, the computer does not reboot when left on and does not completely reboot when going in and out of hibernation. When you turn off the computer the correct way, it completely reboots and clears out the memory and loads Windows and all programs fresh. This keeps the memory in good condition and helps your computer run better.
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Please tell your neighbors, friends and family about our classes and our
email newsletter.
If you would like us to send this newsletter to a friend, please send your
name and their email address to info@computerkindergarten.com with the words
Subscribe to Newsletter in the subject line of the email.
If you think a friend or family member would like to attend our classes,
we'll send them a printed list of upcoming classes. Send a stamped,
self-addressed envelope to: STSI - Class Schedule, 50 Lee Avenue, Babylon NY 11702.
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Tips & Tricks: America Online – Check the Status of a Sent Email
If you are an AOL Member and you send an email to another AOL member, you can check to see if and when the recipient read your e-mail.
To do so, open up your Mailbox and click on the Sent Mail tab. Click on the e-mail that you would like to check (don't double click! That will open the email for you to read). Click on the Status button on the bottom of your mailbox. A window will appear telling you if the email was read, and, if it was, the date and time it was read.
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Featured Webpage: Celebrate the Holiday Season
T’is the Season. We've compiled a long and interesting list of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa websites for you. For traditions and history, recipes, entertainment for children, e-cards and more, visit our holiday website:
http://stsico.com/html/christmaskwanzaa.html
If you know of a holiday website that we should add to this list, please send the address to info@computerkindergarten.com
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Tips and Tricks: Windows XP: Create your own Screen Saver
If you have pictures on your computer from a camera or scanner or that were sent to you, save them in the My Pictures folder.
Right click on your desktop; from the resulting menu, left click on Properties.
Click on the Screen Saver tab. To display the screen saver list, click the small down arrow. From the list, click on My Pictures Slideshow. Change any other settings you want. Click OK.
After the set period of inactivity, your screen saver will show the pictures that you saved in your My Pictures folder.
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If you are reading this newsletter because someone forwarded it to you, there are directions for subscribing at the end of this newsletter. Or you can go to our website at http://stsico.com/html/newsletter.html where you can subscribe and view our newsletter archives.
http://stsico.com/html/newsletter.html
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Tips and Tricks: Locking the Taskbar
You can lock the taskbar so it cannot be accidentally moved or resized.
In Windows ME:
Right click on the Taskbar.
Select Properties from the resulting menu.
Click on the Advanced tab.
In the bottom window, scroll to the bottom.
In the Taskbar section, uncheck Enable moving and resizing.
In Windows XP:
Right click on the Taskbar.
In the resulting menu, left click on Lock the Taskbar.
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Featured Computer Term: Landscape
In word processing and desktop publishing, the terms portrait and landscape refer to whether the document is oriented vertically or horizontally. A page with landscape orientation is wider than it is tall.
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: Disable Call Waiting
Question: I have just gotten call waiting on my telephone. This is the same phone line I use to connect to the Internet; now whenever I am on line and I get another call, I get disconnected from the Internet. Can I do anything about this?
Answer:
Yes, you can. You can disable the call waiting option on your computer when using the modem. You have to set it up to dial a special code before making the phone call to connect to the Internet. Most phone companies use *70 to do this; you will need to check with your phone company to find out what your code is.
To disable Call Waiting, you will have to access your sign on settings. This varies from program to program, depending on what you use to access the Internet. This is done where you originally setup the phone numbers for the computer to dial. Have your Internet dialup begin with #70 then the phone number, for example #70555-1234. Depending on your program, you may need to put a comma between the 70 and the phone number.
Note: You will not need to do this if you use DSL or cable to connect to the Internet.
America Online
Sign off America Online.
On the Sign On screen, click Setup.
Click Expert Setup.
Select the access number on which you wish to have call waiting disabled.
Click Edit.
Make sure a check mark is in the box titled: Dial *70, to disable call
waiting.
Click OK.
Click Close.
Other Providers
Double click on the My Computer icon on your desktop. If you are using Windows XP, Click on Start, Control Panel, and Network Connections. Right click on your Internet connection and click on properties. In the properties window, find the phone number and put a *70, in front of it.
Note: if you have dialing rules turned on, remove the check mark and put the entire phone number in the box with a *70, in front of the whole thing. For example, if you had to dial 1-500-555-1234 to access your ISP, you would put *70,15005551234 in the phone number box. Make sure you include the comma after the *70 this adds a pause which is needed for the *70 to work.
Now when someone calls while you are online, they will get a busy signal, and you will not get disconnected from the internet.
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Do you have friends who aren't as computer literate as you but would like to
be? Tell them to attend our Computer Kindergarten for Grownups class at the
library. To send them our schedule, send a stamp, self-addressed envelope to:
STSI, Class Schedule, 50 Lee Avenue, Babylon NY 11702.
Or, visit our website and print our schedule:
http://stsico.com/html/classes.html
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Question: Power Save Settings
I have a problem that I hope you can help me with it. My monitor goes off sometimes when my computer is on for too long. The only way I can get the picture back is to use the on button to turn the computer off and back on again. I know this is not good for the computer. Do I need a new monitor?
Answer:
You probably do not need a new monitor.
It sounds like your computer is going into a power saving mode after a certain period of inactivity. Some computers have a hard time coming back up from this power saving mode. Other computers will come back, but it can be annoying to have to wake your computer up each time you want to use it.
You can change the power saving settings. To do so, right click on a blank spot on your desktop; from the resulting menu, left click on Properties.
Click on the Screen Saver tab and then on the button near the bottom of the page that says Settings.
Change all the power saving options to Never and click OK.
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If you are enjoying this newsletter and find the information useful, please
feel free to forward it to your friends and family members. If you would like
us to subscribe a friend, please send your name and their email address to
info@computerkindergarten.com with the words Subscribe to Newsletter in the
subject line of the email.
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Websites of Interest:
Chanukkah
The festival of lights, begins on Saturday, the 20th. Learn more about this holiday, the story, the traditions and much more, at this website:
http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday7.htm
Boston Tea Party
Two hundred and thirty years ago this Tuesday, December 16, an important event in American history took place – the Boston Tea Party. Read an eyewitness account by one of the participants and learn more about the events leading up to this day.
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/teaparty.htm
Earth View from NASA
View satellite pictures of the Earth. With the control panel provided on this website, you can zoom in on any area of the globe for some amazing shots.
http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/uncgi/Earth
Just for Fun – Mr. Picasso Head
Remember Mr. Potato Head? Here’s a website where you can create your own figure. Its lots of fun!
http://www.mrpicassohead.com/create.html
For the Kids – Online Christmas Games
Create a snowman, decorate a Christmas tree and much more.
http://www.canadapost.ca/personal/dec/santa/fun/games/default-e.asp
If you have a favorite website that you think might be of interest to members
of this newsletter, email the address and a short description to
info@computerkindergarten.com and we'll spotlight it in an upcoming newsletter.
Does your business, club, organization or group have a website that you think
would be interesting or useful to members of this newsletter? If so, email
the address and a short description to info@computerkindergarten.com and we'll
spotlight it in an upcoming newsletter.
Do you know of any holidays or observations coming up that you'd like us to
spotlight in this newsletter? If so, let us know; we'll research them and list
some websites here. Send an email to info@computerkindergarten.com.
Questions? Send an email to info@computerkindergarten.com.
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