Welcome
to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, July 26, 2009
In this Issue:
Special Feature: New Scam
Warning: Discount Medical Cards
Tips & Tricks: Changing Folder
Names
Featured Computer Term: LightScribe
This Week's Topic: Using CD-ROMs
and DVD-ROMs
Question: Moving the Taskbar; Locking
the Taskbar
Websites of Interest: BookSeer; This Day in History; Golf on Long Island; Fifteen
Ways to Save Money Online: 14. Read Free
eBooks
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Special Feature: New Scam
Warning: Discount Medical Cards
The
following article is from scambusters.org
http://scambusters.org/
With
the soaring cost of healthcare, every opportunity to save money may help, so it's no surprise that many people turn to medical discount
cards as a way of cutting their bills.
And it's a great idea -- providing you save more
than you pay out for the card.
Discount
medical cards work by offering users significant
savings on medical, dental, optical or pharmacy bills.
Legitimate
firms that offer these cards first negotiate savings with providers, then sell
the cards, usually for a monthly fee, to the general public.
Providers
make their money through the increased level of business the cards drive to
their pharmacies and clinics. The card providers profit from the sale of the
cards. And the users save by cutting their costs.
So it should be a win-win-win situation. But
not always.
Sadly,
in some cases, the cards are just a scam -- as a
couple dozen Montanans recently discovered when they found the cards they paid
good money for were utterly worthless.
The
company they bought them from did not have contracts for discounts with the
healthcare providers they claimed to be working with.
In
other cases, sellers -- usually operating via telemarketing -- deliberately
mislead customers into thinking they are buying cheap health insurance, when
they are not. Discount medical cards are distinctly different.
This
is dangerous because, in some cases, victims, believing they have found a good
cut-price deal, give up their existing health insurance.
Later,
when they discover the con, it is either more expensive or even impossible to
regain their previous coverage. Plus, they may be
lumbered with medical bills they'd thought were covered.
If
you're offered or are considering buying a discount
medical card, here are the steps you should take to ensure you know what you're
buying:
*
Be skeptical of any firm that promises the same kind of healthcare coverage you
can buy elsewhere but at a massively reduced cost.
*
Seek written information on what is covered and what is not, and specifically
on whether medical treatment is covered and, if so, what types of treatment are
included or excluded. In other words, get it in writing!
*
Ensure the service providers are named and that they
are the ones you want or can use.
* Do your homework on whether the scale of any
savings you will make -- on meds for instance -- will be offset by the fee you
pay for the card.
*
Check out the card provider online. If it is a scam,
someone else will likely have reported it.
*
Are there conditions in the fine print that will let the provider off the hook
if things turn sour? Or are there additional fees you
have to pay to get a particular product or service?
It
is worth noting that a number of American states offer their own discount cards
-- totally free. To see if yours does or to check out
the credentials of someone you are thinking of working with, contact your state
insurance department. Find them here.
http://www.naic.org/state_web_map.htm
Both
of the potential scams we have outlined in this
Snippets issue call for common sense and healthy skepticism about claims made
for products or services. You owe it to yourself -- and your good health.
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Tips & Tricks: Changing Folder
Names
Question: Can I change the name of a folder?
Answer:
Yes,
you can. Find the folder and Right
click on it. A menu will open; left
click on Rename. Type in the new
name and press the Enter key. The
name will be changed and the new name will now appear.
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Featured Computer Term: LightScribe
Question: I am shopping for a new computer. Many have a feature called LightScribe. What
is LightScribe?
Answer:
LightScribe is a technology that uses specially coated
CDs or DVDs to produce labels that are laser etched right into the disk instead
of stick on labels. Special discs and a disc writer are required.
The
user can create a label with any text and design on it. After recording data to the write side of the disc, the user turns the disk over and
puts it back into the drive with the label side down. The drive’s laser then etches the
label right into the disk.
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: Using CD-ROMs
and DVD-ROMs
Over
the past few weeks, we have gotten many questions on copying files from the
computer to a CD and vice versa.
The following articles, taken from our newsletter archives, address some
of these questions.
Putting
Files on a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Disk
Computers that have CD or DVD writers generally come with
writing software. Since writing programs vary from
manufacturer to manufacturer, the following steps will be very general, but, hopefully, will help you get started.
The
first step is finding your CD or DVD writing program. Open the Start menu and look under
Programs. Look for CD or DVD
writing, burning or something similar.
Open the program.
If
you get choice for writing manually or using a wizard, pick the wizard. If not, proceed to the next step.
You
will have to choose what type of CD or DVD you want to create, music/audio or
data. If you want to put files on
the CD or DVD, choose Data.
The
next step would be selecting the files you want to put on the CD or DVD. Most
programs will show the Windows file structure, with the folders and files in
one pane, where they can be selected and then added to the
Write list. You may see an
Add button, or be able to drag and drop the file into the pane to create your
Write list.
Once
you have added all the files you want, look for the option to write to the CD
or DVD.
Some
writing programs will give you the option to test the disk. You may want to test the disks the first
few times you use the writer. If
they always test ok, in the future you can skip this step.
While
the CD or DVD is being written to, do not work with
your computer, especially opening or closing programs. The writing process can
be interrupted, causing what is called a buffer underrun
error, and it could make your disk unusable.
The
Writing program will usually let you know when the process is complete. You can then close the program and
remove the disk from the drive.
~~
Copy
to a CD or DVD with Windows XP CD or DVD Copier
Question: How do I put my files onto a CD or DVD? I use Microsoft Word and Windows XP.
Answer:
If
you are using Windows XP, you do not need to buy expensive CD or DVD -recording
software. If your computer has a CD-RW or DVD-RW
drive, Windows XP comes with built in CD burning software that will do the job
for you.
When
you insert a blank disk in your ROM drive, Windows XP will ask you if you want
to open a writable CD folder. Click OK.
This
folder is where you will temporarily store files that you want to put on a CD.
You can copy files to this folder by dragging and dropping them or open Windows
Explorer, copy the file and paste into the temp
folder.
When
you have all the files you want to put on the CD, you are ready to write to the
disk. Click on Write these files to CD, which you will see on the left side of
the CD folder window. All the files
that you put into the temporary folder will be copied
to the CD.
Note: files can be copied to a CD-R disk only
one time while a CD-RW disk can be used over and over. If you are using a CD-R disk, make sure
that you put all the files you want to copy into the temporary folder. Once you have put these files on the
CD-R, you will not be able to add any more.
~~
Copy
Files from a CD or DVD to Your Computer
Question: How can I copy the contents of a CD to
my hard drive?
Answer:
First,
make a place on the hard drive to store files from the CD. For now, make a folder on the
desktop. That will be easy to find
later. And,
in the future, if you want to move it to the My Documents folder, all you have
to do is drag it in.
To
make a folder, right click on a blank spot on your desktop. In the menu that
you now see, point to New and then click Folder. A folder will appear on the desktop with
the name New Folder highlighted in blue. Type a name for your folder, and it
will replace the highlighted name.
Now
you have a folder on the hard drive for the CD files. Double click on it to
open it.
Put
the CD in the drive and close it. A
window should open automatically, listing all the files on the CD. If it does not open, double click on the
My Computer icon, and then double click on the CD drive.
There
are now two windows open on your desktop; one has the contents of the CD, and
the other is the empty folder on the hard drive.
Arrange
the windows so they are side by side, each taking up approximately half of the
screen. To do this, right click on
a blank spot on the taskbar (the bar across the bottom of the screen). From the resulting menu, click Tile
Windows Vertically. The two windows
will now line up next to each other.
In
the window with the CD files, click Edit on the menu, and then click Select
All. All the files will be highlighted.
Point to any of the highlighted files, hold down the left mouse button,
and drag into the other window (the empty folder on the hard drive). Give the files a few moments to copy.
The
files from the CD will now be in the folder on the desktop. You can remove the CD from the drive.
To
open any of the files you copied from the CD, double click on the folder icon,
and then double click on the file you want to open. The file will open in the
appropriate program.
~~
Windows
Vista - Putting Files on a CD
Question: My computer has Windows Vista on
it. How do I copy files to a CD?
Answer:
It’s much easier in Vista than it ever was
before, in any previous Windows version.
Put
the CD in the drive. The AutoPlay
window will open; click on Burn files to disc using Windows. In the next window that displays, you
can name your CD if you like. Click
in the box next to Disc Title, erase whatever text is in there, and type the
name of your CD. Click the Next
button when you’re done.
A
window will display with a list of drives and folders in the pane on the left
and a large blank area on the right.
Find the files you want to put on the CD and drag them into that blank
area. When you are done,
right click on the CD/DVD drive in the left pane (if you can’t
see it, double click on Computer).
A menu will open; left click on Eject. Windows will close the session and open
the drive. Remove the disk and you’re done.
~~
CD
and DVD Burners
Question: I would like to put some important files
on a CD just in case something happens to my computer. How do I know if my CD drive can save
files?
The
following is from worldstart.com
Open
up your CD/DVD ROM drive and look on the front of the tray. There should be
some sort of logo written on the very front of the tray telling you if it's a burner or not. If it just says
something like "CD Drive," there probably isn't a burner there. If it
says CD/DVD R-RW, you do have a burner. That's the
easiest way to tell.
The
other thing you can do is look in the Device Manager. To get there,
right click on the My Computer icon on your desktop. Choose Properties and then
click on the Hardware tab. Once you're there, click on
the Device Manager button and you will be taken to a list of all the hardware
you have on your system. Double click on DVD/CD ROM Drive to expand it. If an
extension comes up that says something like CD-RW or DVD-RW, you have a burner.
If anything comes up at all, you more than likely already have a burner in your
computer.
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Question: Moving the Taskbar;
Locking the Taskbar
Somehow my Start toolbar, the one that normally runs
across the bottom of the screen, is now on the right of my screen. Can I get it
back where it was before?
Answer:
Yes,
you can. The taskbar can be easy to
move, if you click on something on it, and then forget to release the mouse
button. Doing
that will drag it elsewhere on the screen.
Point
the mouse on a blank spot in the middle of the taskbar and hold down the left
mouse button. Keep the mouse button
pressed and drag the bar in down to the middle of the bottom of your screen. You may not see the bar down at the
bottom, but you should see a horizontal line. When that line is across the bottom of
the screen, release the mouse button and the taskbar should appear down at the
bottom.
~~~
Locking
the Taskbar
If
you find that you inadvertently move the taskbar from time to time, here is a
tip to prevent that from ever happening again.
Right
click on a blank spot on the taskbar.
From the resulting menu, left click on Lock the Taskbar. Now, the taskbar will always stay at the
bottom of the screen.
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Websites of Interest:
BookSeer
If
are not sure what book to read next, try this website. Type in what you have
just read and it will recommend a list of books to read.
http://bookseer.com/
This
Day in History
What
happened on the day you were born?
http://dmarie.com/timecap/
Golf
on Long Island
If
you like to golf and live on Long Island, visit this website for information on
all the Nassau and Suffolk courses.
http://www.golfonlongisland.com/
Fifteen Ways to Save Money Online:
14. Read Free eBooks
From
Wendy Boswell of about.com
No
matter what your financial situation may be, it is always a good idea to learn
new ways to save money. Find out how you can utilize the power of the Web to
save money, find good deals, and improve your financial status.
14. Read Free eBooks
There
are a ton of sites that offer free eBooks on the Web.
Here are a few sites where you can find free downloadable eBooks.
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://worldlibrary.net/
http://www.readprint.com/
http://www.bartleby.com/
Tip: Some websites may require you to
register to use their features.
When you register at websites, you may be signing up for spam (junk
mail) if the recipient sells email addresses to spammers. There is a way to avoid this and still
be able to take advantage of the great things that site has to offer. Read our article, Minimizing Spam
– Registering Online, at our newsletter archives, to learn how use
websites without getting junk mail.
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/111608.html
Next
Edition: Free Spyware Remover
Please
visit our newsletter archives for previous articles in our Fifteen Ways to Save
Money Online series:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/savemoney.html