Saturday, November 28, 2009

What’s the difference between a QWERTY & DVORAK keyboard

It’s all a matter of personal choice

QWERTY keyboard (designed/patented in 1896 by typewriter inventor C.Sholes) is the most common keyboard used today for computers as well as cell phones & other handheld devices. The name QWERTY comes from the first 6 keys on the top left row of keys – On the first typewriters, keys were placed in alphabetical order, but that caused lots of jams on the moving parts of old typewriters; so Sholes rearranged the frequently used keys to spread them out and reduced jams significantly. This design and his patent became known as QWERTY and the US standard 101 keyboard still used today.

DVORAK keyboard became an alternative in 1982. It’s usually referred to as the Simplified Keyboard. Users say it’s easier to type letters because the right hand does more typing of common letters (and most people are right handed) so these keys are on the home row, the least common letters are on the harder to reach bottom row are done by the left hand. Downside: Dvorak keyboards are expensive, but computers today come with free Dvorak software installed and all you need to do is to switch in Control Panel to Dvorak keyboard if you want to try ti….

We know how to use the QWERTY keyboard so why switch - I wouldn't.. But thought is why should the next generation have to use obsolete typing methods because once up on a time there was a typewriter with moving arms in it?

The QWERTY keyboard layout (since 1873):


The Dvorak keyboard layout (since 1932).

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

On behalf of Bob Donovan, Jean McCarty, Jack Bowes and myself, we want to extend our best wishes to you and your families for a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday...

We all have so much to be thankful for, so count your blessings and enjoy your day..

Looking for some "trivia" to discuss during Thanksgiving dinner - here are a few interesting "Thanksgiving" websites....

www.wilstar.com/holidays/thankstr.htm

www.thanksgivingnovember.com/thanksgiving-facts.html

www.brownielocks.com/thanksgivingtrivia.html

Monday, November 23, 2009

WHAT IS WI-FI??

WI-FI is a wireless network which uses radio waves, just like our cell phones, televisions and radios do. In fact, communication across a wireless network is a lot like two-way radio communication.

WI-FI networks can either be "OPEN OR UNSECURED", so that anyone can use them (most public libraries, book stores, BurgerKing, McDonalds and other such sites offer free services) OR "CLOSED OR SECURE", in which case a password is needed. An area blanketed in wireless access is often called a wireless hotspot. There are efforts underway to turn entire cities, such as San Francisco, Portland, and Philadelphia, into big wireless hotspots. Many of these plans will offer free, ad-supported service or ad-free service for a small fee. San Francisco recently chose Google to supply it with a wireless network...
To go wireless inside your home you need to have a high-speed connection, Cable or DSL, and of course as we said, you can use wireless internet access at various locations: McDonalds; Burger King; most public libraries throughout the US, most hotels, truck stops and almost all airports offer WiFi..

A Wi-Fi-FreeSpot is a location that offers Free Wi-Fi high speed wireless internet access to their customers and guests and/or the general public. For locations check out:

www.wififreespot.com

Saturday, November 21, 2009

USING PUBLIC COMPUTERS - Traveling during the holidays?

You can check your email from any computer in the world, hotel, motel, cruise ship, highway stops, airports, Internet café, libraries, copy and/or coffee shops and of course at homes of friends or family.. But because you are not at home, be more careful when you use a computer that isn't yours, especially when you are typing or working with private information like credit cards, banking, medical and other sensitive information you may not want anyone else to see... A FEW SAFETY TIPS....

DON'T SAVE YOUR LOGIN INFORMATION - Always logout of Web sites by pressing logout on the site (Many programs-especially instant messenger programs and free email, such as hotmail, gmail & others include automatic login features that will save your username and password – so be sure not to check this off to have the computer remember your user name & password, so no one accidentally (or on purpose) logs in as you.

DON'T LEAVE THE COMPUTER UNATTENDED WITH SENSITIVE INFORMATION ON THE SCREEN - If you have to leave the public computer for any amount of time, logout of all programs and close all windows that may include sensitive information.

ERASE YOUR TRACKS - When you're done using a public computer you should delete all the temporary files and your Internet history: Here Is How To Delete Your Temporary Internet Files And Your History:
1. In Internet Explorer, go to Menu Bar, Left Click Tools for Menu List, Then Left Click Internet Options.
2. On the General tab, under Temporary Internet files Left click Delete Files and then click Delete Cookies.
3. Under History, left click Clear History.

WATCH FOR OVER-THE-SHOULDER SNOOPS-Because there's so much news about how hackers digitally sneak into our personal files, we sometimes forget about the old fashioned version of snooping. When you use a public computer, watch for anyone looking over your shoulder or watching as you enter sensitive passwords. If you really want to be safe, avoid typing your credit card numbers, bank account information, or any other financial or otherwise sensitive information into any public computer.

Enjoy your holidays and be safe...

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

What is software & what are the 4 types??

WHAT IS SOFTWARE? It is simply electronic instructions that tell your computer what to do - the 4 types are:

OPERATING SYSTEM: IS THE COMPUTER ENGINE and sets the rules on how computer hardware & application software work together - such as Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows Vista and as of Oct. 22, 2009 - the new Windows 7

APPLICATION SOFTWARE: helps you write letters, analyze number, draw pictures and even play games (Word, Excel, Internet Explorer, Publisher, Power Point and games, such as Solitaire, FreeCell, Golf, Barney, Barbie, etc).

BROWSER SOFTWARE: allows you to “surf the web” - and the most popular are Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Netscape Navigator for PC's and Safari for Apple Macs..

DRIVERS: allow “installed” equipment to interface and work with your computer, such as your printer, camera, keyboard, mouse, portable hard drive, and flash drives

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Thinking about buying a digital camera for yourself or someone else?

First, think about how will you use the camera.. Is it to take photos you can e-mail to friends and family, post on the Internet or maybe to replace a camera that uses “film”? and do you want a digital camera that is easy for anyone in the family to use and/or small enough to take anywhere?

Personally, I recommend setting a budget and sticking to it!! You can buy a good camera today for $75-$150. Try to buy the least expensive camera that suits your needs because this technology is changing much too rapidly to invest a lot of money, unless you are buying it for WORK...

For those of us over 40, there may be some basic things to look for...

• the larger the LED display panel in the back the better
• you may want to be sure it has a view finder (many don't) and those of us who are older are used to using one
• most digital cameras offer digital stabilization, but be sure it does - great feature
• at this point, it should have a minimum of 7 mega pixels (7MP or higher)
• zoom - the higher the better and I'm talking about OPTICAL zoom
(don't pay attention to the digital zoom, that's hype-and not relevant)...
• many of us who travel, want the flexibility of using standard batteries, such as AA, in a pinch
versus having to recharge built in or non-standard batteries if ours run low

So, figure out how much you want to spend before you reach the store and if you have plenty of time before you need to buy the camera, do some price comparisons – always ask if they are selling any discontinued models.. remember the technology is changing so rapidly that yesterdays newest” model is today “special”…

Ask about the extra features… such as in-camera red-eye removal, automatic exposure fix, optical or mechanical image stabilization, face detection, 720p HD movie capture

Good luck and happy shopping..

Friday, November 6, 2009

POWER POINT SLIDE SHOW TIPS

Many of us receive power point slide shows attached to our emails today.
If you don’t have full Power Point Application Software then you need Power Point Viewer to view these slide shows – a free software on most new computers. If your computer doesn’t have the Power Point Viewer, you can download it FREE from Microsoft – here is the link

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=048DC840-14E1-467D-8DCA-19D2A8FD7485&displaylang=en

Power Point Viewer allows you to view the slide show, save it for future viewings and to be able to email it to someone – but you can’t edit or modify the slide show in anyway or create your own.
If you want to create a Power Point Presentation or change power point presentations you've received and saved, then you must have Power Point Application Software (which quite often is part of the Office bundle)

What do the extensions mean when you receive a power point attachment or see them in a file (such as fantasticslide.show.ppt or fantaticslideshow.pps??)

• PPT is the default file extension for saving presentations in PowerPoint 2003 and earlier versions.
• PPTX is the default file extension for saving presentations in PowerPoint 2007 and later versions.
• PPS is the the show mode extension in PowerPoint 2003 and earlier -- these files run in "play-presentation" mode when double-clicked.
• PPSX does the same thing in PowerPoint 2007 and later -- it runs in "play-presentation" mode when double-clicked.

If friends, family or co-workers send you a Power Point Slide Show and you can't open it - look at the extension - if it reads .pptx or .ppsx at the end - they created it in Power Point 2007 - ask them to re-save it on their computer as a 97-2003 power point, so that older versions of the software can read it and resend it to you...

Remember all computers at Southern Artery classroom have a wonderful file on them (PP Slide Shows or PP Presentations) with many great power point slide shows - so open them up and watch them.. or you can add them to an email when you are in the classroom - when your email is open - send yourself an email and simply add the power point slide show you like as a file attachment...

Sunday, November 1, 2009

NEW SERIES BEGINS THIS WEEK

Greetings everyone and we hope you are all ready to begin another new series this week..

Can you believe it's November 1st already?? We have some wonderful new things planned for you this series - we encourage you to practice either at home or in the computer labs when there are no classes... The more we practice - the easier this all becomes - and the better we get at what we're doing... And we encourage you to ask questions - it's how we all learn from each other...

Bob will be taking great care of you and I'll see you all for some classes in December... so in the meantime - enjoy YOUR class blog - let us know what else you'd like to see included in this blog and always feel free to share it with others...

Enjoy the great weather you are having and I'll see you all soon. Cherie H.