Todays Tips

The NUM LOCK key status is disabled by default in Windows XP on

If you're an Internet Explorer 8 fan, you'll probably like this tip.

It concerns a little-known feature called "Web Slices".

Web slices in Internet Explorer 8 let you keep track of

content from sites through the Internet Explorer 8 Favorites Bar.

For example, MSN.com offers Web slices for weather

and other content that you can add to your Favorites Bar,

and you will get update notifications whenever they occur. Other sites like eBay is another offer Web Slices too. eBay offers to track an auction and notify you when bid changes occur.When you visit a page that offers Web Slices, you'll see a green icon appear in Internet Explorer's Favorites Bar. To subscribe to the slice, click the icon. Internet Explorer opens a dialog asking if you want to add the Web slice to your Favorites Bar. Click "Add to Favorites" to add the slice. Whenever the Web Slice is updated, Internet Explorer will highlight the slice in your Favorites Bar.

Here's a simple tip that will help you quickly identify spam emails quickly. Many spammers use sophisticated software to extract your name from your email address. For example, if your email address is catherine.smith62@whateva.com , the software picks up your name as Catherine. So when you open your email, you may be shocked to see: Dear Catherine,

We have a great deal for you today. You can lose up to 3 pounds a day on our new rutabagas diet! Eat all you want up to 30,000 calories a day and still lose weight.

See? Putting your name in your email address isn't a really good idea. What if, for example, your email address was iamthewalrus@whateva.com . The email above would begin "Dear Iamthewalrus" and you'd know at a glance that it didn't come from anyone you know. What friends would call you Iamthewalrus?

So, the next time you need to create an email address, avoid the temptation to try to get something as close to your real name as you can - and go for something completely different than your real name. You'll be able to identify the scammers and spammers more quickly if your real name doesn't appear

Welcome to TinyURL!™

Are you sick of posting URLs in emails only to have it break when sent causing the recipient to have to cut and paste it back together? Then you've come to the right place. By entering in a URL in the text field below, we will create a tiny URL that will not break in email postings and never expires.

Top of Form

Enter a long URL to make tiny: Custom alias (optional): http://tinyurl.com/ May contain letters, numbers, and dashes.

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An example

Turn this URL:

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?t
ype=3&campid=5336224516&toolid=10001&customid=tiny-
hp&ext=unicycle&satitle=unicycle

into this tinyURL:

http://tinyurl.com/unicycles

Which one would you rather cut and paste into your browser? That's the power of TinyURL!

Add TinyURL to your browser's toolbar

Click and drag the following link to your links toolbar.

TinyURL!

Once this is on your toolbar, you'll be able to make a TinyURL at the click of a button. By clicking on the toolbar button, a TinyURL will be created for the page you are currently at.

This is compatible with most web browsers and platforms as long as your bookmarks or favorites allow javascript. The links toolbar may not be visible in all setups and in most browsers, you can enable it in the View->Toolbars menu of your web browser. You can also put it in your bookmarks instead of the links toolbar.

Can't drag and drop? For some users, such as some recent IE 6 installations, the clicking and dragging of links that contain javascript is no longer supported. To add this to your IE links toolbar, click the link with your right mouse button and select "Add to Favorites..." from the menu. Click OK if a security warning alert pops-up (this shows up since the link contains javscript). If a list of folders is not shown, click the "Create in >>>" button (see image at right). Now select the folder called "Links" and then click OK. You should now see the TinyURL on your links toolbar, if not, see the last paragraph above.

Redirection to any page in your site!

With TinyURL, you can also make a smaller URL that will work for any page on your site. Let's say that you have a website with the homepage that is at:

http://www.my-internet-isp.com/~myusername

Entering that URL into TinyURL will create a URL like

http://tinyurl.com/3

With this you can then redirect someone to anywhere within your site by appending a slash and the pages filename to it. So if you have a page at http://www.my-internet-isp.com/~myusername/my-links-page.html, you can use the URL http://tinyurl.com/3/my-links-page.html and going to this URL will forward the visitor to the page in your website.

Most of you know that you can use Tiny URL ( http://www.tinyurl.com

) to shorten long URLs. But did you know that there are many more? Here are a few you can try:

http://is.gd/

http://snurl.com/

http://twurl.nl/

http://nn.nf/

http://www.m3mi.com/

http://cli.gs/

Of course there are more too If you think you need more, you can search for them yourself! The ones we've listed should be enough. Some include optional features that allow you to see how many times your link has been clicked, which is useful for blogs, community sites, and Twitter. At the time we tested the URL shortening links above, WOT rated them all as "good" or "excellent". So the next time you have a long URL that you want to paste into an email, consider being brief, like us! Shorten those long URLs using one of the free URL shorteners listed above. In short, why paste this: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nf/20090325/tc_nf/65553

when you could paste this - http://bit.ly/8JvAz

GOOG-411

Google is pithy, take a look, here's their description of GOOG-411:

You don't need a computer, an Internet connection, or even the keypad on your phone or mobile device. GOOG-411 is voice-activated, so you can access it from any phone (mobile or land line), in any location, at any time. For free. (*)

Dial (1-800) GOOG-411. Say where. Say what you're looking for. GOOG-411 will connect you with the business you choose.

If you are calling from a mobile device, GOOG-411 can even send you a text message with more details and a map. Simply say 'Text message' or "Map it.'..."

So now you're all dialing your phones and trying GOOG-411. if you want to visit our site of the week on the Web - be our guest. Visit GOOG-411 on the Web right here

Firefox Toolbar Customizing
Just click View>Toolbars>Customize.
drag and drop the features you want into Firefox's toolbar in any order you like to customize. You can add spaces, separators and adjustable spaces, too, so you can lay it out any way you like!

Windows Help and UPS Systems

Windows Help

Windows and windows compatible programs have a tremendous amount of help built into the software you just have to know where to look. Windows has a lot of places that provide help. There are basically two kinds of help. The first is when you are working in a program and you need to do something that you are not familiar with and need assistance with. The other is the type of help is when you need real beginners information on how to learn and use the basic program features.

Getting help while working in a program has basically three methods for obtaining help and information instantly. The first is a universal key in windows and windows programs is just press F1. In almost any situation this will generally bring up a help screen that you can find your answer, and is generally specific to what you are working on at that time. The second most important way to get help is to use the help menu on the program in which you are working. While not every window program has a menu at the top of its window, the majority of windows programs do have this listing. Clicking on help will generally bring up a list of various options. A very common option is an item which is labeled index. Clicking on this will bring up a bunch of choices for you to select alphabetically or by topic. You can click the help area you are looking for, or generally type in the subject in the field which is presented, to have the program show you what is offered. A third and largely overlooked method is to right click on the item in question. The protocol of right clicking to obtain information and other features is becoming more and more widespread in windows and windows programs.

Some other methods of obtaining help is to use Google. Just open Google on your browser and type in the question that you have and the chances are you will have as much help as you want. Another good way is go to Utube and type in a statement and add tutorial to it for example: how do you do mail merge in word tutorial, this example will get you 26 videos. Utube has a tutorial on just about anything you can think of.

Instructions to safely download from the net

Step 1

Keep all virus scan software active when downloading. Virus scanning software remains in active memory and will automatically scan any files being downloaded. This is especially important for documents, such as MS Word, opened directly in the program as they are downloaded.

Step 2

Invest in good spam blocker and anti-phishing programs. These save you from many malware infested websites. The programs block embedded programs from ever getting onto your computer. (Use Malwarebyte or Defender)

Step 3

Increase the security protection built into your web browser, such as FireFox or Internet Explorer. These programs stop many threats associated with downloading files before they ever reach your computer. Nasty tricks may be hidden within webpages and the web browser's security programs can block many of these.

Step 4

Allow automatic updates for Windows and virus scanning programs. These programs are often updated to deal with new threats long before news of them reaches the general public.

Step 5

Use the most recent version of downloading software. The programs often have pop up windows which inform you of new updates to the programs. Many of these updates are designed to prevent unauthorized access to your computer. Download them as soon as you can.

UPS SYSTEMS

Basically there are two types of ups systems. Both of which can be purchased locally.

The first type is the 350 to 1000 watt that you see advertised for $39.99 to $99.99 and on display in stores such as Best Buy and Office Depot. Generally these systems are too small for today’s computers. The main reason you buy a ups is to protect your work and your computer. Most people have $400-700 in their computer and the programs and how much is your work worth, let alone your personal stuff that is worth a lot to you, all of which is at risk if a power surge fries your computer.

The other type is a AVR ups. AVR means automatic voltage regulator, which gives you a nice clean flow of electricity. Most people are not aware of this but your household currant can vary a lot. The most common pairs are 110/220 and 120/240.
Due to line drops, the actual voltage into your home will vary with the distance from the transformer on the pole. It may be several volts above 120 if close, and as low as 107 if some distance away.
Just to cross your eyes further, the actual standard is supposed to be 117/234 VAC. So as you can see, your voltage can vary a lot, which is not good for electronics. AVR ups keep your voltage a constant 110v no manner what the actual line voltage is. These systems sell for $80-300 depending on how big a one you are looking at.

Which brings the obvious question, how big do I need? A simple way to figure what you need is to add up the wattage that you are using and divide by .9. so for example you normally have 6 outlets on the unit 3 for surge protection only and 3 for power backup. In the power backup you should have your computer your screen and maybe your cable modem in the back up and the rest in the surge side like printers, scanners, speakers ect. NEVER a laser printer and never plug a vacuum into one these items draw too much power. So back to the question, the spec plates on your equipment tell you what it is using typically a computer is using 500 watts or more a monitor about 150 and lets say your modem is using 150 so your total usage is 800 divided by .9 gives you 888.88 add a little for a safety factor and you should have at least a 1000va.

Some new and old Tips

t

http://depts.washington.edu/learncpr/index.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/world-war-2/

Subfolder Spawning Shortcut

Want an easy way to create subfolders? When you are in a folder hold down the Alt key and carefully type F, W, F and a new folder appears. Want more than one? Just keep the Alt key down and type F, W, F over and over again until all your new folders are created. You can then go back and name the folders whatever you want. For more on naming files, click here.

How do I rename a file?
A:
There are at least three ways to rename a file...

1. You could click the file name once to highlight, click a second time to make it available to change, then type in the new file name.
2. Right click the file and choose "Rename". This will highlight the file name allowing you to type in a new one.
3. Hold down the Alt key and double click the file to open the Properties box. Type the new name in the name box.

Is there a way to hide my taskbar?

A:
Right-click any blank area on your taskbar (your taskbar is what your Start button sits on) and select "Properties" from the menu that pops up. Select "Autohide" or "Auto-hide taskbar" from the resulting screen.

Now, your taskbar will disappear when you move your mouse away from it and re-appear when you bring your mouse back. If you want to reverse this, just repeat the same steps and uncheck the auto-hide option.

Is there a way to hide my taskbar?

A:
Right-click any blank area on your taskbar (your taskbar is what your Start button sits on) and select "Properties" from the menu that pops up. Select "Autohide" or "Auto-hide taskbar" from the resulting screen.

Now, your taskbar will disappear when you move your mouse away from it and re-appear when you bring your mouse back. If you want to reverse this, just repeat the same steps and uncheck the auto-hide option.