Computer Corner
Presided over by
Eric Thiel
Each day you enter this timeless land, you'll wonder what time it is.
Reconnecting
by Flint Mitchell
My journey to get back on the Internet started some time ago. After having most of my belongings stolen by people I thought were friends, I was in a funk. I even lost my home. I was off the internet for nearly two years.
I lived a short distance from a local library. I decided to take a bus up there and get on the internet. I went in the place, and proceeded to go willy nilly over the internet, like a kid in a candy store. In short order, I had gotten myself a Hotmail e mail account at http://www.hotmail.com.
I figured that I would use my hotmail account even after I had gotten on Netzero. That way, I could switch ISPs at a moment's notice, and not lose any of my e mail.
I wanted a presence on the web. Luckily enough, there's a dirt simple web hoster out there called Webspawner, at http://www/webspawner.com. Don't expect anything fancy: you can do HTML, but if you want to go with a free page, you won't be able to put photos on it. One big advantage to Webspawner is that once a web page is put up, it is NEVER taken down. When I got back on the web after nearly two years, my other web pages were gone, but the ones on Webspawner were patiently awaiting my return. ( On my library trip, I found that my ebay account was still active, at http://www.ebay.com My Paypal account was still active at http://www.paypal.com And my Paypal account had money in it, to boot!
Hmmm, I thought. I had some stuff at the home. Other people had the same stuff on ebay. I could download their photos, and put my own stuff up on ebay, using their photos.
So over the weeks, I did that. First up was a 19th century gold coin, which I sold for around $100.00. Then, various collectibles I had lying around.
I eventually had friends send me a laptop. I had been assembling a computer out of junk parts I bought at thrift stores, but unlike in the past, the junk parts I got were mostly-- junk.
Now, time to get an Internet Service Provider (ISP). I could download Netzero's software on the library computer, so I went with that. Go to http://www.netzero.net. Don't fall for all that "high speed" garbage that Netzero talks about. Here is how they make pages load faster: 1) They store the most popular pages on their own computers-- which means you might get an old page. 2) the software degrades photo quality so the pages load faster. At only $9.95 a month, Netzero is a palatable option-- though dialup is terribly slow (and the Netzero connection loves to disconnect several times during a session). If you've found yourself in the unenviable position of having a computer but no money for anything other than your internet connection, then you have to become creative. Your machine craves software. It needs it. It lusts after it. You need to keep shoveling software in to the beast to get it to do anything. So what do you do? You look for either free or cheap solutions.
First off, you have to decide what you need. For my own business, I needed a word processor, a desktop publishing program, and a way of making, filing and printing mailing labels. Since I sell on ebay, I wanted a program to submit my auction listings quickly. I also needed a simple photo editor to process the photos I took for ebay. I needed a digital camera, and a cheap one at that (ebay items that have pictures sell better). Since I do web pages as a hobby, I wanted an HTML editor. I usually code with a text editor, but for the fancy stuff, I need an HTML editor. I soon discovered the need for pop up blockers, as well as anti virus software.
Of course, when you see what is out there, you will want to get whatever catches your eye at the moment. Solution #1: Get it cheap. Stores like Dollar Tree, Deals and Save a Lot all have software for $1.00. This isn't the latest stuff, but it still works. Sure, the stuff may be written for Windows 95 up to Windows 98, but even if you are running Windows XP said software can be run on your machine, in Windows 98 compatibility mode. To install older software in XP, just click start, then programs, then accessories, then Windows compatibility wizard. Your program will be run in an older Windows mode. I have gotten some great software this way: Printmaster, Internet Security Suite, Cosmi Desktop Publisher, and so on. Cosmi and Swift are two low end software companies. You will find them very well represented in the dollar stores. While not the best software, you can get perfectly serviceable programs. What you'll find are the lesser programs: you won't find word processors with spell checkers, operating systems (with one exception), CD labelers, and so on. My Software Company and CompuWorks are two excellent software companies. If you see something by them and you can use it, buy it. Their programs are all dirt simple and very versatile. I found the Holy Grail of cheapskate software in one of those dollar stores: an operating system (OS). A boxed version of Mandrake Linux, with manual, for only $1.00. My own experiences with Linux are very limited. Frankly, I couldn't even get past the part of partitioning my hard drive for Linux. I'm sure it's a great operating system, but everything out there is so geared towards Windows that even if I had gotten it working, I would have been frustrated at the lack of software.
You will find a ton of obsolete software. If you're running Windows XP, don't even bother getting Norton Utilities 3.0. That program will work with all Windows up to Windows ME, but not beyond that.
You will see stuff that is completely unnecessary with Windows XP: fast finder utilities, Windows erase utilities, and so on.
In fact, I suspect that the reason you're seeing so much software out there now is because of Windows XP: people don't want to go through the effort of using the Windows compatibility wizard, so they just say to themselves "This won't work with XP," and they buy the newer software. I did find a good label program via the discount store route: My Labels.
Another good source of software is ebay. I suspect a lot of people are like me: they buy all sorts of programs, going through them until they find the programs they can really use. The rest go onto ebay.
One day I was looking through ebay, needing an old program I had used before: CompuWorks Publisher. Sure enough, someone was offering it for $3.50. I bid on it, and no one bid against me. I got a program I am very familiar with for well under $10.00, shipping included.
Thrift stores are another option. I got some incredible stuff at those. Years ago, I got a bunch of CD ROM programs for under $5.00. They were all beta test versions of Windows 2000, Office 2000, and so on. Great stuff!
It's a real feast or famine situation with thrift stores. You might buy a nice, heavy software box, complete with manual-- only to find that the program is missing. I have seen thrift stores just sell the empty boxes too. A bit of advice: if buying software from a thrift store, open the box first to see what you are getting.
Mostly, I have seen CD ROM programs in thrift stores packaged in jewel cases, with no documentation. Programs were usually things like photo editors, and simple desktop publishing programs. And oh, the huge number of AOL CDs for sale! The only thing nervier than people donating old AOL CDs are the thrift stores that try to sell them.
The best place for free software is the internet. In exchange for tying up your computer for a long time (especially if you have a dialup connection), you can get some nice software.
Usually I go to Dogpile at http://www.dogpile.com. I type in the software type I want, preceded with the word "free." You have to read carefully: sometimes that free software is a trial version. That can mean that the software will expire in a specific amount of time, or else it can mean that the free version is crippled so it doesn't have full functionality. Freeware is good. Shareware is good. Avoid trial versions-- unless the trial is for a good length of time, such as 6 months to a year. Some trial versions have little restrictions that you don't miss.
Word processor: Jarte is the clear winner. Picture Wordpad with a spell checker, and you have Jarte. This is a nice, simple program that takes up hardly any space in its downloaded version. File size (before extracting): 1.3 megabytes: small enough to fit on a 3 1/2" floppy! You can get Jarte at http://www.jarte.com.
HTML editor: I have worked with Front Page Express. Usually it comes with the Internet Explorer browser. Mine didn't have it, so I had to download the program from: http://sssd.k12.ar.us/departments/dts/training/fp.htm.
Digital camera: I needed a camera under $50.00. WELL under $50.00. I needed at least 640 x 480 resolution, and a flash (this is good enough for ebay). After looking around on ebay for weeks, I found one for $25.00, postage included. It was the Micro Innovations Travelcam Plus.
My search for photo editing software ended at that point too, because the camera came with Phtosuite III. While not as good as Microsoft's Picture It, it is nonetheless a serviceable program.
Desktop publishing: Shortly after I bid on CompuWorks Publisher, I looked up "free desktop publishing software" on Dogpile. I needn't have bothered with ebay. I found an excellent program, Ragtime Solo. This has all of the features you will need, and the price is certainly right. Go to: http://www.ragtime-online.com/link.cgi?distributors. The program is 35 megabytes, so expect to have your computer tied up for a good long time.
Pop up blocker: There I was, just back on the net after nearly two years. I went to hundreds of websites. The popup ads got so bad that I wasn't able to get anywhere. It got to the point that as soon as I got connected to the internet, the popups would come on. I decided to do something about it. Of all the popup blockers, I like Ad Aware the most. I have tried others, but this works better than any of them. You have to update it frequently, as the popups keep finding ways around it. Go here: http://www.tucows.com/preview/236049.html.
For anti virus software, I took the path of least resistance and took Microsoft's advice. I got EZ Armor anti virus, which also has a popup blocker and a firewall. Free 1 year trial, after that it's $49.95 a year. This is the only time limit program I have listed. Go to: http://www.my-etrust.com/microsoft/register_cart_ms.cfm?CVVX$@GFDSG$YTU=787547&. If you're running Windows XP, you should download all of the service packs they have (well, really, if you're running Windows 98 or above, you should download their updates.) Go to http://www.microsoft.com. Service pack #2 is especially good, as it has a popup blocker and a firewall. That's right: I now have TWO firewalls and THREE popup blockers running on my machine. The computer runs fine, and nuisances such as popups and cookies don't bother me much.
For online chat, I use Mirc. You can get it from http://www.mirc.com. It allegedly has a 30 day time limit, but it keeps working after that.
Tired of embarrassing spelling gaffes? Get an e mail spell checker:for Outlook Express: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=2952.
Free hit counter for your web page: http://www.digits.com.
Search engine submission software for your web page(s): http://www.webceo.com/download/.
This is a full version. The catch is that you have a 15 day membership in a web page analysis service. You can choose not to subscribe to the trial. I like this program. It helps you optimize such stuff as keywords, meta tags and so on. With a few mouse clicks, you can submit to an enormous number of search engines. But it does not include such search engines as Dogpile and Webcrawler:
http://www.webcrawler.com. Oh well. You can't have everything.
I like reading the groups on usenet. There you will find that places such as rec.arts.sf.fandom. The people there speak quite highly of John Thiel and Pablo Lennis. Most places that host news make you pay for the service. There is a great website that lists free news servers. Usually the tradeoff is that you can either get a server that has lots of groups, but you can't post, or very few groups, but you can post. Some servers have posting only, presumably so you can read the read only servers, and post on the post only ones. Go here for a list of free news servers: http://freenews.maxbaud.net
And that's about it, for now. Take it from the ultimate cheapskate: don't pay for anything if you can avoid it.
(1) Interestingly, there is a web archive service that stores old web pages. Go to: http://www.archive.org. I suspect this had a "bug," which was unfortunately fixed. At one time, you could go to a search engine such as Dogpile on this site, and literally look up the web pages on the date you picked. Unfortunately, that no longer works: go to Dogpile from, say, 1997, type in a subject you want to look up, and you'll be whisked to the 2004 Dogpile. Oddly enough, if you click internal links on non search engine web pages in the web archive, you will be sent to other web pages from that time.
The Signed Confession of a Newbie
By
Joanne Tolson
Of course, it's up where no investigator can get to it.
Yes, I am a newbie, can't you tell, I used to get freaked out with the least little thing popping up in the computer that I did not know how to fix. Now I am used to it, since I have learned a few tricks. I must confess I do not know the ins and outs of words documents I would like to know or need to know because it would help if I did. But I have found my way around it.
At first I was afraid of word documents.
Now I have 400 poems in my computer, that's including ones I have got in there twice by mistake, and some new ones as well. I am trying to do as many as I can in one word document, which kind of puts me in a tizzy when sometimes all I want is to make several copies of one poem when I might need a few extra. I am trying to utilize the space on words document to my advantage.
I have got so many old copies of the old style typewritten and in need of replacement as they had to be revised, they were so badly written. Eventually I will replace them. I am reluctant and faint-hearted about doing it just yet. I have got to get those things in place, you know. I will go through and reorganize my files with copies of my poems (master copies in blue), after I do my cleansing of stacks of old copies, as I am confident with my computer skills and knowledge of how not to lose one's documents. I will combine and keep a few manila file folders on hand just in case something goes wrong with the computer or I lose my documents in a computer mishap such as me not knowing how to transfer them properly (word documents) to my poetry folder.
Anyway, about the computer, I am not as dependant as I once was with having to go down to the copy shop. Is that a terrible thing? I am learning new ways. In another year or so I will probably do almost all of my writing on my computer, instead of typing on a typewriter, except on a keyboard. I have to press the button; at a click of my mouse it is printed and done, save it. I'm done. I still feel like I owe my allegiance to the copy shop because that is how I have trained myself to make copies when I need copies. Now nobody needs to know about what I do. I have occasionally left my master copy on the copy machine, so now my original is in my computer and I can change it if I need to once I learn how.
Before I went to a copy shop, I would type the copies I needed; then I thought, “There must be an easier way.” I was getting tired of typing. Mind you, I love to type.
Then along came Mail Boxes, etc. So I would go and make copies, all the copies I needed. But before that I had bought a Xerox. That was in 1994. I used it until I ran out of toner. Then along came Staples. I bought toner and I was back in business.
I miss my copier, which I have not been able to use since I copied an article out of a news paper. It started hemorrhaging toner. Copy mats are not cheap. I need a copy mat for it. I think that would solve the problem. I am not sure if it would clean up the bleeding ink. Well, you know, new technology itself, eventually the new technology that replaced the old will eventually be replaced. I feel in a way like the Druids that were driven out by the Romans and even the Christian religion. I am being forced, in a way, into the modern era. I am finally face to face with the new era technology, bringing things up to code.
Well, you always get the bad with the good when it comes to something new. Change has always been inevitable and I needed to change, but to me that was not a foreseeable thing in my future or would not have been possible, if my brother had not had to buy a
Computer instead of getting books from the library, as he found out; you can look up any subject on the Internet.
I thought typing was not only the traditional way to go, but also the only way to go with writing. It was the noble ideal, being long-suffering and hard at work at your typewriter. I had not any idea what you could do with a computer. It was unimaginable. I was a stick-to-your-guns, die-hard typist who could still use a lesson or two about computers.
My world is still unfurling on the computer. I predict that there will be a loud thump when I get to the end of the universe.
The computer is like my brain. I only use 10% of what I have in it.