Computer Info – September 27, 2000

This Week’s Program

        This week will be a question and answer session – along with looking at the subjects in this handout.
Adding Signatures in Outlook Express 5.0
        First you must create your signature or signatures. To do this, while in Outlook Express, open the TOOLS menu and choose OPTIONS. Next, click on the SIGNATURES tab. Click the NEW button on the right side of the window, and you will see SIGNATURE #1 DEFAULT SIGNATURE appear in the window. To rename this signature, click on the RENAME button and type a description of this signature (maybe "full name" or "nickname" or "first names"). Hit ENTER or click off of the name box to end the rename function.
        In the box below, type in the signature information.
        To create more than one signature, repeat this procedure.
        To make inserting the signature and the choice of which signature to use easier, place a button on the toolbar entitled INSERT SIGNATURE. This is done by opening the new message window and right-clicking on the toolbar. Choose CUSTOMIZE from the menu. This will show you the Available Buttons and the Buttons currently being used and give you the ability to add to the current ones or remove some from the current toolbar if you do not use them. Find the INSERT SIGNATURE button on the left – highlight it and click ADD. Click CLOSE and you should see the INSERT SIGNATURE button on your toolbar. Clicking on this button (when your cursor is in the text area of the message) will add your default signature on the message. To use one of your other signatures, click on the down arrow to the right of the button and you will see your choice of signatures.
Conditional Formatting in MS-Excel 2000
        If you quickly want to scan your spreadsheet to see if certain figures are above or below your preset levels, try this.
        To illustrate this, we will just enter a number into cell A1 and a number into cell B1 (maybe 1 and 3). Create a formula in cell C1 that adds together the number is cell A1 and B1 (the answer will be 4). While your cursor is in cell C1 (where the formula is) – choose CONDITIONAL FORMATTING from the FORMAT menu. For the first box, choose THE CELL VALUE IS – for the second box, choose GREATER THAN – for the third box, type in ‘4’. Click on the FORMAT button in the CONDITIONAL FORMATTING window. From here you can set the color of the text that will be displayed when this condition is true. Click on OK when you are through.
        Now test it out. Change the number in cell A1 from ‘1’ to ‘7’ – this will make the results in cell C1 be ‘10’ – and therefore our conditional formatting will take place – since ‘10’ is greater than ‘4’.
Microsoft Windows ME
        We have installed Windows ME on our computer at home. And we thought that we would share a few of the changes with you.
        DOS – does it exist? There is no more Restart in DOS mode – but the DOS Prompt is still there. It is still listed under PROGRAMS – but you will have to look in the ACCESSORIES folder to find it.
        WINDOWS EXPLORER – where is it? Windows Explorer is still being used, but it has been moved. Windows Explorer is also located in the ACCESSORIES folder.
        DIAL UP NETWORKING – no longer located under MY COMPUTER. You will now find it under MY COMPUTER – and then in the CONTROL PANEL.
        PRINTERS – no longer located under MY COMPUTER. You will now find it under MY COMPUTER – then in the CONTROL PANEL.

Privacy

Driver’s License Information
        If you visit this web site – the Department of Motor Vehicles (Florida) – you can obtain a form for Driver Privacy Protection. As of Sept. 13, 1997, Florida residents have the right to protect personal information in their driver license and motor vehicle records from disclosure. A number of exceptions were specified by law – those individuals/businesses will continue to have access to the data.
                 http://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/ddl/dppa.html
Warranty and Registration Cards
        One way to protect your privacy is – DON’T SEND IN WARRANTY/REGISTRATION CARDS – unless the company states the card is required for warranty protection. This information is used mainly to build a database on you.
Sick and Tired of Info Seekers (The News Journal – by Tony Briggs – September 25, 2000)
        At the very least, they want my name, e-mail address and ZIP code. Many times they want a lot more, from my marital status to my income level. And I’m tired of it. So from now on, anytime I am forced to provide personal information, be it as a condition for downloading software or simply getting access to a Web site, I’m going to lie like there’s no tomorrow. Every scrap of demographic information they get from me will be a fabrication.
        Why? For one thing. I don’t really trust the folks who are asking the questions. Regardless of what the Web site’s privacy policy might say, I think a lot of them will sell my e-mail address – and everything else for that matter – in a heartbeat for the right price. The end result is even more spam in my e-mail box.
        Let me pause to clarify. I’m not talking about online merchants. They need some information just so they can bill you and send you the product. That’s legitimate. So are sites that ask for your ZIP code to deliver local weather, news, TV listings or the like.
        The Web sites I object to are those like Adobe’s, which forces you to provide your name and e-mail address every time you download their free Acrobat reader.
        Some would argue providing personal information in exchange for some kind of service is a fair trade-off. I used to think so. But I’ve changed my mind, perhaps because so many Web sites have decided they want my personal information, whether they are providing a valuable service or not.
        I highly recommend that you sign up for a free e-mail account from Hotmail, Snap or Netscape. Then use that account any time a Web site forces you to provide your e-mail address. At the very least, it will ensure that any future spam generated by that form will go to a "junk" account rather than your real e-mail account.
TV Out
        Many computer ads now mentioned TV OUT – which is also called "PC2TV". This features allows the user to output the image normally viewed on a computer monitor to a television or a VCR. The TV Out is a jack on the back of your video (graphics) card.
DSL
Here are some advantages of DSL:
    You can leave your Internet connection open and still use the phone line for voice calls.
            The speed is much higher than a regular modem (1.5 Mps vs. 56 kps)
            DSL doesn’t necessarily require new wiring: it can use the phone line you already have.
            The company that offers DSL will usually provide the modem as part of the installation.
But there are disadvantages:
            A DSL connection works better when you are closer to the provider’s central office.
            The connection is faster for receiving data than it is for sending data over the Internet.
The service is not available everywhere.