This Weeks Program
This
week we will look at Microsoft Word 2000 and a few of the new and helpful
features that have been added.Also
we will talk about TABS.We hope
to also talk a few minutes about some of some of the other new features
of Windows ME.
Word 2000
Print
You
can print one (1) two (2) four (4) six (6) eight (8) - sixteen
(16) pages on one sheet of paper.This
is done from the PRINT menu under ZOOM PAGES PER SHEET.The
print does get rather small for reading but a person could check the
layout by using this feature.
Clipboard
Word
2000 has multiple clipboards (up to 12).The
clipboard still works the same as it use to that is, the last item that
you copied, is the item that you can paste (using the standard EDIT PASTE
command).
BUT,
Word 2000 allows you to paste ANY of the past 12 items that you have copied.When
you have copied your second item, the CLIPBOARD TOOLBAR will appear and
there will be an icon for each of the items you have copied.If
you place your mouse cursor on them, the contents will be displayed.Just
click on the one that you want to paste.
Spelling
If
you check your spelling, you will find that the portion of your document
that contains the misspelled word will appear along with the misspelled
word in red.The suggestions for
correcting the word will be given below.This
gives you a chance to read the statement that contains the misspelled word
so that you can make your own judgment whether you want to replace it
or not.
Opening
a document
When
you open an existing document, you can say whether to open it as a COPY
of the original or as a READ-ONLY document or in the same fashion that
you have always opened files.
Tabs
Tabs
are normally set as a default to be every one-half inch.So
everyone can start using tabs immediately without knowing how to change
them or move them.
You
can set additional tabs by clicking in the ruler area above your document.You
will notice a little L
appear wherever you do this to indicate that a tab exists at that point.All
of the existing tabs that were the default will be gone from the left or
between any tabs that you insert but the ones to the right of your inserted
tabs will still exist.If you do
not wish to keep that tab after you have inserted it, then click on it
and drag it down toward your document and it will disappear.
The
tabs that you have been inserting so far are all left justified tabs
but you can insert center justified tabs or right justified tabs.Notice
the small square box that appears in the right hand corner at the right
of the ruler that appears across the top and at the top of the ruler that
go down the left hand side.It normally
contains a little L
but everytime you click on it, it changes what type of tab setting that
you is be setting.You will want
to use right justified tabs if you are dealing with a column of numbers.
Microsoft Windows ME
Here
are some more observations about Windows ME that we thought we would share
with you.
PROGRAMS
When Windows ME is installed and
run for the first few times, you will find that the PROGRAMS listing will
appear in multiple columns (like
Windows 95 used) and not in the one column where you scroll up and down
to see all of the programs (like Windows 98 used).After
running Windows ME a few times, the PROGRAMS listing will appear in a single
column but the column will be a short column showing only the programs
that you have used recently.To
see the rest of the programs, you must click on the down arrow that is
now at the bottom of the column this will open it up and display all
of the programs.
FIND--The
FIND command on the START menu has been renamed to SEARCH.
TASKBAR--They
have added the ability to lock your taskbar so that it can not be moved
or resized this should help a few people.To
do this, you can right click on the taskbar and choose PROPERTIES or
you can go to the CONTROL PANEL and choose TASKBAR AND START MENU.Click
on the ADVANCED tab and look under START MENU AND TASKBAR scroll down
to the last item entitled ENABLE MOVING AND RESIZING.If
you do not want to move your taskbar or resize it, remove the check mark
here.
THUMBNAILS
When viewing the contents of a folder via MY COMPUTER, you now have the
choice of displaying THUMBNAILS (along with the choices you have always
had LARGE ICONS, SMALL ICONS, LIST, DETAILS).By
being able to display thumbnails, you can see what your pictures are.
Digital Signatures
Digital
signatures will soon be legal.Everything
from credit card applications to insurance to bank loans and brokerage
accounts, you will be able to conduct transactions in a paperless environment.
What
exactly are digital signatures?
No
one is sure.The law was written
in vague language that allows businesses to develop technology to suit
their needs.You could find yourself
dealing with a line of numeric code that is scrambled when transmitted
across the Internet and unscrambled with a key at the receiving end.Or
you may use a system that requires a scan of your iris or thumbprint.
Some
of the early adopters of this new technology are iLumin (http://www.ilumin.com/)
VeriSign (http://www.verisign.com/)
PureEdge (http://www.pureedge.com/).Not
all businesses in the financial sector will offer digital signatures immediately,
though companies such as Citibank and Charles Schwab plan to employ them
early next year.
Beyond MP3
A
German research facility called Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen
(Fraunhofer IIS-A) first created MP3,
and until recently the institute had never tried to charge vendors (and
users) a licensing fee. However, MP3 will not be free forever.
Last
year, Fraunhofer IIS-A began demanding royalties, and the cost will be
severe, to say the least. Fraunhofer IIS-A wants $5 per copy for encoders
like MusicMatch, and 1 percent of total revenues or 1 cent per copy for
all downloaded or streamed MP3s.They
have reported that they will not begin collecting revenue on some MP3 uses
until next year.
Ogg
Vorbis
is a new digital audio compression format that is similar to MP3, but costs
nothing. It is completely open source, is entirely free of patents, and
is supposed to have better audio quality and compression than MP3.Ogg
Vorbis is designed to completely replace all proprietary, patented audio
formats.
Currently,
Sonique, FreeAmp, Winamp and XMMS and support Ogg Vorbis playback through
plug-ins. Native support in both software and hardware players is expected
soon. For example, two free MP3encoders,
LAME and BladeEnc, have already announced that they will encode Ogg Vorbis
files in upcoming versions.
Basically,
Ogg Vorbis is a high-quality audio format. If you are a music aficionado,
this should stir interest in the new format. Likewise, the Ogg Vorbis file
size is smaller than MP3 and is becoming even smaller as its development
continues. This would translate into more songs per megabyte.Ogg
Vorbis features multiple channel support, which means that Ogg Vorbis files
can be encoded in surround sound as well as standard stereo.
This
information was found on ZDNet Music in an article entitled The demise
of MP3 has arrived written on August 16, 2000.You
can read it at this address -----