Computer Info – March 7, 2001

This Week’s Program

        Steve West will be demonstrating TurboTax.

TurboTax

        The first thing you do after installing TurboTax is to delete the unwanted icons that are placed on your desktop. Watch for this – I believe that TurboTax places four icons on the desktop and the only one that you want is the TurboTax icon. Many programs are doing this today – giving you icons for such things as – Signup for 500 hours of AOL – E-trade, etc. – these are all sales pitches.
        TurboTax allows you to prepare your Federal income tax using two methods (actually filling out the needed forms or the EasyStep way which will guide you through the process by asking you questions) or use a combination of the methods.
        Like all tax programs, one of the first things you must do is to update the program to be sure that the laws, rules and regulations are current. The program will not allow you to finalize your return UNTIL you have updated it. Just press the button for UPDATE TURBOTAX and follow the instructions – you do have to have an internet connection to do this.
        If you have used TurboTax in the previous years, you can bring that information into TurboTax 2000 – this helps keep names, social security numbers, dependents, savings account, mortgage company, etc. standardized – and also helps you remember the items that you claimed last year. Dollar values are not transferred into these fields, just the account names and all of your personal information.
        It will also allow you to retrieve information from your Quicken program.
        The amount of taxes that you owe or the refund that you will be getting, is always displayed in the upper right corner of the screen as you work on your taxes.
        There is also a WHAT IF worksheet – that will allow you to make a few changes in the information that you are entering – to see if you will get a bigger refund or not.

More Medical Web Sites

Food and Drug Adminstration
        Find information about medical devices (such as pacemakers) – new drugs that have been approved - medical procedures (such as Lasik Eye Surgery).
                                http://www.fda.gov
Medicare/Medicaid
        Information on disease coverage, eligibility, enrollment and compare health plan options.
                                http://www.hcfa.gov
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
        Information on high blood pressure, cholesterol, obesity, asthma, blood diseases, and transfusions.
                                http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov
Mayo Clinic Health Oasis
        Access to Mayo Clinic’s doctors and specialists, consumer health education, and links to patient associations.
                                http://www.mayohealth.org
Rxlist
        Information about prescription drugs.
                                http://www.rxlist.com
 
 

Windows XP

        What!!!! Another version of Windows and I haven’t even mastered this one!
        The next generation of Windows is being called Windows XP – it was code-named Whistler. Microsoft released Windows ME (the Millennium edition) as the replacement for Windows 98. Windows XP is suppose to combine the best of Windows 2000 and Windows 98/ME. It should include
                                Improvements in the ability to access your information any time, anywhere.
                                Improved help and support (which is needed).
                                Easy digital photo and video tools.
        Windows 2000 and Windows NT are a much more stable operating system than Windows 95/98/Me – although they do require significantly more memory and CPU power. Windows 2000 systems never crash or lock up.
        The planned shipping date of Windows XP is suppose to be towards the end of the summer (2001).
        You can get a sneak preview of Windows XP at Microsoft’s site
                                http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/guide/newlook.asp

Block Sender in Outlook Express

        It is easy to block messages from someone in Outlook Express. If you receive a message from someone that you do not wish to receive any more messages from --- while you are reading the message from them – click on MESSAGE from the top menu – and then choose BLOCK SENDER. This will add them to a list that Outlook Express compares when you receive any new messages.
        To view who is on the Blocked Sender list, choose TOOLS from the top menu – then MESSAGE RULES – then BLOCKED SENDER LIST. Here you can modify or remove anyone that you have added to the list.