Computer Info –
This Week’s Meeting
We will still be concentrating on basics --- this time basics of internet – browsers – email. But we will start off with a question and answer session since we haven’t had time to answer everyone’s questions lately. The next meeting will be November 19th.
Good Website from Patty
This site
displays a quilt made to remember all of the victims of the
As John Says
There are always 4 ways to do something – so when someone tells you how to do something, listen to them so that you learn a new way – then you chose the method that you like.
Clean Your
Desktop
Do your housekeeping – don’t have a messy desktop – put things in folders. Right-click on the desktop and choose NEW from the menu – then FOLDER. Give your folder a name. Now you can select one icon (click on a desktop icon) – then hold the CTRL key down while you select another icon – continue doing this until you have selected all of the icons that you would like to move into the folder that you just created. Now release the CTRL key and right-click on one of the selected icons – hold the right mouse button down and drag your mouse to the folder (you will see the folder turn blue also when you get over it) – then release the mouse button. You will now have a menu choice of MOVE HERE – COPY HERE – CREATE SHORTCUT HERE. Choose MOVE HERE so that your desktop can remain clutter free.
Longhorn
Ready for another version of Windows. Microsoft is already planning it for a release in 2005/2006 --- it is code named “Longhorn”. It is suppose to address the problem of viruses and worms and make it easier to locate your information on the larger and larger hard drives. It is expected to have better audio and graphics.
DirectX
What is DirectX? It is a set of powerful audio, video, input and networking APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that are installed and available under Windows. Programmers often design their software to employ these video and audio tools, such as advanced 3D graphic rendering and positional sound, along with control for input devices and networking platforms.
What version of DirectX are you using? You can check which version of DirectX is on your computer by running the Dxdiag utility. Click START, and then RUN. Type DXDIAG in the Open field and click OK. Dxdiag will start and provide you with a number of information tabs detailing every critical aspect of DirectX. On the System tab, the version of DirectX appears as the last entry under System Information.
New software usually includes the newest version of DirectX, so you can update it after installing the new software. You can also download the latest version from Microsoft – version 9.0b is the latest version. If you are still running Windows 95, you are limited to DirectX 8.0a.