Welcome to the August 2009 Edition of Cyber News, an ad free, spam free online magazine emanating from Stanley's Studio in Phoenix, Arizona. In Cyber News we'll try to pass along some useful tips and information about your computer, the Internet, computer products, digital photography, other related topics, and some stuff that's not related at all. Last month we added forty new cities to our readership bringing the total to almost 2,100. The leader continues to be California which is only one city short of 200! Illinois stands second with 150, and so on down the line to Delaware with only one. Cyber News is not for everyone. Only you can decide if CN is right for you. Before reading any further, ask yourself if you are healthy enough to read about computer technology, or maybe a political comment on my blog. In the event that you spend more than 4 hours on this page, seek immediate medical attention! Last month Firefox released version 3.5 of their popular browser. As mentioned before, I have used this browser for a long time and much prefer it over Microsoft's Internet Explorer for features, security, and performance. It's free, so if you would like to try it, it's a simple download and installation.
When you purchase a new computer, should you buy an extended warranty? That's a great question and one that has puzzled many. Most sales people will use scare tactics when you purchase anything from a vacuum sweeper to a new automobile and pressure you into an extended warranty. Personally my answer has most always been no with one possible exception. Most appliances will be warranted for a year and my theory is that if something is to go bad it will happen within that time. When it comes to computers, 90% of the problems that you will incur will be software related and that is seldom covered by extended warranties. Sales people make a commission when selling these policies and it is a huge profit maker for companies. The one exception that I mentioned would be a laptop computer. Replacing parts on a laptop are much more expensive than on a desktop. A desktop keyboard can be replaced for as little as $10, but the keyboard on a laptop might set you back a couple of hundred. There's always a chance of dropping a laptop and that's when that warranty would come in handy. Probably a worthwhile investment for that going off to college son or daughter. If you consider an extended warranty be sure to read and understand what you are paying for! Another reminder about virus alerts. If you get a pop up message that says your computer has a virus, make sure the message originates from protection programs that YOU have installed. If it's from anyone else it's a scam! Don't fall for these false pop-ups that try to scare you into taking action. Usually the alert message sounds very alarming and asks you to click on an icon on the task bar to remedy the problem. When you click there it will offer a free scan. When the scan is finished it will tell you that you have umpty ump problems and they will fix them for $49.95. Don't fall for this. Instead run the programs I have outlined in "System Maintenance." You may have a desktop folder that says "Unused Icons," and wonder how it got there. You double click it to open the folder and then say to yourself "Well, that's what happened to my missing shortcuts." Here's a way to stop that from happening. Right click on your desktop and choose Properties, then click on the Desktop tab. Click on the "Customize Desktop" button then take away the checkmark next to "Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days." Click OK. If you want those hidden icons out of that folder and back to your desktop just drag and drop and arrange them to suit your fancy. If you try to move desktop icons and they snap back into place, then right click choose "Arrange Icons by" and take the checkmark away from "Auto Arrange."
Most of us have a printer or printers attached to our computers. A good percentage of us have purchased printers on the retail cost factor alone, but should you be looking for other factors as well? Is your present printer stealing from you? More from PC World. Are you a Netflix subscriber? For a small monthly fee Netflix will send you unlimited movies in the mail. No late fees, and you can keep them as long as you wish. What a deal and we have done this since receiving it as a Christmas gift last year. This has been fun, but the fun just got funner! (I know there's no such word, but you get the idea.) I recently ordered a Roku digital video player, a small black box that connects to our big screen TV. Now get this! It connects to my wireless router and we can watch thousands of movies over the Internet for the same price that we are already paying. It was a very simple set-up and we were ready for the popcorn in no time. The performance and quality were outstanding and I'm more than pleased. I'm not being compensated in any way for this endorsement, I just believe in passing along anything that works great that you might enjoy. Want a pretty good home alarm system for free? Home security systems can be expensive but here's one that won't cost you a penny. Place your car keys next to your bed at night and if you hear someone in the house, simply press the panic button to sound your car horn. If your auto is in the garage or parked outside this would surely scare away any intruder! Keyboard Tip: Holding the CTRL key on your keyboard and tapping the Z key will undo the last or the last few things you did in almost any program. We are in the heart of summer. Hot temps, thunderstorms, floods, and tornadoes are the norm especially in the Midwestern states. How would you like to be the engineer on a train and have a tornado chasing you? See who wins! You may have seen this by now as it has made it's way around in emails. It's a commercial from a mineral water company, and is a testament of the graphics abilities of today's computers! Check it out.
Taking photos of wildlife is exciting. My wife and I have ridden our all terrain vehicle almost 6,000 miles in the wilderness of the Southwest. Often we will travel at only about 5 mph hoping to sneak up on some form of wildlife. We have seen Elk, deer, wild turkeys, coyotes, wolves, javelinas, diamondback rattle snakes, lizards, and giant tarantulas. Often times I scurry to grab my camera for a photo. One day, while riding among the tall pine trees of northern Arizona, we spotted a herd of Elk and zoomed in for this picture. One animal that I have never seen though is a white deer. In fact I didn't know there was such a thing until I saw this report from a TV station in Wisconsin. Very interesting. Check
out my photos that I've taken from around the world. You'll
find over
1,100 pictures in 38 different galleries. New pictures have
been added to the Odds n Ends, Misc. Outdoor Shots, Camping, Photo Effects, and People
galleries. We have had over 235,000 views on our Photo
Site. The majority of replies I received were very positive with a sprinkling of sour words from some people who don't want to hear the truth. I have posted a response, with a couple of retractions, and some of your comments on My Blog. Thanks to everyone who responded, no matter if you agreed with me or not! Maybe it's time to do a CTRL-ALT-DELETE, with our lives. If something stops performing on our computer we can do that to bring up a list of tasks, find the one that is not responding and clicking on "End Task." We all have something in our lives that we would like to stop. Perhaps it's smoking, being unfaithful, looking at porn on the Internet, or just not living up to our full potential. Run a virus check on your life and eliminate what it finds! The next step is to get involved with something outside of yourself. Volunteer one weekend at a soup kitchen for the homeless, clean out your closets and your garage and give stuff that you don't use to charity. You will never be a whole person until you give. End the bad and start the good!
If you would like to be added to our mailing list (absolutely not shared with anyone) just click here. You will be notified when each new edition is posted. Remember you can read previous editions of Cyber News by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page. You can also search previous editions of Cyber News by typing key words into the search box. Secrets of Safe Computing are outlined below. Please don't ignore them. Read each point and be sure to follow the advice as outlined in System Maintenance. Just a few minutes of work each month will go a long way in keeping your computer running smoothly. Thanks for being here. Stay Positive and try to spread good moral values to those around you. One person can make a difference! "Live life with passion, in a constant state of joy, and with an attitude of gratitude!"
Disclaimer: The information presented in Cyber News is researched and is believed to be accurate. We cannot guarantee that all the information will work on your particular combination of hardware, software and user skills. All information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind. Neither Stanley Computing nor its contributors are responsible for any loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from your choosing to use any information presented on this web site. |
Some of you probably took
advantage of Microsoft's offer, last month, to pre-order Windows 7
at less than half price. You'll receive it by mail on or about
October 22nd. That's also when you will be able to buy a new
computer with Windows 7 pre-installed. Pre-orders of Windows 7 far
outnumbered that of Vista's, but the heavy discount probably was a
contributing factor. I see positive results for Windows 7 compared
to all the negativity about Vista.
In all my seminars over
the years I usually talked about the proper way to clean your monitor
screen. A large percentage of computer users are now using LCD
flat screen monitors and they require even a little extra care, 
Photo
Tip of the Month: Photography is the art of using light.
Good lighting is the key for great portrait shots. That
doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune for lighting equipment.
Placing your subject in front of a window is a good way of using natural
light. More from 
July 22nd I posted a blurb on my blog entitled "Stand Up
America," which stirred up a hornet's nest to say the least. I
got more hits on the blog in 9 days than Cyber News got all month.
A few people suggested that I keep my blog and this publication separate.
Of course my first reaction was "It's my right to print what I
want," but after some consideration, I will agree with you.
My analogy was that if I subscribed to Outdoor Photography (which I do)
that I would expect to read about photography and not the political
opinions of the editor. But, I pay for that magazine, and Cyber
News readers get this each month for nothing, so please don't throw
nasty words at me if a statement is made that you disagree with.
If
you think a friend or family member would enjoy Cyber News, don't
hesitate to let them know about it. An easy way to do this is to
right click on the web address in the address window of your browser and
choose copy. Open your email program and a new email.
Address it, and in the body of the message right click and choose paste.
That creates a link and when your friend receives the email he or she
simply clicks on the link and it will take them directly to Cyber News. Of
course you can do that with any web page.
