Simply Seniors Computer Tutor

Social Networking a Waste of Time or Genius Government Surveillance System?

2011-09-27T10:57:00.001-04:00

Do you use facebook? Have you ever really thought about all the information about you that is now out there for everyone to see… It does sound scary but when you think back hasn’t this same information almost always been out there for all to see, just not so neatly packaged. Not too long ago I needed some information so I used google to search for my friends name. Not only did I find the girl’s name, I found her house, the address and photo than went all around her house. I could then enter in my own address and find the exact driving directions to her address. Now if this is one of those things that makes you go “ahh” is this too much information? Just step back and think, we have had telephone books for years which contained this very same information. It would have taken me a little longer because i might have had to use a paper map to figure out those directions and I would not have seen the house until i was driving by it – but all in all it was still there for me to see.

I ran across this video floating around on FB today. I think you’ll enjoy this and by all means pay attention to who the broadcast company is before you get all up in arms about this video.

Now please do not take this video for anything but what it is, entertainment, just like facebook is entertainment.

So what does this tell you? Remember that everything you post, EVERYTHING is visible to everyone else so do not ever think that you are having a private conversation on Facebook or any other social network. As a matter of a fact new computers, start with a disclaimer that explains that your email transmissions could been seen by others. There is a little check box that we all hit to make that message stop appearing after the first time we see it. Then many users act as if they are shocked that their information can be seen by others. remember what we used to call this thing just a few years ago it was called the World Wide Web, a web of interconnected computers. It is still exactly that a web of computers that are all connected to each other. There are safety precautions that many of us take to keep our information from being seen by others but remember nothing is fool proof.

I tell my clients that if someone really wants their information, there are many places beyond our control. Just please be careful and smart about sharing your personal information.

If we can be of assistance to you please feel free to contact Simply Seniors Computer Tutors 321-431-3866

So what do you think of all of all of this social networking? Contact us on facebook and tell us all about it!

October class schedule

2011-09-26T09:45:00.001-04:00

Welcome to October! Ok well I am a couple of days early. I love this time of year, when the leaves change the kids go back to school the air becomes cooler in a couple weeks and you really start to feel fall (I live in FL so it’s at least mid October before we get to pull out our hoodies and turn down the air conditioners).

Simply Seniors Computer Tutors has a great fall line up and NEW Computer classes. We are even offering ipad and Andriod classes! That’s right as the prices start to come down seniors are looking for earlier to use equipment and the ipad might be the right tool for you. Never seen one before? Want to come see what all the hype is about? Come to class this Friday 9/30/2011 and we’ll be demonstration a hands on ipad class. If you already own one bring it and we’ll learn something new together!

Remember these classes are just $10 but for that to remain that way we need a higher class count. So please do tell your friends and bring them with you. All Simply Seniors Computer Tutors classes are held at Friday at 10am, the Wickham park Senior center, Melbourne, FL.

Do you have questions? Need in-home computer services, training or repair? Just call the ONLY computer business just for Senior Citizens, “Simply Seniors Computer Tutors” 321-431-3866 we are located here in Central Florida and looking to help you with your unique computer needs!

321-431-3866 visit our web site www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

Back to School with Computer Tutor!

2011-08-09T13:52:00.001-04:00

Join Stacey Kile of Simply Seniors Computer Tutor for Computer Tutor’s great Computer Classes being offered Friday mornings 10:00am at the Wickham Park Senior Center, Melbourne Florida.\

These classes explore a variety of computer topics and they are geared toward the newer computer users. Past classes have included “How to back-up your PC” “Windows 7 Tips & Tricks” and “Digital Photos and your Computer” .

The Aug – Sept 2011 class schedule is posted below. Please share this with your friends. If you know someone who could use computer help – don’t be shy – contact “Computer Tutor” we specialize in In-Home Computer Services for seniors and home bound individuals. Our tutors have 10 years hands on experience teaching seniors age 60+ we have the experience and patient knowledge to lead you down the information super highway!

Simply Seniors Computer Tutors 321-431-3866 serving Central Florida and Beyond!

Let’s Be Friends

June 2011 class schedule & letter to clients

2011-05-24T15:44:00.001-04:00

This is Stacey, your Computer Tutor form Simply Seniors Computer Tutor writing with the June class schedule. These classes are offered at the Wickham Park Senior Center and each Friday is a different topic. These classes are slightly advanced (if you can read this email you’re advanced J) . During June we will have a “pick the tech’s brain” session where you are welcome to bring your computer questions and have them answered live. We will not be able to work on your computer, but we will be glad to give you the steps to solve your own problems. New on the class schedule is “Computers Inside Outside” we will dissect a computer and explorer the inner workings. You’ll learn correct terminology and go away with a better understanding of how things work (so you won’t be taken advantage of at a Big Box store or by an unethical technician). Also new on the calendar and inspired by televisions new reality series “Extreme Couponing” is “Internet Couponing”, you are going to learn the tips and tricks of the professionals and may walk away from this class and never shop the same way again. Learn how to save big money using coupons and Facebook marketing.

I hope to see you there! We price the classes very low at $10, most include a printed text and we attempt cover a variety of interesting topics to fill almost everyone’s need. If you have a class suggestion, for example, someone has been requesting a class about e-readers, we sure would love to hear from you.

We will be taking a little break during the month of July and not offering classes. These very popular classes will start new and fresh late August 2011. We hope you have a wonderful summer where ever you may end up this season and will be looking forward to working with you again soon!

Additionally, starting June 1^st is Simply Seniors Computer Tutors FLORIDIAN CELEBRATION!!! We will be offering our in home services for just $79 hr! This is the time to get those computer files organized; have someone else back up your computer’s data to a safe location; learn that computer task you’ve been putting off; put in that new wireless router – have all of your computer & technical needs taken care of for a great discounted rate!

Thank everyone for your support throughout the years I could not do this without you! I want to thank my many clients who have been so thoughtful and helpful in passing around these class schedules and I appreciate your assistance!

If I can be of further assistance please contact me at 321-431-3866

Learning Facebook

2011-05-18T17:15:00.001-04:00

At Simply Seniors Computer Tutor, we are being asked everyday “How do I Facebook?'” We often give a brief overview and demonstrate how we use our own Facebook account. Because of your overwhelming response we have decided to create a new facebook class. This class will be offered June 2011 for the first time. It will repeat throughout the Brevard county area as needed. While preparing for this class I have examined and studied many “Facebook How-to” web links. I will share the best of the best information below as today’s Blog topic.

The following was written by Susan Nq and was first posted at http://hubpages.com/hub/facebookforbeginners.

Are you thinking of joining Facebook? Or are you new to Facebook and are now staring at Facebook's homepage thinking: What the hell to I do now? Then this article is just what you need to learn the basics of Facebook. You'll be connecting with your friends in no time.

The first thing you'll probably want to do is upload a profile picture. You can do that easily by clicking on the link that appears when you hover your mouse over the space for your profile pic. Once you've done that, you are ready to tackle Facebook.

THE MENU BAR

The menu bar is located at the top of every page. It contains four items on the left side: Home, Profile, Friends, and Inbox. Let's run through each of these briefly.

By default, Facebook takes you to your Home page when you log in so that's probably where you are right now. It's where you will find your friends' activities, that is if you have friends already. Your Profile page is where you will find all your stuff on Facebook. It's also where you will find your "wall", which is a Facebook term that you're going to be hearing a lot of from now on. Your Friends page is, of course, where you will find a list of your friends and where you can search for other people who you would like to be your friend. Your Inbox, well, I don't think I need to tell you that it contains mail that you receive or send to friends.

Now that you know that you can navigate between these pages using the menu bar, let's discuss each page in detail.

Your Home Page

Your home page has five major components: News Feed, Filters, Requests, Suggestions, and Highlights. (See figure below.)

Facebook Home Page Layout

News Feed. Here you will see all your friends' activities on Facebook. Wall posts, uploaded photos or videos, posted links, etc. If you want to know what your friends have been up to, this is the place to go.
Filters. You can create filters so you can manage how you see your friends activity on your homepage. You can do that once you already have many Facebook friends.
Requests. Any request or invitation that you receive, such as friend requests and application invitations, will appear here. (More on Facebook applications later.) Clicking on an invitation gives you the option to Accept, Ignore, or Block.
Suggestions. Facebook suggests friends, groups or pages that it thinks you may know or be interested in. It will appear in this space.
Highlights. This area shows things like pictures your friends have commented on, videos they have liked, etc. It also contains links that enable you to "join in the fun" your friends are having.

Your Profile Page

Your profile page is your own "personal space" on facebook. It is where your friends will find your profile picture or avatar, your friends list, applications widgets, and your tabs. By default, there are two tabs when you sign in: Wall and Info. Later when you start uploading photos or videos, corresponding tabs will appear next to the Wall and Info tabs. (See figure below.)

Facebook Profile Page Layout

Wall. The wall is your main "space" on Facebook. Just like on a real wall, you and your friends (if you choose to let them do so) can "write" on this wall by using the What's on your mind? box right below the tabs.
Info. The basic information you typed in when you signed up for Facebook can be found in your Info tab. You can add or remove data at any time.
Other Tabs. Additional tabs such as Photos, Videos, Boxes, Notes, etc. may appear once you have used these internal applications. Once you've uploaded a profile picture, for example, the Photos tab will already be visible.

Just type in what you want to write on your wall and hit the Share button.

Clicking on the What's on your mind? box reveals the buttons for posting a link, photo, video, etc. on your wall or someone else's wall.

Your Friends Page

Clicking on Friends in the menu bar takes you to a page where you can find your other friends who might also be on Facebook. You can choose to find people through your email address or simply use the Search for People option also in the Friends page. Once you already have some friends, you can see all of them by clicking on All Friends in the filter located at the upper left corner of the page.

Your Inbox

You can have a "conversation" with one of your friends by sending them mail. I say "have a conversation" because your replies are appended to the original message and you can see the full history of the conversation in a single thread.

A circle with a number on it beside the word "Inbox" on your menu bar indicates that you have new mail, the number in the circle corresponding to the number of new messages you got.

Chat

You can also talk to your friends through the Chat feature in Facebook. You'll see the button for it on the lower right corner of the page. Clicking on it brings up a menu with friends who are available for chatting. So what's the difference between the inbox and chat? Chat conversations are lost once you sign out of Facebook, mail in your inbox stays there until you manually delete it.

I should also mention that you can turn off chat if you don't feel like it. Just click on Chat > Options > Go Offline. Going offline doesn't sign you out of Facebook, it just makes you unavailable for chatting.

Applications

Basically, there are two types of applications or apps for short: those that were created by Facebook and those made by third-party developers. The internal Facebook applications include Notes, Photos, Links, and Video. Third-party applications include games, quizzes, etc. I've talked about my favorite third-party Facebook appshere.

Where do you find Facebook apps? Click on Applications on the lower left corner of the page and select Browse More Applications.

Bookmarks

Right beside the Applications button I mentioned above are your bookmarks. By default, you should see icons for Photos, Links, and Notes along with some others. Hovering your mouse on them shows a description of each icon.

You use bookmarks as shortcuts to where you want to go. I should mention though that clicking on the bookmarks will bring you to a recent activities page. For example, if you click on the icon for Photos, it doesn't bring you to your photo albums, it shows you the recent photo albums of your friends. From there you can go to your photo album by clicking on the My Photos link at the top of the page. The same applies for the other bookmarks.

Notifications

See that small icon that looks like a signboard? That's where all notifications can be found. Facebook notifies you if your friends post something on your wall, comment on your uploaded photos, etc. When you see a red bubble with a number on it, it means there's been some new development. So aside from watching your inbox, you'll also want to keep an eye on those notifications for friend updates.

Settings

Hovering your mouse on the Settings button on the upper right side of the page, you'll see three options: Account Settings, Privacy Settings, Application Settings.

You can change your real name, email address, password, etc. through Account Settings. Privacy Settings allows you to create different levels of privacy. For example, you can set certain information to be viewable by selected friends only.Application Settings allow you to control how applications behave. Just have fun and experiment with these options.

Account Settings page

Privacy Settings page

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Did you know that Simply Seniors Computer Tutor specializes in coming into your home to help you one on one with your computer problems? We also offer classes each Friday at the Wickham Park senior center. These classes start at 10 and each Friday is a different topic. We look forward to helping you in your home or in our classroom. Visit online at www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us or 321-431-3866 servicing Brevard and beyond.

Tweet Tweet, How to set up a Twitter Account, write the best ‘tweets’ and build followers quickly!

2011-03-16T21:21:00.001-04:00

Simply seniors Computer Tutor loves showing people new things! Many of our seniors are now using Facebook on a daily bases and some even Tweet! Today we are going to look at the basics to creating a Twitter account, then we will review article on how to create the type of Tweets people want to read and share with their followers ie., (friends, social network). Lastly, we will find out what methods one can use to bring the followers to your account.

How to create a Twitter account from www.ehow.com:

Twitter is a social networking/blogging site that allows you to update your personal blog and communicate with your online friends via 140-maximum character messages, or "tweets," that describe your current status. Whether you are reading something online, or boarding a plane, Twitter is a great way to keep in touch.

Go to The Twitter homepage and scroll all the way to the bottom. Click on the "Get Started" button.
Create a username and password. Twitter will automatically check the availability of your username. Once you find one that is unique, enter your email address and continue.
After you create your account, you can manually see if any of your e-mail contacts are on Twitter. Just enter your e-mail username and password, and twitter will automatically import anyone it recognizes.
Invite friends. Any emails Twitter didn't recognize, it will display on the next page. You will be able to check different email addresses to send invites to.
Search for friends. Chances are good that your friends have multiple email addresses, so it is a good idea to enter their name in the search bar and double check.
Set up your phone. The big advantage of Twitter is that you can update via text messages from your phone. Go to the "Devices" tab on your profile page and then enter your cell phone number. A confirmation message will be sent to your phone, and then you'll be able to make your first update.

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A new service being offered by Computer Tutor Consulting, is our “Be Socially Challenged NO MORE” package. We will set up any 3 of your Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Google Buzz, Yahoo, AIM, Windows Live, Skype, Blogger, and link these accounts for just $99 set up fee! In addition get a 6month maintenance package for just $59 month for the 1st 6 months! This is a deal that will pay for itself in publicity in NO time flat! Call 321-431-3866 Today! Ask about the Socially Challenged Package!

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Writing the perfect tweet; this was written by and published at http://twittercism.com/the-perfect-tweet/

How To Write The Perfect Tweet

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 8:00 am

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Twitter has rapidly become the ultimate platform for sharing and exchanging link content. For bloggers and brands, Twitter has surpassed Digg, Stumbleupon, Delicious and Reddit as the greatest and most efficient way to build website traffic.

Better still, by building an engaged andrelevant community, marketers can continue to reap the benefits of that traffic on a daily basis. Almost by accident, Twitter has provided us with a new and improved take on permissive marketing, which has allowed the network to leave many other websites in its dust.

It’s not all gravy, though – it’s easy to make mistakes that can be very costly indeed, leaving your tweet (and content) all but ignored. Continue making those errors, and Twitter will be about as beneficial to your brand and website as a badly-drawn flyer at your local community centre.

And while it’s perfectly acceptable to link to your own content, if you over-sell it, self-promote too much, or start to resemble an old-fashioned salesman (even slightly), you’re very quickly going to be overlooked. Worse, likely it won’t be too long before you’re labelled as nothing more than a spammer.

When you get right down to the nitty-gritty, only two things really count when striving for the perfect tweet:

Maximum readability
Maximum retweetability

These are both vital, but neither should be tailored at the expense of the other. For maximum benefit, each needs to be perfect every single time.

1. Think Like Your Readers

This is a bit of a no-brainer, but it’s easily overlooked. For your tweet to be perfect, it needs to appeal most to your readers, to the majority of your network, and not to you.

Unless you’re a world-famous celebrity or brand with millions of devoted followers, adopting an attitude of ‘they’ll know what I mean’ will almost always backfire.

You have to take the time to craft your tweet accurately and pleasingly, thus ensuring that it will be appeal to the highest number of readers.

2. Use Consistent Excellence To Stand Out From The Crowd

Take a moment to peruse your Twitter feed. Refresh the page. Who stands out? Why?

Through prolonged Twitter use we all become tuned into paying attention to certain things in our timelines, notably the avatars and usernames of our favourite profiles. But a friend or valued associate sharing new content isn’t always enough to make us click on that link. We trust their judgement, and we have liked some of the things they’ve shared in the past, but this hasn’t turned us into a robot, automatically clicking on everything they tweet.

Conversely, there are many times when we suddenly notice the tweet of somebody we’ve only recently started following, or have previously not paid much attention to, because it was excellent. It ticked all of our boxes, and we read the tweet and clicked on that link.

This has an additional benefit in that because the tweet was so good, subconsciously we’ll make a little note about the user (particularly their name and avatar) and are more likely to notice them the next time they update. This attention will rise exponentially if their tweets maintain a consistent quality.

Likewise, if the quality of updates dips too sharply or wanders too far off-course, we’ll start to pay less attention, and in severe cases this can lead to a total tune-out and unfollowing. Hence, while being occasionally excellent is better than nothing, beingconsistently excellent is better than everything.

3. Sell The Headline (In A Non-Salesman Way)

People need a really good reason to click on your link. Remember, at any given time (and in almost any Twitter client) the reader is faced with a number of choices to make – there might be as many as a dozen different tweets on their screen, and a lot more if they’re using columns or groups.

And things move fast – one or two refreshes later, and you could be long gone.

So, even if you’ve been consistently excellent for tweet after tweet and dear reader comes straight to you, your job is not done. They still need a reason to click, which means your copy has to sell that link.

The trick is you have to do this in a way that makes it seem like you’re doing something else. People don’t really like to think they’re being sold to, especially in social media.

Let’s call it unselling.

It goes without saying that ‘click here to buy my stuff’ should only be used if your intention is to be completely ironic or you don’t actually care about people visiting your site.

Learn the difference between selling the link and selling the content – the content is what will sell your product or idea, but nobody is going to care about any of that unless you’ve first sold them the reason to read it. You might have discovered the cure for cancer, but nobody is going to care if you link it next to ‘This is cool.’

The reason can be number of different things. Promises work extremely well, but only if you actually deliver. Lie to people enough and it doesn’t matter how good your headline copy is. Honesty is essentially your best policy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give it a fresh coat of paint with a little spin and reverse psychology.

It’s worth noting that superbly-written headline copy can often generate immediate retweets, even if it’s obvious the other party didn’t actually read the content, or because they trust and believe in you enough to make the (hopefully safe) assumption that you’re going to deliver the goods.

A word on linking to website content that is not your own – don’t be afraid to rewrite the headlines of others. Most of the time these are formatted to appease a single platform or marketplace, and won’t work as well on Twitter. Other times they just suck, plain and simple. If you can do it better, do it better. Nobody is going to object if you’re sending them solid traffic.

4. Use Correct (And Acceptable) Punctuation

Here’s the thing: I’ve never met anybody who was offended or put off when they read something that paid attention to the correct use of punctuation. The opposite is not true – many people (enormous numbers if you use the internet as a gauge) feel that, rightly or wrongly, missing or an incorrect use of punctuation reflects poorly on the writer.

This is certainly true when it comes to first impressions.

Use full stops and commas. Put your apostrophes in the right place. Use speech marks and parentheses.

Don’t end every sentence with an exclamation mark. A simple hyphen can often be the difference between a real word and one that doesn’t exist.

It can help to read your tweet out loud before you submit it. Are the pauses in the right place? We still need to breathe, even at 140 characters (or less).

Studies have shown that retweets contain more punctuation than normal tweets, even ignoring the colon that is automatically inserted by most Twitter clients (i.e., RT @).

Everything, that is, except semi-colons. I love the semi-colon, which is an underused and misunderstood little fellow at the best of times, but much as it pains me I feel it wise to leave them out of my tweets. It’s all about the little sacrifices.

5. Accept Nothing Less Than Flawless Grammar And Perfect Spelling

If you’re a bad speller, or struggle with grammar, consider writing your tweets in your favourite Word processor first. This might seem unnecessary, or even patronising, but let me just echo the sentiments above – people will judge you on how you write, and how you spell, and this will have a direct impact on whether your links are clicked and your updates retweeted.

A quick checklist for every tweet:

Always start with a capital letter
Always use a capital letter with each new sentence (and you only need one space after the full stop)
Learn the difference between your and you’re, its and it’s and there, their and they’re
Capital letters make it LOOK LIKE YOU’RE SHOUTING
Avoid text-speak at all costs. Far better to take an extra minute or two to elegantly craft your message and link into the desired 140 characters than it is to resort to writing like somebody who dropped out of high school (and then banged their head)

Don’t look to celebrities for guidance here. Many of them break most of these rules, most of the time. It doesn’t matter for them, because they’re celebrities. The rules don’t apply. They’re going to get tons of attention and retweets no matter what they do. The same goes for lots of power-users and long-established Twitter veterans.

It’s different for the rest of us. Remember: be consistently excellent. You cannot afford to be anything less.

6. Observe The Magic Retweet Number

The magic retweet number is the total number of characters you need to leave blank at the end of every tweet to ensure maximum retweetability.

Over time, I have given considerable thought to this figure and continue to refine and perfect it. Currently, the magic retweet number stands at twenty-five. Which means your copy, plus link, should ideally be 115 characters or less.

This is a rule that you will need to break from time to time. Certainly, you should not sacrifice a really quality piece of copy to squeeze your tweet under that ceiling. And Twitter’s internal retweet mechanism has somewhat decreased the need to be so mindful of retweet space.

But if you never any room for others to share your message with their network, chances are that most of the time they either won’t make the effort, or that perfect piece of copy you wrote will be bastardised and lost to the horror of txt spk. Guess what – as it’s a retweet, now everybody thinks you wrote it like that. Welcome to your legacy.

7. Shorten All Links With Bit.ly (And Nothing Else)

This chart says it all.

If you’re using anything other than bit.ly to shorten your links – certainly if you’re using TinyURL – you’re actually hurting your brand. Bit.ly is Twitter’s URL shortener of choice and that recommendation, plus the stats and convenience that bit.ly provides, make it nothing less than essential for those looking to get their content re-shared.

Tip: the bit.ly sidebar is super-convenient.

Conclusion

Twitter is supposed to be fun, and doing everything by the book, or in a very methodical or rule-driven way, can sometimes make it seem just a little bit too much like hard work.

However, if you really want to succeed on the network, then you’re going to have to put in that little bit of extra effort. If you want to be consistently excellent then I’m afraid you will have to work hard – at least until it becomes second-nature. Few people are naturally wonderful, certainly all of the time.

Trust me: it’s worth the sweat. Once you see the benefits that great headline copy, can’t miss unselling techniques and first-class grammar and punctuation can make to your Twitter presence and impact – as well as your website traffic, and sales – you’ll never again settle for anything less than the perfect tweet.

If you enjoyed this post, here's some cool things you can do to give a little back:

Follow @Sheamus on Twitter
Like the Twittercism page on Facebook
Share this article on one of these fine networks:

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Now how to build the followers! Thanks to http://www.jamiefaidley.com for the great info on how to build followers on Twitter. I started a Twitter account last night and 24 hours later have 250+ following me just because of what is said about –so follow this advice if you are looking to build a twitter community of your own!

One thing that I really like about using Twitter as a marketing tool over blogging or even newsletters is how easy it is to build a large following. Of course, it isn't nearly as easy to make money from these followers so don't just disregard your traditional marketing tools because you have a lot of followers on Twitter. If you are new to the platform or your numbers have been stagnant then hopefully this post will show you how to get more followers on Twitter.

Find People to Follow

Friends: Start off by finding the people that you already know, this way you can build up some decent numbers before using any additional tactics, which will help because there is a landslide effect on Twitter which shows the more people that are already following you the more that will start to do so. (I'm assuming of course that your friends will follow you back, I mean they are your friends right?)

People with the Same Interests: You want to search for people who share the same interests as you, for example if you like sports then follow sports news services, major blogs, etc.

Industry Leaders: Find the key people in your industry and follow the same people they are, since chances are you will be interested in them as well.

Suggester Tools: Twitter's suggestion tool will help you find other people to follow.

Pace Yourself: Don't go out and follow 1,000 people over the next hour. Besides the fact that you look spammy just for doing this, when people come to your page they will see that you are following a massive number, but not being followed by nearly as many. To them this must mean that you are not popular in relation to the people you are following. Other Twitter users are normally pretty quick to follow you if you are following them, so add a batch, wait it out, then add another. Rinse and repeat this process over time and you'll start to accumulate a following. Just make sure you have a fairly balanced follower/following ratio. It also stands to reason that you should not use a script or bot to add followers because this is spammy and could get you banned from the system.

Follow People Back

The whole point of Twitter is to build relationships with other people, after all it is a socialmedia, so follow people back who follow you. As you start to get more popular on Twitter you will find that more and more people will start following you that you have never heard of before. If you follow every one of them back, you can lose track of the people that you actually signed up to follow. This is why you should probably have one account that you use for business and marketing that you strive for popularity and another you use just to follow the select few people you want to hear from. If you want to automatically follow people who follow you, sign up for TweetLater.

Be a Person

Seems obvious, right? I mean you are reading this article. Well, let's make sure that you are letting the Twitter universe know by going over the details on what I mean exactly by "be a person."

Use a picture for an avatar - Show off your face and people will relate your tweets to you. A real picture for an avatar translates into you sharing real life experiences. Some people use a company or site logo to help with branding, but this isn't as personal and can cost you followers, but is better than nothing. If you just have the default image up then you can't be too serious about Twitter so why would anyone want to follow you?
Name - You also want to have a real name and not just your company name.
Details - Post a description or biography of yourself to give your account some personality.
Add a link to your homepage - You want to let people know what you are about and what kind of information you will be providing, how else are they going to decide whether you are worth following or not? Besides, how are they going to visit your site if you don't provide a link and of course you want to increase your traffic numbers!

Again, this all adds up to showing that you are a real person and not spammer JohnDoe1212 or an evil corporate empire!

Tweet!

If your newest tweet was weeks ago then why would someone want to follow you? If you aren't updating your account then you must not be committed and are probably inactive. People want to know what you are currently doing or working on, but keep the noise to a minimum and don't spam everyone on your list. If you tweet more than 20 times per day you are clogging up my page and I will probably unfollow you. You also want your tweets to add value for your followers and contribute something to community, but they should also be fun so you don't bore your followers into ignoring you, or worse, unfollowing you! Great tweets on a consistent basis will not only help you to grow your following but also will get people to become more interested in what you are doing, thus driving traffic to your actual site.

Promote Yourself

There are several ways to promote yourself to increase your Twitter following. If you already have a blog then simply write a post about Twitter and add a link to your account in the article. If you have a newsletter send out a blast to your subscribers about how they can also follow you on Twitter. TwitterCounter has a chiclet that lets you show off how many followers that you currently have. Put your Twitter link in the signature of your emails or forum posts. You can even add cool buttons from TwitButtons or Twitter Buttons to spruce up your site a little bit.

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Remember, if this all seems to much, Simply Seniors Computer Tutor can help! Simply Seniors Computer Tutor is the premier technical assistant for seniors! Not only do they offer classes at various locations throughout Brevard, they offer one on one in home services, virus clean up, repairs, pick up and delivery, new computer set up and specialty projects such as photo recoloring, digital photo archiving and much more. Simply Seniors Computer Tutors are Florida and Brevard County background checked, arrive in identifiable uniform, with company ID, additionally, UNLIKE the 'average guy' posting on CL, our company is licensed, insured and certified to work on your computer. KNOW YOUR COMPUTER TECHNICIAN do not allow just anyone into your very personal data and information or your home! Simply Seniors Computer Tutor understands seniors have unique learning abilities and we have spent the last 10 years researching the BEST methods for computer training and senior citizens. Stop struggling to use your PC or stop your parents constant phone calls asking "how do I..." Call Simply Seniors Computer Tutor today at 321-431-3866

www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

Facebook users become the latest victims of the Japanese Tsunami

2011-03-14T14:13:00.001-04:00

I have been telling you about virus I have seen on FB – here is a GREAT article that AVG antivirus alerted me to you can read the orginal at http://www.ghacks.net

It’s not the first time that spammers and malware writers have used a tragic public event to spread malware on Facebook, but the latest are fake videos purporting to show “breathtaking” or “unbelievable” footage of the Japanese tsunami.

These links, when clicked, will take you through to another website where you will be required to perform additional actions such as clicking further links in order to view the the video (which doesn’t exist!)

In performing these actions you will be giving the malware writers valuable information, especially if you “like an app” and have personal information such as your home address, telephone and mobile phone numbers and your email address of your Facebook profile. Such malware, and there are many on Facebook and other socialnetworks at the moment, could even require you to download and install a plugin or codec to watch the video. Such a file will certainly be malware of some variety such as a bot or keylogger.

Simply clicking on the main link for most of these “apps” will post a link to your wall saying that you like it. This is most commonly how these malware apps will spread. Should you see on on the wall of a friend, you may want to notify them or post a message under it informing people of its real purpose.

The tsunami which hit Japan last week after a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake has killed thousands of people, with up to 10,000 people still missing from a single coastal town, and caused billions of dollars of damage including critical damage to one nuclear reactor and further damage to two others.

Past events where spammers and malware writers have tried to exploit users on Facebook and other social networks have included the death of Michael Jackson and the Indonesian tsunami of 2004.

Here at gHacks we wish to send our continuing sympathies for those people from around the world who have been affected by the earthquake, and especially to those people in Japan who are continuing to be affected by this tragedy.

We urge you to pass the word around about these malware links and, if you can afford it, to donate a small amount of money to help those in need through your local Red Cross, Red Cresecent or other disasters charity

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Thanks to the ghacks team for sharing the above info with us! again the original can be seen at www.ghacks.net

Microsoft Security Essentials Alert - FAKER NOT THE REAL SOFTWARE!!!

2011-03-08T15:35:00.000-05:00

I wrote this blog while doing some research on FREE Microsoft software. I thin you need to beware of this. The information in today’s blog comes from www.bleepingcomputers.com a great web site for computer technical info!!!

What this infection does:

The fake Microsoft Security Essentials Alert is a Trojan that attempts to trick you into thinking you are infected so that you will then install and purchase one of 5 rogue anti-virus programs that it is distributing. When the Trojan is run it will masquerade as an alert from the legitimate Windows Microsoft Security Essentials Program anti-virusprogram. This alert will be titled Microsoft Security Essentials Alert and states that a Trojan was detected on your computer. It will list this Trojan as Unknown Win32/Trojanand state that it is a severe infection. It will then prompt you to clean your computer using the program in order to remove it. When you click on the Clean Computer or Apply actions button, it will state that it was unable to remove it and then prompt you to scan online. If you click on the Scan Online button it will list 35 different anti-virus programs, 30 of which are legitimate anti-virus programs and 5 that are rogues that the Trojan is distributing. These five rogue programs are:

Red Cross Antivirus
Peak Protection 2010
Pest Detector 4.1
Major Defense Kit
ThinkPoint
AntiSpySafeguard or AntiSpy Safeguard

During this fake online scan only the 5 fake anti-virus programs listed above will state that this supposed Trojan is an infection. It does this to scare you into clicking the Free Install button next to them that will install the rogue program onto your computer and then reboot your computer. It should be noted that Red Cross Antivirus, Peak Protection 2010, Pest Detector 4.1, Major Defense Kit, AntiSpySafeguard, ThinkPoint, and AntiSpy Safeguard that this Trojan is distributing are exactly the same. They just have different names and different graphical user interfaces. You can see images of each of the above rogues below.

Fake Microsoft Security Essentials Alert
For more screen shots of this infection click on the image above.
There are a total of 11 images you can view.

After your computer is rebooted, the rogue that was selected will automatically start and perform a fake scan on your computer. When it has finished it will state that it was able to clean numerous files, but was not able to clean some files, such as iexplore.exe, until the program is purchased. While running, this program will also terminate many programs when you attempt to run them and display a message stating that they are infected.

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Best Free Microsoft Downloads

2011-03-08T12:39:00.001-05:00

I often like to share information on the best free/shareware on the web. Today’s information is going to focus on some great freeware from Microsoft! Can you believe that they actually give away software?

This great information was located on this web site: http://www.techsupportalert.com

When people talk about freeware, a lot of times they think about free alternatives to Microsoft products – free office suites, free operating systems, even free alternatives to products that are already included with Windows like Paint, Notepad and Internet Explorer. However, Microsoft does provide a collection of free software that is definitely worth checking out. This article is designed to provide an overview of the best free Microsoft programs.

Antivirus

Microsoft Security Essentials

System Requirements: Windows XP and up

This may be the best free product ever from Microsoft. MSE is a free anti-malware program with an interface ideal for average users, and effectiveness ideal for advanced users as well. Its interface is simple and unobtrusive, and when it detects threats, it displays messages that are meaningful and easy to understand. It is light on resources, receives regular updates, and has exceptional detection rates. You can perform scans on demand, but it also continuously guards your system with real-time protection. The recent release of version 2 adds more features, including a "Network Inspection System" and a heuristics engine for a more comprehensive set of protective measures. Another feature added in the new version is the ability to adjust the maximum CPU usage the scanner uses – this is particularly useful if the computer in question is underpowered and the scanner needs to use less resources. Overall, MSE is an excellent product that rivals even some commercial antivirus software.

****watch out for a VIRUS that is currently discising it’self to look like this sofwtare!****

from www.bleepingcomputer.com

Please follow our Removal Guide here Remove the Fake Microsoft Security Essentials Alert Trojan .
You will move to the Automated Removal Instructions (see our next blog)

MORE FREE MICOROSOFT SOFTWARE

System Analysis

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer

System Requirements: Windows 2000 and up

This tool analyzes a computer and provides a summary of how secure or insecure it is. Some of the things it checks for are security updates that have not yet been installed, settings that are not recommended (such as weak passwords, disabled firewall, etc), running services that may not be necessary, network shares, and more. This program can be a valuable tool for IT professionals, but it can also help average users who want to make sure their computers are as secure as possible.

Parental Control

Windows Live Family Safety

System Requirements: Windows Vista and up; Click here for the XP version

Family Safety is a parental control program for filtering web content. It can also restrict email contacts. It has an activity log that allows you to see who tries to access which sites, and activity across multiple PCs with Family Safety installed can be collected in the same log.

Internet

Browser

Internet Explorer 9

System Requirements: Windows Vista and up

Internet Explorer has long been troubled, unable to keep up with other browsers in several areas, particularly in speed, security, and support for newer web features. Internet Explorer 9 looks to change all that, boasting a wealth of improvements over IE8. It starts much faster, it loads web pages much faster, and it takes full advantage of hardware acceleration wherever possible. It includes a download manager (with pause/resume), and it has a startup manager for add-ons that lets you see which add-ons use the most resources and disable them if needed. The interface has been revamped and is simpler - the address bar now doubles as a search bar (like in Chrome), tabs are on the same row as the address bar by default (this can be changed), and the buttons have been shrunk and rearranged. Also, its improved support for standards like CSS 3 and HTML 5 allow web designers to deliver a richer online experience to IE users. As for security, Microsoft has added protective measures against pop-ups, phishing sites, and suspicious downloads. A sandbox mode has also been added, which can help keep malware contained and prevent it from affecting your system. I can't say whether it will outdo Firefox or Chrome, but it definitely looks to redeem Internet Explorer as a viable browser.

File Hosting Service

Windows Live SkyDrive

This one isn't really a download - SkyDrive is an online file hosting service provided to anyone with a Live account (registration is free). It offers an impressive 25GB of online storage for documents, pictures, website favorites, and other files, and you can share these with friends. It includes a search feature so you can find things quickly. Folders on SkyDrive can be added to the Live Mesh program for synchronization with folders on local machines. The one downside is a file size limit of 50MB, so if you're looking to store large files, you'll have to split them or use a different service. SkyDrive has also been merged with Office Web Apps, an online office suite that lets you create, upload and edit Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote documents. These web apps include common office features and work really well; just bear in mind that they are essentially stripped-down versions of the Office programs and don't have all the features. SkyDrive is a great service overall and is a reason by itself to create a Live account. (Review)

File/Folder Synchronization

Windows Live Mesh

System Requirements: Windows Vista and up

Mesh is a synchronization program that lets you synchronize files, folders, and settings for IE and Office between different machines over the Internet. You can also sync up to 5GB of files and folders onto your SkyDrive online storage. Additionally, if you log into your Live account, you can see a list of your computers that have Mesh installed, and you can remotely control any that are currently running Mesh (this feature must be manually enabled in Mesh, and Internet Explorer is required). In my experience, the remote control is not as fast or smooth as TeamViewer, but it does work well and is a nice feature to have bundled with the synchronization functionality.

Mail

Windows Live Mail

System Requirements: Windows Vista and up; Click here for the XP version

Mail is actually a decent program and is similar to Outlook. It supports multiple email accounts, RSS feeds and a calendar all combined in one attractive application.

Instant Messenger

Windows Live Messenger

System Requirements: Windows Vista and up; Click here for the XP version

Messenger has the standard features expected of an instant messenger client, but it also has integration support for social networks (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn) and a photo viewer for shared albums on SkyDrive and Facebook. Messenger Companion is an add-on that lets you share links to websites with friends, who in turn can share comments on these links.

Blogging Tools

Windows Live Writer

System Requirements: Windows Vista and up; Click here for the XP version

Writer provides an easy way to create and publish blog entries. It has the standard formatting features, and you can add links, pictures, videos, maps, and more. It integrates with many popular blog sites, including Blogger, WordPress, SharePoint, and several others.

System Tools

System Tools Suite

Sysinternals Suite

System Requirements: Windows XP and up for all tools except RAMMap (Vista and up); some tools won't run on 64-bit systems

This suite contains a long list of a variety of system utilities and troubleshooting tools, from system monitors to disk tools to maintenance. Two of them, Autoruns and Process Explorer, are listed below.

Startup Manager

Autoruns

System Requirements: Windows XP and up

Arguably the best tool of its kind, Autoruns gives you complete control over the things that run when you start Windows, including items in the Startup folder and items listed in the Registry. It can be useful for optimizing the speed of your system by letting you disable unnecessary programs, and it can also help combat certain types of malware that run when Windows starts. This is a must-have for any computer repair kit. (Review)

Process Viewer

Process Explorer

System Requirements: Windows XP and up, including IA64

An advanced process viewer. Process Explorer was once the best tool of its kind, but it is still useful for anyone who wants something better than Task Manager but doesn't need all the whistles and bells. It lists all running processes in a hierarchical format, you can restart, suspend or kill processes, you can kill process trees, and you can set process priorities. It also lets you view threads, strings, and other details about processes. It displays CPU and memory usage, and you can configure tray icons to show these as well. You can optionally configure it to replace Task Manager. (Review)

Autoplay Utility

Autoplay Repair Wizard

System Requirements: Windows XP/2003 only

This utility is used to fix invalid or broken autoplay settings for CD, USB or other drives.

Tweaking

Tweak UI

System Requirements: Windows XP only

One of the PowerToys for Windows XP, Tweak UI lets you change various settings to the appearance and behavior of the user interface. For most users, these settings would otherwise be unavailable for adjustment.

Multimedia

Animation

Microsoft GIF Animator

System Requirements: Windows 95 and up

This program is no longer supported by Microsoft or even hosted on their site, but it serves its purpose well as a simple GIF animation creator. You can create new frames from the clipboard or from files, you can set the duration of individual frames, you can configure looping and transparency, and a few other features. It isn't very fancy, but it does about everything you need if you create your frames in a separate program like Paint or Photoshop. (Review)

Image Tools

Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE)

System Requirements: Windows XP and up

This is a panorama stitcher – it takes a group of overlapping photos and uses them to form a panoramic image. When started writing this list, I had not previously used Microsoft ICE. I was eager to try it out since it has received so much praise. I took a few quick photos of my office with my cell phone and fed them to ICE, and I was amazed – they were stitched together nearly perfectly and the exposure was blended across the whole image. ICE allows you to do some additional things, such as crop the panorama, change the panorama rotation, choose between planar, cylindrical or spherical projection, and save in several different formats, including JPEG, TIFF, BMP, PNG, HD Photo, and Silverlight Deep Zoom. You can also upload and share your panoramas on the Microsoft Photosynthwebsite, where others can view them interactively by rotating and zooming, even panoramas that are full 360 degrees (Microsoft SilverLight is required to use Photosynth). Needless to say, there are many awesome examples that show off the power of ICE on Photosynth, examples that weren't taken with cell phone cameras. (Review)
Image Resizer

System Requirements: Windows XP only

One of the PowerToys for Windows XP, Image Resizer lets you quickly resize one or multiple images to fit within a certain length and width. You right-click on the file(s) and select "Resize pictures" to bring up a simple interface, where you can select one of four pre-set sizes, or specify your own. You can also choose whether to save over the original files or create new files.

Photo Organizer

Windows Live Photo Gallery

System Requirements: Windows Vista and up; Click here for the XP version

Photo Gallery lets you organize, tag, upload, and edit your photos, among other features. The editing features are no replacement for programs like Photoshop, but they are handy for quick and easy alterations. (Review)

Video Editor

Windows Live Movie Maker

System Requirements: Windows Vista and up (XP users can find "Windows Movie Maker" in their Programs menu, but the features are not all the same)

Movie Maker doesn't boast a set of advanced features, but the features it includes are sufficient for many users and are ideal for putting together slide shows and short videos. Plus, you can use it to publish your videos on SkyDrive, Youtube, Facebook and Flickr.

Slideshow Software

Photo Story 3

System Requirements: Windows XP and up

A very easy yet powerful program for creating slideshows. The program walks you through each step, providing a variety of different feataures along the way. You can add effects of every sort, from photo effects to transition effects to panning and zooming effects. You can add text to each picture, narration, and background music. Overall I think this program is outstanding, and I wish I had started using it years ago. Just be aware of two things: the only video format it can save is wmv, and WGA validation is required if you download from Microsoft. (Alternate download location | Review)

Educational

Mathematics

Microsoft Mathematics

System Requirements: Windows XP and up; .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

This program is targeted primarily for the educational audience, but it can be useful for jobs that require math calculations. It packs in many features, including equation-solving, unit conversion, 2d and 3d graphing, algebra, trigonometry, and even calculus. It can display step-by-step instructions on how to solve a problem, which can be very helpful to students who are learning new math topics. You can also scribble things free-hand as input, and it does a fairly decent job at recognizing everything (although sometimes you may need to redraw some symbols). This program was originally not free, but Microsoft released the newest version as freeware on January 11, 2011. Microsoft also provides Microsoft Mathematics Add-In for Word and OneNote, which adds Microsoft Mathematics features to those programs.

Programming

Small Basic

System Requirements: Windows XP and up; .NET Framework 3.5

Small Basic provides a programming environment suitable for beginner programmers. It uses a simplified version of the BASIC programming language. Even though it's found in the "Kid's Corner", it can be an excellent learning tool for both kids and adults who are just getting into programming. It includes a PDF tutorial to get you acquainted with the program and walk you through programming concepts.

Miscellaneous

Virtualization

Microsoft Virtual PC 2007

System Requirements: Windows XP and up

A virtual machine is a simulated environment in which an operating system can run without actually being installed on real hardware. It can have several uses – some use it to test software without altering their system; others use it to run an older operating system compatible with older software. Several free options exist for creating and running virtual machines, and one of them is Microsoft Virtual PC. Linux and other non-Microsoft operating systems are not officially supported (although it is possible to get them to work), but it runs versions of Windows just fine. When you create a virtual machine for a specific operating system, Virtual PC will recommend certain settings (hard drive size, memory), but you can adjust these as desired. Once your guest OS is installed, you can install a set of tools called Virtual Machine Additions that make the virtual machine run more smoothly. It also adds support for seamlessly moving the mouse from the host OS to the guest, drag-and-drop files from the host to the guest, and setting up shared folders. One feature that's especially useful for testing purposes is undo disks, which gives you the option to run a virtual machine without altering the virtual hard drive. Other virtual machine programs can run a wider range of operating systems, but if you're virtualizing a Microsoft OS, Virtual PC is a solid solution. It hasn't disappointed me in the 4+ years I've used it.
Windows Virtual PC

System Requirements: Windows 7 only

Windows Virtual PC is the latest version of Virtual PC, exclusively for Windows 7. It only supports (officially) guest operating systems from XP SP3 and up. If you have Windows 7 Professional or higher, you can download and install XP Mode – this installs a pre-configured XP virtual machine and allows you to run applications in the virtual machine while making them appear to run on the host operating system.

Software Development

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express

System Requirements: Windows XP SP3 and up

This is a great free set of integrated development environments, essentially lightweight versions of the commercial Visual Studio programs. It consists of Visual Basic Express, Visual C# Express, Visual C++ Express, Visual Web Developer Express, and Windows Phone Developer Tools. It also supports the newer .NET Framework 4. Registration is required within 30 days.

Again a very big thanks to http://www.techsupportalert.com for all the hard work of finding this information.

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Simply Seniors Computer Tutor is the premier technical assistant for seniors! Not only do they offer classes at various locations throughout Brevard, they offer one on one in home services, repair, pick up and delivery, new computer set up and specialty projects such as photo recoloring, digital photo archiving and much more. Simply Seniors Computer Tutors are Florida and Brevard County background checked, arrive in identifiable uniform, with company ID, additionally, UNLIKE the 'average guy' posting on CL, our company is licensed, insured and certified to work on your computer. KNOW YOUR COMPUTER TECHNICIAN do not allow just anyone into your very personal data and information or your home! Simply Seniors Computer Tutor understands seniors have unique learning abilities and we have spent the last 10 years researching the BEST methods for computer training and senior citizens. Stop struggling to use your PC or stop your parents constant phone calls asking "how do I..." Call Simply Seniors Computer Tutor today at 321-431-3866 www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

WordPress hit by massive DDoS attack

2011-03-07T12:58:00.000-05:00

I love blogging. Wordpress is one of the world's largest blogging host and it has been attacked not once but twice this last week. Read on to learn more. Credit to http://www.h-online.com

On Thursday 3 March WordPress.com, the world's largest blogging host, was subject to a massive Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack, the largest that it has ever experienced. The first notification on the status page for Automatic Inc., the owner of wordpress.com, stated that "WordPress.com is currently being targeted by a extremely large Distributed Denial of Service attack which is affecting connectivity in some cases. The size of the attack is multiple Gigabits per second and tens of millions of packets per second." Just over two hours later, Automatic reported that "Our systems are back to normal. We'll continue to monitor them and post updates here if needed."

Judging by various reports, there is as yet no indication of either the origin or reason for this attack. According to security company TechCrunch, the founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg, has informed them that: "This is the largest and most sustained attack we've seen in our 6 year history. We suspect it may have been politically motivated against one of our non-English blogs, but we're still investigating and have no definitive evidence yet."

DDoS attacks, such as those during Operation Payback, are usually mounted from botnets – a number of computers that have been infected by malware that, given certain instructions or at a preset time, flood the target site with excessive amounts of traffic.

WordPress is open source software for the design of blogs and other web services. The manufacturer provides not only the software, but also the necessary space on a web server. About 18 million blogs run on the platform.

This information came from http://www.h-online.com

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A Virus for Macs?

2011-03-07T10:54:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine was showing off her very cool Mac products recently. My daughter is obsessed with owning an iPod-touch. Everyone wants an iPad…. WHY??? I don’t get it!!! The entire line of ‘i’ equipment is WAY over priced and WAY overly complicated. This is just my opinion. Why would I pay hundreds of dollars just so I can use my finger to move things on the screen? Doesn’t my daughters $20 MP3 player do all a 10 year old needs it to do? Why do I want an iPad when I own a full laptop that has the ability to do everything vs the iPad that doesn’t have a keyboard, is a very tiny screen can’t play movies (ok I can but very small). I do not get it – these people must just have extra money to burn and I really wish I could have it! :-) The big selling point is supposed to be that the Mac is untouchable, no viruses… maybe this isn’t so true. Check out this info I read this morning.

This information was found on www.howtogeek.com

Mac OS X Trojan catches Sophos' eyeA new Trojan has cropped up and it's targeting Mac OS X users, one security firm says. According to Sophos, the Trojan, called "BlackHole RAT" by its author and "MusMinim" by the security firm, is a variant of the Remote Access Trojan on Windows. The author of the Trojan says the malware is not yet completed, but it already does some annoying things.

Best Free Operating System For Kids

2011-03-04T08:30:00.000-05:00

If you read the blog during Feb I was playing with Joli-cloud and new operating system that allows me to use my Facebook login and user information in order to maintain a whole “computer in the clouds” - if the term ‘cloud computing’ is new to you I suggest you read a few of the older Simply Seniors Computer Tutor Blogs or just google the term.

Introduction

Keeping young children occupied these days is quite a challenge. Quite naturally they see computers as a source of entertainment and want to enjoy them along with the rest of us. Herein lies the next challenge in that some areas of the internet are not suitable at all for child viewing and can potentially present real life dangers.

Discussion

DoudouLinux aims to achieve an optimum balance by providing an environment aimed at kids 2-12 which is fun, educational and safe to use. This is good thinking because it removes the need to let your kids loose with your own operating system and also prevents the possibility of them bypassing whatever security software you have installed on it. Never underestimate the ability of little minds to work these things out. Instructions for bypassing parental filterscan easily be found via Google or on social networking sites.

The easiest way to run DoudouLinux is from a downloaded CD image. Once you've burned the image to a disk, there is nothing to install, update or configure. Running it from a live CD also means you wont interfere with your normal Windows installation. To run Windows again just pull out the live CD and reboot.

An alternative using a USB key is also provided but this is a lot more complicated and not supported by all systems. The download link and instructions for both options are here.

Although DoudouLinux is designed primarily to run as a live CD, if you like what you see and have a spare computer, it is possible to make a full install.

Access to the installed system on which the CD is running is not possible so your resident files and settings are in no danger of being lost, altered or infected.

The system comes complete with a range of programs which are both fun and educational. Content filtering is included by default so you have no worries about your charges accessing inappropriate material when connected to the internet. Most of the programs don't even require a knowledge of files, folders or menus and can be operated without the ability to read.

Some users may even find DoudouLinux suitable for older people with learning difficulties or other disabilities.

There's no doubt that older kids will soon outgrow this and want the “real thing”, but for younger children, DoudouLinux is an ideal introduction to the world of com

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Keep watching for Simply Seniors Computer Tutors reviews on DoudouLinux in up coming blogs!

How to Remove WinFixer / Virtumonde / Msevents / Trojan.vundo

2011-03-03T20:00:00.001-05:00

This is an old one, it dates back to 2009 but for some reason it has been surfacing once again. Here is a great resource on how to remove this Trojan if you have it on your computer. You will probably find that the solution includes running Malware Bytes, (available for safe download through www.filehippo.com). I hope you find this helpful. The original information was posted at: www.bleepingcomputer.com – thank you to everyone at Bleeping computer, a great web site for technical help!

What this programs does:

The Vundo family of Trojans is one of the most common infections we find on user's computers. This infection can cause popups that include advertisements for rogue anti-spyware programs. Some common rogue antispyware programs that are advertised include WinFixer, SysProtect and WinAntiSpyware. Users are normally targeted by false positives, fake alerts, and warning of infections on their computer. An example of this type of misleading advertisement would be popups alerting users that they are infected with a blackworm virus. The most common method of infection is through outdated versions of the Sun Java platform; older versions are being exploited so it is important to firstly make sure that your Java software is fully up to date. This infection is normally detectable by users receiving popups when they use the Internet. Your antivirus program might also notify you via an alert that you have a Vundo Trojan on your computer.

The Vundo infection has evolved over time to include harder and harder protection methods so that it cannot be easily removed. These methods are random names, random autorun locations, random CLSIDs, and rootkits to hide these locations from removal tools. Due to this, specialized tools have been created in order to target this specific infection and remove it. The following guide will explain how to use the tool, and hopefully rid your system of this malware.

Threat Classification:

Trojan Horses

Tools Needed for this fix:

Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log:

The file names in these entries are random:
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {904e23fc-67aa-4ac1-89e6-dd4eed16b596} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\zibuzuhu.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [nohawevufi] Rundll32.exe "C:\WINDOWS\system32\vosevodi.dll",s
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [7cc01263] rundll32.exe "C:\WINDOWS\system32\ropoligi.dll",b
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CPM7ff321ff] Rundll32.exe "c:\windows\system32\kamideva.dll",a
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [nohawevufi] Rundll32.exe "C:\WINDOWS\system32\vosevodi.dll",s (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [nohawevufi] Rundll32.exe "C:\WINDOWS\system32\vosevodi.dll",s (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: C:\WINDOWS\system32\mufezuwi.dll c:\windows\system32\kamideva.dll
O21 - SSODL: SSODL - {EC43E3FD-5C60-46a6-97D7-E0B85DBDD6C4} - c:\windows\system32\kamideva.dll
O22 - SharedTaskScheduler: STS - {EC43E3FD-5C60-46a6-97D7-E0B85DBDD6C4} - c:\windows\system32\kamideva.dll

Guide Updates:

01/09/07 - Updated guide to reflect updates to the tools 11/03/09 - Updated for new removal technique.

Choose the removal method you would like to use:

Automated Removal using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
Automated Removal Instructions for the Vundo or Virtumonde infection using VundoFix

Automated Removal Instructions for Trojan.vundo and Virtumonde using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware:

Print out these instructions as we may need to close every window that is open later in the fix.
Before we can do anything we must first end the processes that belong to Trojan.vundo and Virtumonde so that it does not interfere with the cleaning procedure. To do this, download the following file to your desktop.
rkill.com Download Link
Once it is downloaded, double-click on the rkill.com in order to automatically attempt to stop any processes associated with Trojan.vundo and Virtumonde and other Rogue programs. Please be patient while the programs looks for various programs and closes them. When it has finished, the black window will automatically close. If your desktop was hidden, you should also now be able to view it again. Do not reboot your computer at this point, or the programs will start again.
Now you should download Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, or MBAM, from the following location and save it to your desktop:
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Download Link

Once downloaded, close all programs and Windows on your computer, including this one.
Double-click on the icon on your desktop named mbam-setup.exe. This will start the installation of MBAM onto your computer.
When the installation begins, keep following the prompts in order to continue with the installation process. Do not make any changes to default settings and when the program has finished installing and is at the last screen, make sure you uncheck both of the Update Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and Launch Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware check boxes. Then click on the Finish button. If Malwarebytes' prompts you to reboot, please do not do so.
If you receive a code 2 error while installing Malwarebytes's, please press the OK button to close these errors as we will resolve them in future steps. The code 2 error will look similar to the image below.

As this infection deletes a core executable of Malwarebytes' we will need to download a new copy of it and put it in the C:\program files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\ folder. To download the file please click on the following link:

Malwarebytes' EXE Download

When your browser prompts you where to save it to, please save it to the C:\program files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\ folder. When downloading the file, it will have a random filename. Please leave the filename the way it is as it is important that it is not changed. You may want to write down the name of the file as you will need to know the name in the next step.

Once the file has been downloaded, open the C:\program files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\ folder and double-click on the file you downloaded in step 8. MBAM will now start and you will be at the main program screen as shown below.

Before you can perform a scan, you must first update the program. To do this click on the Update tab, and that at the new screen click on the Check for Updates button. Malwarebytes' will now check for new updates and download and install them as necessary. When the update is completed, you will be prompted with a message stating either that you already have the latest updates or that they have been updated. Either way, you should now click on the OK button to continue.
Now click on the Scanner tab and make sure the the Perform full scan option is selected. Then click on the Scan button to start scanning your computer for Trojan.vundo and Virtumonde related files.
MBAM will now start scanning your computer for malware. This process can take quite a while, so we suggest you go and do something else and periodically check on the status of the scan. When MBAM is scanning it will look like the image below.

When the scan is finished a message box will appear as shown in the image below.

You should click on the OK button to close the message box and continue with the Trojan.vundo and Virtumonde removal process.

You will now be back at the main Scanner screen. At this point you should click on the Show Results button.
A screen displaying all the malware that the program found will be shown as seen in the image below. Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.

You should now click on the Remove Selected button to remove all the listed malware. MBAM will now delete all of the files and registry keys and add them to the programs quarantine. When removing the files, MBAM may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot, please allow it to do so. Once your computer has rebooted, and you are logged in, please continue with the rest of the steps.

When MBAM has finished removing the malware, it will open the scan log and display it in Notepad. Review the log as desired, and then close the Notepad window.
You can now exit the MBAM program.

Your computer should now be free of the Trojan.vundo and Virtumonde program. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future.

If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow the steps outlined in the topic linked below:

Preparation Guide For Use Before Posting A Hijackthis Log

Automated Removal Instructions for the Vundo or Virtumonde infection using VundoFix:

Please print these instructions as they will be needed later when Internet access is not available.
Save these instructions in word or notepad to the desktop where they can be easily found.
Download Vundo Fix and save it to your desktop.
When it has completed downloading, double-click VundoFix.exe to run it.
Click the Scan for Vundo button.
Once it's done scanning, click the Remove Vundo button.
You will now receive a prompt asking if you want to remove the files, click the YES button. Once you click yes, your desktop will go blank as it starts removing Vundo.
When completed, it will prompt that it will shutdown your computer, click the OK button.
When the computer has shutdown, turn your computer back on.

The WinFixer and Vundo infection should now be removed from your computer.

If you are still having a problem then please perform the following steps:

Note: This step should only be used if the instructions in the previous steps did not remove the infection:

Download VirtumundoBegone and save it to your desktop.
Now reboot into Safe Mode.
1. This can be done tapping the F8 key as soon as you start your computer
2. You will be brought to a menu where you can choose to boot into safe mode.
3. Select safe mode with networking using your arrow keys on the keyboard and then press enter.
4. When you computer reaches the desktop make sure you log in as the same user which you had performed the previous steps,
Once you are logged into safe mode, double-click VirtumundoBeGone.exe file you just downloaded and follow the instructions.
Exit when it has finished, and reboot back to normal mode.

The WinFixer and Vundo infection should now be removed from your computer.

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FREE Internet! Yes, it’s possible!

2011-03-03T16:39:00.001-05:00

I just received a phone call from someone that helps seniors. She told me that her clients were looking for a free internet service provider (ISP). I did a little research and I found a web site that give information on free isp’s according to your location.

One thing you will need to remember (ok maybe two) 1st, don’t expect to be moving on the internet at lightening speeds! 2nd, if your computer is a newer desktop purchased in the last couple of years, more than likely you do not have an internal telephone modem. It’s no big deal, but this is a ‘card’ that will need to be installed into the computer before you can use a dial up service. Additionally, you will have to have a phone line in the house as well, there are no free broad band ISPs at this time. IF you see information stating other wise can you please pass it along.

Here is the link, I hope you find this helpful!

http://www.all-free-isp.com/

This is what is available in the Melbourne, FL area – the web site’s most recent date was 2009:

These services work on all Windows based machines.

Government Financed Cell Phones for Seniors!

2011-03-02T17:44:00.001-05:00

I was watching what i like to call Junk Food TV this afternoon – imagine! I saw an ad for safelink, a government funded FREE cell phone for seniors. This reminded me that my own mother has this cell phone and I think that more seniors need to know about this service.

Here is the official web site:

https://www.safelinkwireless.com/EnrollmentPublic/home.aspx

These are quality cell phones just like the ones you can walk into Walmart (for example) and purchase right now.

This is great information – so i am going to post below the ABOUT US section from the safelink.com website:

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LIFELINE/SAFELINK FACT SHEET

There is no "Obama phone" or other newly created federal program to provide free cell phones. As you may know, this is a myth that is now circulating on the Web via email and blog sites. It has been thoroughly debunked by independent groups. (See for example: FactCheck.org at http://www.factcheck.org/2009/10/the-obama-phone/, which notes: "Low-income households have been eligible for discounted telephone service for more than a decade. But the program is funded by telecom companies, not by taxes, and the president has nothing to do with it."
The federal "Lifeline" program was created during the Reagan Administration. Lifeline is a federal program created by the Reagan era Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1984. The program was enhanced under Telecommunications Act of 1996, which was supported on a broadly bipartisan basis in Congress. The FCC’s Low Income Program of the Universal Service Fund, which is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), is designed to ensure that quality telecommunications services are available to low-income customers at just, reasonable, and affordable rates. Lifeline support reduces eligible low-income consumers' monthly charges for basic telephone service.
Thanks to SafeLink, Lifeline support is now available for wireless phones. Traditionally, the Lifeline program was only available as a discount on a consumer’s landline telephone bill. SafeLink Wireless was created by TracFone Wireless, Inc. when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently approved the company to offer Lifeline -- a public assistance program that ensures telephone service is available and affordable for low-income subscribers. SafeLink Wireless applies the Universal Service Fund subsidy to an allotment of free airtime minutes and TracFone provides the wireless handset at the company’s expense. Instead of receiving a subsidized monthly telephone bill for Lifeline service, SafeLink converts the total amount of discounted service into minutes each month for one year. The cell phone offers in-demand features: voicemail, text, three-way calling, call waiting, caller ID and access to 911.
SafeLink phones are not paid for by taxpayers or the federal government. TracFone Wireless pays for the phones and also the cost of promoting its SafeLink program to make sure that eligible consumers know about the program.
SafeLink Wireless is making the vision of universal access to telecommunications services for all Americans a reality. As of October 2009, SafeLink has over 2 million customers and is available in 33 states - Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Today, there are over 1,700 companies in the United States currently providing discounted telephone service. But, thanks to its extensive outreach promoting SafeLink, TracFone Wireless is one of the largest providers of Lifeline services in the United States, second only to AT&T.

Only certain Americans are eligible for SafeLink. Eligibility guidelines vary by state but in general individuals qualify if they participate in a public assistance program such as Food Stamps, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), National Free School Lunch, Federal Housing/Section 8 Assistance, or if they do not receive any of these public assistance programs, they may also qualify based on total household gross monthly income. Customers can learn more or apply by calling 1-800-SAFELINK or visiting www.SafeLink.com

Your exact benefits, including the number of free Minutes you will receive, depend on the state you live in.

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I hope that you find this information helpful! Remember, Simply Seniors Computer Tutors are here to help you or your senior loved ones.

Best Free Genealogy / Family Tree Software

2011-03-02T13:47:00.001-05:00

I located this great information on http://www.techsupportalert.com My clients are always asking questions on the best software for this application and they often ask my opinion on Free software – so this will cover both :-)

Later I will download, install and verify this software for you.

Here is the bulk of the article:

Legacy Standard is my top pick for the best free Genealogical software. The program is fairly easy to use, flexible, and has plenty of capabilities. The free version supports family, pedigree, and index views. You can easily navigate to younger, or older generations simply by clicking on the individuals. Clicking on Events icon displays all of the events for an individual.

You can attach photos or any other type of document. I love the well structured source formats. The location field is unstructured but the Master Location List can help keep the locations consistent. Strong report generator supports eight general report types. Legacy can print narrative book style reports using generic sentence templates. Creates stunning graphical charts, ancestor, descendant, fan, hourglass, bow tie, and DNA charts. Imports from GEDCOM or PAF files. Exports to GEDCOM, PAF, or Clooz. The program provides Research Guidance with tips, Internet Search links, and a To Do List.

Legacy creates the best looking web pages and has the most features for web site creation of these programs. Supports photos and CSS.

Legacy places data files in the C:\Legacy\Data directory instead of the normal %UserProfile% directory unless the default directory is changed in the options. If the user has backup software they should take care that the backups include the nonstandard location.

Also many menu items when selected display a message that the feature is available only in the Deluxe Edition. Greying out the unavailable options would have been less obtrusive and nagging.

Gramps is a strong contender for the top slot. I liked that I could easily navigate or filter by people or name list, family, relationship, ancestry, events, places, sources, repositories, media, and notes.

I felt the place entry especially outstanding. Places have distinct fields for street, city, latitude, church parish, etc. Alternate locations can be entered for each place, e.g. one could enter West Virginia as an alternate for some Virginia locations prior to the Civil War. Sources, notes, multimedia, and internet links can be linked to each place. Also all events linked to the place are displayed and can be navigated to.

I loved the date support. Dates can be based on several different calendars, e.g. Gregorian, Islamic, etc. The date can have a quality of regular, estimated, or calculated. And finally the type can include before, after, range, span, etc. Events support roles, e.g. bride for a marriage event.

Gramps can create narrative style web sites. You can select a standard copy right or from any of the Creative Commons copyrights. Not only can living people be excluded, entirely or name only but also a date range to restrict recently deceased people can be selected, e.g. people who died within the last five years could be treated as if they were still living.

Sources can be attached to people, families, events, and multimedia. I would have preferred source templates based on Mills' or Lackey's books.

Gramps directly supports patronymic style names, e.g. ap Robert, verch Evan, etc. However, matronyms are not supported so for example ‘Īsá ibn Maryam would need to be entered as a patronymic.

The installation can be intimidating. There are several required programs which must be installed in a specific order. I recommend using the all in one installation or the portable version on the Portable Apps website.

Family Tree Legends is fairly easy to use, flexible, and has many capabilities. Clicking on Events icon displays all of the events for an individual. You can add alternate names, birth, marriage, death, and burial events along with the many other events of the individuals life.

You can attach photos or any other type of document. Strong report generator supports ancestor, pedigree, descendant, descendant summary, time line, family group sheet, kinship, and other reports. Creates ancestor and descendant charts in fan, standard, and vertical formats as well as hourglass and bow tie charts. Legends can print collections of reports with table of contents, an index, and other pages. Imports date from Family Tree Maker and GEDCOM files. The program supports a To Do List and a correspondence list.

I like having the ability to merge duplicate sources and repositories.

There is only one source format. No location list to help with consistency in place entry but you do have a replace function to help clean up variations on a place name.

RootsMagic Essentials has a variety of source templates based on Elizabeth Shown Mills Evidence. Rootsmagic supports narrative reports. I was able to open multiple databases or the same database multiple times and display them side by side.

Supports multiple parent relationships, e.g. adoptive. However, all parent relationships assume that the parents are married. Happily I was able to enter a gender neutral relationship for the parents of a child. However, one of the women was denoted the father and the other as the mother. I'd prefer to be able to list both as parent, both as mother, or the actual mother as mother and the other as parent.

Create a web site is disabled in the free version. Saving reports to other file formats is disabled in the free version--viewing and printing is allowed. There is no option to hide living people or events for living folks in reports.

RootsMagic displays a nagging splash screen at every start up requiring the user to chose between the free and the Full version. This is immediately followed with a RootsMagic News screen. Many menu choices are not functional in the free version but I do appreciate that they are highlighted in a reddish color.

If you're interested in a portable application then ScionPC should be at the top of your list.

I love the lack of gender constraints, e.g. I can add both of my grandchildren's same sex parents without resorting to tricks such as changing the gender of one of the parents. Both members of marriages are referred to as partner's. (There is a warning that the couple is the same sex.) I wish other genealogy programs would adopt this standard.

ScionPC has exceptional date format support, e.g. Circa, Before, After, Estimated, and Date Range modifiers as well as Georgian, Julian, Hebrew, French Revolutionary, Islamic, Persian, Indian National, Coptic, User Defined and Unknown calendars. I like the pop up calendar for use when entering dates.

The program creates a complete web site for upload. Supports CSS.

The program has no place list but it does provide a unique method for merging similar places.

No method of excluding living individuals or their events in either reports or website. Surnames default to all uppercase. Only one source citation is permitted per event.

Personal Ancestral File (PAF) is the software supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's a good basic genealogy program and easy to use.

The reports are in Born, Married, Died, Buried order but the other events are not sorted by date. No box style charts.

Only one source citation is permitted per event.

No bookmarks.

PAF can generate html files for upload to your website.

Myheritage Family Tree Builder has an nice hour glass view that can adjust from just one generation above and below the focus person to three generations. This eliminates the need for seperate person, pedigree, and descendant views. There is a handy list for navigation just to the left which can be expanded or retracted out of the way.

MyHeritage automatically checks for possible duplicates when entering people. This feature mitigates the absence of a merge duplicate people tool.

A button appears next to the place entry field when clicked will offer suggestions from similar places already appearing in your database.

Individual reports can be saved to HTML format. MyHeritage supports a direct upload to the MyHeritage web site but no other independent web site creation.

No place or individual reports.

There is no context sensitive help available but the PDF format manual is very helpful.

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This post is TO BE CONTINUED…

Windows Efficiency Manager - NOT SAFE!!!

2011-03-02T13:33:00.001-05:00

I was contacted by a client this morning that told me that they had a new software “Windows Efficiency Manager” - well what a nice name, sounds useful doesn’t? This is a rogue anti-spyware program that is part of the Fake Microsoft Security Essentials infection.

Yesterday, I was contacted by a client that had suddenly been knocked off the internet. I had not seen the computer in some time so i checked to see if his AVG was up to date. I found it shut off and in it’s place was the icon for Microsoft Security Essentials, a real program that does work nicely, offered by Microsoft. However, after a little research I have found that this client actually was infected! Here is what I learned and how to resolve the problem yourself. Don’t worry this stuff can be intimidating, just contact Simply Seniors Computer Tutors for help 321-431-3866.

What this infection does:

Windows Efficiency Manager is a fake rogue anti-spyware program that is part of the Fake Microsoft Security Essentials infection. When this infection is installed on your computer it will display a fake Microsoft Security Essentials alert that states that it has detected an Unknown Win32/Trojan on your computer. This alert will state:

Microsoft Security Essentials Alert
Potential Threat Details
Microsoft Security Essentials detected potential threats that might compromise your private or damage your computer. Your access to these items may be suspended until you take an action. Click 'show details' to learn more.

It will then prompt you to scan your computer, which will start a fake scan of your computer that ultimately states that a particular file is infected with Trojan.Horse.Win32.PAV.64.a. It will then prompt you to install Windows Efficiency Manager to remove the virus. The text of this prompt is:

Threat prevention solution found
Security system analysis has revealed critical file system vulnerability caused by severe malware attacks.
Risk of system files infection:
The detected vulnerability may result in unauthorized access to private information and hard drive data with a serious possibility of irreversible data loss and unstable PC performance. To remove the malware please run a full system scan. Press 'OK' to install the software necessary to initiate system files check. To complete the installation process please reboot your computer.

When you press OK, the infection will download and install Windows Efficiency Manager and reboot your computer.

When your computer reboots you will be presented with the Windows Efficiency Manager screen before your normal Windows desktop is shown. It then prompts you to scan your computer, which will state that your computer is infected with numerous infections. In order to get to your normal Windows desktop, you will need to close the Windows Efficiency Manager program when it has finished its fake scan. As you can see this program is a scam as it is ransoming the proper operation of your computer until you purchase it. It goes without saying that you should not purchase this program for any reason.

While the program is running it will also display fake security alerts that are further used to scare you into thinking that your computer has a serious problem. Some of these alerts include:

System Security Warning
Attempt to modify register key entries is detected. Register entries analysis is recommended.

System component corrupted!
System reboot error has occurred due to lsass.exe system process failure.
This may be caused by severe malware infections.
Automatic restore of lsass.exe backup copy completed.
The correct system performance can not be resumed without eliminating the cause of lsass.exe corruption.

Warning!
Name: firefox.exe
Name: c:\program files\firefox\firefox.exe
Application that seems to be a key-logger is detected. System information security is at risk. It is recommended to enable the security mode and run total System scanning.

Just like the fake scan results, these alerts are also fake and are only being used to scare you into purchasing the program. Therefore, please ignore them.

As you can see, Windows Efficiency Manager was created to scare you into thinking your computer has a severe security problem so that you will then purchase this program. For no reason should you purchase Windows Efficiency Manager, and if you already have, you should contact your credit card company and dispute the charges stating that the program is a computer infection. Finally, to remove this infection, and any related malware, please use the removal guide below.

Threat Classification:

Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Array

Tools Needed for this fix:

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

This informwas brought to you by Grinler on Wed, 02 Mar 2011

Hope you find this helpful!

Thanks for reading – Simply Seniors Computer Tutors are on the web at www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us!!!

Don’t forget our Friday Classes at the Wickham park Senior Center, Melbourne, FL

registration is required: 321-431-3866

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor is the premier technical assistant for seniors!

2011-03-02T10:39:00.001-05:00

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor will be offering a series of computer classes this March. All classes are $10 and this will include a printed book. Classes are offered at the Wickham park Senior Center in Melbourne. Class starts promptly at 10am until 11:30am. Each Friday you will learn a different topic. Pick and choose only the classes you need!

www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

Computer Tutor March Class Schedule

2011-03-01T20:15:00.001-05:00

It’s March! No way! March 2011 is already here, are you ready to learn something new about your computer? Ready to get mom & dad off your back? Simply Seniors Computer Tutors offers in home computer services for senior citizens in Central Florida. Tutorial, Technical and Terrific! That’s how I’d describe Simply Seniors Computer Tutor!

www.ComputerTutorHelp.com

Simply Seniors Computer Tutors – we make computers simple for seniors! 321-431-3866

Seniors Learn Differently

2011-02-15T12:14:00.001-05:00

We at Simply Seniors Computer Tutor have spent the last ten years learning the BEST teaching methods for older computer users. Learn more about our services at www.ComputerTutorHelp.us

This article is about how seniors learn differently from younger students. The original content is located at http://www.associatedcontent.com. It is very useful to anyone that may offer a service like Simply Seniors Computer Tutor’s or for anyone that wishes to be helpful to an senior new to computers.

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor’s looks forward to seeing you soon!

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For several years, I taught basic computer use, from introduction to computers to office skills. I learned a lot doing it - that weapons scanners at the courthouse wipe diskettes clean, and that if you bond too much with rich kids their daddies lean on you to do personal tutoring.

But the most interesting thing I learned was that older people - those born before 1950, primarily - learn technology differently from those of us who have more or less grown up with computers. As an older population, they also have different physical issues; and as a completely different generation, they have very different learning styles.

It requires a different approach to teach our respected elders how to use the technology we take for granted. But if you're a teacher excited about technology, and creative about ways to get others excited about it, older people learn better than younger people.
You heard me right. I prefer my older students to my younger ones. They are smarter, more motivated, and genuinely excited about learning. But it can be a challenge.

Seniors Learning Computers: The Issues
Getting older students to the point where they can learn technology is the first hurdle. Physical, mental, and attitude issues all get in the way.

Physical issues include:
Vision - Not only do older students have poorer vision overall, it's poor in a different way from younger students. You may have to learn how to adjust screens for each individual student - and then teach them how to do it themselves.
Mobility - Most people think of mobility problems as wheelchairs and walkers. That's not a problem; in a comfortable chair, everyone's the same. What is a problem: arthritic hands.
Once you have those problems sorted out, you often find serious learning issues lurking behind them:

Lack of technological background: Your seniors grew up in an age where not every house had a television - and when they did have a television, there were likely one or two channels, four or five hours a day. It was a radically different world, and you have to understand where they're coming from before you can teach them. Students who learned how to operate older generation mainframe computers are often the hardest to teach, as they have to unlearn things they've known for forty years.

Difference in learning style: Our kids today learn in a group setting that often seems chaotic; our seniors learned much more individually and may value politeness over assertiveness. The most important difference: you have to learn to spot questions without the student asking them. Many seniors, especially women, simply won't ask questions, and get lost instead.

Senility and mental acuity problems: There's nothing you can do about this occasional problem except have patience with it. Older people don't learn as easily as younger people, and even when they do you may have to go back more often. This requires your patience.
Resistance to learning new things: A lot of older people just want to learn one thing on computers, or believe that "old dogs can't learn new tricks." You have to sell them on the fact that they will need to understand more than just one thing, and that they can, indeed, learn new things. This requires mostly respect and patience.

Methodologies in Teaching Computers to Seniors

If you're teaching older people in the US, always use Microsoft products. That's not because Microsoft is better - it's not - but rather because most of what they will get out of the box on a computer or run into at the library will be Microsoft. (Outside the US, visit a library to see what's most commonly used in your locality - Linux and Corel are more common as close as Canada.)

Once your classroom is set up and you have everyone comfortable - and you've familiarized yourself with your students' limitations - desensitize them to computers. The most common problem I run into is a fear of breaking the computer, or just a fear of the computer. Open an old computer box (unplugged, of course!), show them the insides, explain what the processor, memory, etc. do. Take out chips and components, and let the students handle them as you explain what they do. Especially show how the connections in the back work with individual cards. This will go a long way toward taking the mystery out of the computer.

Explain computer safety, and introduce peripherals like the mouse, etc. Encourage them to plug in and unplug their own peripherals so they can see how it works. Watch for any uncertainty, and only move on when everyone seems comfortable.

Then - play games. This enables seniors to work on the mouse, their own mobility and vision, and allows you to teach the very basic components of Windows. Even if you have a senior who's used the internet, etc., require the games. It tells you a variety of things. For example, I had one sweet lady who would move her mouse to the right position, then take her hand off it and click it from above. This did not work well! I had to put my hand over hers to guide her, and then she got it.

Other students may obviously at this point have mobility issues. Consider using trackballs for these students, and if the mobility issue is severe look at ergonomic options like special keyboards or even chord keyboards.

After this task is completed, teach basic windows tools, generic keyboard shortcuts (especially CTRL-Z, Undo) and other generic Windows things. Use slideshows and handouts to help them remember. Move from there into specific programs like word, excel, etc., and into specific tasks like downloading pictures from digital cameras.

One last tip for this section: at the end of every class every day, teach your students something useful you think their children and grandchildren don't know. It can be as simple as the CTRL-Z, or as complex as where to find a particularly useful website. This will keep your students eager to return to the next class, and allow them to impress their younger relatives.

Teaching Techniques For Seniors
Throughout your courses, you should encourage your students to direct their own learning. Older people often lack patience, whether they say so or not, and they want their time to be THEIR time. Keep classes small, and let them tell you what they want.

At the same time, teach slowly and patiently, emphasizing hands-on. My rule is to show them how once, and then guide them through doing it themselves thereafter. Because the slow, patient approach is a must, it's a good idea to match students with a pre-test to their skill level. With younger students, I often encourage quicker students to help the slower students next to them; this has less-predictable effects when you're working with an older population.

Most importantly, watch for those mobility and other ergonomic issues. Donut cushions may be necessary, or back support cushions. Learn everything you can about ergonomic keyboards, antiglare screens, improved contrast screens, and the Microsoft accessibility tools. Larger screens may be necessary for some students, at least when they take their skills home with them. As a last resort, talking programs for either input or output may be a necessity.

Chord keyboards are something a little different. These resemble game controllers, and have up to six keys. These keys, pressed alone or in combination, can duplicate the normal keyboard. They're harder to learn, but if you have a student with severe arthritis, this frees up one hand and requires much less movement of the arm in order to get the same results. A person who is sincere about teaching technology to older people would be wise to purchase one and learn how to use it.

As you can see, the problems presented when teaching technology to seniors can be mild to extreme. However, this sort of teaching is also lucrative. There are few computer schools or tutor programs that focus exclusively on seniors - and it is our older people who are most motivated to learn how to use computers. They didn't have the exposure younger people had, but want to use the technology to keep up with family and especially grandchildren.
With decent marketing, a talent for teaching, and patience, you can teach technology to seniors through churches, local adult ed programs, or as commercial classes. It's fun, rewarding, and not all that hard.

Are YOU Following Me? Website ‘tracking’ and what Microsoft is doing to help you.

2011-02-10T13:08:00.001-05:00

I was reading some website this morning and that led me to thinking abut that little agreement that we all just have NO other choice but to click YES on when we want to install certain softwares on our computers. Reading one of the agreements made me want to do reseach on “TRACKING” what does it mean, why, who, and how! I hope these articles I located will mhelp clear up soem fo those questions for you!

First, lets find out what “TRACKING” means:

Website tracking refers to the act of archiving existing websites and tracking changes to the website over time. There are many applications to website tracking which can be applied to many different business. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website_tracking

Then it was off to this web site to learn a little more. You can read the entire article on there site:

http://www.wisegeek.com/do-websites-track-and-record-ip-addresses.htm

An IP or Internet Protocol address is a unique numerical address assigned to a computer as it logs on to the Internet. The IP address can be mapped back to a specific individual with help from Internet Service Provider (ISP) records. Virtually every website on the World Wide Web (Web) will track and record IP addresses as visitors click through the site’s pages. Two primary reasons for this are security and site improvement.

Every website is hosted on a server. When a visitor clicks his or her way to a website, the user’s browser sends a request to the server for a webpage at the location. The server returns the webpage to the IP address on the request. The page subsequently loads on the visitor’s computer screen.

If the server is bogged down by traffic (handling many requests at once), pages might load slower for visitors. In the case of an overload of simultaneous requests, the server will “crash” or go down, leaving the site temporarily unavailable. This can be a form of attack, called a Denial Of Service (DoS) attack. If the attack comes from a network of infected computers called abotnet, it is referred to a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.

A malicious hacker might infiltrate a Web server in an attempt to gain information from protected databases that hold customer data such as credit card numbers. So-called “script kiddies” might simply want to malign a site by uploading images or text to the website.

For these reasons and more, websites track and record IP addresses as a matter of course, storing the numerical addresses in server logs. Each request from the IP address is recorded, along with a time stamp. Older data is routinely purged from logs to make room for newer data. The length of time a website holds on to IP logs is variable, configured by the site’s administrator, and dependent upon many factors.

Website policies generally refer to IP addresses as “anonymous” data. However, with the help of computer cookies there are many ways for websites to link identities to IP addresses, even when the address is dynamic, or changes with each Web session. Many websites also contain “Web bugs” or a few pixels linked to an advertising firm that can track and record IP addresses across the Web, from one site to another, surreptitiously compiling detailed surfing profiles of individuals over a period of months or years.

A visitor need not register at a website to be tracked and profiled. Typically all visits to a site are time-stamped and recorded to a cookie, if cookies are enabled in the Web browser. All pages and links visited within the site are commonly added to the cookie (in addition to the sever logs). While server logs are purged, cookies are commonly retained. Deleting a cookie from a user’s computer does not remove the duplicate cookie on the Web server. Upon a subsequent visit to the site, the server might “recognize” the surfer by various system and software data that browsers routinely hand over; even when the surfer is careful to allow temporary cookies only, or no cookies.

Due to these concerns, many savvy netizens prefer to surf anonymously. In this case a proxy server stands between the surfer’s computer and the Web. All browser requests are sent to the proxy which relays them to the Internet. Web servers return pages to the proxy’s IP address, logging its address instead. The proxy receives the page, forwarding it on to the surfer, acting as a go-between. Web servers have no record of the surfer’s IP address, (however, the proxy server will trackand record IP addresses).

If using a proxy service, it is important to know if it is truly anonymous. Some proxy servers forward the requester’s IP address in their headers, defeating the purpose. Only anonymous proxy servers hide this information. Some proxy’s claim to be anonymous but are not, so personal checking through available proxy tools is advisable. Using international proxies can also increase anonymity because the proxy’s logs will not be subject to jurisdiction of the netizen’s home country. That said, proxy services are designed to help maintain freedom and privacy for legal activity, not protect illegal activity.

The Firefox™ browser has an add-on plug-in called FoxyProxy which allows users to keep a list of proxies and easily switch between them to keep records from accumulating on just one proxy server. One can also link proxies, placing two or three proxy servers in a chain, however, this slows surfing. Also, if one of the proxies is down requests get lost. Additionally, there are various shareware programs for proxy surfing.

Web-based anonymous services allow visitors to surf the Web through an onsite interface. Surfing from the site, requested pages appear in a window. The only IP address revealed to the Internet is the website’s own address. But once again, the website itself will track and record IP addresses of those that use its services.

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Wow I learned much more than I ever wanted to know! But it’s all good information! Simply Seniors Computer Tutors wants to let you know how to safely use the internet.

Here is a link to Microsoft’s IE9 web site with very helpful anti-tracking software's:

http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/Browser/TrackingProtectionLists/Default.html

You will want to choose the link above but if you do not and land on their home page – choose the “tracker protection” link under the Brower's Demos column.

I hope you have found this information entertaining and insightful! If you know someone age 50+ that needs technical help, please consider Simply Seniors Computer Tutors 321-431-3866

Thanks for reading and please share our links with your friends! Knowledge IS Powerful Stuff!

www.ComputerTutorHelp.Com

The Laptop Life: Tips to Improve Portable Computing

2011-02-09T20:47:00.001-05:00

This information comes to you from AOL.Com, the original author is Deanna Glick. At Simply Seniors Computer Tutors I am often asked how to make things easier. This article has some great tips and is worth passing along!

More information on Simply Seniors Computer Tutors at www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us.

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People seem to be on the go more than ever before. And they’d never dream of leaving their electronic life behind.

Ah, the lure of laptop computers. A fully-featured computer that weighs a few pounds and can be carried in your briefcase on a business trip or under your arm as you migrate from the home office to your family room. What’s more, along with ever-expanding wireless Internet availability, laptops allow you to surf at the beach without getting in the water or send email from your porch on a nice day.

This might be why the first quarter of last year saw the best sales record for mobile PCs in eight years, according to a blog at CNET.com. This coincided with the onset of intense iPad hype. However, as one analyst pointed out, limitations of that product category in the face of aggressive price cuts of regular notebooks seemed to give the larger notebook computers staying power in the market. They do more than their smaller counterparts, but consumers still seem generally willing to sacrifice the performance of a desktop for portability, making the traditional laptop the proverbial happy medium for most people.

When it comes to laptops, good things might come in small packages. But portability comes at a price.

A Small Space

For all their benefits, laptop computers can certainly fall short when it comes to memory, speed and hard drive space. And special considerations should be given to wireless network security and battery life. Fortunately, there are some great tips and tricks, special services and accessories that can help make laptop users’ lives a lot easier.

Whenever you open a file or an application, data is stored via Random Access Memory. Laptops use a smaller, slower version of RAM than their desktop counterparts. Once that memory is used up, the computer reverts to the hard drive, causing it to operate much more slowly. What this essentially means is that the more RAM you have, the more applications and files can be open simultaneously without affecting performance. Therefore, it can be helpful for laptop users to use as few applications at a time as possible.

How much hard drive space you need depends on how you use your computer. If you find your music, photo and video collections are causing your hard drive to burst at the seams and thus reducing operating speed, additional options for data storage might help. External hard drives and online storage services can go a long way in freeing up space and providing backup protection for your data in the event of a computer crash.

Wireless Worries

While you may have the ability to work on spreadsheets on the sun porch, the portable life isn’t entirely peaceful. Laptop users would do well to pay special attention to issues that affect wireless network security.

Unlike computers that connect via router or Ethernet cable, wireless networks talk to devices using radio waves. According to an article at LaptopLogic.com, these open radio waves leave you susceptible to myriad snooping attacks that could make way for a hacker to access your network and all of your valuable information. This means family pictures, passwords, electronic bank statements, the information contained in your emails and your personal files are all compromised.

LaptopLogic.com suggests some preventive measures to help achieve security while using a wireless connection with a laptop. For example, when you create a wireless password make sure that you use a combination of numbers, letters (upper and lower case), and symbols. You also need to make sure that password is long -- the longer the password is, the more time required to crack it. It is also recommended that you use guest wireless networks rather than readily giving out your passwords to friends visiting your home. A guest network is a common feature found in newer routers, that is essentially a second network which is completely isolated from the network your personal devices use.

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor is here to help those age 50+ with technological needs! 321-431-3866

Desk top Publishing

2011-02-07T16:47:00.001-05:00

This Friday, Feb. 8th is the Desktop Publishing class at the Wickham Park Senior Center. In preparing for this class I have run across many great articles that just need to be shared! So if you are a fan of desktop publishing with Microsoft Publisher or if it’s all new to you; you’re bound to learn something so read on!

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This article is located at http://www.printingforless.com/Microsoft-Publisher-Design-Tips.html

Professional Printing Results with Microsoft Publisher

I'm going to make the bold statement:

"You can get the same professional printing results using Microsoft Publisher, a program that many people already have on their computer or can obtain for only about $140 as you would get by using the far more expensive Adobe Indesign or Quark XPress."

And I'm going to tell you exactly how to do it in this article.
All layout/design programs do essentially the same thing; they allow you to position text, photos, clip art and other elements in a document which is generally destined to be printed on some kind of media such as paper. And the secret here is that Publisher is equipped to do all these things just fine. In addition, we've found that it's much faster to learn than the more expensive programs.
Since we began, PrintingForLess.com has been the printer for tens of thousands of small businesses who have chosen to use Publisher to create their marketing pieces. And what we've learned in over 10 years of experience is that if you avoid some very common pitfalls you can create a very effective, professional looking marketing piece for your business. We'll focus on how to overcome these pitfalls while using Publisher.

Planning

Before you fire up Publisher and begin to add pictures and text to a layout, consider doing a little planning and idea development first. Brainstorm with your team exactly what change in thought or behavior you desire to create in those who view your piece. What story are you telling? What bold premise are you putting forth? What call to action are you building into your marketing piece? Get clear on these questions and then sketch on paper some possible ideas for how to attain these results before you begin the actual layout.

Images

After you do the above mentioned planning it's time to obtain whatever photographs your piece requires. Two of the largest mistakes that we see with photography are:

Using haphazardly produced or pre-existing photographs simply out of convenience instead of obtaining exactly what your planning process calls for
Poor lighting or low resolution

You can get decent quality photography with only a moderately priced camera of perhaps 4 or more megapixels. If you frame your subjects correctly (hint—get close...), mount the camera on a tripod for maximum sharpness and use some supplementary lighting when indoors, you will probably be happy with the results. With a 4 megapixel image which is uncropped you can stretch it to about 7" wide and still have sufficient resolution to create a sharp, professional look. If you use it at a smaller size than 7" it will be plenty sharp.

It's not important to convert your photographs from RGB to CMYK since Publisher stores them as RGB anyway. At PrintingForLess.com our RGB to CMYK image conversion process is state of the art and will yield the most accurate possible results.

Logos, diagrams, clipart, etc.

Many marketing pieces require a company logo or other types of images which are not photography. The main thing to avoid here is using artwork which was obtained from a website. It will be much too low in resolution and will look fuzzy or blocky on the edges. Use original artwork which is 300 dpi or greater in resolution or even better, is still in a native format which is vector.

Please call us about this part of your design process if you have questions. We have highly trained creative and technical people with libraries of such artwork who can help you get what you need inexpensively or perhaps even free of charge.

Create the layout document

Create your layout document in Publisher at the trimmed, finished size of the piece. If the piece is folded use the layout guides tool to create "Grid Guides" to indicate where the folds are and also where the center of each fold panel is. In other words, for a three panel, folded brochure, create six columns. The Grid Guide in the center of each column will make it much faster to accurately center the images, text and other contents of each panel.

You can find the Layout Guides tool under the "Arrange" menu item.
When positioning text and images in a column, if you select an object it creates "handles" on the corners and sides of the object which you can use to stretch it. To perfectly center all your layout items select and nudge each object so that the center top and bottom handles line up with the grid guides you created.

In general, if you use actual measurements, guides and other tools to position your layout items instead of merely "eyeballing" their positioning you will be certain of creating a more professional looking layout. Margin guides can be set to .125" to help you avoid placing text or other important items too close to the edge of the paper.
Feel free to use one of Publishers premade wizard templates if you have a hard time getting your ideas to flow into a blank sheet of paper. When using these templates you will simply substitute your text and graphics for what is in the template.

Color Selection

Printing with ink is about color—and everyone has fun picking the colors for their text, panels and other design elements. Two very common mistakes are:

Selecting colors directly from the color picker within Publisher based only on how the color looks on screen
Picking colors using the RGB color space

The problem is that the color you see on screen is glowing light while ink on paper is very different. And RGB is a color space based on light, not ink. Selecting colors this way often causes disappointment when the printed color does not resemble what your eye and brain thought it saw on screen.
The answer is to pick your color formulas from an ink and paper color guide. If you do this the colors in your printed piece will be just what you expected. Two very good sources of ink and paper color guides are:

Pantone CMYK color swatch books
Free PrintingForLess.com design guide we enclose in every pack of printed samples sent to anyone who requests one

After you have selected your layout colors from one of these color guides set up the cyan, magenta, yellow and black values in the color selector in Publisher, be sure the Color Model is set to CMYK as indicated below:

Fonts, Fonts, Fonts

A common mistake is to use too many different fonts within a layout. It's fun to pick fonts that call attention to and uniquely highlight each section of your layout. But to most viewers, using too many fonts will look busy, tedious or just plain goofy. Instead, choose a single font family (includes a plain, bold, italic, etc.) which is somewhat conventional and easy on the eye for most of the informational text in your layout. So called "serif" fonts such as Times New Roman, Bodoni and Garamond have proven to be easiest for the eye to read in paragraph text. And if your layout can benefit from some playfulness by all means select and use a different, unique-looking font for a headline or other attention-grabbing section.
You'll find that as you begin to put text into text frames in Publisher the program remembers your "palette" of selected fonts and conveniently positions your selected fonts at the top of the font selection dropdown. This makes it easier for you to quickly select from your "chosen palette" of fonts as you build your layout.

Grouping Elements

After you have a section of your layout positioned very precisely, it might be a good idea to select all the items (hold down the shift key and click on each one) and then group them together by pressing the "group objects" icon located directly below the objects you've selected. This will lock them together in their relative positions. This is especially useful if you will need to duplicate this configuration somewhere else in your layout; copy and paste the group to another page and you will have perfect consistency throughout your layout.

Use Master Pages for Common Backgrounds

If your design calls for a consistent background color, company logo in the corner of each page or some other consistent design element on every page, don't waste your time doing it manually. Open the Master Page (View...Master Page) and carefully place the repeating elements here. Uncheck Master Page and you'll be back in normal (foreground) view—except the contents of the Master Page will now be in the background of every page in your layout. This is a great tool when you are creating many identical business cards for people in your company. Create a multi-page document and put the logo and other common elements on the Master Page. Each employee's contact info is the only data on the foreground layer of each page which is much easier to manage.

Spell Check

There is a good chance that the spell checker is already on and making spelling suggestions as you type in Publisher. But it would be a good idea to manually run the spell checker (Tools...Spelling) so that you can consciously review any remaining spelling/grammar issues before sending your layout to a commercial printer.

Print a Hard Copy

Print several copies of your finished layout on a desktop printer and read one as though you are seeing it for the first time. Get a couple of your detail-conscious friends to proofread and review the layout. You'll be surprised at how you might perceive the layout on paper vs. on-screen and you'll probably find some mistakes that you were unaware of when viewing on-screen.
You've probably noticed that some of these suggestions aren't specific to using Microsoft Publisher—and you're right. The majority of regrettable and less than professional issues we see with layouts created by those who are not design professionals; and not the fault of the software they used. It's simply the lack of a checklist-something that airline pilots use every flight. If you use this short guide as a checklist each time you create your own designs, you'll consistently gain superior results and feel proud of your work.

-----------------again thank you to www.printforless.com for the above article----------------------------

AND DON’T FORGET:

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor will be teaching Microsoft Desktop Publisher Friday Feb. 8. 2011. For more information dial 321-431-3866. Class is only $10 registration is required!

Google Earth & Google Mars

2011-02-02T13:35:00.001-05:00

If you have not already tried this out – you really shoudl give it an install. It has improved over the years as well. The other day a friend of mine was showing me his mother’s house on Google Earth. We were amazed by the clarity of the pictures and then as we were in awe of the technology, there he found her! His mother! She was walking out to check the mail when the satellite took the photo! A little scary to know that someone is taking a photo of you and your person from space! So, like I said give it a whirl install the programs by going here:

http://www.google.com/earth/download/ge/

and try Google Mars for something different!

http://www.google.com/mars/

Today’s blog is brought to you by Simply Seniors Computer Tutors Call today to join a class near YOU! OR in home instructions!

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor is here to help those age 50 and over with their growing technological needs! From your home computer purchase and setup, to setting up home entertainment equipment Simply Seniors Computer Tutors does it ALL!

863-949-0667

www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

Our February Class Schedule

2011-02-01T23:02:00.001-05:00

These classes are being held at the Wickham Park Senior Center, Melbourne, FL. To have classes held in your area call 863-949-0667

Click on the picture for a larger image

Speech Recognition in Windows 7

2011-02-01T00:20:00.001-05:00

I bet you think you need to buy fancy software and equipment to access speech recognition software. Not True if you have Windows 7. Check out this great “How To” from one of my favorite ‘How To” web sites:

http://www.howtogeek.com

Using Windows 7 Speech Recognition

Ever get the desire to control your computer, Star Trek-style? With Windows 7’s Speech Recognition, it’s easier than you might think.

Microsoft has been working on its voice command steadily over the years. XP introduced it, Vista smoothed it, and 7 has it polished. It’s strangely not advertised as a feature, even though other voice command and speech recognition programs are hundreds of dollars. It may not be as perfect as some of them, but there’s definitely something amazing about vocally telling your computer to do things and it actually working.

It’s simple to enable, easy to configure and use, and just plain fun. Watch our video below to see how to enable it and to see a demo of what it can do.

I do not like talking out loud but this sure is handy!

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor will be offering classes on how to set your computer speech recognition software. Get a copy of the common commands.

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor is on Face Book – Join the talk!!!

From Microsoft.com

What can I do with Speech Recognition?

You can use your voice to control your computer. You can say commands that the computer will respond to, and you can dictate text to the computer.

Before you get started using Windows Speech Recognition, you'll need to connect a microphone to your computer. Once you've got the microphone set up, you can train your computer to better understand you by creating a voice profile that your computer uses to recognize your voice and spoken commands. For information about setting up your microphone, see Set up your microphone for Speech Recognition.

After you've got your microphone and voice profile set up, you can use Speech Recognition to do the following:

Control your computer. Speech Recognition listens and responds to your spoken commands. You can use Speech Recognition to run programs and interact with Windows. For more information about the commands you can use with Speech Recognition, see Common commands in Speech Recognition.
Dictate and edit text. You can use Speech Recognition to dictate words into word-processing programs or to fill out online forms in a web browser. You can also use Speech Recognition to edit text on your computer. For more information about dictating text, see Dictate text using Speech Recognition.

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This is Stacey from Simply Seniors Computer Tutor! Let US HELP Mom & Dad with their computer needs!

www.ComputerTutor Help.Us

321-431-3866

Help seniors meet technology!

Skype – Childs Play?

2011-01-31T20:31:00.001-05:00

Tonight’s blog is just an observation of the world that I currently live in and a reflection upon what was.

When I was twelve years old we moved into a new house and with the new house came a new bedroom and the most important thing of all, my very own corded telephone line! I will never forget that pink cored push button phone. The year was 1987 and there was no internet or Nintendo DS.

Fast forward to my observation of my own ten year old daughter who is now on her laptop computer using the built in web cam to Skype with her girl friend who lives on the other side of town. The to are using the video feature to explore each other’s bed rooms, look at books together and chat it up! They are playing dolls, looking at each other’s cat and playing with their Nintendo DS’s.

Isn’t technology grand? I can not even imagine how far the next twenty years will take us.

If all this technology seems too much call Simply Seniors Computer Tutors – we can help! Making computer’s simple for seniors is in our name! It’s what we do! More info? 321-431-3866

Classes
One on One
Technical
Remote

Call today 321-431-3866

Looking for a computer designed for Seniors?

2011-01-29T21:34:00.001-05:00

Check out what this company is offering for seniors! Here is a link to their web site and a copy of the front page to tell you a little about the unit. http://www.thegocomputer.com/

The cost is close to $1000 and they want an additional $20 a month for ‘tech support’ – read on to learn more – but don’t be shocked when you don’t see this take off!

GREAT idea but NOT what people want to pay.

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Designed For Seniors® Go Computer

If you, or some one you love, has ever said "I’ll never buy a computer"...you need to read this!

Now you can finally enjoy writing to your family, researching your favorite hobby or important news item, or just relaxing playing games...simply by clicking on a green GO button.

If you can type an email or website address into a box...you have mastered a whole new world of computing with the designed for SENIORS® GO Computer. Backed by nearly a decade of research and development, the GO Computer has been designed especially for you. It takes about five minutes to set up, and no tools or special skills are required. Plus, it is so easy to understand, no computer classes or DVDs are necessary.

But wait until you start to use it...It’s easy to see and use with specially designed features like a large-letter keyboard, an easy-rolling trackball mouse and a zoom feature that magnifies up to 200 percent. firstSTREET’s computer features a whole new operating system based on a "GO" screen concept, backed up by immediate phone access to around-the-clock U. S.-based remote service and assistance.

Finally...a computer you can’t break, crash or confuse; a computer that won’t lose what’s put into it, and that’s protected from viruses and spam!

Welcome to the world of a failure-free and fear-free computer!

Welcome to the New Standard in Computing Simplicity...the designed for SENIORS® Go Computer...bringing a much-appreciated simplicity to senior computing, as well as high-performance technology.

Now you, and anybody who may be feeling a little technologically challenged these days, can start enjoying a whole new world of entertainment, communication, and education...smoothly and effortlessly into the 21st century.

firstSTREET is proud to introduce to you...the designed for SENIORS® Go Computer...sold exclusively through firstSTREET.

Order the GO Computer now for just $949 plus $19.95 per month for access to our unique service and unlimited email and phone support, upgrades, an effortless computing experience and user friendly links to safe websites.

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Simply Seniors Computer Tutor understands seniors have special computing needs. We can alter your current equipment to make it easier for you to work with. Add a keyboard from Zoom Text for the visually challenged. Cost, about $99

Track Ball mice are available at your local office store for under $30.

We hope you have learned something new! 863-949-0667 Simply Seniors Computer Tutor

www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

Learn your Keyboard!

2011-01-28T22:36:00.001-05:00

When I first started using the computer, about 1991, I did not even have a mouse. I actually entered commands through the keyboard and used keyboard shortcuts to do common tasks, like cut copy and paste. The following comes form Micorosoft’s web site and you may find these keyboard short cuts will increase your productivity.

Windows system key combinations

F1: Help
CTRL+ESC: Open Start menu
ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs
ALT+F4: Quit program
SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently
Windows Logo+L: Lock the computer (without using CTRL+ALT+DELETE)

Windows program key combinations

CTRL+C: Copy
CTRL+X: Cut
CTRL+V: Paste
CTRL+Z: Undo
CTRL+B: Bold
CTRL+U: Underline
CTRL+I: Italic

Mouse click/keyboard modifier combinations for shell objects

SHIFT+right click: Displays a shortcut menu containing alternative commands
SHIFT+double click: Runs the alternate default command (the second item on the menu)
ALT+double click: Displays properties
SHIFT+DELETE: Deletes an item immediately without placing it in the Recycle Bin

General keyboard-only commands

F1: Starts Windows Help
F10: Activates menu bar options
SHIFT+F10 Opens a shortcut menu for the selected item (this is the same as right-clicking an object
CTRL+ESC: Opens the Start menu (use the ARROW keys to select an item)
CTRL+ESC or ESC: Selects the Start button (press TAB to select the taskbar, or press SHIFT+F10 for a context menu)
CTRL+SHIFT+ESC: Opens Windows Task Manager
ALT+DOWN ARROW: Opens a drop-down list box
ALT+TAB: Switch to another running program (hold down the ALT key and then press the TAB key to view the task-switching window)
SHIFT: Press and hold down the SHIFT key while you insert a CD-ROM to bypass the automatic-run feature
ALT+SPACE: Displays the main window's System menu (from the System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the window)
ALT+- (ALT+hyphen): Displays the Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child window'sSystem menu (from the MDI child window's System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the child window)
CTRL+TAB: Switch to the next child window of a Multiple Document Interface (MDI) program
ALT+underlined letter in menu: Opens the menu
ALT+F4: Closes the current window
CTRL+F4: Closes the current Multiple Document Interface (MDI) window
ALT+F6: Switch between multiple windows in the same program (for example, when the Notepad Find dialog box is displayed, ALT+F6 switches between the Find dialog box and the main Notepad window)

Shell objects and general folder/Windows Explorer shortcuts

For a selected object:

F2: Rename object
F3: Find all files
CTRL+X: Cut
CTRL+C: Copy
CTRL+V: Paste
SHIFT+DELETE: Delete selection immediately, without moving the item to the Recycle Bin
ALT+ENTER: Open the properties for the selected object

To copy a file

Press and hold down the CTRL key while you drag the file to another folder.

To create a shortcut

Press and hold down CTRL+SHIFT while you drag a file to the desktop or a folder.

General folder/shortcut control

F4: Selects the Go To A Different Folder box and moves down the entries in the box (if the toolbar is active in Windows Explorer)
F5: Refreshes the current window.
F6: Moves among panes in Windows Explorer
CTRL+G: Opens the Go To Folder tool (in Windows 95 Windows Explorer only)
CTRL+Z: Undo the last command
CTRL+A: Select all the items in the current window
BACKSPACE: Switch to the parent folder
SHIFT+click+Close button: For folders, close the current folder plus all parent folders

Windows Explorer tree control

Numeric Keypad *: Expands everything under the current selection
Numeric Keypad +: Expands the current selection
Numeric Keypad -: Collapses the current selection.
RIGHT ARROW: Expands the current selection if it is not expanded, otherwise goes to the first child
LEFT ARROW: Collapses the current selection if it is expanded, otherwise goes to the parent

Properties control

CTRL+TAB/CTRL+SHIFT+TAB: Move through the property tabs

Accessibility shortcuts

Press SHIFT five times: Toggles StickyKeys on and off
Press down and hold the right SHIFT key for eight seconds: Toggles FilterKeys on and off
Press down and hold the NUM LOCK key for five seconds: Toggles ToggleKeys on and off
Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK: Toggles MouseKeys on and off
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN: Toggles high contrast on and off

Microsoft Natural Keyboard keys

Windows Logo: Start menu
Windows Logo+R: Run dialog box
Windows Logo+M: Minimize all
SHIFT+Windows Logo+M: Undo minimize all
Windows Logo+F1: Help
Windows Logo+E: Windows Explorer
Windows Logo+F: Find files or folders
Windows Logo+D: Minimizes all open windows and displays the desktop
CTRL+Windows Logo+F: Find computer
CTRL+Windows Logo+TAB: Moves focus from Start, to the Quick Launch toolbar, to the system tray (use RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW to move focus to items on the Quick Launch toolbar and the system tray)
Windows Logo+TAB: Cycle through taskbar buttons
Windows Logo+Break: System Properties dialog box
Application key: Displays a shortcut menu for the selected ilog box keyboard commands
TAB: Move to the next control in the dialog box
SHIFT+TAB: Move to the previous control in the dialog box
SPACEBAR: If the current control is a button, this clicks the button. If the current control is a check box, this toggles the check box. If the current control is an option, this selects the option.
ENTER: Equivalent to clicking the selected button (the button with the outline)
ESC: Equivalent to clicking the Cancel button
ALT+underlined letter in dialog box item: Move to the corresponding item

Always hoping that you have learned somehting new today!

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor! 863-949-0667 www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

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Does weather affect wireless connection?

2011-01-27T12:56:00.001-05:00

This is a great question! I live in Florida (thank God!) and we stay warm most of the year with a couple dips down toward the 20’s. We have very bad rain and thunderstorms during the spring and summer months but not the freezing cold of up north. Today’s blog question is brought to me by a client of mine in New York … once it drops below 30 F on the thermometer her Belkin wireless G router starts failing; dropping signal and losing her internet connection. Usually, she can reboot the router and the signal will remain strong for a while and then drop again about every 1/2 hour.

The first items that need to be cleared up are: YES the router is within her house, she is not borrowing someone else’s signal from a far. Additionally, it is a G router. Lastly, the home is a mobile home with very thin, tin walls.

I have been trying to find the answer to this question and here is what I have been able to find from other web sites:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100125120359AAAtKzg

This is yahoo answers.com someone wrote in with the question of the day and here are other people’s responses:

Could weather affect wireless connection?

Last week there was heavy rain and the wireless internet connection was fine until a few days ago. All day it either gains or loses signal every hour and I'm not sure what caused it. Maybe it was the weather but I believe there could be other causes. It's getting more sunnier than before and I'm hoping that wireless connection should return to normal.

Greyoldd...

Yes, it happens that the 2.4 mhz band used by the G type wifi is exactly the frequency that is absorbed by water. Thus if your wifi connection is a little weak then a lot of rain or snow can interfere.
- 1 year ago
- Report Abuse
0% 0 Votes
- 1 person rated this as good
MikesToo...

can weather effect wireless networks? Yes
Should you really be seeing big noticable effects? No.
Your router could be on its way out. Or there could be some type of interferance like a microwave, neighbor just got a new wifi router, cordless house phones....
- 1 year ago

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Here is another similar question and answer from another Yahoo answers site:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081030083504AArsdFv

Can snow and cold weather affect internet connection?

i have notice that my internet keeps disconnecting every 10 seconds seriously. i have also noticed that only this happens from evening night time all the way to early morning. IN THE DAY TIME the internet works well. its winter here so night time is freezing.

2 years ago
Report Abuse

Colanth

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

It could be, but I doubt it, because daytime temperatures in the dead of winter are colder (in most places) than the coldest nighttime temperatures now. If you're using wireless it could be interference. Or it could be that your provider has a problem. (Or it *could* be that one particular outdoor connection is bad, and the *change* in temperature at night is causing a problem. Not likely, but possible.)

2 years ago
Report Abuse

Asker's Rating:
Asker's Comment:: problem with the router most likely .. gotta find a better router

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As I read I found over and over people stating that the wireless G router runs on a frequency that is easily affected by weather and humidity level changes.

I did find a few people chiming in stating that this was impossible – but I tend to want to get more information. I did a few different Google searches looking for variations on “freezing temps and poor wireless connections” and this is another issues I read about. The actual cables from the cable company coming into the house and modem may be causing the issues, as they are apparently very affected by the changes in the temp.

This forum had a great discussion you can read the whole thing at:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19732882-Speed-Issues-Internet-dies-in-cold-weather

One of their readers suggested the following:

“You need to call tech and make sure your wire is good from the drop. I had something like that happen last year and when the replaced the cable they had found a squirrel had chewed partway through it. another way is when you do call tech ask them for your modem test I.P.”

”Then you can check latency when you need too and also record when the modem " sees ". That way you might have a better chance of tracking it down. More then likely they are going to replace the cable from drop to home. The inside stuff is up to you unless you want to pay extra for it. They shouldn't charge you for running from drop to home.”

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So how can we improve our internet signal without buying a new router? I found this helpful information from Microsoft.

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/setup/wirelesstips.aspx

10 tips to help improve your wireless network

If the Windows operating system ever notifies you about a weak Wi-Fi signal, it probably means that your connection isn't as fast or as reliable as it could be. Worse, you might lose your connection entirely in some parts of your home. If you want to boost the signal for your wireless network (WLAN), try some of these tips for extending your wireless range and improving your wireless network speed and performance.

1. Position your wireless router, modem router, or access point in a central location

When possible, place your wireless router, wireless modem router (a DSL or cable modem with a built-in wireless router), or wireless access point (WAP) in a central location in your home. If your wireless router, modem router, or access point is against an outside wall of your home, the signal will be weak on the other side of your home. If your router is on the first floor and your PC or laptop is on the second floor, place the router high on a shelf in the room where it is located. Don't worry if you can't move your wireless router, because there are many other ways to improve your connection.

2. Move the router off the floor and away from walls and metal objects (such as metal file cabinets)

Metal objects, walls, and floors will interfere with your router's wireless signals. The closer your router is to these obstructions, the more severe the interference, and the weaker your connection will be.

3. Replace your router's antenna

The antennas supplied with your router are designed to be omnidirectional, meaning that they broadcast in all directions around the router. If your router is near an outside wall, half of the wireless signals will be sent outside your home, and much of your router's power will be wasted. Most routers don't allow you to increase the power output, but you can make better use of the power. If your router’s antenna is removable, you can upgrade to a high-gain antenna that focuses the wireless signals in only one direction. You can even aim the signal in the direction you need it most. Consider a Linksys high-gain antenna—they’re powerful and easy to install. Or shop for other high-gain antennas.

4. Replace your laptop's wireless PC card-based network adapter

Laptops with built-in wireless networking capability typically have excellent antennas and don't need to have their network adapters upgraded. These tips are for laptops that do not have built-in wireless networking.

Wireless network signals must be sent both to and from your computer. Sometimes your router can broadcast strongly enough to reach your computer, but your computer can't send signals back to your router. To improve this, replace your laptop's PC card-based wireless network adapter with a USB wireless network adapter that uses an external antenna. In particular, consider a Linksys Wireless-N or Hawking Hi-Gain Wireless-N USB network adapter. These add an external, high-gain antenna to your computer and can significantly extend your wireless range.

5. Add a wireless repeater

Wireless repeaters extend your wireless network range without requiring you to add any wiring. Just place the wireless repeater halfway between your wireless router, modem router, or access point and your computer, and you can get an instant boost to your wireless signal strength. Check out the wireless-N repeaters from Linksys, Hawking Hi-Gain, ViewSonic, D-Link, and Buffalo Technology, or shop for a wireless-N repeater.

6. Change your wireless channel

Wireless routers can broadcast on several different channels, similar to the way radio stations use different channels. In the United States and Canada, these channels are 1, 6, and 11. Just as you'll sometimes hear interference on one radio station while another is perfectly clear, sometimes one wireless channel is clearer than others. Try changing your wireless router's channel through your router's configuration page to see if your signal strength improves. You don't need to change your computer's configuration, because it can automatically detect the new channel.

To find your router configuration page, consult this quick reference table, which shows the default addresses for common router manufacturers. If the address is not listed here, read the documentation that came with your router, or visit the manufacturer's webpage.

Router

Address

3Com

http://192.168.1.1

D-Link

http://192.168.0.1

Linksys

http://192.168.1.1

Microsoft Broadband

http://192.168.2.1

Netgear

http://192.168.0.1

Actiontec

http://192.168.0.1

7. Reduce wireless interference

The most common wireless technology, 802.11g (wireless-G), operates at a frequency of 2.4 gigahertz (GHz). Many cordless phones, microwave ovens, baby monitors, garage door openers, and other wireless electronics also use this frequency. If you use these wireless devices in your home, your computer might not be able to "hear" your router over the noise coming from them.

If your network uses wireless-G, you can quiet the noise by avoiding wireless electronics that use the 2.4 GHz frequency. Instead, look for cordless phones and other devices that use the 5.8 GHz or 900 megahertz (MHz) frequencies. Because 802.11n (wireless-N) operates at both 2.4 GHz and the less frequently used 5.0 GHz frequency, you may experience less interference on your network if you use this technology.

8. Update your firmware or your network adapter driver

Router manufacturers regularly make free improvements to their routers. Sometimes, these improvements increase performance. To get the latest firmware updates for your router, visit your router manufacturer's website.

Similarly, network adapter vendors occasionally update the software that Windows uses to communicate with your network adapter, known as the driver. These updates typically improve performance and reliability. To get the driver updates, follow the instructions for your operating system:

9. Pick equipment from a single vendor

Although a Linksys router will work with a D-Link network adapter, you often get better performance if you pick a router and network adapter from the same vendor. Some vendors offer a performance boost of up to twice the performance when you choose their hardware (like their USB wireless network adapters). Linksys has the SpeedBooster technology for its wireless-G devices, and D-Link has the 108G enhancement for its wireless-G devices. These enhancements can be helpful if you have wireless-G devices and you need to transmit over a long distance or you live in an older house (old walls tend to block the signal more than newly built ones do).

If speeding up your connection is important to you, consider the next tip—upgrading your wireless technology.

10. Upgrade 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g devices to 802.11n

Although wireless-G (802.11g) may be the most common type of wireless network, wireless-N (802.11n) is at least twice as fast and it has better range and stability. Wireless-N is backward-compatible with 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g, so you can still use any existing wireless equipment that you have—though you won’t see much improvement in performance until you upgrade your computer or network adapter to wireless-G, too.

If you're using wireless-B or wireless-G and you're unhappy with your network’s speed and performance, consider replacing your router and network adapters with wireless-N equipment. If you're buying new equipment, definitely choose wireless-N. Linksys Wireless-N routers, for example, are powerful, secure, and simple to set up. So are Linksys Wireless-N USB wireless network adapters.

Find out which wireless technology is installed on your computer:

Windows 7

Windows Vista

Windows XP

Wireless networks never reach the theoretical bandwidth limits. Wireless-B networks typically get 2–5 megabits per second (Mbps). Wireless-G networks are usually in the 13–23 Mbps range. The average everyday speed for wireless-N equipment is about 50 Mbps.

Don’t forget—the security of your wireless network is as important as its speed and performance. Learn about the different security methods.

Help make your network more secure:

This stuff is complicated and we understand. Simply Seniors Computer Tutor looks forward to helping you with your computer needs however big they may be. We can find a qualified technician in your area that can help with your home networking issues. Thank you again for reading and please suggest this to all of your friends!

Need technical assistance? Dial 863-949-0667

Help a local small business continue to help our senior citizen clients!

USB or not to B that is the question!

2011-01-26T11:26:00.001-05:00

I see this frustration every day! You put the USB plug into the computer, nope wait that wasn’t the right direction hold on… you put the USB plug into the other way….

You get the picture – USB’s apparently have been a little issue for many people according to this article. Ok, this is a little geeky even for me. But I loved the graphics and the way they broke down a USB adapter and port in this article. You can read the original at: http://www.engadget.com and credit to Michael Gorman who wrote this article:

Maybe there are greater aggravations in your life, but the symmetrical-on-the-outside, asymmetrical-on-the-inside USB connector has been a source of frustration since its introduction. To combat the problem of USB plug rejection, Ma Xi Xuan has developed the Double USB connector that works right side up or upside down thanks to twin spring-loaded plastic connectors on its interior. The design seems more robust than previous solutions we've seen, but sadly the switch-hitting plug is only a design exercise at this point. We can only hope that company will exercise some common sense and make these plugs a reality. Tomorrow works for us.

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I am often asked which side goes up and if you take a moment to look at the USB cable you will see a little USB symbol on top of it:

I would like to tell you that the picture side always goes up toward you and that is the way to know that you are putting the cable in correctly – BUT that is not true. It is dependent upon how the manufacture placed the female port on the motherboard.

The ‘redesign’ of the USB will probably be years before it actually hits our shelves – if it even does. Are we really so bothered by flipping over a cable and trying again?

How about you don’t worry yourself with your USB cables – and let the experts at the Computer Tutor help you out? Simply Seniors Computer Tutors will get down on the floor, up under that dusty desk, and untangle those wires, and put all of your USBs in the right places. Why not have a Computer Tutor come out and clean up[ your techno-mess? You can contact Simply Seniors Computer Tutor at our new number 863-949-0667 OR 321-431-3866

Thanks for reading and PLEASE share this blog with your friends! We need to make 100 new friends each month! Won’t you help?

Black Background? White Background?

2011-01-24T11:15:00.001-05:00

Light text on dark background vs. readability

You know we work very hard on this blog – bringing info on various computer topics right into your home. Simply Seniors Computer Tutors work with seniors and their unique computer needs. One such unique computer need is the ability to find the right ‘screen interface’ for our seniors with visually difficulties. Because Computer has spent many years working these issues we have discovered Black Backgrounds and white text are very reader friendly. The high contrasting colors make it easier to focus on the letters on the screen.

Recently, I asked our Facebook friends what they preferred and here is what they said:

Hi guys - I need your advice! As readers do you prefer a screen like this, white with small black text OR a site in black with white text? I work with seniors who tend to have vision problems. A white background is brighter and harder on the eyes so black is suggested.... now my question is what is your call? You can answer with BLACK or WHITE depending on which background you like. THX for your help.
Friday at 6:05pm · · Like · Comment

Margaret Devereux Kile Stacey - I just went to your site - love it! I do think the black background is much easiser on the eyes. I vote for Black background! Hugs to all!

Yesterday at 7:38am · Like
Catherine Beierling Biegler black w/ white

Yesterday at 9:03am · Like
Denise Marie Sinnott-Klenotich I know when Britty did eye therapy, they said the white is BRIGHT and since she was gaining her eyesite back...the dr. didnt want her to STRAIN her eyes, so we did a lot of things w/ black /white and then slowly did white/ black and just adjusted the "brightness" now she is good w/ white/black ;).and well you KNOW that is why I used CAPS for ever :) but I think I am really doing well NOW :) ahhaah...hope thta helps

Yesterday at 10:58am · Like

It looks like most of those polled like black on white.

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This from http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum116/48.htm

Does it matter what your users prefer? I would certainly hope so. Does the choice of color matter? I think we all know so: Try reading dark-red text on a dark-brown background, or bright-red on dayglo-green. Some color choices are nearly impossible to read, and others just plain hurt.

Surprisingly, however, there is some indication that using white on black (or other light-text on dark-background combinations) is actually preferred by those with impaired vision.

The following article was written in 2006 – you can read it at the web site posted below. The Author shares his dislike for the Black background white test look and discusses his personal eye strain issues while reading text on this type of website. From some of the words it appears the writer was from over seas.

http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/200608/light_text_on_dark_background_vs_readability/

What’s up with the current design trend of light text on dark backgrounds? Many web designers seem to favour inverted colour schemes, but what happened to readability and usability? I know I am not the only person to find it very uncomfortable to read text on sites with inverted, high contrast designs.

Light-on-dark designs aren’t new. What’s new is that they have been appearing more frequently in the last year or so. Just take a look at the CSS Reboot Spring 2006participants. Plenty of light-on-dark designs there.

So what, exactly, is my complaint? If I don’t like the design of a site, I don’t have tovisit it. Well yes, but there is a lot of interesting content on some sites that use inverted colours. When possible, I read their content in my feed reader. If I can’t do that I just stop visiting. It’s a shame, but my eyes simply can’t take the strain.

It isn’t just about using light-on-dark text in the main content area either. I also find that high contrasts between different areas of the page cause problems. An example is when the main content area uses dark-on-light and there is an inverted sidebar right next to it. It hurts my eyes, and if possible I make my browser window narrow enough to hide the inverted part of the page when I visit sites that have that kind of design.

Note that I am not criticising the aesthetics of inverted designs, just their readability. Several light-on-dark sites look fantastic for a few seconds or even a minute. I just find actually reading articles on them very straining on my eyes, and I hate the way they linger on the retina when I look away from my screen.

Since most of the sites I want to read are quite well-structured and semantically marked up I could just turn CSS off in my browser and gain instant readability. I could also start messing with user stylesheets. I don’t think either should be necessary though.

To me this is an accessibility issue, the same way many people with impaired vision prefer light-on-dark text and may have problems similar to (or worse than) mine when reading dark-on-light text. As far as I know, I am not vision impaired. At least I have never been told so by an optician or an ophthalmologist. I still struggle with high-contrast, light-on-dark designs.

So if you want to use light text on a dark background, please provide an alternate stylesheet that turns the whole design, not just the content area, back to dark on light. You should also consider what Mark Boulton has to say in Five simple steps to better typography:

When reversing colour out, eg white text on black, make sure you increase the leading, tracking and decrease your font-weight. This applies to all widths of Measure. White text on a black background is a higher contrast to the opposite, so the letterforms need to be wider apart, lighter in weight and have more space between the lines.

I haven’t been able to find much recent research or usability testing that compares the readability of light-on-dark vs. dark-on-light designs. If you are aware of anything conclusive, please speak up.

Who else out there is having problems reading light-on-dark text? Who is not having problems and actually find it easier on your eyes? If you have used light-on-dark for a design, did you perform any usability testing? If so, what were the results?

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Google thinks that it is important that we consider using the black background. Have you ever seen this site:

http://www.blackle.com/

It’s google only high contrast style. Here is what Google has to say about WHY they made www.blackle.com

How is Blackle saving energy?

Blackle was created by Heap Media to remind us all of the need to take small steps in our everyday lives to save energy. Blackle searches are powered by Google Custom Search.

Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. "Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen."Roberson et al, 2002

In January 2007 a blog post titled Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year proposed the theory that a black version of the Google search engine would save a fair bit of energy due to the popularity of the search engine. Since then there has been skepticism about the significance of the energy savings that can be achieved and the cost in terms of readability of black web pages.

We believe that there is value in the concept because even if the energy savings are small, they all add up. Secondly we feel that seeing Blackle every time we load our web browser reminds us that we need to keep taking small steps to save energy.

How can you help?

We encourage you to set Blackle as your home page. This way every time you load your Internet browser you will save a little bit of energy. Remember every bit counts! You will also be reminded about the need to save energy each time you see the Blackle page load.

Help us spread the word about Blackle by telling your friends and family to set it as their home page. If you have a blog then give us a mention. Or put the following text in your email signature: "Blackle.com - Saving energy one search at a time".

Have a look at our energy saving tips page for ideas on steps you can take to save energy or you can followBlackle on Twitter and we will keep you updated with simple energy saving tips.

There are a lot of great web sites about saving energy and being more environmentally friendly. They are full of great tips covering the little things that we can all do to make a difference today. Try Blackling "energy saving tips" or visit one of the many great blogs dedicated to environmental awareness.

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Thanks Google! I have also discovered that a larger font size may help while reading white on back. We have increased the font size of today’s blog. Give Simply Seniors Computer Tutor your feed back. We’d like to know if the increased font size has helped your ability to read our blog.

Remember Simply Seniors Computer Tutor is here to help with your unique technological needs. You can call 321-431-3866 for more information!

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Since I started this blog I have been asked if I can reverse facebook, making it black with white text. I have found a web site that shows it can be done and i have installed the necessary software but it did not work – so I will keep working with it and pass any findings along to you.

Thanks again for reading and please pass this along to your friends! Click on our little FACEBOK link and become our Friend! We are looking to meet 100 new friends each month this year 2011! Check out www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

321-431-3866 Simply Seniors Computer Tutor

FB Personal Information – Follow Up

2011-01-20T21:45:00.001-05:00

The other day i wrote about Facebook getting too personal. Tonight while working with my own account I found this handy tool where you can download a copy of all of the personal information that FB has compiled on you. I am going to post some screen shots:

Locate this by logging into your facebook account and to the top right of the screen choose ACCOUNT and ACCOUNT SETTINGS

Click on download your information

Next click download and the screen will tell you what type of information it will be collecting from your facebook file.

Try this on your account today.

Thought you might like to know about this – I had not run across it before tonight.

Happy Computing!

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor

Let’s Learn about TECHNO-TRASH

2011-01-20T20:23:00.001-05:00

Would you throw away your credit cards without chopping them up? How about your other personal letters and files? Well then I ask why would you set your unwanted computer on the side of the road? I never can understand why people throw their unwanted electronics in their local trash. Not only is is bad for your personal data that may be retrieved it’s very bad for our environment.

Before you think of throwing away your computer please contact Simply Seniors Computer Tutors. 321-431-3866 www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us We are in touch with many different groups throughout Brevard County FL, that refurbish what they can and recycle the rest. If you hand over your unwanted computer to Simply Seniors Computer Tutors you can rest assured knowing your data will be destroyed and will never be seen by any other eyes. Likewise, the groups we work with will refurbish your unwanted computer and give it free of charge to a person in need.

For more information on how we can help remove your unwanted computer equipment, including monitors, keyboards, mice, systems and other peripheral equipment. Please call 321-431-3866

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Techno trash is everywhere! I bet you have a drawer full of gadgets that were once the “cool’ gadget. Let me tell you about some of the ‘treasures’ (my husband calls it junk) that I have collected. I am currently looking at 4 printers – that work! I have 14 computer systems – that work, numerous hand held things from game controllers to cameras to palm whatever’s. But I use none of it. I have moved on to more advanced all in one gadgets – that I guess will be my techno-trash of the future.

Check out these blogs I have found on techno-trash and what can be done to recycle and reuse:

This photos is from the associated press. The caption reads: FILE- In this April 26, 2005, file photo, piles of used computer gear fill a waste collection lot in Montpelier, Vt. Vermont is one of twenty-five states that have bans on electronic waste in landfills. Vermont's new electronic waste law took effect Jan. 1.

So which states ban electronic waste in landfills? Though I could not find a complete list and I could not find an exact # – recent news reports from January 2011 state between 24 –27 states now ban throwing aware the old TV.

i did find this – it was back when there were only 11 http://www.prc.org/States_with_Disposal_Ban_laws.pdf

Check out these blogs:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=52&articleid=20110105_52_E3_CUTLIN422045

The Environmental Protection Agency estimated in 2007 that the U.S. generates about 2 million tons a year of e-waste, which can contain lead, mercury, cadmium and other potentially harmful chemicals. If those toxins leach from landfills into the environment, risks to human health can include cancer and nervous system damage, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The EPA estimates that in 2008, 13.6 percent of e-waste generated was recovered. Scott Cassel, executive director of the Boston-based Product Stewardship Institute, which promotes such recycling, said it's believed the percentage has grown significantly since then, as more states have passed and implemented laws.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=52&articleid=20110105_52_E3_CUTLIN422045

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So what can you do with your techno trash?

First, call Simply Seniors Computer Tutor, we know many different organizations that can put your out dated computer equipment to use. Secondly, I recommend AERC recycling in Melbourne.

AERC is one of the leading full-service recycling companies in the nation. We are committed to developing and utilizing the recycling technologies of tomorrow, for a cleaner, healthier environment today.

And they are located RIGHT HERE! How about that!

http://www.aercrecycling.com/?gclid=CJ7pzJiKyqYCFQrt7QodCzRbGg

WHERE ELSE CAN I DONATE MY OLD SOMPUTER IF I AM NOT IN YOUR AREA?

http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm

This web site by the EPS have a few links to other places you can donate your equipment.

Here are some examples of what you’ll find (maybe make money with your old stuff?) Try this:

http://www.ecosquid.com/client/index.jsp

Instantly compare cash offers and recycling options
from across the web in one easy search.

http://earth911.com/recycling/electronics/

This web site has too many choices for me to relist just go check it out your self:

http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm#local

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Did you know about the Waste Expo? Phew, me neither!

Now entering its 43rd year, WasteExpo is North America’s largest solid waste and recycling tradeshow serving both the private and public sectors. Whether you come from the public sector, a small, medium or large private sector waste management company or a manufacturer or supplier, WasteExpo is your once-a-year event!

http://wasteexpo.com/wasteexpo2011/public/enter.aspx

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http://www.thegreenguide.com/home-garden/recycling/electronic-waste This article was updated in march 2010 first written in 2007 but has some amazing statistics:

The global production of e-waste is rapidly increasing, and many experts believe it could double by 2020.

An estimated 235 million tons of potential e-waste is sitting in garages, drawers, and storage spaces in the United States. When finally sent to the landfill, these unused electronics have the potential to leach harmful chemicals into our air, soil, and groundwater, according to environmental groups and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These toxins include lead, known to cause brain damage in children and reproductive problems in adults; mercury, known to cause neurological problems; and arsenic, a known carcinogen.

For example, an average computer monitor contains five to eight pounds of lead. Consumer electronics, as a whole, contribute an astonishing 40 percent of the lead found in landfills throughout the U.S., according to the nonprofit Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.

Plastics in computers pose other hazards when disposed. Each year, computers contribute to the 630,000 tons of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic that ends up in the U.S. waste stream. PVC releases highly toxic, carcinogenic dioxins both in the manufacturing process and when disposed of through incineration.

Televisions, monitors, and computer circuit boards also use flame-retardant chemicals known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs). PBDEs, suspected hormone disruptors, may interfere with thyroid function and have affected development in laboratory mice. Most alarming, some studies have found that levels of some PBDEs double in human breast milk every five years, and that levels are highest in North American women. PBBs are considered probable carcinogens by the U.S. National Toxicology Program.

"Unfortunately, it's legal in many states to simply dump this waste in landfills or burn it in incinerators," says Barbara Kyle of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, a nonprofit that promotes environmentally-friendly design and responsible recycling of electronics.

The good news is that companies are becoming increasingly aware of problems with the electronics recycling stream and, due in part to consumer pressure, have started creating products with fewer toxic materials. Some companies are phasing out PVC plastic and PBDEs, but many major electronic companies don’t have an incentive to make products with greener lifecycles.

Recycling, however, doesn’t necessarily solve the problem. A significant percentage of recycled electronics ends up in China, India, and developing nations in Africa, where there are fewer regulations controlling the disposal of toxic substances. The electronics are taken apart improperly by untrained workers without protective equipment, according to many environmental groups, including the UN Environmental Program. The toxic substances workers and their families can be exposed to also end up in neighboring waterways. Most countries have banned the export of e-waste, but the United States has not ratified the international treaty that enforces the ban.

E-Recycling Certifications

Several standards under development would address the irresponsible export of e-waste. The EPA is developing the Responsible Recycling (R2) program to provide guidelines for voluntary recycling certification programs. The R2 program allows for responsible exports.

The Basel Action Network and Electronics TakeBack Coalition, which believe the R2 standard doesn’t go far enough, have developed a separate voluntary standard, called the eStewards program, which takes steps to prevent the export of electronics waste, protect recycling workers, prevent the use of prison labor, and prevent landfill disposal and incineration of e-waste.

Japan and European Union member states require manufacturers to take on the costs of disposal in an effort to encourage companies to think differently about the life cycle of their products. E-waste campaigns in the U.S. are looking to those countries as they try to move the U.S. away from the current system in which consumers pay to recycle their own electronics. This modal doesn't give producers the same incentive to implement greener design and responsible disposal, says Kyle.

Except for an EPA rule classifying broken TVs and computer monitors as toxic waste, no other national laws exist to regulate e-waste in the U.S. State governments sometimes pick up where federal standards are lacking, but states can’t regulate international trade, including exports of e-waste. Twenty states and New York City now have mandatory electronics recycling laws or bans on e-waste in landfills, with all but one requiring producers to take responsibility for recycling their products.

Another nine states are considering recycling laws. The Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse, sponsored by nonprofits, was established in 2007 to coordinate the efforts of different state agencies responsible for regulating e-waste.

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That leads us to http://www.ecycleclearinghouse.org/

The Electronics Recycling Coordination Clearinghouse (ERCC) was launched in 2010 by two leading non-profit organizations advancing recycling efforts across the country - the National Center for Electronics Recycling (NCER) and the Northeast Recycling Council (NERC). The ERCC is a forum for coordination and information exchange among the state/local agencies that are implementing electronics recycling laws and all impacted stakeholders.

The ERCC is divided into two basic types of membership. The first are the voting members, who are states and local governments that are implementing electronics recycling laws. The ERCC also includes an affiliate, non-voting membership consisting of industry and other organizations. The ERCC is modeled on the successful organization currently managed by NERC known as the Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse (TPCH). TPCH has demonstrated over the years that providing this type of coordination can provide benefits to and reduce costs for state governments and the regulated community in addition to providing consistency to the impacted industry.

The ERCC is administered by NERC, based in Brattleboro, Vermont, and managed by the NCER, based in Parkersburg, WV.

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If you want to learn more go to the above referenced web site – they have a list of resource such as states with current legislation. As well as info on Federal E-cycling regulations.

So is FLORIDA ON THE LIST???

STATES MARKED IN ORANGE HAVE SOME KIND OF LAW GOING INTO EFFECT. Once again, Florida, is behind.

Info from our own state – I don’t really understand

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/electronics/pages/FLBrandSort.htm

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/quick_topics/publications/shw/electronics/FLDonationList062008.pdf

FLORIDA USED ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DONATIONS CONTACTS
Solely as a service to the public and Florida businesses, the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) maintains the following list of Florida organizations that accept used (and new) electronic
equipment donations. Many of these organizations have minimum requirements for the donated electronic
equipment, i.e. they will only accept computer processors with Pentium capabilities. These organizations
may do some repairs, upgrades, or demanufacturing of the equipment, but generally they are not full
service electronics recyclers. If they receive unusable equipment they should send it to a
recycler/demanufacturer or properly recycle as much of it as possible. The information was voluntarily
supplied by the organizations and is not necessarily a complete list of available services. An organization's
absence from the list does not imply prejudice or impropriety. The DEP does not endorse specific
equipment or organizations. The DEP, by providing this list, does not imply that the organizations are in
compliance with applicable laws. Users of this list are responsible for ensuring that products, equipment,
or services comply with the requirements of local, state, and federal law. The DEP cautions users to
personally evaluate the services and compliance status of any organization they use. The list is updated
periodically and subject to change without notice. The DEP welcomes information from other
organizations who wish to have their services or stewardship programs listed.
1) Alachua Freenet Recycle Program
Contact: Joel Bridges, Program Administrator
2603 NW 13th Street #315
Gainesville, FL 32609
Email: recycle@afn.org Web page: www.afn.org/~recycle/
The Alachua Recycling Program is part of Alachua Freenet, based in Gainesville, Florida. Volunteers
collect, repair, and redistribute used computers from individuals and businesses. The refurbished equipment
is made available (at no charge) to non-profit organizations, school groups and under-privileged individuals
throughout the community. Some equipment has even made its way to the Ukraine through an exchange
student program. Local community businesses serve as drop-off points for computer donations.
2) Advanced Technology for Challenged Kids (ATCK)
Contact: Phil Yon
Phone: (850) 671-1599
Email: phil@nettally.com
Florida State Rural Development Council established a computer recycling project in June 2000. The
project reconditions donated computer equipment and distributes it to physically challenged children, their
families, and non-profit organizations that serve them. The primary project goal is to enhance physically
challenged children’s capacity to achieve a maximum level of independence, through the utilization of
computer technology on the information highway.
3) Citibank Family Tech
Dade Public Education Fund
Contact: Terry Pittser, Computer Program Coordinator
4299 N.W. 36
th
St., Suite 203
Miami, FL 33166
Phone: (305) 884-2172
Fax: (305) 884-5633
Email: tpittser@educationfund.org Webpage: www.educationfund.org
4) Computers For the Disabled
Charles Babbage Memorial Foundation
Contact: Dr. David Rafky, Executive Director
Box 16-1443
Miami FL 33116-1443
Phone: (305) 274-0099 phone
Fax: (305) 271-8904
Email: cbabbage@ix.netcom.com
A non-profit, tax exempt, foundation fostering leadership through high technology and computer literacy,
Computers For The Disabled is funded by the Charles Babbage Foundation. The Charles Babbage
Memorial Fund collects, refurbishes and distributes computers along with instruction to the physically
challenged; promotes public awareness about the utility of personal computers for the physically
challenged and other "disadvantaged" groups; and when resources are available, provides computer
assistance to other nonprofit groups. They assist individuals and groups including schools, paraplegic
associations, correctional facilities, and other nonprofit institutions. They also place used computers in their
Computer Thrift Shop, to promote computer literacy.
5) Computers for Florida Kids
Contact: Sheila Logue
Phone: (850) 410-4305
Email: logue.sheila@dc.state.fl.us    Web page: www.dc.state.fl.us/orginfo/dso/index.html
Computers for Florida Kids is a program which repairs and refurbishes donated computer equipment
through an inmate vocational education program and donates the refurbished equipment to organizations
serving Florida’s children. Computer equipment is donated to the Foundation for Partnerships in
Correctional Excellence, Inc., the tax-exempt non-profit direct support organization to the Florida
Department of Corrections. Offenders in an inmate educational program repair and refurbish the computer
equipment that is then donated to schools and community organizations for the benefit of Florida children.
The program will expand soon to include TV donations.
6) Computer Recycling Program of Miami
3260 SW 18th Terrace
Miami, FL 33145
Phone: (305) 461-1481
Email: trraacy@bellsouth.net
The Computer Recycling Program of Miami upgrades and repairs donated computer equipment and then
redistributes it to needy individuals, including both adults and children. The equipment ranges from
serviceable 486 systems to Internet ready Pentium class machines. A team of volunteers provides ongoing
technical support to clients who are often being exposed to technology for the first time in their lives.
7) Disability Advocacy & Access Network
Contact: Pat Kennedy, Computer Program Coordinator
4630 North University Drive
Coral Springs, FL 33067
Phone: (954) 690-2253
Email: disabilitynetwork@usa.com 8) Lutheran Social Services of North Florida, Inc
Computer Refurbishing and Technical Assistance Center
606 W 4th Avenue, Suite 11, Tallahassee, FL 32303
Phone: 850.575.4309
Fax:   850.576.0696
Email: Info@cr-ta.org
WWW: www.lssnf.org, www.cr-ta.org
The CR-TA Program is a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher receiving private, corporate and government
donations of computer of Pentium II or higher grade and most computer peripherals. Computers are
refurbished, repaired, upgraded where necessary and loaded with licensed Microsoft Windows and Office
software. The refurbished systems are provided to 501(C)(3) human service agencies in the Big Bend of
Florida for use within the agency and distribution to income qualified clients.
Lutheran Social Services of North Florida, Inc. is an IRS recognized
501(C)(3) tax exempt corporation (EIN: 59-2939507) and donations may be tax deductible.
9) Senior Safety Phone Project
Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas, Inc.
9887 4
th
St. N., Suite 100    St. Petersburg, FL 33702
Contact: Gabrielle Wiechec, Victim Advocate
Phone: (727) 570-9696 Ext.279    Fax: (727) 217-7615
Email: wiechecg@elderaffairs.org    Web page: www.agingcarefl.org
The Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas, is a private, non profit organization which has a 30 year history of planning, developing programs and advocating for the needs of the elderly. The cell phone donation program is coordinated by the Senior Victim Advocate Program. Many different sites in Pinellas
& Pasco Counties collect and distribute no longer used cell phones to seniors (60+) who feel their safety & sense of security are at risk. Phones may also be mailed directly to the agency. Phones which are not usable for this project are responsibly recycled through Shelter Alliance. Any funds generated by this program are used to help support the work of the victim advocate program. The Agency strongly feels that every cell phone that can hold a charge can be a life saver for our seniors.
Revised June 20, 2008

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Facebook gets too personal?

2011-01-18T18:46:00.001-05:00

First, it always surprises me when someone is shocked to find that their personal information is so very easy to locate on the internet. If this is a shock to you as you are reading this, try googling your home address. I think you will be floored by what you see. The first time I did this I was faced with a 360 degree walk around of my house! Wowee! Talk about feeling invaded. Now, I completely understand that my personal information is out there for others to see – even if I had nothing to do with putting it out there to be seen! My personal information being made available is beyond my control. My phone and address are out there just as yours are. Why are you shocked this information has been published for years in our local telephone directory.

Facebook is a leader in finding out stuff about people and ‘putting it out there’ for the world to see. The other night I googled the name of a child and what I found were the child’s facebook comments.

I think a very good rule of thumb is that if you don’t want someone else to read it or look at it (such as posts and personal photos) then do not post it on the internet. Know who you are talking to and do not just accept just anybody’s friend request.

My daughter uses FB. She is young and we are very watchful of how she uses her account. One of the first things she and I did together was to create a FAKE facebook account. One where the name was that of a popular kids star, with their picture and information about them from a magazine. Now WHY on earth would we do something like that? Because I used it as an educational tool to show my daughter how easy it was on FB to present yourself as anyone you wanted to be. With that the knowledge that the person she was chatting with is not at all the famous actor she thinks she is friends with – in this case it’s really her mom proving a point. The scary point is that it might not be the famous person or you mom but the scary person that wants to prey on little unsuspecting people.

BTW we deleted out fake account but parents need to be sure that their children understand the stranger dangers involved in the FB community. It is not just FB, your children need to be taught to think smartly and safely wherever they are interacting with others on the internet.

Simply Seniors Computer Tutors 321-431-3866

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Regarding child safety and facebook I have found the following article from http://www.reuters.com/

Facebook launches child safety application:

The application, which follows a long campaign by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), appears on a user's profile page when they add or bookmark it and allows children and teenagers to report suspicious or inappropriate behavior.

Particularly aimed at users aged 13 to 18, it also provides help, advice and support about staying safe online.

"We know from speaking to offenders that a visible deterrent could protect young people online," said Jim Gamble, chief executive of CEOP, adding that the application should provide reassurance to parents whose teenagers use the site.

An automatic message will appear on the Facebook homepage of all teenage users, inviting them to add the application.

Pressure to introduce such measures intensified toward the end of last year after 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a man posing as a teenager whom she had met through Facebook.

"Together we have developed a new way of helping young people stay safe online," Joanna Shields, Facebook's vice president for Europe, Middle-East and Africa, said of the link-up.

"It is only through the constant and concerted efforts of the industry, police, parents and young people themselves that we can all keep safe online."

This article was dated: Mon Jul 12, 2010

Simply Seniors Computer Tutors 321-431-3866

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Let’s look at some ways to be safe on FB: This information comes to us from http://www.surfnetkids.com It gives a very good explanation of what FB is – for anyone who may be reading this and wondering what we are talking about. Additionally, it discusses some known issues and ways to make your children's FB profiles private.

Facebook, a popular social networking site, provides people with a chance to get in touch with old friends and meet new ones. Reconnecting with old friends allows you the opportunity to catch up with each other. However, be careful not to share too much information online, especially if your Facebook account is visible to everybody.

You may have heard about “Facebook stalking”, a problem that came about as a result of individuals posting private information on their Facebook pages and not making their pages private. Setting your profile to private and making your pictures private as well will also protect against online stalkers.

When you set your pictures to “Friends only”, Facebook surfers can’t access your pictures. There may be instances where they can see pictures of you on Facebook but this is usually because you are tagged in some pictures that are from another person’s profile. As long as you set all of your pictures to be viewed by “Friends only”, they’re safe from the prying eyes of strangers.

Another reason why people often set the security level on their pictures to “Friends only” is to prevent potential employers, or their current employer, from viewing private photos and using the pictures against them. People have lost their jobs because of incriminating pictures posted on the internet. Whether you’re partying and having a good time, drinking or participating in risque behavior, protecting your privacy by setting your pictures to privates is best.

There are some other things you can do to keep your personal information and your pictures private on Facebook. Here are some suggestions keeping your Facebook profile and pictures private:

Never accept a friend invitation from a person you do not know. You can report the person to Facebook as “spam” because you do not know them. This helps the social media site to weed out a few of the accounts that are from spammers and should not be on Facebook.
Increase your security level so only your friends can gain access to your profile. While some internet surfers will be able to see that you do have a Facebook account, they won’t be able to find out anything else about you because your profile is set to private.
Use a generic profile picture. You don’t want to have a picture of your children on Facebook if you are concerned for your safety or their safety. Try using one picture so people can find you and leave it the same. Changing your profile picture often will spark people to comment on it and it may spark online surfers to take notice of your account. Keeping a boring profile picture is a simple way to protect yourself and your children.

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Here is a blog posted today on a favorite web site of mine named: www.howtogeek.com This is their take on FB Apps:

Just when you thought things might have settled down, Facebook has once again taken a step that could put more of your personal information at risk. Going forward third party app developers will now have the opportunity to access your home address and mobile phone number information.

Photo by Facebook.

The first thing to keep in mind is that this access is not automatic…anyone installing an app will need to allow said app to access that information. So if you are someone who keeps their privacy settings locked down nicely and are careful about the apps that you install, then you should be fine.

The real problem comes in when you consider app developers who are unscrupulous and seek to spread malware and/or gather as much personal information as possible through trickery.

From the Sophos blog post: Facebook is already plagued by rogue applications that post spam links to users’ walls, and point users to survey scams that earn them commission – and even sometimes trick users into handing over their cellphone numbers to sign them up for a premium rate service.

Now, shady app developers will find it easier than ever before to gather even more personal information from users. You can imagine, for instance, that bad guys could set up a rogue app that collects mobile phone numbers and then uses that information for the purposes of SMS spamming or sells on the data to cold-calling companies.

The ability to access users’ home addresses will also open up more opportunities for identity theft, combined with the other data that can already be extracted from Facebook users’ profiles.

Now combine the unscrupulous app developers with people who do not take the time to think about the implications of installing questionable apps simply because they are in a hurry to start “enjoying” those shiny new apps. It is not a pleasant thought when you think of the number of people who may have their personal information compromised over this.

Many of us know someone who seems to attract trouble like a magnet due to unsafe internet practices. If you do, then pass this information on to them with the advice to be more careful. You just may save that person (or people) a lot of headaches later. And if you have not reviewed the settings in your Facebook account recently, then this is a good time to go back through and check them.

Something to keep in mind: Neither post mentioned how this is handled with apps already installed to user accounts, so you may be asked for permission by them going forward. There is also the possibility that if you already have an app installed, then permission is considered as “automatically” given.

This article came from www.howtogeek.com – I suggest you give them a read if you enjoy what you see here.

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Simply Seniors Computer Tutors 321-431-3866

Like this example I found on a fellow bloggers site, he writes:

Did you know Starbucks is all about dating? Neither did I.

See, I use Facebook. And I go to Starbucks often. Awhile ago I signed up for a Facebook app related to Starbucks. The other day I was informed of the following:

Thanks for using My Starbucks. We are excited to announce that, as of next week, My Starbucks’s name and functionality will be changed to SpeedDate. Data entered into the original app won’t be used anymore. Soon you’ll be able to try SpeedDate, the fastest way to meet new people, so stay tuned!
Thanks,
My Starbucks

It’s for reasons like this that I have trimmed down the use of Facebook applications to 0

If you’d like to read the entire blog you can find it here: http://smartpeopleiknow.wordpress.com

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Need help setting up your Facebook account? Simply Seniors Computer Tutor is here for you. Meet people you have not seen in years, share photos and video with your loved ones. Computer Tutor is here to help! Call Simply Seniors Computer Tutor 321-431-3866

Tweet Tweet – Do you use Twitter?

2011-01-17T10:01:00.001-05:00

I have had a twitter account for some time now but I have not been a very big fan. Being a technology specialist I am very late in jumping on the social networking band wagon – I have only been doing this for about three years. I am a big fan of Facebook. I have always like the way it is laid out – even in the 1st versions. I can even put up with the fact that it is always changing, constant improvement is not a bad thing. Twitter seemed too constraining only allowing me so many characters to post.

Today, I am still a bigger fan of Facebook over Twitter but I do understand why some would prefer the Tweet over the long winded status report. Here at Simply Seniors Computer Tutor we have recently started ramping up the activity on out Twitter account and I can see I have a lot of tweeting to do to catch up with the big Birds. I have been learning new ways to save myself time; I write a blog that goes to one web site, a Facebook post that needs to go to that site, a google calendar, and tweeting, how can I connect them all and have them updated at the same time? Well I have found many great solutions to my problems and today is just one of those solutions.

If you are a fan of Twitter you will like this information on advanced Twitter settings. This comes to us today from a personal friends educational blog site. If education is your thing than you should give this blog a read: http://www.freetech4teachers.com/ thanks to Mr. Byrne, for the following:

How to Use Twitter's Advanced Search Options

First, this is not one of those "Twitter will save education" posts. That said, Twittercan be useful for finding resources that can help you as a teacher. The first step in using Twitter is to develop a nice network of people that you interact with, commonly referred to as a personal learning network or PLN. Here are eight ways to develop a PLN. Once you develop a PLN you have a great place to ask questions and share resources. But even then sometimes you won't get quite what you're seeking. In those cases you can turn to Twitter Advanced Search to see what people outside of your PLN have to offer.

Mashable recently produced a video demonstrating how to use Twitter Advanced Search. This three minute video covers what you need to know in order to take advantage of all the information shared on Twitter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VzGIICDgs0&feature=player_embedded

Also have you ever thought about using these same social networks to find a job? Mashable has also posted a youtube video that will help you use the Twitter Advanced search features to help find your new job!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0sdTdcM2Ws&feature=autoplay&list=ULxumyhX7h5B4&index=2&playnext=1

We hope that you have learned something new today. please pass this information along to everyone and help us grow our readership. If you have a topic Simply Seniors Computer Tutor can help with please feel free to drop us a line. Our email address is ComputerTutor321@gmail.com you can visit our web site a learn a little more about our company at www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

Remember, we are the computer consultant for seniors, Simply Seniors Computer Tutor, making computers simple is in our name – it’s what we do!

Seniors & Gaming – We’re not playing Solitaire!

2011-01-16T12:19:00.001-05:00

This Christmas Santa delivered a Nintendo Dsi hand held gaming system to my 10 year old daughter. Apparently, this was something he had an over stock on because the kids next door, and her other friends all received one as well! The Nintendo DS is a very popular gaming system. After my daughter wore the battery out I was finally allowed to play with it and I discovered I really like it!

When I arrived at the Wickham Park Senior Center to teach our Simply Seniors Computer Tutors class last Friday I noticed a flyer asking for anyone with a Nintendo Ds to meet and play Brain Age together. That lead me to thinking “Did Santa deliver these to the older big kids on his list as well? It seems that he did!

I have also noticed since the Nintendo Wii gaming system came out a real increase in the senior populations use of gaming systems. This is a good thing. With games for the Wii like Tiger Woods golf, you can get a game in (physically-less driving the cart) when it’s 20 degrees outside! The Wii and now the new Kinects gaming system it is even easier for seniors to play sports games in the comfort and safety of their own living room.

I have done a little research to see what others are thinking about seniors using these new gaming systems and here is what I have found. From a web site named: http://seniorhousingnews.com this is an article discussing seniors and their connection with the Microsoft Kinects gaming system:

Who would have thought that growth opportunities in the game console industry would be in the 50+ market? Well, this Christmas the console wars are heating up for the senior demographic and it’s not for the faint of heart. Last month Microsoft last month released its Kinect system for motion gaming and has its sights set clearly on the senior demographic as part of its overall marketing and advertising strategy. Microsoft’s Kinect visual recognition technology allows the player to stand six feet in front the of the television to play games. Rather than using a controller to monitor motion, the Kinect system tracks individual user movements play the games and responds to voice commands. The Kinect system is an add-on for the Xbox gaming system and retails for $150 and comes bundled for $399. Microsoft’s games for Kinect are designed to promote community gaming and fitness programs similar to the popular Wii Sports that has caught the attention of the senior living industry. Many families are looking at the Wii System and Microsoft’s Xbox/Kinect as a gift ideas that are entertaining, promoting activity and group interaction this Christmas. While 2.5 million Kinects have been sold since its release in early November, its numbers fall short in comparison to the Wii consoles out in the market.

Will Kinect knock-out Wii? Probably not right away but Microsoft historically continues to chase and catch the competition. At least the Kinect will solve the issue of a flying controller breaking the television screen…let’s hope seniors don’t propel themselves into the television.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Next I found an article dating back to 2006, guess I am a little late with the DS craze, talking about seniors and the Brain Age game. You can read the whole article at http://www.suite101.com Here are the highlights:

I opened up this little unit with trepidation, prepared to give it a fair try and put it away forever. Another flashing, squealing thing that had no appeal. I was wrong.

DS Lite is light-weight, comfortable in my hand. I can see every image and follow fast action with no problem, even at low light. The resolution is spectacular, graphics most satisfying (We’re boomers, not teenagers – the teens can form their own conclusions).

The game cartridges range from $12 to around $50 - seems reasonable. Nintendo is pushing the series created to help us exercise and improve our brains as we age. OK. So they gave me Brainage, the first in a series aimed at us.

The hype claims Brainage, created by a doctor, will re-train the brain to be more cognitive and responsive and all that. I can’t say, but experts are learning that stimulating your brain regularly makes a big difference in how well it functions.

What We Found

I passed the game to a group of friends and family – age range 7 months to 58 years. Male and female. All education levels and diversified career tracks. Some had prior game addictions, some didn’t.

They fought over the thing.

Brainage is more an activity pack than a game. One component calculates your brain’s age through three randomly selected skill tests. One component exercises the brain with a selection of puzzles. There’s a memory activity that shows you dozens of words for two minutes, then asks you to write ones you recall. There’s one that has you do simple calculations as quickly as you can. One requires you to follow time changes on a clock and say how many hours elapsed. The package also has Sudoku puzzles at various levels.

We found the voice recognition to be greatly lacking and somewhat frustrating. It has real trouble being consistent and is harshly affected by background sound. When user needs to write information into the software with the stylus, Brainage has a terrible time interpreting more than a few letters. Perhaps patiently working through these frustrations will help improve the brain, who knows, but Nintendo could take a second look at those factors.

The puzzles are all engaging – challenging to one extent or another. The system, WI FI enabled, can communicate with other players, so maybe you'll start a group or something - maybe challenge your family long-distance? Deal is, you’re supposed to do them once a day – the process takes as little as 10 minutes or as long as you want. You’ll have to set your own boundaries.

Bottom Line

Nintendo DS Lite is appealing for our age group. Its stylish looks (in several colors) remind me of a Palm Pilot or something – very sleek and unobtrusive. Can slip into purse or carry-on bag. Truly, Nintendo thought through design and visual parameters so seniors can enjoy using the system with or without grandkids. They need to rethink the stylus gadget, a slim stick less than half the diameter of a standard pencil.

The stylus is essential for play and, with mild arthritis or any motion problems at all, you’ll find it limiting. It causes me to have some aching or twinges after half an hour or so. Maybe that’s a good thing – if your hand tires, you can’t spend half your day trying to reduce your brain age just a little more. I’m down to 28 years old. My first brain age was a scarey 80!

Senior family members enjoyed others of the games, too. Being a puzzle fan from way back, I am very drawn to the brain teaser series they’re aiming our way. I’ll leave you with this comment – if you like puzzles, if your doc has mentioned you need to do something active with your mind, if you are a current or ex-gaming fan, this device is reasonably priced enough so you can give it a shot. If you don’t become a fan, you can always keep it on hand to entice grandkids to visit more often.

And yes, Tetris is available for this system....

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I am a huge fan of Tetris and really happy to be able to play my 1998 Game Boy game cartridges on my Nintendo DS Lite. But for me the screen is a little small and if you feel the same way there is now a Nintendo DS XL and yes the XL stands for extra large. I really think Nintendo saw the growing older population using their gaming unit and decided to make it a little more adult. Compare the two:

In this photo the XL is on the left and the DS is on the right. In addition to offering a larger screen I understand that the XL comes with certain games like Brain Age pre installed on the system. Additionally, this unit comes with a larger stylus, one that is the size of a common pen.

Read on to find out how the two compare spec wise: This information comes to use from www.tiny cartridge.com

Full Nintendo DSi XL vs DSi comparison, new colors, and larger stylus. Facing lower than expected profits for the past six-month period, Nintendo formally announced an updated DSi model with 4.2 inch screens, releasing in Japan on November 21st and in the U.S. and Europe some time in the first quarter of 2010. Across the Pacific, where it’s referred to as the DSi LL, the handheld will sell for ¥20,000 ($220).

The new system’s launch colors include Dark Brown, Wine Red, and Natural White. Each new handheld in Japan will include several pre-installed applications like the DSi Browser, Flipnote Studio, A Bit of Brain Training: Arts, A Bit of Brain Training: Science, and Kiyou Akira Rakuhiku Language Easier.

As its name implies, the XL/LL represents a significant size increase from previous designs. Let’s compare!

Screen size:

DSi XL/LL - 4.2”
DSi - 3.25”
DS Lite - 3.0”

Body (width x length x thickness):

DSi XL/LL - 161.0 × 91.4 × 21.2mm
DSi - 137.0 × 74.9 × 18.9mm
DS Lite - 133.0 × 73.9 × 21.5mm

Stylus length:

DSi XL/LL - 129.3mm (also comes with smaller stylus)
DSi - 92mm
DS Lite - 87.5mm

Weight:

DSi XL/LL - 314g
DSi - 214g
DS Lite - 218g

Battery life (minimum brightness):

DSi XL/LL - 13 to 17 hours
DSi - 9 to 14 hours
DS Lite - 15 to 19 hours

Battery charge time:

DSi XL/LL - 3 hours
DSi - 2.5 hours
DS Lite - 3 hours

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Simply Seniors Computer Tutor would like to let you know that we can help with your questions about hand held gaming units and home gaming consoles. Asking your friends what they think of their units is also a good way to find out if it is the right one for you.

Happy Gaming!

For more information on Simply Seniors Computer Tutor check out www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

Thanks for reading and please pass this to a friend!

Keeping my head in the Clouds!

2011-01-15T23:50:00.001-05:00

If you have been reading Simply Seniors Computer Tutors blog recently, you have read about the new operating system named Jolicloud. I have told you how easy it is to install, and my likes and dislikes. I have been working with the OS for just about one week now and today's blog is a continuation of my life in the clouds.

I am not using the OS right now to write this blog. I did try really hard to stick with JC only all day yesterday but today I had to break down and get back to my Outlook Mail. Additionally, I use Microsoft Live Writer to write and post my blog and I have not yet attempted to download and install it or any software into my Jolicloud OS. I also discovered that I really hate Open Office’s lay out. I love the product don’t get me wrong OO is wonderful for what it is but when you know exactly where everything is and it’s laid out in the tab format that I am now so a custom to, again I can’t leave my Microsoft behind. I do a lot of work in Power Point – have you tried to make a PP quality presentation in OO? I had a very hard time getting things to move as if OO was glitchy. Again, tools I really like were not there in the OO version.

I didn’t realize that I was so Microsoft dependant. About a year ago when I purchased this current laptop I realized I could not find my copy of Office 2007 with Outlook, a mail viewing program. I attempted to use Incredimail. I was very happy with the tabs and I liked the clock feature but the butler scared me to death too many times when my speakers were left turned up too high. I really didn’t like the cuteness of the software either. Continuing, trying to give up my beloved Outlook, I used Thunder mail, that did not work for my needs either because I want my built in calendar. Lastly, I tried using my Windows Live mail account and bringing all of my mail into that one central account but that again was not what I wanted and just didn’t meet my needs. Then I found my Outlook 2003 and decided I would rather have an outdated software then the new stuff that just doesn’t do it right.

Say it with me, “I am Micorosft Dependent” I am sure I am not the only one who would like to make the move to something new and different but just cant because of that one or two features that sets Microsoft apart.

My work with Joli Cloud has been interesting. I consider myself pretty good with computers. I think I have a very good sense of how certain things work and JC has confused me more than once. For instance, last night I was trying to look at everything. I am a button pusher, it how I learned to love computers. I was poking around somewhere an a complete Control Panel popped up. I look around at the control panel for some time and then close the window. Well that was the end of that because I can not find the control panel again. I have had this happen a few times where I simply can not find a way to move on, close windows or programs. I hope to dig around again and see what I can find, I know it’s there – it’s me not the machine but my question is “why is this so hard to find?” What am I missing?

Another problem I have is when you minimize a window in size, the window will go to a preset size. I love the Windows 7 Snap Feature because I compare folders or files often. I also like to manually resize my windows and I have been unable to do this in JC. In a Windows based OS your mouse moved to the corner of the window will make an arrow appear that allows you to drag the window to a larger or smaller size. This is not possible in JC.

In Jolicloud your ‘apps’ are really web sites. It is really no wonder new computer users are confused. I have a facebook ‘app’ it’s really me linking to face book's web site. I can add ‘apps’ to my desktop in JC. Apps that come in a pre sorted list of the most popular of their own kind. Since these ‘apps’ are just links to web sites, really I think of them more like desktop icons that lead you to web sites; why can’t I just right click and save my web page I am on as an app to my desktop? I have not figured out how to make any web site I want to see appear as an app. I am sure someone will have an answer to this because it seems pretty common. I did find a video of instructions but it was a little dated, referring to Fire Fox instead of Chromium.

I have been discussing Jolicloud with my friends and some think it sounds great all except the part about having to be connected to an internet connection. When faced with the fact that my computer is rendered completely useless unless I am connected to the network; really upsets me. Then again that is the whole point of Joli cloud. To have all of your apps and information in the air.

I am going to continue to use JC and will keep you updated throughout the week.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading! Simply Seniors Computer Tutor is located in Melbourne Florida. We carter to the technological needs of senior citizens. Computer Tutor offers in home instruction on your own computer. See a complete list of our services at www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

Day Two - Life in a Joli - World

2011-01-13T12:23:00.001-05:00

My last Blog I explained that I have been working with an alternative OS to Micorosoft’s Windows. The name of the Operating System (OS) is Jolicloud. Our last blog gave a nice history of the software, and some great “How To” links. I ended the last blog explaining that I was going to see just what JC meant by stating we could “Breath Life into old computers by using JC” - Just how old of a system are we talking about here?

I have an HP OMni-Book Xe3, the specs are an Intel P3 processor, 128MB RAM and 40GB Hard drive. First, JC took over two hours to download. This was not the same experience that I had with the newer laptops I have installed the OS on at this point. (The other laptops are an Acer Mini One (netbook) and a Compaq Presario CQ6x series laptop.) After the download completed the install went smoothly (read more about the installation process in our last blog). The computer did give me some warning messages about my low RAM (92MB) but I kept on clicking next anyway (I like to push the envelope). The OS rebooted after it’s initial inside Windows install and it did attempt to complete the installation but the lack of RAM kept it from happening. About three very bullheaded hours later I have up and concluded… I guess I need more RAM :-)

I have checked numerous web sites including JC’s own and could find no minimum hardware specifications for the JC OS. Finally, I did find a hard drive requirement of 4GB. I don’t think that it is that the OS takes up that much space, I think that it just needed a little working room. Again, from my findings your minimum RAM requirement is 256MB.

I hope that you techie types have found this interesting. I will continue to update you on the JC OS experiments as soon as I get my 256MB RAM installed into the Omnibook.

Thank you for reading and remember Simply Seniors Computer Tutors are here to help seniors with their unique computer needs. We are always working to find new methods to make things easier for new computer users.

Classes this Friday and every Friday at the Wickham Park Senior Center, Melbourne. 321-431-3866.

Thanks again for reading!

You never know you might just learn something new! www.ComputerTutorHelp.US!

Jolicloud My new obsession! I mean OS

2011-01-12T21:24:00.001-05:00

About a week ago I did an article on this new term “cloud computing’ and we defined the term to mean “computing on the internet, not storing data to your local hard drive” (basically). Continuing my quest into learning more about cloud computing I came across a new operating system named Jolicloud (JC), this lead to my writing a blog talking about alternative operating systems.

I have since installed the JC OS on my Compaq Presario CQ61 –These are my specs

I have had no problems. The install took about 15 mins. I am using the dual boot version of JC/Win7. Download JC from this web site http://www.jolicloud.com/download look for the one on the left – this is the dual boot option. This OS can also be removed at any time and at this point I have seen no ill reaction from my Microsoft OS. Additionally, I have installed JC on my Acer Mini notebook. Besides bringing my 10 yo daughter to tears because I ruined her computer (it’s my computer!) we have had no ill effects on our windows files. For JC’s own instrutions on how to install the OS alongside of a Windows OS check here: http://help.jolicloud.com/entries/230291-how-do-i-install-jolicloud-while-keeping-windows.

You remember when Vista came out and no matter where you looked on the web you could not find anyone who had anything good to say about the OS? Well the exact opposite is true of Jolicloud. I have been to about 20 different sites talking about different JC topics and everyone starts by saying something positive about this OS.

I will say I’m not convinced it is the OS for everyone. I installed JC first onto my Acer Mini one netbook. When the OS 1st screen appears it asks you to log in – you will have set this user name and password up as the OS is installing. (Make sure you write this stuff down!) Once you have logged in you are directed to make your internet connection. Now this should be easy but I had a few trip ups. I entered my WEP key about 5 times with a response that insisted my number was not correct (it was). As I would get to about the 10th number the entire screen would jump to a more advanced settings screen… not allowing me to complete the entry of the WEP key. Finally, I changed a setting and then I was able to enter the complete code.

The next issue I had was when I can to the next screen which is a Facebook log in – it’s very large

Well would you believe again my computer insisted my information was wrong multiple times and then finally it logged me into the OS.

Once inside the OS (being the die hard Microsoft person I am) I found myself looking for X’s to close windows (that do not exsist) and when I right click (which I am very used to doing to find other tools I can’t find elsewhere) in JC I get this panel (I do not understand the benefit of the ‘panel’. The ‘panel’ as it is called is a black bar that shows up on the left or right top or bottom of the screen, I added 4 of them and ‘framed’ my desktop. I have no idea why.

After that I was able to open apps like Chromium (JC’s internet browser) but still hard a hard time closing them and getting back to the desktop. Once I figured it out it was simple but I did have the same problem occur a couple of times of not knowing how to close a given app. There is no right click close, the ESC button does do it, and there is no big red X in the top right.

Adding new apps was easy!

Watch this video to learn more:

This blog will tell you about apps and how to add them to your JCOS. It was written in July 2010 so you may in it getting a little dated.

http://barrieluv.blogspot.com/2010/07/jolicloud-10-has-landed.htmlhow to add new aps in

What you can’t find an app you like? Or you have found a new app that hasn’t been developed yet? Well develop it then! Here is how:

After watching the video, I think I have a new name for these “apps” uhhh, favorites? Haven’t we been doing this for years? It looks to me like I added a favorite web page’s icon to my desktop and now it has a new name… “app”. No wonder new users are confused.

JC says of it’s OS “Breathes life into old machines”. During my research I found a blogger who stated he had put the JC OS on a few old dells that he later donated to GoodWill (I wonder what the new owner of the computer thought when they booted it up for the first time – LOL).

Well, I want to see just how old of a PC we can put JC on. Today I am installing JC onto a HP Omnibook XE3 spotting a power P3 processor and maybe 256MB RAM. Now it is taking quite sometime to download and i have read other bloggers who say the same (the JC download site seems to be slow). I will keep you informed during our next blog as to the results of my experiment.

First, once I have finally downloaded it I plan on installing it side by side with Windows XP-SP3. Next, I would like to install it as a stand along OS; I have never ever promised to be a technical guru, that is not what I do. (I teach people) so I can not understand how JC is going to install hardware such as wireless cards from 3rd party’s like Belkin or Linksys. Additionally, I see issues with certain softwares many of us will be too attached to desire to change. (Such as using OO Version of XL… it’s aweful! – I love XL07). I’ll keep you posted on the JC-Omnibook experiment!

Read these blogs for other users firsthand accounts and thoughts on JC. As the first author puts it “Living in the Clouds” http://www.talkincloud.com/a-week-in-the-cloud-with-jolicloud-and-chrome/

http://viewtorial.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/tour-of-os-jolicloud-a-liberation-for-netbooks/

As always thank you for reading this blog. Please share this with your friends. This blog is written by Stacey Kile, the owner of Simply Seniors Computer Tutors in Melbourne, FL. Computer Tutor specializes in human to computer communications and assisting senior citizens with their growing technological needs.

Please leave a comment if you like what I spend hours of my time sitting here doing each day – in the hopes that someone else somewhere out there in the world is reading this and learning something new … (then maybe they will send me a check for $$$$ to thank me!!!) Na, just thank me by telling your friends about Simply Seniors Computer Tutors and the great service we offer local seniors!

Sign up to receive our blog as a feed. Visit Simply Seniors Computer Tutor’s Facebook site and our main web site www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us ! Thanks for reading!

Social Networking and Your Small Business

2011-01-11T09:33:00.001-05:00

This month my goal is to see 100 new fans to our Facebook and I would love to see the same come to read the blog. The hopes are that I will find the people through the social networking site and then direct them to this informative blog. So far my results have been average if not poor. I personally do not have a big social network and my company catters to none of the people on my personal friends list so I am depending upon my friends and their friends to help pass my information along. It’s not really any different then we have done it in the past. If you like a business you are going to tell your friends. Here in our socially connected internet world, people are connected to each other faster so the idea is the word will move further, faster. At least this is my opinion on how it should work. For today’s blog let’s examine what Forbes and some others have to say about this new trend of social networking/marketing.

This following section comes from a 2009 Forbes report on social networking:

The article was named “social networking a cheat sheet” So it’s worth a read.

Next to mobility and cloud computing, social networking was the talk of Interop this year--especially at a conference session devoted to social software tools and a portion of the Unconference, where real SMB users talked about how to make the most of it.

But perhaps the best thing I learned about social media came in a meeting with security vendor ESET. Just as at a recentIntuit ( INTU - news - people ) town hall where I discovered Social NOT-working, at Interop, ESET director of marketing Liz Fraumann shared the abbreviation for Social Media as "So Me." Perfect, isn't it?

Anyway, Social Software Tools: A Critical Evaluation offered useful insight into the choices SMBs need to make when moving into social networking. Tony Byrne, founder of CMS Watch, started with a useful breakdown of the complex world of social networking, beginning with separating external and internal applications, depending on whether the connections occur inside or outside your company:

--Information organization/filtering

--Knowledgebase management (collaboration)

--Communities of practice

--Enterprise networking (intranets and/or Facebook groups for employees); vendors include Ning and Lithium

Of course, where social networking takes place is only the first part of the puzzle. The networking itself can take many forms:

Social Networking Functions

--Blogs; vendors include Six Apart, Google's ( GOOG - news -people ) Blogger and Automattic's WordPress

--Microblogs (Twitter)

--Wikis; vendors include MediaWiki (the foundation of Wikipedia), Atlassian, MindTouch and Socialtext)

--Project tracking/participation software

--Multimedia (video/audio, internal or external, including YouTube)

--Information ranking/filtering--voting

--Discussion forums

--Presence/instant messaging (IM)

--Public social networks, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Xing and MySpace

Each of these functional applications has its own uses, strengths and weaknesses.

In Pictures: 30 Social Networking Terms You Should Know

Blogs, for example, are fast and simple to create, easily findable via RSS, and can promote ongoing conversations with readers. On the other hand, they're unorganized, hard to keep up over time and easily spammed.

Microblogs like Twitter (or business versions like Yammer) are useful for quick customer support, a bit of marketing, listening to customers and link sharing, Byrne says. But Byrne challenged the conventional wisdom, saying Twitter is not good for having a discussion. He likened Twitter discussions to trying to have a long-distance conversation at a crowded football game from one section to another while shouting over everyone else's conversations.

Wikis, meanwhile, offer extraordinary power; make it possible for everyone to read, edit and review postings; and facilitate bottom-up communications. But wikis also are hard to organize, offer limited display/navigation options, and may require some training to maximize their value. In addition, wikis lack a controlling voice, making them dependent on the wisdom of crowds. That's why Byrne suggests designating a wiki gardener or steward to help keep things clear and on track.

And don't forget the old-school choice: discussion forums. Often disparaged in comparison to fancy new alternatives, forums remain popular and powerful. They're perfect for "many-to-many communications," Byrne says, and can be structured hierarchically. But while forums are a great solution for Q&A sessions, they're not well suited for multiple people trying to edit the same text.

Public networks like Facebook and LinkedIn can be used for marketing, recruitment, prospecting and brand enhancement. But you don't own the network or the content, Byrne points out, and companies must accept that fact to be successful.

There's not one best choice, Byrne says. The point is to find the right fit for your particular application, budget, location, etc. In addition, you can use multiple tools for a single purpose or multiple purposes.

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This next articl talks about 5 Ways Small Businesses can benifit from social networking and if you’ve taken a marketing class most of this should make total sense to you. This was written by David Wallace and a link is found below.

1. Branding Opportunities
In the same manner that it is important for companies to make sure they have all the various domain names that relate to their brand (.com, .net. .org, etc.), it is now becoming important for companies to make sure they secure their brand on social media sites - at least the popular ones. I wrote about this subject at the beginning of this year and made the following statement:

With all the social networking sites popping up everywhere, the idea of branding comes to mind. Sure there is the thought of how web sites can draw traffic from social networking sites, even sell product or services but in addition to that, what about protecting your brand before someone else beats you to it? This is especially important with respect to user names and unique URLs.

It was important back then and is even more important now. Typical with most social media sites, once you create a profile, you have a unique URL where you can access that profile. That URL, if you set it up correctly, will include your brand name (i.e. www.linkedin.com/in/searchrank, www.flickr.com/people/searchrank, etc.). The brand name is also used in the title tag of your profile. Why is this important? As I wrote in my last piece on social media, having a number of profiles spread out among various social media sites may help you to have better control over the first three pages of search results for your unique brand name. It also may help users of specific social media sites to find your company if they are actually looking for your brand. Finally, you keep competitors from sitting on your brand and/or people that may misrepresent your brand as I have seen in many cases.

2. Build Link Popularity
Websites essentially need three things if they are to experience good visibility in the search engines - 1.) good content, 2.) good SEO and 3.) good links. There are two ways to get links from other sites - naturally or pay (or beg) for them. Buying them is the easiest but due to Google's recent declaration of war on paid links, they can fall prey to their big guns. So, natural is and always has been the best.

One way to obtain natural links is to link back to your original web site within the social media sites you set up. Many social media sites will allow you to include a blurb about yourself or your company and in many cases, add a link or links to your sites. Once you get these various social media profiles indexed, they will count as inbound links to your main site. You may even find it useful to include specific anchor text related to keyword phrases you wish to target and point them to pages that have been optimized for those same terms. The bottom line is that social media profiles create opportunities for natural links. Best of all, they're free!

3. Attracting Traffic
Depending on the industry you are in, social media and networking sites can send quality traffic to your site. In one example, music and entertainment entities are successfully using MySpace to attract its millions of users. How many times have you seen movie URLs that are located on the myspace.com domain? Now if you manufacture and sell contemporary furniture, then you may not benefit much from MySpace traffic seeing its demographic is mostly comprised of youth but you may draw traffic from a photo sharing site like Flickr.
In another example, many companies are using YouTube to attract and drive traffic to their web site.BlendTec is a good case study of this with their "Will It Blend" videos, a series of short videos where they blend everything from golf balls to credit cards to even an iPhone in their industrial strength blenders. People just love to see stuff demolished and the videos have brought much attention to a blending product that many were unaware of prior to seeing the videos.

These are just a couple of many examples of how companies are utilizing social media to drive traffic to their sites. A good strategy is to select sites that are somehow specific to your industry and then let the creative juices flow. The bottom line is that just like millions of people are using search engines everyday, millions of people are using social media and networking sites as well. Creative marketers will discover ways to tap into these users in order to drive additional traffic to their web sites.

4. Interaction With the Public
The reason why it is called "social" is because it allows web users to socialize or interact with each other. This has been one of the biggest fears keeping small to medium sized business from embracing social media - the transition from "talking to" customers to "interacting with" customers. SMBs may be afraid that someone is going to talk about their businesses and it may not always be favorable. If this is your fear then I have news for you - consumers are already talking so you might as well join the conversation.
Having the ability to interact with consumers is not just about dealing with bad mojo but also taking advantage of social media to bring further attention to products, services, company news or even put a personal face on the company. I reveal personal things all the time about myself and my company and have received numerous compliments from clients stating that they feel more comfortable doing business with us due to the fact that they now know something personal about us.

5. Networking Opportunities
A final reason how SMBs can benefit from social media is the networking opportunities. Trying to be the lone ranger of your industry is not always the most productive way of running your business. Personally, I have discovered many benefits from networking with others in my industry and getting well connected. Many social networking mediums offer opportunities to join specific groups of interest where you can then interact with like-minded people. Facebook is a great example of this - not only can you join groups, you can create new ones, add events and even build interactive applications that run within the Facebook environment.
For me, many of the social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others, have allowed me to develop numerous relationships which are not only beneficial in day to day operations, but especially rewarding when attending industry conferences. The conference becomes more like a family reunion than a boring, uninvolved trade show.

This is a great article that continues on and you can read the whole thing at http://www.searchengineguide.com/david-wallace/5-ways-small-business-can-benefit-from-s.php

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So with all of this great information you are now armed to go out and social market your local small business. Good luck to you and please let me know how it works for you. I have a plan this year of trying to uyse the social networking to it’s most *(for free) and get as many new readers to our blog, therefore to my website and hopefully into my business. Please write and let me know how it is working for you.

Remember, Simply Seniors Computer Tutors are here for you 321-431-3866

LED vs. LCD

2011-01-10T20:02:00.001-05:00

Today a long time client called and told me her computer was not displaying. A little trouble shooting has directed me to the monitor as being the culprit. So it’s been decided that the client has a budget of $200 and would like to purchase a monitor that offers the best quality screen and biggest size for her budget. You should know that this client has macular degeneration and users zoomtext software to help her see text on her screen. My client is considered legally blind so a crisp screen with a large display is important in our purchase.

I started my search at Staples Office store where my tech, Kyle, told me that the $199, 20” LED would be the best for our needs. I compared the screen of the LED to that of the $139 22” LCD sitting right next to it and was impressed with how much more crisp the LED vs the LCD. I am continuing my research online tonight to find the perfect monitor for this client. As I do I am reading blogs from other tech writers and information from large chain stores and the monitor manufactures. Here in today’s blog I will leave you my findings and let you make your choice from there. I hope you find this helpful.

Computer Tutor offers our services to those ages 50 plus throughout Brevard and Indian River county. When you need new computer components it can be over whelming to walk into the big box store. My tech, Kyle, at Staples has lost customers right in front of me because he (a 20 YO male-techie type) had to confuse the customer with an over whelming amount of tech crap to explain to them why the $399 17” screened laptop was NOT a good purchase for them and why the should buy the $600+ laptop with a smaller size. This stuff is expensive and this is a big purchase for most people if Computer Tutor’s years of experience can be helpful to you please contact us at ComputerTutor321@gmail.com or dial 321-431-3866.

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Let’s get technical and look at the definition of the LCD this information comes to us from wikipedia.com:

A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a thin, flat electronic visual display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals (LCs). LCs do not emit light directly.

Now let’s define and LED:

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices, and are increasingly used for lighting. Introduced as a practical electronic component in 1962,^[2] early LEDs emitted low-intensity red light, but modern versions are available across the visible, ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths, with very high brightness.

The first blog I came across can be found at:http://www.ledvslcdtv.com/

What are the differences between an LED and an LCD tv? Which one is better? Those are questions I had and I bet you do to. LED televisions do have some distinct advantages vs a comparable LCD tv. Price and Environmental Factors are the two main differences. I have outlined the facts about LED televisions and LCD televisions in the tables below.

The first difference that strikes me is the price. Currently LED televisions are about 50% more than an LCD tv. However the price gap has been narrowing and will continue to do so. An LED tv uses light emitting diodes ad its source of light for the television. An LED tv uses these diodes to create a much more vibrant and colorful image. The blacks are truly black (not dark gray) and the colors are more realistic vs an LCD tv. LED tvs can achieve a contrast ratio of up to 500,000:1. They also in general have a higher refresh rate which will help when watching shows with motion such as sports or movies.

Just the Facts only the facts:

LED FACTS
State of the Art Picture Quality
About 40% Less Energy usage than a same sized LCD TV
Mercury Free and a VERY Thin Design
Currently LED TV's Cost about 20-30% more

LCD FACTS
Good Picture Quality, but Images may "burn" in Display
Energy Costs run Between $150-200 per year to operate an LCD
Mercury IS used in Manufacturing Process
Cost is the Cheaper of the Two Choices

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My next search sent me asking Google the question “what is the best monitor for poor eyesight?” I quickly landed on this blog which was a little dated, 2009, it really didn’t answer my question the way I wanted it to but it’s readers brought up some really good points. The complete web link is http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/comphelp/msg0210030520328.html :

Someone wrote to the forum asking the same question “what is the best monitor for poor eyesight?” “Writers to the forum suggested that the person try installing ClearType Tuner from Microsoft.

This PowerToy lets you use ClearType technology to make it easier to read text on your screen, and installs in the Control Panel for easy access.

After installation, go to the Control Panel and run ClearType Tuner.
It has a series of text boxes that you check for the ones that look best to you.

Now this is for those die-hards out there with windows XP and know there’s a bunch of you! If you have Vista or Windows 7 you have this built into the operating system.

Here is the web link to Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/Downloads/powertoys/Xppowertoys.mspx

The next thing the forum reminded me about is proper eye ergonomics. I have taught many classes on this very important subject and I am so very guilty of not following my own teachings.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Save-Your-Eyesight-at-the-Computer&id=728332

This web site is one of many where you can learn ways to alleviate eye strain while using a computer.

http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.aspx?Id=8083 Talks about “Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS)”

Both of the above lead to other great bog topics I’ll have to consider. Back to the matter at hand; finding the best monitor for a client with poor vision.

I promised that I’d give you some input from the manufactures as well. Now, as of this moment I still have not made my choice for my client but I have learned that LG thinks you need to know the following about monitors: (from http://www.lg.com/us/computer-products/monitors/index.jsp?cmpid=ct_us_led)

What You Need to Know about Monitors

LG Design Philosophy for Monitors

Design plays a critical role in harmonizing technology and human needs. In an effort to predict emerging needs, and to deliver innovative products to the public, LG has developed a comprehensive design philosophy which boils down to four basic elements: Concept, Style, Interface, and Finish.

Emerging Needs

LG believes that design plays a critical role in harmonizing technology and human needs—a belief that requires our designers to predict emerging needs.
This trend was started by the LG Life Soft Research Lab, which was established about 20 years ago. Design plays a crucial role at the Corporate Design Center, even if much of the work within the Center remains largely unseen by the outside world. Researchers, designers, and trend scouts work to predict the future by examining and identifying consumer needs, observing the public's interest in products, and then developing design concepts and solutions based on what they’ve seen.
This means, ultimately, that LG is always one step ahead of the game—always already working on products for the future. In this way, our research is focused not only on new products and technological opportunities, but also on understanding key customer and market trends.

LCD Monitor Design

LG has set new standards for all LCD monitors by focusing on the designs that customers want and the features they demand. LG’s FLATRON and Fantasy Monitors have, between them, won seven iF and reddot Product Design Awards in recognition of their keen ergonomics, unique design, and innovative LED backlight technology.

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This makes you want to go out and get an LG!

Now let’s talk about power consumption. http://reviews.cnet.com/green-tech/monitor-power-efficiency/ says “

Buying the right monitor can't fix the world, but paying attention to power consumption when you buy does help make the world a better place while saving you a few pennies. In these pages, we'll explain why power consumption is important, what you can do to conserve power, how various monitors stack up against each other in power conservation, and how CNET tests monitor power consumption.

Conserving power can save you money
The less power your monitor pulls, the lower your monthly electricity bill. How much lower? That depends on two key factors. The first is how often you use your monitor; not necessarily sitting in front of it, surfing the Internet, gaming, or editing a spreadsheet, but simply how often your monitor is on and showing a picture. The second factor determining how much you're going to save is your monitor's brightness setting, which controls the luminance of your monitor's backlight. The lower you set your brightness, the less power you'll use.

You might not save the world just by turning off your monitor when you leave the house, but you're not helping matters leaving it on, either. By conserving the amount of energy you use, you can reduce the demand for fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Less burning of fossil fuels means lower emissions of carbon dioxide, the primary contributor to global warming. It's as simple as that. And then, of course, there's the money-saving perk. Read on.

How do I conserve my monitor's energy?

Sleep mode is your friend
Make sure that when you're not in front of your monitor, the device is resting up. You can set up sleep mode in Windows by going to Control Panel and choosing Power Options. Select the Power Schemes tab and under Plugged in, change the "Turn off monitor" field to whatever time suits you. (We recommend at least 5 minutes to avoid your monitor nodding off while you're reading a long article.)

Turn down your brightness
Luminance is one of the most important attributes for determining how much power a monitor pulls, and is usually referred to as "Brightness" in your monitor's onscreen display. Adjusting a monitor's luminance affects the amount of light emitted by its backlight. In our tests, we've found that brightness trumps every other setting for saving power; monitors drew the same amount of power whether we were playing a game or watching a Blu-ray movie, as long as the brightness setting was consistent.

You may be wondering how contrast fits into all of this. Truth is, it doesn't. Because the contrast setting only controls the monitor's white level and has nothing to do with the backlight, it doesn't have an effect on power consumption.
If your monitor has a switch, use it

Most LCD monitors do not turn completely off when you press the power button and are still drawing some amount of power. To ensure your monitor is not drawing power, click off the power switch--usually found on the underside of your monitor, near its connection options--if you have one. The power switch acts as an additional level of power conservation. If the power switch is on, the monitor can be turned on by pressing the power button; however, if switched off the monitor can't be turned on--even by the power button--unless the switch is turned back on.

If you're going to be away from your computer for a day or more and your monitor doesn't have a switch, unplug it from the wall to make sure it's not sucking power.
Upgrade from a CRT to an LCD

If you're still using a CRT monitor, consider finally taking the LCD plunge. Not only will it you save money and consume less energy, but you'll also have more room on your desktop for mouse pads, keyboards, and little plush dolls, if you're into that sort of thing.

We tested the Sony GDM520K 20-inch CRT through VGA and based on our test methodology (see how we test LCD monitor power consumption) the annual costs for the CRT are 63 percent higher than the 20-inch wide-screen HP 2009m.
Upgrade from a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) to a light-emitting diode (LED)

CCFL and LED refer to the types of backlight in an LCD monitor. Most LCDs use CCFL backlights, which are not as efficient at filling a screen with light from a LED backlight. CCFL backlights consist of several tubes stacked horizontally across the back of your monitor's panel. With LED backlights, there are many individual LEDs all over the back of the screen that can each be turned off or on. This gives LED displays much more precise control over the amount of light coming through the screen, and they are therefore more efficient at energy consumption. LED-based LCDs also have the potential to perform better than CCFL monitors in color accuracy and can be manufactured with much thinner panels than a CCFL-based display.
We tested three LED LCD monitors, the Dell G2210, Dell G2410, and the ViewSonic VLED22. In our tests, the Dell G2210 and G2410 indeed lived up to the LED hype, each earning our Power Saver Seal. The ViewSonic VLED22, not so much. The ViewSonic did not perform badly, just not up to our Power Saver standards (see how we test LCD monitor power consumption).
Get a smaller monitor
We know, playing Crysis on your 30-inch Dell at a 2,560x1,600-pixel resolution is a reason to live, but it's also the reason the power company looks forward to your monthly energy readings. The fewer pixels a backlight has to illuminate, the less power it uses. If you can stomach a smaller monitor, know that it will save you cash.
Panel technology
One more factor that determines how much power a monitor draws is the type of panel it uses. In our tests, we've found that Twisted Nematic (TN) panels pull 45 percent to 49 percent less juice than Super Patterned Vertical Alignment (S-PVA) models of the same size. Apparently, IPS panels (which usually have a better visual quality than TN panels) require more power for that extra prettiness.

WOW! More then you expected to learn? I think I have found the monitor for us. It’s an AOC 20" Widescreen LED Monitor, currently on sale for $139 at hhgregg.com I hope this had helped you make your decision.

If you enjoy reading our blog first send it to a friend, all of your friends. Then join our Facebook page and keep learning!

Simply Seniors Computer Tutors is here for your computer needs. www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

Meet our new Affiliate Partner in Data Storage -

2011-01-08T00:49:00.001-05:00

Mozy is here! It’s the beginning of a ne year and when is the last time that you backed up your computer?

When you think about it, all the important information in your life is now stored on a computer. Whether it’s photos and music or business documents and financial records, everything is digital. With Mozy, you can be sure your digital life will always be there when you need it.

What is your backup plan? If you are like most home users you don’t have one. Backing up data on CDs or external hard drives can eat up a lot of time. You can only manage to do it every so often. And there’s still a chance that these storage devices can be lost, destroyed, or stolen.

What can be backed up using Mozy?

Family photos. Music. Financial documents. Back up what you want, when you want. You can even create custom backup rules for uncommon files types.

I’m not a techie type, is this going to be hard?

Mozy is 100% automatic. You always have the most recent versions of your files in a safe online environment that you can access from anywhere.

I feel strange putting my personal information on the internet. What kind of security does Mozy provide for my data?

We protect your files with military-grade encryption—the same security online banks use during data transfer.

Protection like this must be expensive right? Not really. Try FREE, that’s right I said back your data up for free!

Get 2 GB of 100% free online backup for your photos, music, and other files. No setup fee, no credit cards, no monthly payments or fees, and no hassle.

Now most of us are not going to get all of our pictures and music backed up as 2 GB of space can fill up fast when we are talking about media files. However, this is great for some documents and of course to try, use and then upgrade to the monthly subscription which I believe is $4.95 at this time.

Computer Tutor is now a promoter and a reseller of this backup service. Please support Simply Seniors Computer Tutor by clicking the Mozy link through out web site.

No matter how you do it, DO IT! Make sure your computer gets backed up at minimum monthly because you never realize how much data and file you have until they are no longer there.

If we can help you or a senior citizen in your area of Central Florida please dial 321-431-3866 and ask for a Computer Tutor!

Get Mozy at www.ComputerTutorHelp.Com

How to Install Software (not really :-) - A Little Laugh on a Friday!

2011-01-07T18:10:00.001-05:00

Hope that you are enjoying this 1st Friday after the dreaded 1st week back to work for the new year. Hopefully, you have started off on the right foot and you are kicking it into high gear for the months to come. What is it about the new fresh calendar that motivates us so? Having spent the day teaching seniors how to use their computers, I found my self settling into a nice Friday evening, family occupied, just me and some old files on my computer. It’s cleaning time! (That’s another blog, for another day!) As I am reviewing files I came across this file named “How to Install Software” being curious I had to give it a click. I got a good laugh at what I found. You’ve probably seen this yourself floating around in those forward, forwarded emails from dear Aunt Sally. Enjoy the Friday Funny!

"How To Install Software - A 12-Step Program"

1. Examine the software packaging until you find a little printed box that explains what kind of computer system you need to run the software.
It should look something like this:

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
2386 PROCESSOR OR HIGHER
628.8 MEGAHERTZ MODEM
719.7 MB FREE DISK SPACE
3546 MB RAM
432323 MB ROM
05948737 MB RPM
ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM
2 TURTLE DOVES
NOTE: This software will not work on your computer.
2. Open the software packaging and remove the manual. This will contain detailed instructions on installing, operating, and trouble-shooting the software. Throw it away.
3. Find the actual software, which should be in the form of either a 3.5-inch floppy diskette or a CD-ROM, located inside a sealed envelope that says:

LICENSING AGREEMENT:
By breaking this seal, the user hereinafter agrees to abide by all the terms and conditions of the following agreement that nobody ever reads, as well as the Geneva Convention and the U.N. Charter and the Secret Membership Oath of the Benevolent Protective Order of the Elks and such other terms and conditions, real and imaginary, as the Software Company shall deem necessary and appropriate, including the right to come to the user's home and examine the user's hard drive, as well as the user's underwear drawer if we feel like it, take it or leave it, until death do us part, one nation indivisible, by the dawn's early light, finders keepers, losers weepers, thanks you've been a great crowd, and don't forget to tip your servers.
4. Hand the software to a child aged 3 through 12 and say, "(Name of child), please install this on my computer."
5. If you have no child age 3 through 12, insert the software in the appropriate drive, type "SETUP" and press the Enter key.
6. Turn the computer on, you idiot.
7. Once again type "SETUP" and press the Enter key.
8. You will hear grinding and whirring noises for a while, after which the following message should appear on your screen: The Installation Program will now examine your system to see what would be the best way to render it inoperable. Is it OK with you? Choose one, and be honest:
+--------+ +---------+
| YES | | SURE |
+--------+ +---------+
9. After you make your selection, you will hear grinding and whirring for a very long time while the installation program does who knows what in there. Some installation programs can actually alter molecular structures, so that when they're done, your computer has been transformed into an entirely new device, such
as a food processor. At the very least, the installation program will create many new directories, sub-directories, sub- sub-directories, on your hard drive and fill them with thousands of mysterious files with names like "puree.exe," "fester.dat," and "doo.wha."
10. When the installation program is finished, your screen should display the following message: CONGRATULATIONS The installation program cannot think of anything else to do to your computer and has grown bored. You may now attempt to run your software. If you experience any problems, electrical shocks, insomnia, shortness of breath, nasal discharge, or intestinal parasites, you should immediately !$)$%@&*^)$*!#$_$*^&
11. At this point your computer system should become less functional than the federal government, refusing to respond even when struck with furniture.
12. Call the toll-free Technical Support Hotline number listed on the package and wait on the line for a representative, who will explain to you, in a clear, step-by-step manner, how to adopt a child aged 3 through 12.

---------------

….and of course when all else fails call the Computer Tutors at Simply Seniors Computer Tutors 321-431-3866 or on the web at www.ComputerTutorHelp.com

Microsoft’s Operating System Alternatives

2011-01-06T13:40:00.001-05:00

When you purchase a new computer off the show room floor at your local big box store what operating system are you going to find installed? The answer is almost 100% Microsoft Windows, today it will be the Windows 7 Operating System. That is unless you spend the extra money and buy a Mac.

I am not a big fan of the Mac or the entire family of “i” gadgets. I think they are over priced and overly complicated! Woo, “Did she say Mac is overly complicated?” Yes, I did. That is my personal point of view because I am a die hard Microsoft person. I know the boo's are already being heard from the “real techie types” that may have fallen upon my blog and may be reading it at this time. I have never told any one that I am a “techno-geek” I do not understand those who complain about the Windows weaknesses because I am not that type of technology specialist. When I started this stuff some 20 years ago I had Microsoft software then and I have it now so it is what I know and I am familiar and I feel comfortable using it. Additionally, because our clients are new computer users, having never been exposed to any other software, we try to keep things as ‘stock’ (Microsoft OS & software as it comes out of the box)for our clients as possible so that when someone calls and uses very bad descriptions of their issues, we can easily enough figure out just what they are trying to say to us.

However, because I do not have my head buried too deeply in the Microsoft sand box, I do know that there are security issues that may (may) cause me problems with my computer and may allow access for a ‘hacker’ to enter into my system. Additionally, I have some issues with just how much money this HUGE company makes from it’s mistakes and it’s successes. I guess I also have to thank Microsoft’s tech team for making the mistakes that they have made to make our systems venerable, because it is these same mistakes that keep businesses like my own operational, removing software bugs and solving software issues.

I have recently been working with alternative operating system options. If you read my last blog about Cloud Computer you learned that cloud computing is really the way that we are heading technology wise. Again, cloud computing is where your data lives out there is cyberspace somewhere, not right in front of you on your own hard drive. The data is said to be safer from accidental loss because the massive computer servers where your data is being store are protected in ways your home PC can not be protected. Since all of our documents, and files and many of the applications (programs is what they used to be called) can be stored on the Internet on ‘servers’ we really do not need to continue to battle the issues we currently have with the Microsoft operating systems.

I have been using a flash drive version UBUNTU which can be found at this web site: http://www.ubuntu.com/ It is a beautiful operating system that again is under 1GB in size and can be installed to a flash drive. That flash drive can be inserted into a USB port on your existing computer and when the computer boots you can direct it to boot the USB device. Then the Ubuntu OS can start… yes this can happen right on the computer you are currently using and you can have it up and running within the 1/2 hour depending on your tech skills and your download speeds.

Here is the information on Ubuntu from their web site (se link above)

“Super-fast and great-looking, Ubuntu is a secure, intuitive operating system that powers desktops, servers, netbooks and laptops. Ubuntu is, and always will be, absolutely free.”

Created by the best open-source experts from all over the world, Ubuntu is available in 24 languages and ready for download today.

No viruses

Life's too short to spend it worrying about viruses.

If you have ever had to pay $99 to have a virus removed from your computer then this is the answer for you! If you have a teenager that insists on downloading everything that is sent to them, again clogging your system with ‘cookies’ and malware and viruses that can completely wipe out your important data (forever) than Ubuntu OS may be the right choice for you!

You can use free applications such as Open Office or even Google Documents if you need software that will both interact and behave like Microsoft Office 2003+ – Open office has not yet moved to the ‘TABS’ tool bar viewing, I am not sure if they have plans but considering the ‘tab’ seems to be everywhere from IE8, Chrome, Firefox and of course the new Office software suites.

So why not give this a try – you really have nothing to loose or maybe we have everything to lose if we don’t try it!

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor is always looking for new topics. Please share this blog with your friends and you never know you might just learn something new.

Remember new classes at the Wickham park Senior Center on Fridays from 10-noon. Class is only $10 each and they are geared toward our senior community. Please help us to meet our goal of 100 new followers this month on our blog. Spread the word and learn new stuff along the way!

www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

Cloud Computing

2011-01-06T01:10:00.001-05:00

I heard this term for the first time recently. I was not quite sure what it meant so I had to do a little research. According to Wikipedia Could Computing is defined as the following:

“Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared servers provide resources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand, as with the electricity grid. Cloud computing is a natural evolution of the widespread adoption of virtualization, service-oriented architecture and utility computing. Details are abstracted from consumers, who no longer have need for expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that supports them.

Cloud computing describes a new supplement, consumption, and delivery model for IT services based on the Internet, and it typically involves over-the-Internet provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources. It is a byproduct and consequence of the ease-of-access to remote computing sites provided by the Internet. This frequently takes the form of web-based tools or applications that users can access and use through a web browser as if it were a program installed locally on their own computer.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides a somewhat more objective and specific definition here. The term "cloud" is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on the cloud drawing used in the past to represent the telephone network, and later to depict the Internet in computer network diagrams as an abstraction of the underlying infrastructure it represents.Typical cloud computing providers deliver common business applications online that are accessed from another Web service or software like a Web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers.

Most cloud computing infrastructures consist of services delivered through common centers and built on servers. Clouds often appear as single points of access for consumers' computing needs. Commercial offerings are generally expected to meet quality of service (QoS) requirements of customers, and typically include service level agreements (SLAs). The major cloud service providers include Amazon, Rackspace Cloud, Sales force, Skytap, Microsoft and Google. Some of the larger IT firms that are actively involved in cloud computing are Fujitsu, Dell, Red Hat, Hewlett Packard, IBM, VMware, and NetApp.”

I bet you now know more about Cloud Computing then you ever expect to know :-) Go impress your friends with your new knowledge.

Cloud computing has many beneficial uses and it may be the way home personal computing is moving in the near future. This article from AOL Discover suggests we “Get on the band wagon” and join in where big business like Amazon.com have ready gone.

Get Smart: Jump on the Web Storage Bandwagon

Humorist Dave Barry once said, “The Internet is the most important single development in the history of human communication since the invention of call waiting.” The Internet has certainly come a long way in recent years, and the current popular trend amongst technology aficionados isCloud Computing, which stores your applications on a shared data server and allows you to access them from any location as long as you have a Web connection.

You can easily store photos, videos and other relevant files and documents without worrying about losing them. If your hard drive were to crash at the blink of an eye, you’re better off backing up your important files online to avoid losing valuable information and documents on your computer. There are countless horror stories of individuals who have lost all their data or important documents in one fell swoop when their laptops were misplaced or stolen, so a backup plan (pardon the pun) is important.
Cloud computing (the “cloud” refers to the Internet) is certainly the wave of the future: According to Gartner Inc. figures, by 2014 revenue from worldwide cloud services is projected to reach $148.8 billion. It’s a trend that's not only picking up steam at companies, but among individual users who are savvy about the importance of keeping files and data secure.
Global market intelligence firm IDC defines cloud services as “consumer and business products, services and solutions delivered and consumed in real-time over the Internet.” These services are usually offered on a subscription basis -- a worthwhile price to pay to guard against the security of important files and documents.

Benefits of Web Storage

With cloud-storage devices, you can access your content from the office, home or any other location in the increasingly Web-connected corners of the globe.

Web storage devices are generally secure, minimizing the risk of data loss. They provide easy-to-use storage and the ability to efficiently share files with colleagues, friends and family. According to USByte.com, “Instead of going [to the] trouble of buying, connecting and supporting (and sometimes repairing) your personal backup system…just download some simple software from the Web, subscribe to a service and upload those critical data you wish to keep in a safe place.”

Enter a whole host of Web storage services, including ElephantDrive, Mozy and SugarSync. PC World has high praise for Mozy, describing it as a great service that “works in the background protecting your data.” And SugarSync has been lauded by critics who enjoy the fact that any change they make in one of their computers will automatically appear in the others, thereby reducing the tedious need to continuously email files here and there.

Simply Seniors Computer Tutors is now a proud affiliate of Mozy! Log on to our web site and click the link to set up your FREE Mozy data storage account. www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

These services essentially make life simpler by allowing you to store photos, your favorite music, and important personal and work documents in one secure location without incurring unexpected loss. Let’s face it, computers or mobile phones aren’t always reliable and mishaps can happen. Web storage devices reduce the risk of a calamity, which is always a good thing.
-- Tara Taghizadeh – the original source: http://daol.aol.com/articles/jump-on-the-web-storage-bandwagon/?icid=maing|main5|dl8|sec1_lnk5|34681

Simply Seniors Computer Tutors – here to help you get your head out of the clouds!

Social Networking Overload!

2011-01-05T22:21:00.001-05:00

Today’s blog comes to you from my own frustrations with social networking. As you know Simply Seniors Computer Tutors specializes in the needs of senior citizens and new computer users those that have never really heard of a blog let alone read one. We help computer users that do not know how to even get to a web site in many cases, let alone use Facebook and read Blogs and Tweets. So why is it that I have found myself working so hard on these different social sites? Well to get the word out that is why! Just like any other business owner. Word of mouth is the best advertising there is hands-down, nothing beats it. The hard part is getting those mouths moving!!! (So if you’re reading this please share it with your social circle! This took many hours of my life to create just for your eyes!)

I was against Simply Seniors Computer Tutor even having a web site for years because again many of our clients do not have the skills to find us through the computer… yet. After much pushing by my husband I finally went live with our first web site in 2007 (way late in the game I know!) after all we are a business that specializes in the technological needs of senior citizens. To my surprise I found a whole new group to market to – the adult kids of the seniors that I work with; they are online and know how to get to our web site!

Today, of course I find myself working hours a day to ‘keep up with the Internet Joneses’ you know keeping up with all the different social networking sites, there are all too many and only a handful worth worrying about anyway. All of this ‘work’ I have been putting into the blog and then uploading it to Facebook then sharing it amongst my friends and then copying the information and reposting it with a different social group and so on has lead me to thinking “If only there was an easy way to update all of these things at once…

With a little research I have been able to connect many of my different accounts. I’d like to spend a little time discussing how I did it and give you some links so you can learn to do the same thing. Additionally, I’d like to go into a little detail about the connecting of accounts – beware of what is being said.

When it comes to connecting your Facebook (FB) posts to your Tweets’ this web site http://brandontreb.com/how-to-connect-facebook-to-twitter/ has nice detailed instructions with screen shots.

I found that when I connected my Yahoo account to my FB account it was very easy and the same for the Windows Messenger account. This article at Tech Crunch has some great info about about yahoo/FB connection. http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/04/yahoo-contacts-gets-facebook-connect/ This article is from yahoo http://www.ymailblog.com/blog/2010/03/facebook-friends-meet-yahoo-contacts/

Later, I connected my blogg to my hip bone. No, I connected it to my Twitter or so I thought. Now that I have spent an entire day connecting each of my ‘social networking’ accounts – I feel less connected than ever! LOL. It’s a bit of a stretch to think it would all work together flawlessly as I was hoping it would. I think that some of the things I have posted in one location are being repeated in a second location but again my question to all of the social networked, WHY? I have about the same exact people on each location.

No wonder the average computer user is baffled by the BS. I am still trying to convince myself that drone of 30 and 40 year old’s are going to come flocking to our company because of our social appearance, people we otherwise never would have connected with. With that I close today’s Blog. I ask that you make me a believer in my self and my theory that if you connect it, if you write it, if you keep up with it… they WILL come!

Remember that is Simply Seniors Computer Tutor, 321-431-3866 www.ComputerTutorHelp.com

Computer Classes NOW being offered at Wickham Park Senior Center, Melbourne, FL.

2011-01-04T22:14:00.001-05:00

The Wickham Park Senior Center has offered their facilities to Simply Seniors Computer Tutor to use as our home base for all of our computer classes. Classes are held Friday Mornings 10am –12pm. The cost is typically $10 per class.

The facility, located at 2785 Leisure Way, Melbourne, Florida, is newly built and has many varied actives to offer those age 55 and over. Everyone regardless of age or affiliation with the senior center is welcomed to attend these computer classes being offered by Simply Seniors Computer Tutors. Seniors are asked to consider becoming a member at a mere $15 for a year!

The class schedule can be viewed at this site http://www.bcscwp.com/ComputerTutor.html and our own web site www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us I will look forward to seeing you this Friday for one of my favorites; it’s the Tips and Tricks class.

Who is this class for? Anyone who has been using a PC for a year plus and has questions about how to do common functions. Learn a few tips and tricks from the pros. This class will NOT provide a book so bring your note book, and questions and be ready to learn something new!!!

Thanks again for reading!

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor, Melbourne, FL 321-431-3866

Don’t Trust Your Computer With Just Anyone

2011-01-03T19:49:00.001-05:00

Happy new year! Hard to believe 2011 is here – where is my rocket ship or my personal jet pack, you know the one we all thought we would have by this time? OK, so no jet pack but we sure have excelled in the techno-gadget field that’s a fact you can’t deny. The other day I was driving down the road listening to my 10 year old daughter talking on the phone with a friend of hers. I then started thinking about how when I was 10 (1985) all I could do is DREAM of the day I would be allowed to have a (corded to the wall) phone in my own bed room. If you would have told me in 1990 that when I turn 35 in the year 2010 I will not only have a phone in my car or on my body at all times, that phone would also have all of the applications such as (I’ll list the ones I use most often) internet, which includes email and texting, Camera, stop watch, flash light mode, radio, mp3 player, note pad, calendar, alarm and clock, video player, video recorder and hand held gaming unit – all in one… I would be sure that future me was a millionaire! Secondly, no I don’t think I would have believe that I would own something like that… and we’re only talking about looking back 20 years! Amazing isn’t it?

Well all this technology needs people to fix it – lol if you would have told me 20 years ago I would be the person to do those repairs, I never would have believed you either! Each and everyday people trust me with their very valuable information. A computer is a very intimate tool when you think about it. Your family photos are there, documents which might include sensitive information about you personally, including medical records and financial information. Knowing this it freaks me out every time I hear the story my client starts to tell about how they had the lawn man in to the fix the problem. Why would you allow someone to have access to your very valuable information?

Simply Seniors Computer Tutors goes above and beyond to let clients know our company Computer Tutors are experienced and trust worth folk. Simply Seniors Computer Tutors has been helping seniors since August 2002. Our mission is to help senior citizens learn new technology; therefore expanding their world. We are here to aid seniors throughout central Florida with their computer and technological needs. Each of our in home tutors has received a state or county background check before coming aboard with Computer Tutor. For your safety when a Tutor or technician comes to your home she wears an easy to identify name badge and ID and is dressed in a Computer Tutor uniform.

I started this business by myself and have worked hard to expand and share the knowledge. Many of our clients have been with us now for 7 years or more! I think it is very important to know who is working on your machine.

Here is more on the topic from a fellow Computer Technician out of LA. TI can’t say the following any better, thank you guys for caring! Computer Heaven is the name and they are locally owned as well. http://computerheaven.com/

Hiring the wrong computer repair guy can not only be incredibly frustrating and expensive, but you could end up losing ALL of your irreplaceable files, photos, music, e-mails, and other important documents!

READ THIS GUIDE AND YOU’LL DISCOVER:

· Computer scams and rip-offs that you MUST be aware of.

· 5 Costly misconceptions about computer maintenance and repair.

· Viruses, worms, spyware, and hackers: what you need to know to protect yourself.

· 7 Questions you need to ask before buying any computer equipment.

· Why you need to avoid “cheap” or “bargain” computer repair shops.

· The one surefire sign that you should run – not walk – out of a computer repair shop.

There are no shortages of horror stories about fly-by-night computer repair shops causing problems as a result of their unethical or incompetent behavior. I’m sure if you talk to your own friends and family you will get an ear-full of the unfortunate experiences they have encountered in this area.

You see, the computer industry, along with a lot of other industries, has its own share of unethical businesses who will always try to take advantage of uneducated buyers in their greed for easy money. Fortunately, businesses like these are the minority, but we know they exist because we have had a number of customers come to us to clean up the disasters they have caused.

Another big problem of the computer industry is that it is not regulated like many other industries. Automotive repair shops, electricians, plumbers, lawyers, realtors, dentists, doctors, accountants, and even restaurants (to name a few) are heavily regulated to protect the consumer from receiving substandard work or getting ripped off. However, the computer industry is still very new and there aren’t any laws in existence to protect the consumer.

Anyone who can turn a computer on can market themselves as a computer repair technician or shop. Even if they are honestly trying to do a good job for you, their inexperience can cost you dearly in your machine’s performance or in lost or corrupt data files. That is why we decided to offer this report.

The information in this Guide is provided to help raise standards within the computer repair and support industry, and to give YOU useful information to help you guard against the unethical or incompetence of some companies and technicians.

The Five Most Costly Misconceptions About

Computer Maintenance and Repair

#1: If your computer is working fine right now, it does not need any maintenance.

This is probably one of the biggest and most deadly misconceptions that most computer users fall victim to. Computers are just like cars. If you don’t change the oil, change the filter, rotate the tires, flush the transmission, and perform other regular maintenance on your car, it will eventually break down and cost you FAR MORE to repair than the cost of the basic maintenance.

There are certain maintenance checks that need to be done daily (like virus updates), weekly (like system backups), and monthly or quarterly (like checking for and installing security patches and updates, disk defrag, spyware detection and removal, checking the surge suppressor and the integrity of the hard drive, and so on). Your computer repair technician should be adamant that you have regular maintenance done on your machine and should offer to set up automatic virus definition updates(to avoid viruses), and automatic system backups OFF-SITE.

If your technician does not press you to let him do this for you, then RUN – don’t walk – out of their office. Lack of system maintenance is the NUMBER ONE reason most people end up losing valuable files and incurring heavy computer repair bills. If your technician isn’t offering you these services, you need to find someone else to support your computer or network for two reasons:

• Either they don’t know enough to make this recommendation, which is a sure sign they are horribly inexperienced, OR

• They recognize that they are profiting from your computer problems and don’t want to recommend steps towards preventing you from needing their help on an ongoing basis.

Either reason is a good one to get as far away from that person as possible!

#2: The maintenance tools provided in the Microsoft Operating System and software are all the maintenance you need.

Again, this is a terrible misconception. Microsoft does NOT include ALL of the security features to protect your data from viruses, hackers, and data loss or prevent your PC from running slowly.

Additionally, Microsoft (and other software vendors for that matter) are constantly providing critical patches and updates to their software to protect you from viruses and hackers. However, if you don’t know to look for them, or if you don’t know how to install them properly, you could easily end up getting burned.

#3: My nephew/neighbor’s kid/brother-in-law knows this computer stuff and can help me solve my problems.

If only this were true. Obviously, not all technicians are created equal. Just because a person is good with computer applications (what we call a power user) does NOT mean they know how to install a critical security patch, detect and extract a deadly virus, or upgrade your machine.

Most people look for a part time “guru” to help them save money, but this often comes back to haunt them. Every day we get new customers who walk into our shop needing us to clean up a mess that was caused by an inexperienced neighbor, friend, or relative who was just trying to help. If the person you have working on your machine does not do computer repair and support for a living, there is a good chance they won’t have the knowledge or experience to truly help you. Technology advances at lightning speed and it takes constant learning and practice to master it. If your part-time technician is not working on PCs and networks every day, they probably only know enough to be dangerous.

#4: You can always get a better deal on computer software, equipment, or services by shopping online.

The key word here is “deal”. Sure you can always find a cheaper price if you shop online, but you might actually end up getting the short end of the stick. As with anything in life, you get what you pay for. Companies simply cannot give you dirt cheap prices AND champagne service.

If you are getting a cheap bargain, chances are you will get very little if NO service after the sale. If something goes wrong, or if you just have a question, you might find out that the customer service line only goes to a voice mail box that never gets checked, or that you have to submit questions via e-mail that takes DAYS to return.

Before you buy ANY computer equipment, make sure you know the answers to these questions:

• How long have they been in business? The last thing you want to do is buy a lemon of a computer from a fly-by-night organization. Thanks to the Internet, ANYONE can set up a website and start selling computer equipment, parts, and software. That is why you want to look for a company that has been in business for 5 years or more.

• What is their guarantee or warranty on the equipment or services you are buying? As a standard rule, they should offer one year replacement warranty on all parts at a minimum.

• How do they handle returns and exchanges? Do you have to ship the defective item back to them on your dime or do they arrange to have it picked up? Do they send the replacement first? What is the guaranteed turnaround time for an item? This is why many people prefer to buy all equipment from a local vendor. If something goes wrong, you can drive to the store, speak to a real person, and get an instant replacement in most cases.

• What type of help desk support do they offer? If you are like me, you want to speak directly to a knowledgeable technician when you need help. However, many companies only offer e-mail and web-based support, and charge a hefty fee for anything outside of that. Which brings me to the next question…

• Is your support free or charged by the minute? Make sure you are very clear on what support is free and what is fee-based.

• Where is their help desk and customer service office located? Many of the big vendors are shipping their help desk support overseas to save money. While this works out great for them, it can be incredibly frustrating when you are trying to communicate with their customer support representatives.

• Do YOU really know how to install, configure and troubleshoot this new device? If not, you may want to consider hiring a qualified technician to install it. Quite often, drivers and software can conflict and cause problems and unless YOU have installed this device before, it might be worth the small fee to get someone else to do it for you.

#5: All computer repair shops are created equal. Your best option will be the one who offers the lowest price.

As we stated a moment ago, you get what you pay for. A cheap price usually means a cheap job. Really good technicians do NOT work cheap because they are in high demand. The only technicians that will work cheap are those that are just starting and they are grossly inexperienced.

With your valuable data, precious family photos, favorite music files, and other irreplaceable documents at stake, do you REALLY want the cheapest technician working on your machine?

We take the view that most people want value for money and simply want the job done right. You will find that we are not the cheapest and we do not apologize for that. You will also find that we are not the most expensive. We simply feel that we should offer a good service at a fair price. That’s why we have been able to stay in business for over 13 solid years.

Your Customer Bill Of Rights

Here is what I promise to deliver if you choose Simply Seniors Computer Tutors to service your computer or company network:

When you call us with a computer problem, we guarantee that your phone call will be either answered immediately or returned within 24 hours or less by an experienced member of our staff who can help.

You should not have to wait around weeks for your computer to be repaired. We understand how important your computer is to you; that is why we offer expedited service where we will start working on your computer the day you bring it in. In most cases, we can fix it within 24 hours or less. * Call for more details.

You deserve to get answers to your questions in PLAIN ENGLISH. Our technicians will not talk down to you or make you feel stupid because you don’t understand their “geek speak”.

You deserve complete satisfaction with our products and services. We will do whatever it takes to make you happy. No hassles, no problems.

You should EXPECT that no damage will be done to your machine or your data. Before we start working on your computer or network, we will evaluate your problem and alert you to any potential risks involved in fulfilling your job. If there are any risks, they will be explained in full, and your authorization and agreement will be obtained before the work commences. You can also choose to have your data backed up before we start any work on your machine.

A large proportion of our business comes from referrals from happy, satisfied customers. We want you to recommend us and we know that you will only do this if you are happy with the services we provide. That is why we work so hard to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Please visit www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us for more help! More Coming soon! Please tell your friends!!! Help Spread the word! Simply Seniors Computer Tutor! 321-431-FUNN – Because Computers should be fun!