Happy Holiday

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

We, at 2Jour, want to wish you a happy holiday. Our next post will start again in January.

Here are the 2Jour posts for 2006

Finding a Doctor in Ontario Canada
Searching for Symptoms on the Web
Getting used to the Mouse
Finding a Web Browser for Blind/Low Vision
Finding Websites for Blind/Low Vision
E-mail: Is it on my Computer?
E-mail: Is this from my Bank?
E-mail: Does my E-mail have a virus?
Using a Joystick as a Mouse

Great Canadian Deals

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

It's Christmas and this means the stress to buy something is upon us. A great website to help us Canadian shoppers find great deals is Red Flag Deals . The deals range from Electronics to Home and Garden.

Avoiding Download Dangers

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

Charlie was surfing the web when he stumbled upon an intriguing website.

It featured none other than the XtraSkrub 2000. By cleaning and fine tuning your hard drive, XtraSkrub 2000 guaranteed to improve your computer's performance FOR FREE.

This was an offer Charlie could not refuse and as he ran the newly-installed program, everything went blank. XtraSkrub 2000 erased his whole hard drive.

A small gasp came from Charlie's mouth as he sat on the edge of his seat staring at his computer in disbelief. The only thing that kept him from crying was that he backed up his files.

.......
There are many great free programs available on the web. However, there are also many programs which can harm your computer like infecting it with a virus or even installing spyware.

Here are some ways to help avoid download dangers:

1. See if other people are using the program you want to download. In the case above, you could try googling "XtraSkrub 2000 review" to see if a large amount of people have been using this product and what their experience was. If you don't find enough information, then don't download.

2, Try to download programs from reputable sites like CNET. If the website is unfamiliar to you, then hold off downloading.

3. Make sure you always have an up to date virus scanner and spyware scanner running. They can identify most of the time if your download is dangerous.

Let Relatives Fix your Computer Remotely

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa, Canada

As you sip your double double at Tim Horton's, you see José dragging himself in carrying a very gloomy face.

"Hey José!! Over here!" you cry out to him.

"Oh hey Karl. Nice to see you."

"Why are you so glum?" you ask.

"My computer is on the fritz. I need to take it in to have it looked after, which means this will cost me lots of money," José replied deflated.

"Why not get your good for nothing software engineer son to look at it?"


"Because John doesn't live here in Ottawa. I have to explain my computer problem over the phone to him and he never understands me. So then I get frustrated, then he gets frustrated, then we both yell at each other, and then we hang up. And my poor computer would still be broken.

I figured it would be easier to skip all that and just get my computer fixed by some local professional."

"José, are you still able to connect to the internet?"

"Yeah, why?"

"There are programs out there that can allow John to connect to your computer via your internet connection. Therefore, you avoid any miscommunication because he can see for himself what problems you are having with your computer AND he can try and fix it. "

........

Here are a list programs that allow people that you trust (like your son/daughter) to remotely access your computer and help you fix it.


Logmein - Free

GotoMyPc

Getting Used to the Mouse

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa

The first big hurdle to overcome while learning to use the computer is the mouse. Mouse navigation takes time so do not despair. With practice, the pointer on your screen will move where you want it to go and in no time you will see that clicking and even double clicking won't be so strenuous.

If there is a physical limitation that is preventing you from using the mouse, try using mousekeys. You can use your keyboard instead of your mouse to move the pointer. Another alternative is to use a joystick.

Here are some websites to practice your mouse navigation:

2jourMouse

Mousercise

Turning Off Frozen Computers

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

You are in a bad mood because your computer is in a bad mood.

It started innocently. You were reading E-mail and listening to your favorite tunes when.. BOOM... your computer refused to listen to you. You frantically moved the mouse up, down, sideways, diagonally, and... NOTHING. With great Herculean force, you pounded the keys; A, CTRL, TAB, and a couple of ENTERs. Perhaps random combination of keys was all that was needed to appease your computer. BUT NO!!!!! Ice cold silence was returned.

You knew you had to restart the computer. You pressed the power button but..... the computer would not turn off. Reduced to tears you shouted at the heavens, "WHY MEEEEE?!?!"

.......................................

In newer computers pressing the power button may not turn off the computer. You will need to hold down the power button for 5 seconds before it shuts off.

Bluetooth? On Cell Phones?

Computer Coaching for Seniors Toronto Canada

965 AD Jelling, Denmark

Haraald Bluetooth, the king of Denmark and the new King of Norway, sat next to the Jelling Runestone that honoured his mother and father. With a deep sigh he wondered, "Will people remember me after I am gone?"

Present Day, Ottawa Tim Hortons

"Bluetooth??? What's that?" You ask Charlie after he describes all the features of his new cell phone.

"Oh Karl, its the latest thing in phones," Charlie replied.

"OK Charlie, I still don't know what it does."

"Karl, I can't explain it to you. It is too complicated for you to understand."

"Sooo Charlie," you pause looking at him straight in the eyes, "you don't know either."

"Darn you Karl, you found my weakness!!!!!!!"

Bluetooth gives your cell phone the ability to transmit wirelessly to hands-free headphones or even to your hearing aid (if you have the proper accessory).

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/bluetooth-hearing-aids.html

If your computer is able to transmit and receive Bluetooth signals, then you can also transfer pictures, video and other data stored on your cellphone to your computer. However, Bluetooth has a short range, so your phone and your computer have to be close in distance to transfer data between them.

Why can't I write with my CD-R drive?

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

Ever since Charlie lost all his data when his hard-drive failed you decided to backup your pictures. You are not worried about your E-Mail since you are using Hotmail. All your mail is stored on the Hotmail's computer. So you pop in a blank CD into the drive and drag in all the pictures to the CD icon but... there is nothing in Windows to let you write (or burn) the CD.

You look at the phone and there is Charlie's big head beckoning you to call him. With a big sigh of regret you push the speed dial button.

"Hey Charlie um..."
"Say it Karl! SAY IT!!!"

"Oh, for crying out loud Charlie...."

"SAY IT!!"

"Ok, Charlie, you are the greatest computer expert in the world, you arrogant @#@$#@@@!!"

"I will accept that but watch the language."

"Charlie, I am trying to burn some CDs but..."

"You can't!"

"Why can't I? I have a CD. I made sure it wasn't a DVD since they are different. So why can't my stupid computer not have just a little bit of intelligence and write to a CD?!!!???"

"Because you have a CD-R drive. The R stands for Read. You need a CD-RW drive that Reads and Writes."


"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT YESTERDAY?!?"


"You didn't ask."

Here are all the different drive types you may find in the computer store.

DriveName	ReadCDs	ReadDVDs	WriteCDs	WriteDVDs
CD-R	Yes	No	No	No
CD-RW	Yes	No	Yes	No
DVD-R	Yes	Yes(DVD-R)	Yes	No
DVD-RW	Yes	Yes(DVD-R)	Yes	Yes(DVD-R)
DVD+R	Yes	Yes(DVD+R)	Yes	No
DVD+RW	Yes	Yes(DVD+R)	Yes	Yes(DVD+R)
DVD+/-RW	Yes	Yes(DVD+R,DVD-R)	Yes	Yes(DVD+R,DVD-R)

Why Can't I watch my DVD Movies on the CD Drive?

Computer Coaching For Seniors

You finally got your new computer. At last, you can watch all the Jet Li movies you want on your flat screen monitor.

But something is wrong .. very wrong. The DVD is in the CD drive but the movie does not play. You randomly click at any icon that points you to salvation but nothing seems to work. All you get are incomprehensible pop up messages. So you kick the computer and then curse and then kick it again, but no movie.

Exhausted and defeated you pick up the phone and speed dial Charlie.

"Hey Charlie, I need help on my computer."

"Sooo Karl, you need my expertise eh? HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"Charlie, stop the melodrama. Why can't I watch DVD movies on my computer?"

"Karl, I thought your computer had a CD drive."

"Yeah so?"

"You can't play DVDs on a CD drive!"

"Why? DVDs and CDs look the same."

"Sorry Karl, that's the way it is. DVDs don't work on CD drives."

"BUT..."

"No buts, Karl. It is what it is."

Although CDs and DVDs look the same, they are actually different. DVDs are able to store more information in a more compact way than a CD. So in order to read a DVD, a DVD drive uses a more precise, different laser than what a CD drive uses.

DVD drive - plays DVDs and CDs.
CD drive - plays only CDs.


For more details click on the following link:
How DVDS work.


Next week we will discuss CD burning.

How Much Is It To Send Snail Mail?

Computer Coaching for Seniors

You would like to send something through mail (snail mail that is) but you don't remember if a 49 cents stamp will be enough to cover the cost. You could ask your friends but then you know they will lead you down the wrong path (given the evidence from the last few weeks).

Well do not despair. Hop on down to the Canada Post website. There you will find all the information you are looking for and more.

Searching for Symptoms on the Web

Computer Coaching for Seniors

José was frantic. Charlie was visiting his daughter in Osaka so he decided to call Karl.

"Karl what am I to do? I am INFECTED!!!!!!!"

"Hello, um ahh, José?" Karl replied.

"Yes it's me. Listen I don't know what to do? I got this strange rash and I thought it may be tied to that E-Mail I got from my co-worker about the Ontario water being undrinkable.Anyway, I searched the symptoms on the web and ... KARL I HAVE WALOWALO INFECTION!!!!"

"José, now calm down. Which website did you get the information from?"

"Karl, it was www.walowalo.com."

"José, although your symptoms match, it doesn't mean you are infected. You have no idea how trustworthy this website is. I am pretty sure it was not written by a medical expert.

Book an appointment with your doctor and wait and see what he says."

Searching for symptoms on the web is pretty common. The internet is a huge resource of information. However, not all of the information is accurate. Just because it is on the web does not make it true.

Also, symptoms can apply to many ailments or diseases. Usually when you search online you get matches to the worst case scenarios which can cause anxiety. Just remember that any match you get from your search is only ONE possibility out of many. The best place to get a diagnosis is from your doctor.

Here are some websites that are well known and more reliable for searching symptoms, medications and other health related concerns. You can use these as a starting point before talking to your doctor.

Dr. Koop

WebMD

Mayo Clinic

Not all E-Mail Messages are True

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada


Charlie sent you this message:

Karl read this!!!!! This was forwarded to me by José.

Forwarded Message

According to CBC reports, Ontario water has been contaminated. Only drink from bottled water.

There are unfortunately a lot of false messages that circulate via E-Mail. A lot of them are what is known as an "Urban Legend". This is why if you get a message like the one above, verify for yourself if this is true.

In the case above, you could simply go to the CBC website and see if they mention anything about the contaminated water.

Another website is snopes. It stores all the false messages that have circulated in the past and you can search if your message is one of them.

Security: Skyping more privately

Computer Coaching for Seniors, Ottawa Canada.

The stormy night would not let Charlie sleep. He decided to turn on computer #1 (in total he had 5) and check out how the Canadian dollar compared with the other currencies. As his mouse pointer hovered over his Canadian Exchange Rate bookmark, thunder roared outside his window and a chat window from Skype popped up.

(Chat window means you are communicating through typing and not through voice or talking like on a phone)

"Hi, this is Cindy, Charlie Keiko."

"Cindy, who is this Cindy?" Charlie thought.

He decided to ignore the intrusion, but again the Skype chat window popped up.

"Hey Charlie... why won't you talk to me? I am your long lost cousin Cindy Keiko. We should have a family reunion. I just moved to Ottawa. If you give me your address and phone number, I'll give you a call."

"I do have some relatives on the west coast that I haven't talked to in years. Could this Cindy be related to them?" thought Charlie.

.............

A lot of the information that "Cindy" got about Charlie was from his Skype profile. Charlie signed up for his Skype account using his first name, last name and city. Therefore, there is a big chance that Cindy may not be his long lost cousin.

Although Skype is a wonderful way to communicate, you still need to be cautious as to how much information you share. Here are some ways to Skype more securely:

1. Try creating a Skype userid that gives no information about you personally. For example, Charlie should create an account like 123Chucky rather than 123CharlieKeiko.
   

   You can let your friends and family know about your Skype userid through e-mail or by phone.

2. When you sign up with a Skype account, give as little information as possible. Try not to supply your first name or last name or even the city and country.

   If you have entered in that information, you can remove it by going to "file/edit my profile" and change it there.

3. You can set the privacy option on Skype to get only calls or chat from people on your contact list.

   Go to "Tools/Options" and select "Privacy" on the side panel. Check mark "Allow calls from my contact" and check mark "Allow chats from my contacts".

   You can also block people from calling by adding them to your blocked list ("Contacts/Advanced/Managed Blocked User".

Talk and SEE your Grandkids with Skype

Computer Coaching for Seniors, Ottawa Canada.

Charlie's eyes were bright and shiny when he finally showed Karl the last photograph.

"And that's little Melinda, who is now almost one month old," Charlie concluded with pride.

"They're adorable grandkids, Charlie! You must have had a great time visiting them in Japan."

"I sure did," he agreed. And then he added, after a pause, "If only there was a way I can continue to see and talk to them."

Karl smiled, knowingly.

"But there is, Charlie. It's called Skype, and it's completely free!"

* * *

Skype is a free computer program that turns your computer into a video telephone. It uses your internet connection to communicate with any one else who is also running Skype. As long as you have a microphone (for talking) and/or a web camera (for video capture), then you are all set!

In our next thrilling episode, we'll discuss how to safely and anonymously use Skype.

Where is that file on my computer? Windows XP

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

You took several pictures of the Rideau Canal but you don't remember where you saved it on the computer. You only remember it was named img something.

An easy way to find your files on Windows XP is to use the "Search tool". You can find it by clicking the "Start" button and then by clicking on "Search".

Once the "Search" window appears, you can choose which type of file you want to find (i.e. picture, word document) and then type in the name of the file.

For our example, you would search for Pictures and in the "file name edit box" you would enter img.

There is also an "advanced option" that will let you narrow the search to a specific folder. You can also specify whether you want the search to be case sensitive, if you want to search for files of a given size and if you want search for files that were modifed before, after or at a specific date.

OC Transpo Travel Planner to the Rescue

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

Charlie did not have a very good week. Not only did his harddrive fail, but his car broke down too. The only way Charlie will make it for SuperEx is for him to use the Ottawa Public Transit (OC Transpo).

Luckily, OC Transpo has a travel planner on the web that tells you which buses you need to take to arrive at your destination as well as the duration.

E-Mail: Is it on my Computer?

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

The doorbell rings and it is Charlie. He is in tears.

"Charlie, what happened?" you ask.

"It is all gone. All my E-Mail... GONE!!!! My harddrive failed!" shouted Charlie

"Didn't you backup?"

"NOOO! Alright, are you happy? I did not backup!!!! Stop tormenting me!!!!!" Charlie furiously replied.

"Charlie, now calm down. You use a browser like Internet Explorer to read your E-Mail, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"I think your E-Mail is safe. It is not stored on your computer!"

There are two ways you can read E-Mail.

One way is to read your E-Mail using your internet browser like Internet Explorer or Safari. In this case, you access your E-Mail on your E-Mail provider's computer. For example, if you use Internet Explorer to read your Hotmail then you are reading it from Hotmail's computer, not your own.

The second way is to read E-Mail using an E-Mail program like Outlook Express or Mail (Apple). In this situation, the E-Mail program (Outlook Express) pulls in or downloads your mail from your E-Mail provider's computer and stores it on your computer. When you read your E-Mail, you are reading it from your computer.

There are exceptions but in general if you know what program you read your E-Mail with, you can determine if your E-Mail is on your computer:

- Internet Explorer or any other browser? E-Mail not on your computer.
- Outlook/Outlook Express? E-Mail on your computer.

Accessibility: Blind / Low Vision Accessible Websites

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

In the previous blog, we talked about how a lot of websites are designed for people with vision. These websites pose a challenge for people who use screen readers to help them navigate on their computer.

However, there are ways to find websites that are more accessible than others.

One trick is to go to PDAPortal. This is a great starting point because it lists all the PDA-Friendly websites. A PDA is a handheld computer which has a very small screen and limited navigation. It is easier for these devices to view webpages that are simple in structure and therefore a PDA-Friendly webpage is ideal for someone using a screen reader because it will not have excessive links and will most likely be one column.

Another place is Accessible Google. Google just came out with this tool about a week or two ago that ranks search results based on their accessibility. Because this is a relatively new tool, its hard to say how effective the ranking will be. However, it is still worth trying.

Accessibility: Browser for Blind or Low Vision

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

The problem with a lot of webpages is that they are designed for people who can see. A person who is sighted has no problem surfing the internet because he/she can easily click with their mouse or read the area on a page that is interesting to them.

Someone who is blind or has problems seeing may use a screen reader to tell them what is on the webpage. However, because webpages are not a simple structure there are many links and objects he/she needs to bypass or Tab before he/she can get to the part they are interested in. This can be very frustrating.

I found one interesting text browser called Webbie. It is a windows only application which works with the Internet Explorer Browser.

What's nice about this program is the navigation. You can skip links to get to the next content. You can move up or down the text page using arrow keys. You can list links from a webpage and you can crop a page so that only content is displayed.

You can download Webbie here.

Online Grocery

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

Imagine avoiding traffic and long line ups and having your grocery delivered to your doorstep.

Well this can be a reality through online grocery.

In Ottawa, Loeb Glebe lets you order groceries online.

In Toronto, you can try Grocery Gateway

Surfing in Public: Part 2 Security

Computer Coaching for Seniors

It is a beautiful day in Montréal and you find yourself and Charlie eating breakfast in a café on St. Denis. Charlie picked this place because it was a WiFi-Hotspot (a place where you can connect to the internet if you have a device that can transmit and receive wireless signals using WIFI).

However, the tranquility of the day is disturbed by a minor dispute that you and Charlie are having.

"But Charlie I can't believe you did that well on your XYZ funds"

"Karl you always doubt me. Here I will logon to my trading account at Bank of Ottawa and show you"

"Charlie it is not important. I believe you. Besides it is not safe to access your accounts here"

And there it was the annoying look of tech superiority that Charlie gave when it came to his computer knowledge.

"Karl you are timid. Trust me I know what I am doing"

You (Karl) were right. When you surf in public you cannot guarantee that the network you are connected to is secure. This goes for wireless or for wired connections. The only place you can guarantee security is in your own home.

Best practice is to not access private data or do financial transactions on a public computer or while surfing in public with your own computer.

If you are using a public computer like in a library you should also think about erasing stored data that the browser collects (like cookies or your surfing history). Below are steps in which you can erase "Private Data"


Internet Explorer
1. Click "Tools/Options"
2. Click "Delete Cookies" button
3. Click "Clear History" button
4. Click "Delete Files" button. A pop up window will appear. Checkmark "Delete all offline content" and click the "Ok" button

Firefox/Opera
1. Click "Tools/Clear(Delete) Private Data"

Surfing in Public: Part 1 Wifi Hotspot

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

Eastern Canada was beautiful and now you are at your last stop Montréal.

Charlie brought his notebook with him on the trip because he loves to surf the web whereever he goes. He heard that there were a few Wifi Hotspots in Montréal and he wanted to try them out.

Of course the first question that comes to your mind and most people's mind is "What is a Wifi Hotspot?"

Wifi is a means by which you can connect to the internet through a wireless signal. Your portable computer like your notebook or your handheld computer (PDA Personal Digital Assistant) needs a card to transmit and receive a Wifi signal but you also need a physical location that connects you to the internet . This location is called a "Hotspot". A Hotspot can send your wireless signals to the internet and return the responses back to your computer.

Some Wifi Hospots lets you surf for free and some require a membership which cost money.

In the next part we'll talk about the security issue while surfing in public.

Let your computer plan your next Road Trip

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

Your best friend Charlie has never been to Eastern Canada and wants you to go with him to visit several cities in Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Since you are the one who knows how to drive, you have been given the task to create a driving route.

One easy way to do this is to use Google Maps. By clicking on the "Get Directions" link, Google lets you specify a "Start Address" and an "End Address". The website will then output a map of the driving route but will also write out the directions in text which is useful because Charlie is not very good at reading maps :).

For the weather, you can get a full report at the Environment Canada website. You select the cities you are interested in and the website will tell what the weather will be like.

Security: Does my E-Mail have a Virus?

Computer Coaching for Seniors

The email today in your inbox is from your long time friend Charlie. He writes

Hey check this out. This is soo funny!!!!

Do you double or single click on the picture ? NOOOOOOO

This email may have a virus. The picture in this email represents a file that may be executable. By double/single clicking on the icon you might execute a progam that will cause harm to your computer.

But why would such a good friend do this to you? Well it wasn't really Charlie's fault. This email has a virus because Charlie's computer was infected. This virus replicates by going through Charlie's contact list which includes your email address :( and emails everyone on that list with a copy of itself infecting other computers.

Here are some tips to determine whether or not you can open a file from an E-Mail.

1. Scan your email with a virus scanner. If the scan is not clean then obviously delete the E-Mail.
   
2. If the E-Mail is from someone you know and you were not expecting to get a file, call the person up or email them and ask if the file attached was created by a trusted source. If they don't know then do not open.
   
3. If the email is from someone you do not know then it is better to side on caution and not open it
   

Security: Is this E-Mail really from My Bank?

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

This E-Mail appears in your inbox:

Dear Sir,

We have detected some illegal transactions with regards to your accounts at our bank.
Please login immediately using the link below to rectify the situation.

www.bankofottawa.com

Thank you
John Smith
Account Advisor
1-800-465-2567

Do you click on the link www.bankofottawa.com? The answer is NOOOOOOO :).

Many times emails are sent pretending to be from EBay or from financial institutions like TD or CIBC. This is known as phishing. By clicking on the link in the email it will take you to a spoof website and not to the website that you wanted to go to. Once there, if you sign in with your userid and password then the owners of the spoof website would now have your userid and password and could use it to access your account.

In our E-Mail above even if Bank of Ottawa was a valid bank in Canada and their official website was www.bankofottawa.com the problem is that the link in the E-Mail points to another website. Take your mouse and hover over the link. You will see in your browser's status bar that the address is really www.google.ca.

Rule of thumb: Try not to click on links in an E-Mail to access your accounts.

Below are some ways you can safely assess the status of your account.

1. Call the company up by phone and ask if there are any issues with your account. DO NOT USE THE PHONE NUMBER IN THE EMAIL! Call using the number from the phonebook.
2. Sign on to the company's website by typing in their official web address in your browser (e.g., if it is TD it is www.td.com, if it is ebay then it is www.ebay.com) and see if you have any messages about your account.
   
3. Forward the suspicious E-Mail to the company using the email address FOUND ON THE COMPANY'S WEBSITE. Ask if this email is valid.
   

Finding a Doctor in Ontario Canada

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

Finding a new doctor in Canada is hard. A lot of doctors are not even excepting new patients.

"The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario" have a doctor search on their website that lets the public find doctors that are located in their city within Ontario. You can specify several search parameters like if the doctor is accepthing new patients or not.

Please click on Doctor Search for more details.

I can't see this website!!!! The text is toooo small!!

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

You stumble upon an interesting website but it is too hard to read because the text is too small. Luckily web browsers have the ability to make the text bigger and here is how.


Internet Explorer

• Go to the menu bar select View. Then select TextSize from the submenu. The next submenu will give you a list of text sizes you can choose from.

• Another way is to hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard and at the same time move the Mouse Wheel (located between the left and right button of your mouse) up or down to change the text size.

Firefox

• Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and push + key (from your numeric keypad on your keyboard) repeatedly until the text is big enough to read. To make the text smaller hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and push - key repeatedly until the text is the right size for you.
  

• Go to the menu bar select View. Then select TextSize from the submenu. The next submenu will give you the option to increase or decrease the text size.
  

• Another way is to hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard and at the same time move the Mouse Wheel (located between the left and right button) up or down to change the text size.

Opera

• Push + key (from your numeric keypad on your keyboard) repeatedly until the text is big. To make the text smaller push - key repeatedly until the text is the right size
  

• Go to the menu bar select View. Then select Zoom from the submenu. The next submenu will give you the option of how much you want to zoom.
  

Transfering Cell Phone Pictures to your Computer

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa Canada

You just got a brand new cell phone and it takes pictures. All week long you take some really great photos but there is a problem. How do you get these pictures to your computer?

Well there is a great article on the microsoft website which explains quite well how to transfer photos from your phone to your computer. Please read "Camera Phone Options" for more information.

Call Loved Ones within North America For Free: SKYPE

Computer Coaching for Seniors Ottawa

Skype is a program that lets people talk (voice conversation) to other people over the internet. This is what's known as Voice Over Internet Protocol or VOIP. You can talk with people all over the world for free if you are calling from your computer to another computer. But, you can also call from your computer to a phone for a given charge.

Skype currently has a promotion where you can call from your computer to a phone anywhere in North America for free until Dec 30 2006. What is nice is you don't have to supply any credit card. You dial the number and it connects you.

Here is where you can download Skype.

Accessibility on Windows, MAC and LINUX

Computer Coaching For Seniors Ottawa

Even though you have difficulty with vision, hearing or mobility the computer and internet are still open to you. Accessibility is an important issue that many of the operating systems are taking seriously like Windows, Mac OSx and even Linux. Here are some starting points where you can make your computer easier to use.


Windows XP:
Windows XP has 2 places where you can configure your computer for accessibility.

• Start/All Programs/Accessories/Accessibility: Here you will find an accessibility wizard along with some interesting tools you can use like the magnifier and narrator.

• Start/Control Panel/Accessibility Options: You can configure your computer for such things as flashing the screen for alerts, displaying captions or using your keyboard as a mouse

Keyboard Shortcut

• Window Key + u Magnifier and narrator
  

Mac OS x10:

• System Preferences/Universal Access: In here you can configure your Mac computer to zoom to flash the screen for alerts, to use your keyboard (numeric pad) as a mouse and many other things.

Zooming Keyboard Shortcut

• Apple + option + = Zooms In
• Apple + option + - Zooms Out
• Apple + option + 8 Turns Zoom On
  

Linux: This is a great link that describes many free open source project for accessibility that are written for Linux, UNIX and Windows. Linux/Unix Accessibility Software

Hard Drives Fail: Backup

Computer Coaching For Seniors Ottawa

Let's face it, we are all in denial. Losing data on the computer happens to other people. We never think that it can happen to us. Well unfortunately hard drives which stores your pictures, email, music and all other files on your computer can fail and when it does all your precious data are gone unless you saved it on another device.

So what do you do? Backup :)

Generally, you need to decide where you want to have a second copy of your files. You have several options. You can use CDs. You can also use an external hard drive. This usually connects to your computer via USB cable and shows up as another drive on Windows when you click on "My Computer" and a mounted drive on the MAC in "Finder".

Here are some great free backup programs you can use.


For Windows XP

• SyncToy

For the MAC

• SilverKeeper - This is from LaCie a company that makes external hard drives. The program is easy to use.
  

• PSyncX is great however you will need to supply the root users password when you run the program. The root user is a special user who has privileges to do pretty much anything on the computer. The problem is most mac users don't know what the root password is :). Please read this article "How To Set the Root Password Under Mac OSx" if you would like to know how to login as root
  

Accessibility: Joystick as a Mouse

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The mouse is not the most accessible device for users. Double clicking or single clicking can cause strain on your fingers. It is also hard to move the mouse if your hand has problem with finer motor control.

One inexpensive alternative is to use a joystick. Using software, you can set the buttons on the joystick to match the button actions of the mouse.

You can try, http://download.cnet.com/Joystick-To-Mouse/3000-18541_4-10170790.html. I haven't use this software. The one I used, phatsoft, is not available now.

One trick is that after you connect the joystick to the computer you may need to add it in
Start/Control Panel/Game Controllers and then calibrate it.

Computer Security: Surf the web as a Limited User

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One easy way to make it harder for a virus to get installed unto your computer is to make your account on your computer not the administrator. Only accounts with administrator privileges can install programs on your computer. Therefore, it is much harder to accidentally install unintended programs like spyware or viruses when you are browsing the internet with a limited account.


Please note you will only be able to install programs using the administrater account!!!


Unfortunately for windows this may not be soo easy to do. There are some programs that can only be run as an administrator :( . One trick is the following

1. Right click on the program and select "Run As"
2. A dialog will pop up. Select the user name which is the administrator and the password
3. Click Ok


Setting up your account as a limited account on Windows XP

Create an Admin account by:

1. Go to Start/Control Panel/User Accounts
2. Click "Create Account" and create a userid that has admin priviliges

Make your account Limited by:

3. Click "Change the Account"
4. Select your account
5. Click "Change Account Type"
6. Select "Limited Account"


On the MAC OSX 10

1. Go to Apple/System Preferences/Accounts
2. Click the lock to make changes

Create an Admin account by:

3 Click the "+" to create a new Admin account
4. Click Security and check at the bottom "Allow user to administer account"

Make your account Standard by:

5. Select your account and click on Security
6. At the bottom of the page remove check for "Allow user to administer account"