Dreamland Computer  Club
 

Newsletter

February 2008

                                                                                       Volume V                                                        Issue II

General Meeting:

Our next general meeting will be held in Farnsworth Hall, at 9:00 A.M. on March 5^th. As usual we’ll have a short business meeting and then we will hear Dave Whittle discuss “ The Best Kept Secrets in Technology-Only the Best, Not the Rest”. Dave has been one of our outstanding speakers in the past, so we know he will give us another interesting and informative presentation.

Dave has recently been writing for Smart Computing Magazine. I know you will come away from this meeting entertained and informed. He will bring valuable door prizes, informative handouts, and actual product for sale at significantly discounted prices.

See you Wednesday!

 The President’s Message:

 Since it is already the 1st of the month, our class calendars are out and the schedule is pretty full again.  The general meeting is going to be held on Wednesday, March 5 at Farnsworth Hall.

 For those of you that haven't picked up your nametags, they will be available at the meeting.  We are again having Pat Davis from Serving on Line Seniors to present a program on Friday morning, March 7 in our computer room.

If you've attended the last few presentations, you know we all seem to learn something new.  Please check out our full calendar and hope to see you at the meeting on the 5th.

 Judy Gardner 

   Mr. Modem:

 Ask Mr. Modem! – February 2008     
www.MrModem.com 


Stay Safe Using Public Computers

Q.  When I travel, I use computers at Internet cafes, libraries, and similar places to check email, pay bills, etc.  As a security measure, I usually use a USB flash drive for my data, thinking that this is the best and safest way to use public-access computers.  Am I doing the right thing and playing it safe?

A. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but as a general proposition, there is really nothing you can do to make a public computer truly secure. For example, there are hardware- and software-based keystroke loggers that are invisible to any user. Keystroke loggers, as the name implies, capture every keystroke entered on a computer’s keyboard, including passwords, account numbers, credit card numbers, names, addresses, and Social Security numbers.  

To play it safe, when using a public computer of the type you describe, try to avoid entering your passwords or login information, or change passwords before your trip, then change them back when you return. When using a public computer, avoid making purchases, conducting any financial transactions online, or anything that will require the use of your credit card number or Social Security number. Generally speaking, I avoid public-access computers if at all possible.


Q.  I know you’ve covered this before, Mr. M., but I’ve forgotten how I can determine how much space I have left on my computer’s hard drive.  As I recall, it’s shown in a diagram with pink and blue inside of it. Thanks very much.

A.  You’re absolutely correct: Pink for free space, blue for used space.  To view this colorful pie chart, double-click your My Computer icon, then right-click the drive you want to check (usually the C: drive) and select Properties. That will display the drive’s properties, including free and used space.

Hard drive space is frequently confused with memory or RAM. If you want to determine how much memory your system has, go to your Control Panel > System. Under the Computer section on the General tab, you’ll find information about your system’s processor and the amount of installed RAM. 


Q. I have approximately 50 CDs of old music that I want to put on an iPod that I plan to purchase. What I’d like to know is how many gigabytes do I need to hold all that music? Thanks for your help, Mr. M.

A.  Apple considers a song to be four minutes in length, so with that in mind, here are the various storage capacities of the iPod: 1GB (gigabyte) will allow you to save approximately 240 songs; 2 GB, 500 songs; 4 GB, 1000 songs; 8GB, 2000 songs, 30 GB, 7500 songs, 60 GB, 15,000 songs, and 160GB, 40,000 songs.

Breaking out my trusty slide rule, if we apply the same iPod “4-minute” standard, that would assume 4.16 SPM (songs per megabyte). Each CD is 650MB, which would equate to 156.25 songs per CD—again, assuming a song is four-minutes in length and assuming the CD is wall-to-wall music. 

If you have 50 CDs, let’s round it off to 150 songs per CD, so that’s a total of 7500 songs, which is what the good folks at Apple estimate for the capacity of their 30GB iPod Classic.  I use an 8GB iPod Nano and find that it has more than enough capacity for my musical interests. I’ve loaded every song I could possibly think of, including recreating almost my entire collection of hundreds of “oldie” 45s, and have thus far only used 3.8GB of its 8GB capacity.


Mr. Modem’s DME (Don’t Miss ‘Em) Sites of the Month

Place Names
A fantastic resource for locating countries, cities, towns, villages, hamlets, ham hocks,  hills, rivers, lakes, islands and other geographic locations with latitude, longitude and respective elevations. The “Advanced Search” permits searches to focus on specific sandbars, benches, lava flows, and many other criteria you’ll never use.  
www.placenames.com

Rock Wisdom
Wisdom comes in many forms, from authors, poets, philosophers, even rock stars. No, seriously. Check out this list of the top 100 rock quotes of all time, which include pearls of wisdom from Dylan, Lennon, and Simon & Garfunkel. I don’t mean to pick nits, but coming in at No. 97 is, “You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain,” by renowned philosopher Jerry Lee Lewis. Rock wisdom?  I don’t think so, but maybe it’s just me. 
www.rockwisdom.com/mainpage.htm

Typing Test
Here you can take free practice tests, then pay $6.95 to take a real test and possibly receive a certification. Tests are three or five minutes in length. Test results show gross, uncorrected words-per-minute, your accuracy, and adjusted (corrected) words-per-minute. Certificates are “guaranteed” to be accepted by any employer or your money begrudgingly refunded. 
www.typingcertification.com

Mr. Modem’s weekly newsletter delivers easy computer tips, great Web sites and personal answers to your questions! Trial offer: Subscribe online using Promo Code 0846 and receive a free month with your 6-month subscription (28 issues!) To view a sample issue or subscribe, visit www.MrModem.com. 

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