Dreamland
Computer Club
Newsletter
General
Meeting:
Our May General meeting will be held in Room 9
on Wednesday the 7th. For further details please see our
President’s Message below.
President’s Message:
It’s
hard to believe it’s the end of April and summer is fast approaching.
A lot of our members are leaving for cooler climes and we wish them all
safe trips and hope they’ll have a great summer.
Of course, we always look forward to everyone coming back in the fall.
We’d like to have classes for those of you that are here year round but
we need help in presenting programs and we also need to know what you’re
interested in. If we don’t hear
from you, there won’t be too much going on in the summer months.
Please let us know what you’re interested in.
Our May meeting is on the 7th, the first Wednesday and it will
be held in the computer room, room 9. Our
guest speaker will be Kate Gertz. If
you’ve seen Kate’s past presentations, she’s a great speaker and shows us
a lot of neat things that are on all of our computers.
Hope to see to at the meeting.
Mr. Modem:
Ask Mr. Modem! – April 2008
www.MrModem.com
Create Your Own Newspaper
Q. I’m a news junkie and though many sites permit me to customize the
type of news I want, I was wondering if there is any way to pull together news
from various sources so I can just go to one place and see my favorite news
items?
A.
One of the oldest news sites on the Web is one that does permit you to do that
in a clever way, and for free. The site is called CRAYON (www.crayon.net).
The name is an acronym derived from CReAte Your Own Newspaper. After registering
on the site, go to Your Paper’s Settings where you can name your publication,
give it a motto, select the page layout, graphics, and then select your news
sources from a vast array of publications, news media, by topic or other
criteria. Once you’ve made and saved all your selections, log-in and click
“Read My Paper.” It will be assembled and presented to you faster than you
can holler, “Extry! Extry! Read all about it!” If you’re a news junkie, be
sure to check out www.newser.com,
also.
Q. When I click View > Details in a folder, is there any way I can keep
that view so I don’t have to re-select the Details view again with the next
folder?
A. Theoretically, Windows will remember the View selected for each folder
and will display it the same way each time the folder is opened. The operative
word in the previous sentence is “theoretically.” Sometimes Windows
remembers, sometimes Windows doesn’t. I can relate.
You can encourage Windows to remember your View settings by first configuring a
folder the way you want it to appear. Then, go to the Control Panel > Folder
Options > View tab. For versions of Windows prior to XP, look at the list of
options in the Advanced Settings section and locate “Remember each folder's
view Settings." Click to place a check mark in front of this option, then
click Apply > OK to save and exit. XP users, click the “Apply to All
Folders” button, followed by Apply > OK.
Q. I’m divorced, but my married name appears in the From: field of
email that I send using Outlook. I can’t figure out how to change the
name people see when I send messages. Can you help, Mr. M?
A. You can easily change the name that identifies you as the sender. The
process is the same for both Outlook and Outlook Express: Click Tools >
Accounts > Mail tab. If you have more than one email address, you will
see them displayed in a list. If you only have one, it will be the only
one displayed. (When it comes to stating the obvious, you can count on Mr.
Modem.)
Click to select the account you want to change, then click the Properties
button. The current name displayed on your email will appear in the Name: field,
which you can edit to reflect your new name -- or old name, as the case may be.
When you’re finished, click Apply > OK to save your changes.
Mr.
Modem’s DME (Don’t Miss ‘Em) Sites of the Month
The
American Roadside
This site is bumper-to-bumper full of entertaining roadside attractions,
interesting destinations along scenic routes, and wonderful old
“meat-loaf-and-taters” diners. Read articles, view the photo gallery, or buy
books, t-shirts, and other American Roadside paraphernalia, all destined to end
up in your junk drawer.
www.theamericanroadside.com
About Big
Numbers
Have you ever wondered how big an octovigintillion is? How about a
tredecillion, or a quattuordecillion, or a million-jillion, or perhaps a
penicillin? There are so many big numbers here that you’ll have a
splitting headache in no time.
http://tinyurl.com/yslq65
Brain
Training
BrainMetrix advises us that when it comes to our neurons, “use ‘em or lose
‘em.” To help keep the ol’ brain cells stimulated, BrainMetrix provides an
assortment of cerebral games and exercises that will keep our minds sharp for…
for… well, perhaps it’s too late for me, but hopefully it won’t be for
you. Give your gray matter a vigorous workout by participating in any of a
number of these mind-training exercises.
http://brainmetrix.com
Mr.
Modem’s weekly newsletter delivers helpful computer tips, great Web sites and
his personal answers to your questions! Trial offer: Subscribe online using
Promo Code 1146 and receive one free month with your 6-month subscription (28
issues!) To view a sample issue or subscribe, visit www.MrModem.com.
Replies:
Please
send your comments, suggestions, article contributions, and/or constructive
criticism to your reporter at j0hnahrens27@cox.net.