Email Newsletter - 08-06-08

Castellini on Computers Free Weekly Email Newsletter
August 6, 2008

Visit HelpMeRick.com ANY time to learn about your computer!
I guarantee it will save your time, money, and sanity!!

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In this week's issue. . .

*** Tip of the Week

*** Geek Speek of the Week - (Simple definition of common computer terms)

*** Computer News...and comment

*** Last week's Poll results

*** Email of the week

Keep in mind that in addition to the weekly email newsletter, you can visit HelpMeRick.com for great tips and information ANY day or night. The search engine at HelpMeRick.com makes it easier to find information you are looking for and leaving comments on any of the articles is a fun way to interact with other HelpMeRick.com visitors.

Also, I haven't made my usual plea to you not only to visit the site, but to encourage all your friends and family to visit HelpMeRick.com as well! The more visitors that we can encourage to become regular visitors, the greater the information that becomes available to us all.

READ ALL PAST ISSUES OF THE NEWSLETTER HERE

Email your questions to us and we will answer them via a weekly YouTube video or on our daily website updates!

Custom Computer Help from Rick and Adam

We have been posting a new how-to video every week since November 2006 and the feedback has been tremendous. Now YOU have the opportunity to get your own customized video tutorial about a topic that you are having trouble with or just want to learn.

To learn more, visit: www.HelpMeRick.com/videohelp

Tip of the Week

Print anything you see on the screen - Video Tip

Many times a computer user may need the ability to print what they see on the screen, but can't access a Print command. Using the underutilized Print Screen button on the keyboard can rectify this situation.

The Print Screen button is usually located just to the right of your F keys and above the Insert, Home, Delete key section.

In the ol' days of DOS, pushing this button would indeed send a paper flying out of your printer with the contents of your screen printed on it. Today, however, when you push the button, nothing appears to happen. Appearance is not as it always seems...your computer takes a 'snap shot' of whatever is currently visible on the screen and stores it in the Windows Clipboard when you press the Print Screen button.

To access this 'snap shot':

1.

Open your favorite word processor (if you are using Word, sometimes it needs to be open before you hit the Print Screen button). WordPad works great for this tips.
2.

Click Edit from the menus
3.

Click Paste from the menus
4.

Now print as you normally would via File --> Print from the menus.

If you only want to print out part of the screen, you can either crop it in your word processing program (if the program supports that function) OR you can paste your screen shot in an image editing program or even Microsoft Paint to further modify the screen snap shot.

Go on, give it a try. You are sure to find a use for this interesting and useful tip. Believe it or not, this function has been built into all versions of Microsoft Windows since 1995!

TIP WITHIN A TIP: Push the Alt key plus Print Screen to capture just the 'active window'. For example an error message box or a dialog box.

Watch this week's tip of the week by clicking here.
Geek Speek
When you read your computer books or see my tips online with pictures of a computer screen, those images are known as screen captures. This week's tip of the week shows you one way anyone can create a screen capture. For more flexibility and control over screen captures, some people choose to use a program like Snag It from Techsmith.com or any number of other free or shareware programs you can find by typing screen capture into download.com's search engine.

Screen Capture

Computer News...and comment

Maine's laptop for children program proves successful

Maine started providing laptops for 7th graders in 2002 and since then has added laptops for 8th graders and 1/3 of all high school students. The state will spend $90 million more dollars mostly through Apple to continue expanding the program through 2010. Maine school districts found that absences plummeted and grades rose since implementing their laptop program that lets students bring their laptops home and provides electronic books and other curriculum materials on the laptops or flash drives. School districts around the country are keeping an eye on this aggressive program to see how exactly how the program pans out through the child's school career.

ASUS to release Eee Box desktop computer

Coat tailing on their popular mini-laptop, Asus announced the release of their mini-desktop computer dubbed the Eee Box. It will require little power, sport built-in wireless and Ethernet networking and 512mb - 1 GB of RAM with an 80 gb hard drive. The Eee Box appears to be pre-loaded with Windows XP and no sign of a Linux option yet. The cost will be $349 without a monitor. I see this as being a little pricey right now because of the availability of entry level desktops with monitors and sometimes printers for the same price. However, for a second desktop or for someone who doesn't want a laptop or have a lot of room, this machine might be worth a look.

Wireless Internet in the air
Delta announced this week that over 300 of their airplanes will be outfitted with high speed wireless Internet access by mid-2009. The wireless won't be free, however. For flights less than 3 hours, passengers will be charged $9.95 to use the service and for flights over 3 hours, the cost will be $12.95.

Poll Results

Do you use text messaging (SMS) on
your cell phone?

This week's poll:
Do you own a desktop or a laptop?

Log on to HelpMeRick.com and VOTE!!

Yes, all the time! 18%
Rarely 15%
I would text if I knew how 4%
No, I don't have a need for it. 47%
I don't own a cell phone 16%

Email of the week

Rick

Just recently when i try to log onto internet i get a internet explorer warning prompting me to activate xp antivirus protection. I have AVG antivirus installed now. How do I stop this from happening.

Thanks,

Ed

----------------

Hi Ed,

As you have already probably guessed, the so-called "XP antivirus" systems is a fake and is designed to take your money via extortion. First off, I would recommend never using Internet Explorer anyway. Instead, use Mozilla Firefox which will prevent most of this garbage from getting into your computer at all. However, since you have it, you need to get rid of it by using the various programs and techniques I have outlined at HelpMeRick.com to get rid of spyware...which is what you have. Search for the word spyware at my site and use the programs and tips that come up to rid your system of this problem.
Good luck and have a good week.

Rick

Castellini on Computers & HelpMeRick.com ©2008

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