On Computers

Behind the Scenes with GailLA

Gail Allinson, gail@oncomputers.info

20 April 2003

This Week's Segment

We have a very special guest, Nate Bodkin, a.k.a. Giant_One, talking about making a VCD of family photos that can be played in any DVD player.  Thanks Nate, for sharing your time, energy and expertise.

This week I am also talking about the missing manual that really isn't missing at all, it's just not on paper and not a book in the box with the Windows CD.  Tune in or listen to the archive to learn more.

Thanks for all your good thoughts and prayers for Jack "daWabbit" and his wife Jayna.  Jack is working on future segments on the show and doing well enough that I was able to talk to him for a little while this week. He is also hard at work writing articles. He may be gone from the show temporarily but he is certainly not forgotten.

Jack, the mic is ready when you are!

Last Week

Jane, a.k.a. MissM, did just a super job talking about searching the Web with Google and using the Google toolbar in Internet Explorer.  Many thanks to Jane for her wonderful segment. 

In response to Jane's segment, Alaska Joe sent me the following tip:

"Need to find the correct spelling of a word? Go to Google and do a search using the word in a sentence. Google will return with a message saying: "Did you mean to say xxxxxxx?" This method has never failed me."

Thanks Joe!

Maybe They Should Call it Invasion-ware!

Jack and I plan to talk about adware and spyware in a future segment.  However, this week the subject came home once again, literally. My girlfriend brought her computer over to my house so I could try to help her fix it.  Windows 98 was running slowly and she was getting constant pop-ups.  She suspected things that her son had downloaded, but didn't know how to fix it.

I'm still not sure I got it all -- I only had a few hours, but it was a start. Among 400 some other things, Xupiter and Hotbar popped up in Ad-aware and SpybotSD. I'm not kidding on the number, but the largest number of things flagged were tracking cookies.

So a reminder --  if you are not already scanning for adware and spyware, and especially if you are experiencing computer problems, give Ad-aware and/or SpybotSD a try. They are both free, and Ad-aware comes in a pay-for version, too. Like my girlfriend said, "I'm running a virus-checker and it didn't catch any of this stuff!"

Someone's TRS-80 is Someone Else's Treasure Dept.

As a former TRS-80 Color Computer owner, I  remember seeing these comics at my local Radio Shack Computer Center back in the day.  It is fun to see these old promotional comic books archived where we can all enjoy them once again. Take a trip to the Tandy Computer Whiz Kids Comics - Classic Computer Magazine Archive and enjoy a blast from the past.

The Big Upgrade, Part 2

Last week, I went on ad nauseum about upgrading my computer.  What I didn't have was a picture because I didn't have the wires prettied up.  So, I got my round cables in and got the rest of the wiring tied up on Monday afternoon.  Now, you can have a look at what's inside that beige box next to my desk...

Inside GailLA's Computer

... and it runs good, too.

Cya next time!

Gail

 

© 2003 Gail Allinson

Back • Home • Up • Next


© 2002 - 2004 by On Computers and the Videotex Services Coalition.