CyberCoyote -- December 02, 2004

NEWS

Gene Barlow represents Acronis and some other good software product lines. They are available at his Web site, with a nice user-group discount for HTCC members. For example $38 instead of $63 for True Image. Just use "Happy Trails Computer Club", and Order Code UGDEC04 when you order.

Gene discussed "when, where and how" to back up your hard drive. He demonstrated Acronis True Image, which gives you a complete backup of your hard drive. No matter what happens to your files or hard drive, you can get back to where you were by using True Image. I should know, I have restored my computer with it every few months. (Maybe I should be more careful, eh?)
http://www.ugr.com/store.html or http://www.ugr.com/index.html
http://www.ugr.com/nl1104.html -- building an external hard drive
http://www.ugr.com/nl0504.html -- deleting information from hard drives
http://www.ugr.com/nl1204.html Using Acronis True Image 8.0

NOTES and NOTICES

Internet Workshops continue on Wednesdays at 9:00 AM; Computer Kindergarten is on Thursdays at 9:00 AM and Windows XP class is starting on December 13th.

I noticed a few searches for "Usurf" on one of my server reports. Some of you must have had questions. I hope you found answers, but just in case, here are some Usurf links and phone numbers:

Usurf (order service): 1-866-889-0031 Alt. 1-800-494-7803 http://www.usurf.com

Intertech (Usurf support): Help: 602 734-2082 Office: 602 437-0035 http://itcomputers.com/

SECURITY

A superior article at Ars Technia on all aspects of malware.
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/malware.ars

EMAIL

Microsoft pages... The Crabby Office Lady on email: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010429671033.aspx -- mind your email manners http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010779901033.aspx -- demystify email terms

COMPUTERS

Good advice on picking out a computer:
http://cybercoyote.org/url/080.html

Computers for Snowbirds:

I used to schlep mine computer back and forth by car each. I wedged between the front and back seats, and put the monitor and printer in the trunk. I can't believe how many times I did that. That stuff was expensive back then though.

Now I travel by air, and leave a computer at each end. The downside is keeping two of them up to date, and once in a while I leave an important file behind. I'm not ready to abandon them yet, but notebooks are starting to be attractive.

So, which notebook then? Thin is in, but there's a tradeoff in price and performance. I'd probably opt for a plumper model, but of course I'm not looking. If you are though, you'll be interested in what these people have to say:
http://cybercoyote.org/url/076.html -- article at Business Week
http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20040429.html -- article at WSJ
http://cybercoyote.org/url/077.html -- budget notebooks
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0405/koerner.php -- do you need Centrino?
http://www.michaelhorowitz.com/laptop.html -- source of the links

Small form factor PCs are a good solution for many travelers. The main benefits are real keyboards and separate displays.
http://us.shuttle.com/index.asp -- Shuttle Computer
http://cybercoyote.org/url/078.html -- Dell Dimension 4700C
http://cybercoyote.org/url/079.html -- IBM ThinkCentre S50
http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/sff.ars -- small form factor article
http://compreviews.about.com/cs/desktops/tp/aatpsffpckits.htm -- small form factor reviews

INTERNET

How to steal WiFi:
http://slate.msn.com/id/2109941/ A highly informative review of the Firefox browser by Scot Finnie: http://www.scotsnewsletter.com/64.htm You've probably heard that it's a good idea to review your credit report at the three major reporting companies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You can now get a free credit report once a year from each of them:

DIVERSION

"Squares" Warning: this is a simple mouse game that might be addictive. :-) You'll probably need to use Internet Explorer to get it to run. When you get it running, click "Help" to find out what the objective is. Click "Play" to start Squares. You don't need to stay online to play it, but you may want to be online at first because the only way to get back to "Help" is to refresh the page.
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/squares2.php

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NOTES

Last modified 11/03/06