CyberCoyote - March 9, 2006

NEWS

We had a question and answer session at the meeting. I don't know how much useable information was transferred, but we certainly had a sociable session. Many questions needed hands-on investigation (troubleshooting) to arrive at an answer. We used hand waving as our best alternative. There were several good suggestions, but not much closure. It was fun, but you needed to be there.

NOTES and NOTICES

It's important for you to show up at our business meeting next week. We'll review and (hopefully) ratify the bylaws that our officers have been striving to clean up.

TIPS and TOPICS

Don't forget to disconnect your phone line from your computer (or modem) when you go north for the summer. That's when the monsoons come to Surprise. ;-) Lightning could blow a chip or two even though we have underground utilities. You'll want to unplug the power too, of course. I also unplug the TV and disconnect the cable connection.

I recently noted that Yahoo! Search often returns more relevant results than Google. Here's more from the horse's mouth:
http://www.ysearchblog.com/archives/000239.html

Firefox has a "shrink-to-fit" option in the "Print Preview" window. [File > Print Preview > Shrink To Fit (under Scale)] Use it to fit pages to your printer. That will prevent one edge of the page being chopping off in the printed copy.
http://cybercoyote.org/software/firefox.shtml

COMPUTERS

Scot Finnie often makes good sense out of mumbo jumbo. This time he's done it for the 6 flavors of Windows Vista.
http://www.desktoppipeline.com/181501711?cid=rssfeed_pl_dtp

You may not be familiar with the "technical term", but this slide show will give you a feel for "Why Vista Won't Suck." :-)
http://www.extremetech.com/slideshow/0,1206,a=172305,00.asp

Most of you have at least an idea of what a "motherboard" is. You might be interested a pictorial "factory tour" at a plant that produces motherboards for many brands of computers. Pictures are great, but they don't do justice to the precise automation involved. (I worked directly with a couple of big manufacturers like that for a while myself.)
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1722

SECURITY

Conspiracists claim that Microsoft made Windows vulnerable so they could make more money selling security solutions. :-) Grassy knolls aside, it looks like the final version of "Microsoft Live OneCare" will be a good way to deal with the growing complexity of staying secure online. It's not the way I'll go, but I think many people will find it convenient. There are other security services to consider too.
http://www.windowsonecare.com/
http://cybercoyote.org/security/suite.shtml#alt

INTERNET

Take a look at the new "Google Page Creator" if you are looking for an easy way to build a quality personal website. It makes it easy for almost anyone to build webpages and create their own site. Hosting is provided free. :-)
http://pages.google.com/ -- Google Page Creator
http://jimstips.com/googlepagestips/all_the_page_creator_tips -- tips
http://cybercoyote.org/webwrangler.html -- request a Gmail invitation

DIVERSION

Calvin on computers:
http://www.ucomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/03/02/

Church Bulletins Say the Darndest Things!!!
http://www.2020hindsight.org/2006/03/03/friday-funnies-lenten-edition/