CyberCoyote - December 18, 2008

NEWS and NOTES
Meetings

The tentative Jan. 1, 2009 meeting is canceled. We'll meet again on Jan. 8. George promises a dazzling event. ;^)

Computer Kindergarten

A new session will begin on Thursday, Jan. 15, and repeat for 4 more sessions. Classes will meet at 9:00 AM for 2 hours, and have switched to the Chaparral Room. Bring your laptops if you have them. Mary Ann needs volunteers to come in at 11:00 to work with individual students as they try out what she covered in the first hour.

Meeting Notes

Bruce Jacobs gave the AZacc presentation today. He showed us Jing, Snagit and Camtasia from TechSmith. These are screen capture and screen recording programs used to capture, edit, and share exactly what you see on your computer screen. Jing is a nice little free program which is a good way to start, but you can download a free 30-day trial version of Snagit if you're more serious.

There's a discount code for Snagit and Camtasia, which you saw in the announcement of this issue of CyberCoyote. You can also upgrade the previous version of Snagit to the more powerfull current version. Bruce's email is tour@mindlessfluff.com if you have specific questions about these programs.

TECH TOPICS
Your Google Account Page

If you use more than a few Google services — Gmail, Calendar, Reader — you know that it's not always easy to get to the one you want. There's an easy way to fix that.

Navigate to your account page, and set a bookmark (favorite) for that page. Next time you want use one just click your bookmark to return, and you'll see all your own Google services, without the clutter of dozens you don't use. You can even edit your account page to drop any services you no longer use.

64-bits again

There are a lot of bargain computers to be had now and there'll be more early next year. You may be thinking about one with a 64-bit CPU (that's what I'd be looking at). George recently asked me a question about running 32-bit software (which most of us have now) on 64-bit Vista. That prompted me to take another look at what I wrote a couple of months ago about 64-bits.

Here's the crux of the matter: Most current 32-bit software will run on 64-bit Vista, but some older 32-bit programs contains chunks of 16-bit code. The ones that do won't run on 64-bit Vista.

If you're buying a new computer with a 64-bit CPU, it will already have 64-bit drivers for all the internal hardware. But if you want to install more hardware — like a graphics card — later on it must come with 64-bit drivers too. As for me, I'm waiting for 64-bit Windows 7. ;-)

DOWNLOADS
Visitation rights

Are you concerned about sharing your computer with visitors and having them mess it up for you? Microsoft's free SteadyState program lets you safely share access to your computer. It lets you restrict access to sensitive areas and features, such as Control Panel, and then clean up anything else after your guests have gone by simply rebooting.

SECURITY
Critical Internet Explorer flaw

Microsoft just announced a patch to plug a gaping XML hole that affects every version of Internet Explorer. The defect allows cyber criminals to steal passwords when a user visits a website that has been compromised. Around 10,000 websites have already been hacked and armed with this password-stealing code, and over two million computers have been infected.

The next corrupted website could be your bank's. :>) The update may have been offered to you already if you have Automatic Updates turned on. To download now: [Start > Control Panel > Security Center > under "Resources" > click "Check for the latest updates from Windows Update"] Or better yet, switch to Microsoft Update, where you'll be offered updates for all Microsoft products, not just Windows and IE. You should install this update as soon as possible, even if you normally use another browser, as many programs borrow core elements of Internet Explorer.

ODDS and ENDS
Signs of the times.

Spread the wealth.

Extraterrestrial life

Intragalactic communication.

That's all, folks.