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Random Access |
compliments of Smart Computing magazine |
You can make the overall text size in Vista larger or smaller by right-clicking an empty portion of the Desktop, clicking Personalize, and clicking Adjust Font Size (DPI) on the left column. Click the Larger Scale (120 DPI) radio button to make text larger or click the Custom DPI button and use the slider to fine-tune text. Click OK to accept your changes.
The Recycle Bin consumes a lot of hard drive space by default. You can control this by right-clicking Recycle Bin on your Desktop and clicking Properties. Select the drive you want to adjust, select the Custom Size, radio button, type in the number of megabytes you want to reserve for the Recycle Bin in the appropriate field, and click Apply. Bear in mind that 1,024MB equals 1GB.
If your digital camera’s LCD displays an error code or error message that you’re not familiar with, consult your camera’s users manual or the manufacturer’s Web site to determine what the error code means. For example, according to Canon’s Web site, when a Canon digital camera displays “E18" on the LCD, there is some type of problem with either the lens or the lens cover. Take the time to research the error message. Armed with knowledge about the error, you may be able to solve the problem yourself.
The inexpensive but time-consuming way to monitor children’s online activity is to sit by their sides or look over their shoulders - if they’ll let you. Some parents are content with reviewing their children’s site history from time to time; however, tech-savvy children can easily erase any evidence of their visits to forbidden sites. Most parental monitoring programs have varying degrees of Internet activity monitoring, but a more extensive monitoring tool is SpectorSoft’s Spector Pro ($99.95; www.spectorsoft.com). Install this $100 software on your children’s computer, and it will record their computer activity, including IM sessions, email sent and received, Web sites visited, programs launched, keystrokes typed, and files searched for and/or swapped. It will even record and let you play back actual time-sliced screen shots of their time on the computer.
You’ll find some universal cell phone cases, but typically, cases are made to
fit certain models of phones. Make sure the case you have your eye on will
accommodate your cell phone. For instance, the phone-fitting Body Glove Scuba II
Cellsuit ($24.99; www.bodyglove.com)
will protect your Motorola RAZR V3 from scratches and splashes, although you
won’t want to immerse your phone in water. You can use your phone while it’s in
the case, too.
Pop-Up Ads
One way to shield yourself from pop-ups is to install a toolbar that has
built-in pop-up protection. The Google Toolbar (free; toolbar.google.com) and
the Yahoo! Toolbar (free; toolbar.yahoo.com) have built-in pop-up blockers.
These toolbars will automatically block pop-ups. When necessary, you can allow
individual sites to display pop-ups. This allows you to see pop-ups when
necessary, and avoid them otherwise.
A firewall keeps the bad stuff out and the good stuff in, but sometimes it can keep programs you need from sending and receiving the data they need to function. In that case, the program is said to be “blocked.” Often you’ll see a pop-up window explaining this and prompting you to unblock the program or continue to block it. For instance, if Windows Firewall has blocked a program, it will show you a message reading, “To help protect your computer, Windows Firewall has blocked some features of this program.” The message has three buttons: Keep Blocking, Unblock, and Ask Me Later. If you know and trust the program that’s trying to send or receive data, just click the Unblock button, and the problem is solved. (NOTE: The Windows Firewall only blocks incoming data. Only third-party firewalls, such as the firewall in Symantec’s Norton Internet Security or McAfee’s Internet Security Suite, will block data from leaving your computer as well as invading it.)
When shopping around for a new cell phone plan, you may want to think about getting a group plan. If you have family members living with you, consider whether they will need their own cell phones. Putting two or more phones on a family plan is usually less expensive than having separate plans and contracts for each person. It’s also easier to pay one bill each month and remember when one contract expires instead of three.
Reprinted with permission from Smart Computing. Visit www.SmartComputing.com/Groups to learn what Smart Computing can do for you and your user group!