GREATER BOSTON SENIOR COMPUTER GROUP NEWSLETTER
Issue No.46, March 12, 2003
CHAIRPERSON:: Arline Ekman, AVE@alumni.unh.edu
EDITOR: Harriet Mandell, harrietd@rcn.com
WEB PAGE: Garry Ziffer, http://users.rcn.com/gbscg
LIAISON: Eve Welts, ewelts@rcn.com
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BECOMING INVOLVED...A LOT...Massachusetts Association of Older Americans (MAOA) Senior Net Program is looking for a Program Coordinator whose responsibilities include providing leadership, administrative support and coordination to assure that this volunteer-run program meets its financial goals. For information e-mail to maoa0804@juno.com or call 617-426-0804.
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OR A LITTLE ...check out the Senior Net web page for information on a revolutionary system to make the World Wide Web accessible to everyone including people who have visual limitations that make it difficult or impossible to see a Web page, or motor impairments like tremors that make it difficult to type or use a mouse. This software is now available to dues paying ($40) Senior Net members who by using it can help with the development. Access to the webpage as well as many of its features is free with registration. http://www.seniornet.org
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VOLUNTEER YOUR COMPUTER to become a member of a site for large-scale research projects powered by the United Devices Global Meta Processor. Projects like cancer, anthrax and smallpox research have achieved record levels of processing speed and success. It involves the download of a small program called UD agent which can recycle your PC's unused resources and use them to perform valuable scientific and medical research without disturbing your usual computer use. Check the details http://www.grid.org View the FAQ's and learn about the project.
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USING PLACEHOLDERS... html tags that can replace a graphic in a document which you may be reviewing in MS Word.. Since loading lots of graphics will slow you down, use the following to use a placeholder. Go to Tools and then Options. Choose the View tab, under View tab, under Show, check Picture Placeholders. You need to uncheck Picture Placeholders to reverse.
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DO YOU NEED ADOBE READER 5.1... While browsing the web with Internet Explorer do you open a blank page which displays a placeholder icon instead of the expected .pdf file? Time for the Adobe reader 5.1 used to display files and forms written in the pdf format. It is recommended that you delete your older Adobe Reader before downloading and installing the newer version. To download go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html#51eng
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HAVE SOME FUN…suggests Mel Richmond. Put your birth date in the window when you click on http://www.frontiernet.net/~cdm/age1 amazingly fast information!!
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WINDOWS DLL INFORMATION…provided in a database of dll files by Microsoft to help users find out what dll is associated with what Windows application. Related problems may be solved by a reinstall of a program or by removing an Outlook add-on that created the problem in the first place. Help is waiting go to:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/servicedesks/fileversion/dllinfo.asp
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USERS OF PayPAL INTERNET SHOPPING…are warned to avoid any e-mails which try to induce the user to follow instructions as mentioned in the e-mail. Only go to the PayPal center by entering the site's URL directly in the browser. Following this advice, says the spokesman for the service, will provide the necessary security.
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WHAT IS SPAM ANYWAY???...Unsolicited e-mail sent to a large number of addresses. Spamming is the action of flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message or Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (UCE) in an attempt to disseminate that message to as many people as possible. E-mail list providers utilize software to scan the Internet for addresses and then build large databases which they sell to spammers. Some e-Commerce companies running out of money have been known to collect e-mails as part of their order confirmation and to sell these lists to add to their operating cash. Once a person is on one list, they can be assured of also being added to many others. According to Fred Hammond, The Mossberg Report offers two anti-spam software one at http://www.digiportal.com and another http://www.mailfrontier.com
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CONFUSION EXISTS…just what is WINDOWS EXPLORER. It is Windows folder/file viewer which used to be called File Manager in older versions of Windows. While INTERNET EXPLORER is the browser used to surf the Web. While each has the ability to duplicate some features, it's best to remember them by their main purpose.
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SECURITY ISSUE…has been identified that could enable an attacker to read files or run programs on a computer used to view the attacker's Web site. You do not have to be using Internet Explorer as your Web browser to be affected by this issue, just have Microsoft Internet Explorer installed. Microsoft has released a security Update on February 12, 2003, which also supplements the cumulative patch released February 5, 2003. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/critical/813951
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ART LOVERS TAKE NOTE… announcing an upcoming open studios event sponsored by the Newton Art Association. Page lists names of local artists with views of some of their work http://www.newtonopenstudios.com/nos/default.asp
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OFTEN MENTIONED IMAGE VIEWER AND EDITOR…freeware, Irfanview Ver. 3.80 has new features which include making some icons for your desktop from some of your images. The site from which to download the program is http://www.irfanview.com/
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WANTED: URL's of web sites; Helpful hints for Mac users, Win 95/98/ME/XP. Software reviews, desired topics for future meetings. Send these items via email to theeditor. Please sign your email with your name. We will publish your email address, but not your name, phone number or address without your permission