Apr. 2010

vol. 28 no.4 / april 2010
award winning monthly newsletter for orcopug members
April Program
it’s not deja vu!
due to overhead display problems the
march program is being repeated
all you need to know about
passwords
password generators & password keepers
how to
protect yourself & keep
your information secure
presented by Mike Lyons
april program details 2
10 common passwords 3
favorite shot 4
easy & free ideas 5
high-speed, open network 6
net neutrality teamwork 9
excel tip 11
best free software 12
iphone book review 16
feedback 17
pc tips, tricks, hints 18
march keyword explained 21
understanding email 22
diskeeper review 24
ipod touch 3g review 27
raffle prizes 30
membership app 30
user group deals 31
net neutrality update 31
orcopug information 32
APRIL PROGRAM
due to overhead display
problems the march
program is being repeated
passwords
password generators and
password keepers
by Mike Lyons, ORCOPUG president
P
asswords have been around at least since the time of the Romans. It used to be that passwords,
encryption, elaborate algorithms, etc. were the domain of governments and militaries. They have gone
to great lengths and expense to keep their secrets “secret.”
It wasn’t until the wide use of personal computers that passwords came into common useage by everyday
citizens. In fact, usage scared governments and law enforcement. Security programs were declared the same as
munitions and fell under the U.S. Government jurisdiction. There were limits on how strong passwords could
be. Today, you probably don’t think twice about your password, unless you can’t remember it (and then you
think pretty hard). But really, there is a lot to think about when it comes to passwords.
We’ll discuss what makes a good password and show you how to measure the strength of your password.
We’ll also show you things to avoid in creating your password. We will give you reasons why you need more than
one (or even a couple) of passwords.
Besides looking at passwords, we will also take a look at password generators. These are simple to use
programs or scripts that create very strong passwords. Strong passwords can be hard to remember, so we will
also look at some password keepers. Password keepers usually mean that you only have to remember one master
password and this will unlock access to all of your other passwords so you don’t have to remember them. There
are even software and hardware solutions to the problem of remembering strong passwords and we will show
you one such device.
Join us Tuesday, April 13th to learn about passwords and how to better protect yourself in this digital age.
2
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
most commonly used
passwords
I
n late January, data security firm Imperva released a study analyzing 32 million passwords
exposed to hackers in the mid-December breach of RockYou.com, a site dedicated to
social networking applications and the hub for many social networking sites, such as Bebo,
Facebook, and MySpace, according to the article “Millions of Passwords are easy to steal,” in
Speech Technology magazine, March/April 2010, p. 24.
Imperva’s Application Defense Center analyzed the strength of the passwords in a report,
“Consumer Password Worst Practices,” and found the 10 most commonly used passwords were:
1. 123456
2. 12345
3. 123456789
4. Password
5. iloveyou
6. princess
7. rockyou
8. 1234567
9. 12345678
10. abc123
According to the survey, nearly 50 percent of users used names, slang words, dictionary words,
or trivial passwords (consecutive digits, adjacent keyboard keys, etc.).
It’s a problem that has changed very little during the past 20 years, according to Brian
Contos, chief security strategist at lmperva, referring to a 1990 Unix password study that showed
a password selection pattern similar to what consumers select today. “People are still using the
same bad passwords,” he says. “After all the education and awareness training, people are still
taking simplicity over security.”
Part of the reason for this is that the modern consumer relies on and uses so many applications
and services that require passwords. “The real problem is that because you have so many
passwords, people use the same one. The same one they use for Facebook they use at Bank of
America and to file a health insurance claim,” Contos explains.
According to Contos, everyone needs to understand what the combination of poor passwords
means: With minimal effort, a hacker can gain access to 1,000 accounts every 17 minutes.
“At a minimum, everyone should have two sets of passwords: one for more general activities
and one for more important activities,” Contos advises.
Banks, financial firms, insurance providers, and others that rely on customers to provide
passwords also have an obligation to better advise their account holders. “Organizations should
recommend that their clients give more and different passwords,” Contos says. “And they can use
things like voice biometrics more.”
Submitted by Darry D Eggleston
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
3
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Favorite Shot
T
he dogs in the photos belong
to the owners of a farm that
we often go to on photography
class field trips. The interesting
thing is that, despite the apparent
competition, these are the two
friendliest dogs you’ll ever meet.
photos by Frank Bollinger,
ORCOPUG
E
veryone has a photo that they like a lot. Please send us your favorite photo for our next “Your Favorite
Shot” page. Email your low resolution JPG to [email protected] Please provide a short description of
the photo or photo trick that you used to get it. Photo subjects can be whatever you choose.
4
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
COST–TIME SAVING IDEAS
easy and free
never lose a manual again
by Linda Gonse
I
just found my old Sharp PDA, discovered it was still working, and decided to put it to use
again. The downside was the manual was gone. An Internet search showed the original
manual available, but prices ranged from $20 to $39! The Sharp device began to look obsolete
to me. Then, I discovered retrevo.com. It boasts a library of more than 100,000 downloadable
manuals from more than 1,000 brands of consumer electronics for consumer electronics
searchable by category and brand at http://www.retrevo.com/samples/index.html. My manual
was there and it was free. In seconds, I downloaded it.
There are more than 100 categories you can search for manuals —
2-way Radio Bread Maker Car Receiver Copier Digital Photo Frame Food Processor Game Cube Game Heating Cooling/ Air Labeling System
Monitor Nintendo DS Lite Plasma TV Radar Detector Router Speaker System
Tape Deck Voice Recorder Air Conditioner CD Player Car Video DVD Drive Dishwasher Freezer Gaming Accessory Home Theater
Laptop
Mouse
Oven
Portable DVD Player
Radio
Satellite Radio
Storage
Telephone
Washer
Amp CRT TV
Cell Phone
DVD Players
Dreamcast Game
GPS
Graphics & Publishing
Hub MP3 Accessory Multifunction Printer PBX Portable TV Range Satellite Receiver Subwoofer Telescope Watch
Binocular Calculator Clock Radio DVR Dryer GPS Accessory Grill Guitar Karaoke System MP3 Player Music Keyboard PDA Printer Receiver Scanner Switch Turntable Wii Game Blender Camcorders Coffee Maker Desktop Fax Machine Game Boy
Headphone
Keyboard
Microwave
NIC
PDA Accessory
Projection TV
Refrigerator
Security Camera
TV
VCR
Wireless Router
Boombox
Car Amplifier
Controller
Digital Camera
Film Camera
Game Console
Headset LCD TV
Mini Audio System
Network Adapter
PS2 Game Projector Remote Control
Speaker Tablet
Vacuum
Xbox Game
Another benefit of the site is that it also will store your manuals for you. Is that great or what?
At retrevo.com again later I learned that over 4 million people visit the site every month to
get help with decisions about the gadgets they buy. Retrevo is NOT a retailer and does not sell
consumer electornics, but it uses artificial intelligence to analyze and visually summarize more
than 50 million real-time data points from across the web; and gives shoppers comprehensive,
unbiased, up-to-date product information about what products to buy as well as when and where
to buy them.
unique way to save money on printer ink
by Darry D Eggleston, GTBPCUG
S
o, how much do you think your printer’s ink cost? The answer surprised me, and I suspect
it will surprise you. “Cost-saving idea of the week,” Tampa Bay Times, March 26, 2010, p. 21.
A Wisconsin college has found a new way to cut costs with e-mail — by changing the font. The
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has switched the default font on its e-mail system from Arial
to Century Gothic. It says that while the change sounds minor, it will save money on ink when
students print e-mails in the new font. Diane Blohowiak, the school’s director of computing,
says the new font uses about 30 percent less ink than the previous one. That could add up to real
savings, since the cost of printer ink works out to about $10,000 per gallon.
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
5
japan’s warp-speed ride
to internet future
net neutrality:
a marxist utopia?
A television host, Glenn Beck, recently stood at
a chalkboard to warn his viewers of a sinister
plot to shut down free speech. A “gang of
communists” had infiltrated Washington, he
raged. Their goal: to pass Net Neutrality and
turn the Internet into a “Marxist utopia.”
A country that has both high speed
access and an open network has a different outcome…
6
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
Two Cities
I
t was the best of times,
it was the worst of times.
And when it comes to
broadband, Tokyo is a long
way from Little Rock.
Ultra-high-speed allows doctors
to diagnose diseases from a
distance by teleconferencing
Tokyo, Japan is a long way from
Little Rock, Arkansas
urban doctors to diagnose
diseases from a distance
— and for advanced
telecommuting to help
Japan meet its goal of doubling the
number of people who work from
home by 2010.
open secrets
What’s the secret of Japan’s
success? Open access.
Less than a decade ago,
DSL service in Japan was
slower and pricier than in the
United States. So the Japanese
government mandated open
access policies that forced the
telephone monopoly to share
its wires at wholesale rates with
new competitors. The result: a
broadband explosion.
Not only did DSL get
faster and cheaper in Japan,
but the new competition
Image: cliff1066™, Flickr.com
The Japanese enjoy broadband
speeds that are up to 30 times faster
than what’s available here at a far
lower cost. This faster, cheaper,
universal broadband access –
according to an excellent article in
today’s Washington Post – “is pushing
open doors to Internet innovation that
are likely to remain closed for years to
come in much of the United States.”
To the Japanese, our “high-speed”
Internet service doesn’t look much
different from dial-up:
The speed advantage allows the
Japanese to watch broadcast-quality,
full-screen television over the Internet,
an experience that mocks the grainy,
wallet-size images Americans endure.
Ultra-high-speed applications
are being rolled out for low-cost,
high-definition teleconferencing,
for telemedicine — which allows
Image: photoeverywhere.co.uk
A Tale Of
by Craig Aaron, SaveTheInternet.com
August 29th, 2007, http://tinyurl.com/
yc7wcx7
actually forced the creaky old phone
monopoly to innovate. As the Post
explains:
Competition in Japan gave a kick
in the pants to Nippon Telegraph
and Telephone Corp. (NTT), once a
government-controlled enterprise and
still Japan’s largest phone company.
With the help of government subsidies
and tax breaks, NTT launched a
nationwide build-out of fiber-optic
lines to homes, making the lowercapacity copper wires obsolete.
“Obviously, without the
competition, we would not have
done all this at this pace,” said Hideki
Ohmichi, NTT’s senior manager for
public relations.
Turn to next page
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
7
HIGH SPEED , OPEN INTERNET
made in america
If this quaint idea of “competition”
seems familiar, that’s because America
invented “open access” policies in the
first place. And open access worked
for decades to bring lower prices and
more choices in long-distance phone
service and dial-up Internet access.
The Japanese first adopted open
access because they were worried
about falling behind us. But under
pressure from our own phone
and cable monopolists, the Bush
administration abandoned open access
– and the fundamental protections for
Net Neutrality along with it.
Now they’re standing idly by as
America drops further and further
behind the rest of the world in every
measure of broadband progress.
But instead of recognizing their
mounting failures and charting a new
course (or really, just getting back on
the old one), our policymakers prefer
to shoot the messenger.
left behind
Which bring us to
Little Rock.
On Tuesday,
Arkansas Sen. Mark
Pryor hosted a public
hearing on high-speed
Internet access. Rural
groups, educators
and librarians turned
out to decry the
lack of broadband
service and high-tech
opportunities in their
communities.
“We have
not successfully
8
transitioned into the information
age, and I would contend a lot of
that is because we’re not delivering
broadband to our people,” testified
Rex Nelson of the Delta Regional
Authority, according to a story in the
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “Having
access to broadband in even the
most rural areas of our country is as
important as getting that electricity
to them and air conditioning to them
back in the 1940s and the 1950s.”
Also on hand were FCC
Commissioners Michael Copps and
Jonathan Adelstein — two notable
exceptions to the usual inside-theBeltway blindness on broadband
issues. They bemoaned America’s
digital decline.
“While some have protested the
international broadband penetration
rankings,” Adelstein said, alluding
to some of his colleagues at the
Commission, “the fact is the U.S.
has dropped year-after-year. This
downward trend and the lack of
broadband value illustrate the
sobering point that when it comes to
Maybe Net Neutrality participants aren’t
speaking the same language.
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
giving our citizens affordable access
to state-of the-art communications,
the U.S. has fallen behind its global
competitors.”
Copps called the lack of a national
broadband policy “tantamount to
playing Russian roulette with our
future.”
“Each and every citizen of this
great country should have access to
the wonders of communications,”
Copps said. “I’m not talking about
doing all these people some kind
of feel-good, do-gooder favor by
including them. I’m talking about
doing America a favor. I’m talking
about making certain our citizens can
compete here at home and around
the world with those who are already
using broadband in all aspects of their
lives.”
Bringing the benefits of broadband
to all Americans would seem like a
no-brainer for any politician. But if
the reaction thus far from the White
House and the majority at the FCC is
any indication, you’d think Copps and
Adelstein were speaking in Japanese.
net neutrality
update
on page 31
net neutrality: wishing we were all on
the same team
by Joseph Torres, Save The Internet.com, March 23, 2010
W
e are witnessing a critical moment in U.S. history that comes once in a lifetime.
The Internet is the most transformative communications network ever created.
Throughout history, changes in technology have always led to the creation of new
media systems like radio and cable TV. And when this happens, the government is confronted
with a critical question: Should it pass rules to allow for the greatest public participation in this
new media system, or should it turn over control to corporate interests?
The government has always caved to corporate interests, which is why few people of color
own broadcast stations today and are routinely marginalized by the news media.
But the government now has a chance to finally get it right by passing rules to protect our
Internet freedoms and the interests of the public.
Telecom companies like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon have other plans, and are pouring
millions into derailing the FCC’s effort to pass strong Net Neutrality rules. They’re using scare
tactics to drum up opposition so they can bully the FCC into giving them the legal authority to
discriminate online.
These companies want total control over the public’s ability to access the Web sites and
content of their choice online so they can increase their profit margins and please their Wall
Street investors.
Turn to next page
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
9
NET NEUTRALITY
One bogus argument they’re
pushing is that Net Neutrality will
widen the digital divide, despite
presenting no credible evidence to
prove their point.
The civil rights community has
a long history of fighting for greater
media access, including fighting to
close the digital divide. But during
this debate, I have been troubled that
several groups have seemed to accept
the arguments made by the telecom
companies, and are now either
opposing or are skeptical about Net
Neutrality protections.
I have had a good relationship with
many groups opposing the FCC’s Net
Neutrality efforts and consider many
people working for these groups my
friends.
So this is why I disagree with
another friend of mine, Garlin
Gilchrist II, who referred to
organizations like the Broadband
Opportunities Coalition and Minority
Media and Telecommunications
Council as “Digital Divide Astroturf
Groups” on this site last week.
I disagree that these groups are
Astroturf (fake grassroots organizations
that push corporate agendas while
pretending to work for the public’s
interest). I have worked with several
civil rights groups associated with
these organizations through the
years on key policy issues, such as
preventing media consolidation and
increasing the number of people of
color who own broadcast stations.
Although these groups work hard
on representing the interests of people
of color, I’m still concerned that their
positions on Net Neutrality may harm
communities of color. The fight for
a neutral Net is a fight against media
consolidation online, and it’s a fight
to prevent what has happened in
traditional media from repeating itself
“I hope we can work together
to create strong rules that do
not cede control of the most
significant communications
advancement in our lifetimes.”
on the Internet.
Over the last few months, I
have attended meetings with http://
ColorOfChange.org and the Center
for Media Justice in Washington,
along with several civil rights groups
and congressional staffers. I have
also had private conversations with a
number of groups and have strongly
expressed my disagreements with
the positions they’ve taken. A few
conversations even turned into
spirited debates.
I agree with FCC Commissioners
Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn,
who have called on the civil rights
community to support Net Neutrality
so we don’t repeat our past mistakes.
Earlier this year, Clyburn said:
“… I hope we can work together
to create strong rules that do not
cede control of the most significant
communications advancement in
our lifetimes. By sitting this one out,
or worse, by throwing up
roadblocks that will enable
what is now ‘our’ Internet
to become ‘their’ Internet,
we simply would be
reinstating the very kinds of
imbalanced structures that
we have been attempting
for decades to dismantle in
other contexts.”
I still hold out hope
that several key civil rights
groups will support Net
Neutrality. I believe they
will find themselves on the
right side of history.
And personally, I look
forward to being on the
same team again.
Save the Internet articles were
submitted by Darry D Eggleston
10
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
Excel
EXCEL TIPS
relative worksheet references
when copying
W
hen you copy a formula
from one cell to another,
Excel automatically
updates any relative references within
the formula based on the target that
is receiving the formula. For instance,
assume that cell B7 contains the
following formula:
=B6+A7
If you copy this formula to cell
D22, Excel automatically updates the
references so they are relative to cell
D22, as shown here:
=D21+C22
When you are copying formulas
from one worksheet to another, and
the formula contains a reference to
a previous worksheet, Excel doesn’t
do this type of formula updating—at
least not on the worksheet names.
For instance, let’s say you have three
worksheets named January, February,
and March—in that order. On the
February worksheet you have the
following formula:
is “one less” than the sheet to which
the formula is being copied).
If you have only a few worksheet
references in your copied formulas,
it is fairly easy to just edit the
formulas so they reference the proper
worksheet. The task can quickly
become a nightmare, however, if
you have dozens or hundreds of such
references.
The solution is to do a simple
search-and-replace operation in Excel,
as outlined here:
1. Copy the formulas from the
February worksheet to the desired
location on the March worksheet.
2. With the March worksheet
visible, press Ctrl+A. This selects all
the cells in the target worksheet.
3. Press Ctrl+H. Excel displays the
Replace tab of the Find and Replace
dialog box.
4. In the Find What box, enter
“January!” (without the quote marks).
5. In the Replace With box,
enter “February!” (without the quote
marks).
6. Click on Replace All.
The formulas in the worksheet
are now updated so they refer to the
proper worksheet.
Notice in steps 4 and 5 that what
you are searching for and replacing it
with is not the straight month names.
This is done because the month
names alone (January, February, etc.)
could easily occur in other places in
the worksheet without being part of
a formula. You don’t want to change
these instances, so the extra characters
are included to help narrow down the
search.
The Replace tab of the Find and
Replace dialog box.
=January!B7*1.075
If you copy this cell to the March
worksheet, Excel will automatically
change the B7 reference (if
necessary), but it won’t change the
sheet name (January, which was “one
less” than the sheet on which the
formula first occurred) to the adjusted
relative sheet name (February, which
Copyright © 2009 by Sharon Parq Associates, Inc. Reprinted by permission. Thousands of free
Microsoft Excel tips can be found online at http://excel.tips.net.
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
11
the
best free software
according to gizmo
12
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
COLUMN
by Ira Wilsker
I
n these tough economic times, many of us are finding it difficult to afford new
software for our computers. Locally and on line we can shop and sometimes find
some deals on software, but if money is especially tight, some of us would choose
to do without. Alternatively, there has always been a huge assortment of free software
or “freeware” available that can adequately accomplish almost all computing tasks.
While there are some mega-sites such as download.com and tucows.com that each carry
thousands of software titles, many of which are freeware, there are also some lesser
known websites that provide comprehensive information and reviews about freeware.
One recent find that has now become one of my favorites is Gizmo’s Freeware Reviews,
at techsupportalert.com.
Upon accessing the Gizmo
website, the user is greeted with
a graphical menu containing 20
categories of software, including
cleanup, educational, games, Linux,
security, programming, security,
system tools, and a dozen others.
In addition to free software, Gizmo
offers additional categories of
information in its navigation window
on the left side of the main page.
These additional categories include
the Best Tech Websites, How-to
Guides and Tutorials, Freeware
Turn to next page
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
13
COLUMN
Updates, Security Advice Wizard,
and Video Tutorials, as well as some
housekeeping functions.
Since I am very concerned about
cyber security, I chose to open the
Security link from the front page
graphical menu, one of the 20
possible selections. I was greeted
with a listing of about two dozen
Gizmo articles on security software
and related topics. Ranked in order
of number of hits, and indication of
the popularity of each topic, the first
security article is “Best Free Antivirus
Software”, which has had nearly 1.4
million hits. Opening the antivirus
article, the user is greeted with a nontechnical explanation of antivirus
software, followed by a discussion
of what Gizmo has determined as
the best of the many free antivirus
utilities. Gizmo awarded Avira
AntiVir Personal Edition its top
pick, narrowly beating out Microsoft
Security Essentials, which is actually
Gizmo’s personal choice. Each
review is hyperlinked to a section
farther down on the webpage, called
the “Quick Selection Guide” which
summarizes the pros and cons
of each recommended product,
download links, file size, latest
version, 32 and 64 bit compatibility,
installation tips, a discussion
forum, and online help. The other
recommended antivirus products are
Avast!, and a-squared Free.
For those who might need help
in deciding which security products
would be most appropriate for their
personal circumstances, Gizmo
offers a “Security Advice Wizard”
at techsupportalert.com/secwiz
where the user selects his operating
14
system, and answers some simple
questions about internet habits and
personal computer skills. Upon
completing the wizard, Gizmo makes
a recommendation of an antivirus
product and a firewall. I tried the
wizard using a variety of operating
systems and levels of experience,
and the wizard arrived at reasonable
recommendations for each. The
user who follows the wizard’s
recommendations will likely be well
served by its picks.
In addition to having information
and reviews on software products,
Gizmo also offers a wide selection
of other helpful services and
information. One that I found
exceptionally useful and interesting
easily-find-powerpoint-slides-andpresentations-using-site.htm. I do a
lot of PowerPoint presentations in
a variety of settings and to different
audiences, and often have some
difficulties coming up with material.
Gizmo may be of great help locating
material, and one such resource
linked on Gizmo is Slidefinder, at
www.slidefinder.net. Available in 23
languages, Slidefinder has proven to
be an outstanding resource, capable
of locating individual slides and
complete presentations on thousands
of topics. One of the most frequent
PowerPoint presentations that I do is
on identity theft; entering the term
“identity theft” in the search box
slidefinder results
was a listing of PowerPoint slides and
presentations, under the heading
“Easily Find PowerPoint Slides
and Presentations Using This Site”
at techsupportalert.com/content/
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
displayed Slidefinder’s limit of 1000
items. Scrolling over the displayed
slides (20 per page), opens a larger
image of the selected slide and also
Turn to next page
COLUMN
displays any notes
integrated with the
slide. A link to the
full PowerPoint file
is also displayed, and
a simple right-click
on the file name and
selecting “Save Link
As” will download the
complete file. The
primary source of the
PowerPoint slides and
files are hundreds
of universities
from all over the
globe, as well as
government agencies,
organizations, trade
associations, and other
sources.
Another very
beneficial section of the Gizmo
website is the “Hot Finds” at
techsupportalert.com/view/hot. This
selection displays software deals,
mostly free, offered by the commercial
software publishers for a limited time.
As I type this, some of the commercial
software being offered for free
includes PC performance enhancing
utilities, anti-malware utilities,
backup utilities, graphics editors, and
many others. Frequently checking
this list may provide the user with
an occasional gem of commercial
software either for free, or at a
ridiculous low price, such as a recent
offer (now expired) for a top rated $30
anti-malware product available for the
paltry sum of 99 cents (I purchased 6
copies).
Many users sometimes need
some help with accomplishing
some computer tasks, or may even
find some tasks that may need to be
performed that they may have been
unaware of. Gizmo has a “How-to
Guides and Tutorials” section at www.
techsupportalert.com/tutorials, with
over 50 topics listed. The most widely
used tutorial “How to Make Vista
Run Faster” has been viewed over 300
thousand times. Other tutorials cover
different browsers, backing up critical
files, improving performance, creating
a bootable rescue CD, how to reduce
spam, and many other helpful and
useful subjects. The Gizmo tutorials
are presented in a readable nontechnical fashion that is easy to follow
and implement,
Gizmo has a wealth of information
available, including free software that
has been reviewed and evaluated, as
well as tutorials and other valuable
information. I subscribed to both
the RSS feed and email alerts so I
can always be promptly informed
of any new articles and software
added to Gizmo. Stop by www.
techsupportalert.com and see what
treasures that you might find.
WEBSITES:
http://www.techsupportalert.com
http://www.techsupportalert.com/secwiz
http://www.techsupportalert.com/pc/securitytools.html
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/
easily-find-powerpoint-slides-andpresentations-using-site.htm
http://www.slidefinder.net
http://www.techsupportalert.com/view/hot
http://www.techsupportalert.com/tutorials
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
15
book review
by John Hershey, NMCUG
I
Book Review: iPhone: The Missing Manual (3rd Ed.)
Author: David Pogue
Publisher: O’Reilly Press
Price: $24.99 (UG discount available.)
16
drank the Kool Aid the day the iPhone 3 GS was released.
Standing in line in front of the San Francisco Apple Store in
June to purchase my onlinereserved new iPhone, I realized I was
about to join those happy pedestrians talking into their mics on their
telltale white-corded earbuds. I was hooked the minute I paid and
activated my new iPhone.
As expected, the iPhone 3 GS is awesome. At first I thought of it
as a hybrid device born of a marriage of my iPod Touch and RAZR
cell phone. But I soon learned it was much much more than that.
Being a long-term MacHead, I mastered the user-friendly interface
and started making calls. There was a cute little printed instruction
book included, entitled “Finger Tips.” There is an onlinedownloadable pdf Apple manual.
But there is also a myriad of “hidden” features. Screen swipes,
taps, and functions that make for fast productivity, and unique
capabilities are not always readily apparent, even to a MacThink
nerd like myself. I wondered, where could I find a guide with logical
organization of features, full color illustrations, and a witty prose
style? There’s a book for that.
Once again David Pogue presents all the 3 GS features and
functions in a style that is “engaging, clearly written, and funny”
in iPhone: The Missing Manual. Voice dialing, Visual Voicemail,
and MMS (picture/video messages), for example, are more
Turn to next page
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
understandable and fully realized
with Mr. Pogue’s guidance. Little
gems of wisdom are revealed
throughout. I learned how to
immediately get to the top of a
web page with a tap, how to attach
more than one photo to an email
sent from the phone, and how to
optimize the use of the Genius
playlist feature. Explanation of the
new iPhone Compass makes the
Maps and Directions functions
amazingly easy. Who needs to buy
an expensive GPS?
The iPhone Missing Manual is
divided into five parts: The iPhone
as Phone; Pix, Flix, & Apps; The
iPhone Online; Connections;
Appendixes. With its inviting
and legible Myriad font, clear
illustrations, and highly logical
organization, the book is a gem
for iPhone newbies, or for those
upgrading from an iPod (like
myself). It is also useful for all
models with 3.0 software, since
“older models of the iPhone
gain MMS, Copy & Paste, voice
recording, global Search, and 100
other features.”
And as the author points out, the
iPhone is a platform. A “wickedfast pocket computer” as well as an
iPod and phone, and has integrated
functionality. There is help dealing
with the App Store and its 85,000
app choices, including the author’s
personal favorites. He also gives
tips on conserving battery power,
using free calling services, and other
factoids that you won’t find in an
official Apple guide.
All in all, to bring your iPhone
experience back down to earth and
begin using it with the skill and ease
of a teenager, iPhone: The Missing
Manual is a great choice.
Lore
feedback
Neil Longmuir
WPCUSRGP, Winnipeg, Canada
W
e had some real nice weather at the end of January. On one of
those days we had incredible hoar frost. I took a total of 406 shots
during the day. We also have some mallard ducks on the creek as well.
By the way, I bought the latest Nikon 70 - 200 f2.8 VRII lens. I have
to say this is one of the best purchases I’ve made ... the len sharpness is
incredible.
I didn’t use that lens for the hoar frost but did use my 18 - 200 on the
D300.
Windows 7 has been incredibly stable… I have not had any glitches.
Carrol bought me an Epson V300 flatbed scanner for Christmas and it
produces excellent PDF files which print great. So the Epson V300 is
the flatbed scanner answer for Windows 7.
Wes Taylor
HHICC, South Carolina
T
he April 2010 issue of Island Computing, the newsletter of Hilton
Head Island Computer Club has been posted to the club Bulletin
Board. You can download it here: http://hhiccbb.org/download/file.
php?id=2799 The newsletter is in pdf format and requires Acrobat
Reader 6 or later.
By the way, I got my iPad 32GB Wi-Fi on Saturday, as promised
when I preordered.
Computer users’
gift idea
Get one for
yourself, family,
or friends!
Written by Pamela Tabak, the Computer Tutor. Cover design by Linda
Gonse. 198 pages, spiral bound, laminated cover, free “cheat” sheet.
www.computertutorinc.net/order.htm
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
17
you can hit the
mark with
tips, tricks &
hints
for the pc
by Ron Broadhurst
Space Coast PC Users Group, Inc.
T
hese ideas are compiled
from years of accumulations
from various magazines,
books, on-line sites and my own
personal experience. I claim neither
originality nor ownership to any
of its contents. My only intent is
to share the various “tips, “tricks”
& “hints” in hopes of helping and
maybe enhancing your computing
18
experiences. They are all intended
for anyone who uses a PC.
It is for beginners as well as
advanced users. Enjoy and use as
you will.
check disk (scan disk)
In addition to running Disk
Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter
to optimize the performance of
your computer, you can check the
integrity of the files stored on your
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
hard disk by running the Error
Checking utility.
As you use your hard drive, it
can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors
slow down hard disk performance
and sometimes make data writing
(such as file saving) difficult, or even
impossible. The Error Checking
utility scans the hard drive for bad
sectors, and scans for file system
errors to see whether certain files or
folders are misplaced.
Turn to next page
COMPUTER TIPS
If you use your computer daily, you should run this utility
once a week to help prevent data loss.
If you use your computer daily,
you should run this utility once a
week to help prevent data loss.
To run the Error Checking
utility:
1. Close all open files
2. Click Start, and then click
MyComputer
3. In the MyComputer window,
right click the hard drive you want to
check for bad sectors, and then click
Properties.
4. In the Properties dialog box,
click the Tools tab.
5. Click the Check Now
button.
6. In the Check Disk dialog
box, select the Scan for and attempt
recovery of bad sectors check box
and then click Start.
If bad sectors are found, choose
to fix them
Tip
Only select the “Automatically
fix file system errors check box if you
think that your disk contains bad
sectors.
install the recovery console
on your computer
You can install the Recovery
Console as an option on your
startup menu and use it to recover
your system in the event that safe
mode and other startup options
don’t work. This tool is for
advanced users.
With Windows XP running,
insert your Windows XP CD in
the drive, and click Exit when the
installation options are displayed.
Click Start, click Run, and then
type D:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons
Where D: is the CD-ROM drive
letter, and then press Enter. (There
is a space between .exe and the
slash.)
Follow the instructions on
screen to install the Recovery
Console, and when the installation
is complete, restart your computer. The Recovery Console will show
up in the list of available operating
systems in the Startup menu. You
must be an administrator to use the
Recovery Console. If the i386 directory is already
installed on your computer (as
might be the case in computers
purchased with Windows XP preinstalled), you can use the same
syntax as in Step 2, using the [path]\
i386 directory without having to use
the CD.
An alternative method is to boot
to the CD and start WINNT.EXE,
then when prompted to Install or
Repair, click Repair, which installs
the Recovery Console for you. If Windows XP will not start, you
can run the Recovery Console from
the Setup CD.
how to make xp skip the
prompt to find a program to
open files
When you try to open a file for
which XP doesn’t have a program
association, you normally get a dialog
box asking you if you want to search
online for the appropriate program
to open it. This registry tweak will
disable that prompt and display the
Open With dialog box instead.
1. Open your registry editor.
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \
Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies
\ system
3. Right click an empty space in
the right details pane and click New.
4. Select DWORD value.
5. Name the new DWORD
value NoInternetOpenWith
6. Double click the value and
set the value data field to 1
7. Close the registry editor You
may need to reboot for change to
take effect.
Turn to next page
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
19
COMPUTER TIPS
can I bypass the request for password when
my computer wakes up?
If you’re in a work environment or share a home with
others who shouldn’t have access to your desktop, the
password protection feature is useful. But if you don’t
need it, it can be annoying. Here’s how to change the
setting so you won’t be prompted for a password when
the computer resumes from standby:
1. Click Start | Run
2. In the Run box, type powercfg.cpl or open the
Control Panel Power Management applet
3. Click the Advanced tab
4. Clear the checkbox that says “Prompt for
password when computer resumes from standby.” Click
OK.
auto correct spelling errors auto correcting
your common errors
Chances are good that you already know what
AutoCorrect is and that it can be a boon for those words
you habitually mistype. (Exactly why I invariably mistype
some words, I’ll never understand.) However, setting up
AutoCorrect to compensate for your mistyping can be a
bother. Here’s a quick
way to
make short work
of adding your
mistypings to
AutoCorrect:
Assuming
that Word fl ags
the mistyped word
as misspelled, right-click
on it. A Context menu appears.
If spelling corrections are offered in the
Context menu, there should also be a menu
choice called AutoCorrect. Choose it and
you will see the same spelling corrections in
the resultant submenu. Choose the correct
spelling in this submenu.
What you have just done is tell Word that
you want to create an AutoCorrect entry that
20
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
will automatically correct the mistyped word using the
selected spelling.
Fast, neat, and easy!
difference between quick format &
regular format
When you choose to run a regular format on a
volume, files are removed from the volume that you are
formatting and the hard disk is scanned for bad sectors.
The scan for bad sectors is responsible for the majority of
the time that it takes to format a volume.
If you choose the Quick format option, format
removes files from the partition, but does not scan the
disk for bad sectors. Only use this option if your hard
disk has been previously formatted and you are sure that
your hard disk is not damaged.
If you installed Windows XP on a partition that was
formatted by using the Quick format option, you can
also check your disk by using the chkdsk /r command
after the installation of Windows XP is completed.
how to increase the space
for icon text
Here’s a common annoyance: the text under your
desktop icons wraps because the space is too narrow
for the words. The secret: the width of the icon label is
dependent on the setting for horizontal icon spacing.
Here’s how to increase that size:
1. Right click an empty space on the desktop
2. Select Properties
Turn to next page
If you don’t need it,
password protection
on startup can be
annoying.
3. Click the Appearance tab
4. Click the Advanced button
5. In the drop-down list
of items, select Icon Spacing
(Horizontal)
6. Increase the number in the
Size box (the default is 43)
7. Click OK in each dialog box
You should now have a wider
space for the text under the icons.
how to start system restore
when you can’t boot into xp
If you’re having problems that
prevent you from booting into the
GUI, you may still be able to use the
System Restore tool to roll back to a
previous operating system state, and
thereby fix the problem. Here’s how:
1. Restart the computer and
press and hold F8 during startup to
bring up the options menu
2. Select “Safe mode with a
command prompt”
3. If you have multiple operating systems installed, select the correct instance of XP
4. Log on with an administrative account
5. At the command prompt,
type %Systemroot%\System32\
Restore\Rstrui.Exe and press
ENTER
6. Follow the on-screen
instructions
march keyword explained
lastpass
L
astPass is a free, featurerich password manager
and Web form filler. It
has almost every software feature
found in any competitor, plus
some unique features of its own.
Numerous mobility options
mean you can use it wherever
you are. Version 1.66.0 https://
lastpass.com/misc_download.php
Pros
Automatically captures and
replays log-in credentials. Fills
Web forms. Data is stored
online, decrypted locally. Can
be accessed from any browser;
supports many browsers.
Imports from the competition.
Has numerous mobility
options.
Cons
Online storage may worry
some users. Doesn’t rate
strength of previously saved
passwords. Stores only one
credit card per profile.
by Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine
B
ack in the day, you couldn’t get into a
speakeasy without saying “Swordfish”
to the guy at the door. Imagine if you
had to remember a password for every store on
Main Street! That’s what it’s like on the Internet
these days. Luckily, you can choose from a wide
variety of tools to help manage this plethora of
passwords. Some just manage passwords, some
also fill in Web forms, some can go portable on a
USB key, and some can print out your collected
passwords. My new favorite is LastPass 1.50,
which offers just about every feature found in any
of its competition at an attractive price—free!
Source: PC Magazine, Bottom Line, http://bit.ly/
last_pass
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
21
COMPUTER HELP
understanding
e-mail
by Pamela Tabak
e-mail transport
1. Instead of writing a letter
using pen and paper you use
your computer keyboard to
type and email.
2. Clicking the SEND button
begins the transmission.
3. E-mail SERVERS transmit
email messages from
SENDER to RECIPIENT.
4. E-mails are NOT delivered
directly to the recipient but
wait ONLINE at the nearest
mail server to be picked up. (
WEBMAIL )
5. If you have mail in your mail
box you go to fetch it.
picking up your e-mail
1. Using INTERNET
EXPLORER or any browser
you can go to your SERVER
i.e. YAHOO and access your
email from their WEBMAIL
site. (The emails are NOT
downloaded onto your
computer’s hard drive.)
2. The emails STAY on the
server’s site so that you can
access your email from any
browser on any computer.
3. Using OUTLOOK
EXPRESS or MICROSOFT
OUTLOOK causes the emails
to be downloaded onto your
computer’s hard drive.
4. Once downloaded your
emails are no longer
accessible on your server’s
webmail site unless you have
the option marked to do so.
Turn to next page
22
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
COMPUTER HELP
what is spam?
1. SPAM is unsolicited email.
2. BUT not ALL unsolicited email is spam.
3. BULK MAIL, like the notices I send out, is
unsolicited email but is NOT considered as
SPAM because you have agreed to receive it.
SPAM is an email message that :
1. You did not ask for
2. You do not want
3. From somebody you do not know who,
perhaps, wants to sell you something and it
keeps on coming, and coming and coming…
how to stop spam!
 RIGHT click on the “Spam” email.
 Choose JUNKMAIL from the pop-up list.
 Choose “Add Sender to Block Sender’s List.”
 Delete the email.
 Do NOT click on “Unsubscribe me” in an
email that you receive.
REASON: The sender will know that you are a REAL
person and keep sending emails!
 Keep your email address OFF forwarded email
lists!
 Send all GROUP EMAIL ADDRESSES in
BCC format.
 Send your recipient list my SAFE SENDING
tutorial.
e-mail etiquette
 Don’t send your email immediately
 Proof read your email as if you were the
recipient
 Avoid ambiguous statements
 Check for grammar and spelling mistakes
 Address the recipient correctly
 Use a salutation
 Keep your email to the point
 Clean up your email before forwarding:
• Remove the list of addresses and headers that
may appear throughout the email if it has been
forwarded many times.
• If the main message is forwarded to you as an
attachment copy the contents and delete the
attachment.
P
amela Tabak receives numerous computerrelated questions via e-mail and during
classroom presentations and selects those of
common interest to most computer users. She
sends to us for publication in this newsletter.
You’re invited to e-mail computer-based
questions to [email protected]
They are often answered within 24 hours.
quick tips
To avoid confusion with dates in emails:
 Write the month out in full i.e. July or JUL
 Don’t use 07-09-08 for example
 U.S. and Canadian dates are often reversed
To make the Internet a safer place:
 Do NOT click on a link
in an email that asks for
your personal information!
 Your BANK, EBAY,
PAYPAL or any financial
establishment will NEVER
ask for your personal
information through an email!
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
23
SOFTWARE REVIEW
review
diskeeper 2010 professional
by Terry Currier, WINNERS
T
he defrag that comes with Windows works
okay, but is slow. Plus with Vista or Windows
7 I don’t get a visual of what it is doing so
I don’t know how long it will take. I just get the
message that it can take minutes or hours. Enter
Diskeeper to speed up the job and I can see what it is
doing.
With the new 2010 there is a new feature they call
IntelliWrite technology to prevent fragmentation even
before it begins. I will tell you that I tried it first my main
computer with XP. It has RAID on it (not my choice),
but something was wrong with its compatibility. It kept
accessing the drive, and it was not the IntelliWrite.
When I was trying to find the reason I turned it off. It still
happened. I thought I had an answer in taking out System
Mechanic. It did work for a while, but still came back.
How do I know it was Diskeeper? Well when I did brought
up Task Manager and ended that process it stopped
each time. I did a search to see if anyone reported such
a problem, but no one did, and there was only praise of
Diskeeper.
Now when I switched it over to my other computer
with Windows 7, no problems. It is running smooth and
I even have the IntelliWrite feature turned on. After
recording a TV show in HD
(10Gb file) and then deleting I
like go in and defrag that large
gap.
The three main features:
IntelliWrite™ fragmentation
prevention technology prevents
Turn to next page
24
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
SOFTWARE REVIEW
up to 85% of the fragmentation every
system suffers from. It intelligently
writes contiguous files to the disk
so system resources are not wasted
creating fragmentation.
InvisiTasking® technology is a
real-time background processing
technology that allows Diskeeper
2010 to defragment your system as
fragmentation occurs, even during
heavy traffic times — without
using active system resources.
InvisiTasking eliminates the need
for scheduling and administrator
attention.
I-FAAST® 2.0 (Intelligent File
Access Acceleration Sequencing
Technology) accelerates file access
times to meet the heavy workloads of
file-intensive applications. Utilizing
a specially formulated technology,
I-FAAST closely monitors file usage
and organizes the most commonly
accessed files for the fastest possible
access, up to 80% faster.
Other features of Diskeeper
include:
Paging File Defragmentation
— defragments the paging file. You
can help maintain peak Windows
performance, and help Diskeeper
run better at the same time.
Master File Table (MFT)
Defragmentation — defragments
the Master File Table (MFT). The
MFT is used by the NTFS file
system to locate files on a volume, so
fragmentation of the MFT slows the
retrieval of files on the disk, whether
these files themselves are fragmented
or not. Defragmenting the MFT will
improve the overall performance of
the volume.
If you scroll down on Diskeeper
you will see more information.
The Dashboard tab displays details
about Fragmentation Prevention
and Automatic Defragmentation,
the health of your volumes, the
idle resources that Diskeeper uses
to accelerate volume performance,
and other useful defragmentation
information. The Dashboard tab
includes these sections:
system improvement
This section of the Dashboard
tab relates to your entire system
and shows the percentage of
improvement Diskeeper has
provided in file read and write access
time since the previous day.
Turn to next page
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
25
SOFTWARE REVIEW
intelliwrite™ fragmentation
prevention
This section of the Dashboard tab
explains that IntelliWrite increases
system performance by preventing
fragmentation before it happens.
system fragmentation
prevention graph
This section of the Dashboard
tab shows system fragmentation
prevented by IntelliWrite in realtime. In the graph, fragmentation
prevented every second, within the
last minute, for your entire system, is
displayed in green. The scale on the
left side of the graph pertains to the
number of fragments that have been
prevented and the scale along the top
of the graph pertains to the seconds
in the last minute.
statistical information for
selected volume(s) since the
previous day
This section of the Dashboard
tab shows statistical information
for selected volume(s) since the
previous day. The columns of the
table include the name of the
selected volume(s), whether or
not IntelliWrite and Automatic
Defragmentation are enabled, the
number of fragments prevented, the
number of fragments eliminated and
file read/write time % improvement.
26
volume health
and recommendations
This
section of the
Dashboard tab
includes an
evaluation of
the overall
health of the
volume, the
reasons for
that rating, and
recommendations for improving
or maintaining the reliability of the
volume.
automatic and manual
defragmentation status
This section of the Dashboard
tab shows when either Automatic
Defragmentation with
InvisiTasking® technology or
Manual Defragmentation is active
on any volume on this computer.
When the indicator light is green
Diskeeper is actively processing files
on one or more volumes.
idle resources used by
diskeeper
This section of the Dashboard
tab shows the idle resources
available, the idle resources used by
Diskeeper for both Automatic and
Manual Defragmentation, and the
resources used by other process on
the computer. This graph clearly
illustrates how Diskeeper I-FAAST
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
Performance Gains and Throughput
Rates.
Displayed only on Diskeeper
editions that include I-FAAST®,
Intelligent File Access Acceleration
Sequencing Technology feature, this
section of the Dashboard tab provides
statistical information about I-FAAST
Defragmentation Jobs and the
related performance improvement.
The values shown in this section are
based on measurements taken during
I-FAAST processing, and they show
the potential performance gain you
can expect from the selected volume,
as well as the actual measured
throughput rates for the volume.
You can download a 30 trial of
Diskeeper or purchase it $59.96 at
www.diskeeper.com
REVIEW
L
ast week I was waiting for the local Toyota dealer to make sure my Avalon wasn’t suddenly going
to take off with me at high speed. After finishing the complimentary coffee and doughnut hole I
whipped out my iPod Touch and quickly found that the dealer provided public access to WiFi.
A tap on the Mail icon on the iPod screen showed I had mail waiting.
It was a message from my nephew, a warrant officer on the Dutch frigate HMS Tromp, capturing pirates off the coast
of Somalia. He wrote that they had a few days R&R in Mombasa. He was tempted to buy a baby crocodile for the fish
pond in his yard at home, but ultimately thought better of it. I wasn’t sure exactly where Mombasa is located, so I tapped
on the Google Earth icon, a free App for the iPod, and located Mombasa on the coast of Kenya, just south of Somalia.
After a quick check of the news on Google News I clicked on the Solebon collection of solitaire games, a $1.99 app
from the App Store, and played a game of Yukon until the dealer was done with my car.
If you are familiar with the iPhone, the iPod Touch can be described as an iPhone without phone, camera, GPS, and
monthly phone charges by AT&T. If that doesn’t help, I’ll try to describe some of the many functions I have personally
found helpful.
iPods as such were originally introduced by Apple for personal storage and replay of music. They are popular because
Apple maintains an online music store, iTunes, from which you can download individual songs and videos for a nominal
fee or none at all, depending on the artist. It allows music lovers to pay only for the songs they like without having to
purchase full CDs.
The iPod Touch retains all those features, but Apple has added a mini version of its Mac OS and several applications
to greatly expand its capabilities.
The iPod Touch is now a fullfledged PDA (Personal Digital
Assistant) including an address
book and appointment calender. It
by Pim Borman
is a Web browser, with an email
program and a special edition
of the Safari browser. And
above all, it is a small general
computer capable of running
small applications commonly
called applets or widgets. We
are all familiar with many
of those applets commonly
found on full-size computers,
such as sticky notes, stock
tickers and calculators.
What has made the
iPhone and the iPod Touch
so popular is the availability
for downloading of literally
hundreds of thousands of
applets, or Apps as Apple calls
them. Apple has set up an
online Apps Store, not unlike
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my ipod touch 3g
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
27
REVIEW
the iTunes music store. Many of the Apps are programmed by volunteers, mostly for bragging rights, and are available at
minimal cost or no cost at all. The Apps are checked by Apple for conformity to the iPhone/iPod Touch operating system,
freedom from malware, and suitable content.
There are Apps for almost any imaginable purpose. There is a choice of shopping lists, schedulers, Sudoku solvers,
star maps and all kinds of games, including Doom. If you are decorating you can use an App, called the iHandy Level,
that turns your iPod into a bubble level to make sure the pictures are hanging straight. You can quickly get the latest stock
quotations or check the weather forecast and radar map. Since the fall of 2009 the iPod Touch includes voice recording,
making it possible to make Internet phone calls via Skype as long as a WiFi point is nearby. These more recent units
come with earbuds that include a microphone/volume control embedded in the cord. You can listen to your favorite
music online with Pandora. There is even an App to read books in Kindle format. The possibilities are truly endless.
What makes the iPod irresistible is the intuitive, sensuous interface with its screen. Instead of a mouse or stylus, a
single slight touch with a fingertip is all that’s needed. The 2” x 3” color screen is very sharp and easily readable. Apps
show up as icons, 20 to a page, on as many
pages as needed. To change pages you just slide
them aside with your fingertip. A slight tap on
an icon selects that App. To enlarge an image
Recent units come with earbuds that
or text you place two fingers on the screen and
include a microphone/volume control
slide them apart. The opposite movement will
embedded in the cord.
reduce the image size again. Many Apps can
be used in either portrait or landscape format,
whichever works best. Just turn the unit on its
side to put it in landscape mode. An on-screen
qwerty keyboard pops up as needed. Amazingly,
even with big fingers it is easy to select the keys
on the keyboard, although touch texters will
miss the tactile feedback.
Apps can be downloaded directly from the
Apps Store, while music and videos can be
downloaded directly from the iTunes Store. But
the iPod Touch is not a full-fledged computer
and depends on a regular computer to perform
many of its functions, such as copying music
from CDs (“ripping” CDs), editing file
descriptions, and accessing peripherals such as
printers and scanners.
Out-of-the-box the unit is blank and needs
to be connected to its mother program, iTunes,
on a computer. It is important to make sure
that this is the latest version of iTunes that you
recently downloaded. iTunes will recognize
a new iPod Touch unit, install its software
and activate it. Subsequently it maintains a
complete backup of the iPod, including copies
of Apps you might have downloaded and paid
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28
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
for. The iPod is also recharged while
attached to the computer.
Although the iPod automatically
detects available open WiFi points,
it needed help to overcome the
protections on my personal router.
Using the Settings icon and choosing
WiFi, I specified the hidden name
(SSID) of my router. I also was asked
for a password, which I took to be
the pass phrase used to generate a
128-bit WEP security code. It wasn’t
accepted. After many trials and
errors I finally copied the actual 26
hexadecimal characters of my WEP
code to the iPod. That did the job, and
fortunately the unit has remembered
that code thus far. It might work easier
with the more recent WPA security
system.
You need to register an account
with Apple and arrange to pay for any
Apps you download that are not free.
Since the amounts are mostly small I
chose to use my PayPal account.
Once you are all set up you can
start exploring the wonders of the iPod
Touch. Most of the common features
are intuitive. If everything else fails the
large Home button at the bottom will
get you back to the home page. But
sooner or later you’ll have to struggle
with the iTunes mother program on
your computer. Everyone agrees that
this is a confusing piece of software,
unworthy of the sophisticated iPod
itself.
Fortunately I found an excellent,
concise book, The iPod Touch
Pocket Guide by Christopher Breen
(Peachpit Press, ISBN 0-321-68045-6),
under $10 at Amazon. It helps you
make sense of the iTunes program and
also points out many useful features
of the iPod Touch that you would not
likely find on your own.
I had not planned on it,
but now that I own an iPod
Touch I have started to rip
my collection of classical
and pre-Elvis jazz music
CDs. To the iPod all
music consists of “songs,”
not quite the way I think
of, say, a Mozart piano
concerto. Thanks to the
Pocket Guide I learned the
unobvious way to combine several
tracks, such as the movements of a
concerto, into a single track. It has
to be done before actually ripping
the CD—you can’t do it afterward.
Editing the descriptions of the music
is also not an intuitive procedure, but
the Guide shows how it can be done. I
have come to like the ease of carrying
most of my music collection around
with me on the small unit, ready to
play whatever I want wherever I go.
I find listening to the iPod with the
earbud phones very uncomfortable. A
short cable is provided to connect the
iPod to external speakers or a radio.
Even better, you can buy radios with a
docket for the iPod to play your music
while the iPod is being recharged
at the same time. The box that your
iPod came in contains a small plastic
doohickey that is an insert for a radio
docket so that it fits the iPod. Similar
dingies fit other iPod and iPhone
models, and they aren’t necessarily
included with the radio.
The iPod will also store photos
and videos. You might find it useful
to store mugshots of your greatgrandchildren to remind you of their
names.
The iPod Touch 3G comes in 3
sizes, 8GB ($199), 32GB ($299), and
64 GB ($399) with about 10% lower
street prices at Amazon and such.
The least expensive model does
not have all the functionality of the
larger models, so it pays to get at least
the 32GB unit. If you plan to look
for a used iPod, make sure it is 3G
(3rd generation), at least 32 GB, and
includes the special wire connecting
it to your computer. Check also for
the special earphones with attached
microphone/volume control needed
for Voice Input with the iPods sold
since the fall of 2009.
The iPod Touch (as well as the
iPhone) is highly addictive. You need
to get a carrying case so you can strap
it to your belt because you’ll want
to take it with you wherever you go.
Enjoy the toy!
Pim Borman was newsletter editor
and webmaster of the Southwestern
Indiana PC Users Group until it was
disbanded in December 2008. He is
now enjoying his second retirement and
can be reached at swipcug at gmail dot
com.
Copyright 2010 ©by Willem F. Borman. This
article may be reproduced, in its entirety only, by
non-profit organizations in member publications
with circulation not to exceed 500 issues. Other
uses will require express permission from the
author.
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
29
MEMBERS’ PAGE
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Meetings are the second Tuesday of every month. See www.orcopug.org for more information.
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Make checks payable to: ORCOPUG — Dues are $25 per year
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30
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010

USER GROUP DEALS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
watershed ruling in the fight for
A
net neutrality
federal appeals court handed a blow to the FCC on April 6 when it ruled
that the Commission overstepped its bounds by censuring Comcast for
slowing users’ access to the Internet. The ruling could impact the FCC’s
National Broadband Plan. Net neutrality advocates expressed concern.
“Today’s D.C. Circuit decision in Comcast creates a dangerous situation,
one where the health and openness of the Internet is being held hostage by
the behavior of the major telco and cable providers,” Markham Erickson,
executive director of the Open Internet Coalition, said. “The Court has taken
an aggressive position, rejecting the FCC’s legal authority to implement
broadband Internet policy under Title I of the Communications Act. The
legal challenge to Title I authority by Comcast has created an outcome where
the FCC has no option but to immediately open a proceeding to clarify its
authority over broadband network providers under Title II,” Erickson said.
your favorite magazines with discounts…
P
for user group members only!
rices are for new subscriptions and renewals. All orders must be
accompanied by check, cash or money order, payable to Herb Goodman.
Mail to: Herb Goodman, 8295 Sunlake Drive, Boca Raton, FL 33496.
Call or write: 561-488-4465, [email protected]
Y
Cat Fancy
Computer Games
Computer Shopper Dog Fancy
Mac Life
Maximum PC
Men’s Health
Microsoft System Journal
National Geographic Travel
PC Gamer
PC Magazine (digital, 12 issues/year)
PC World
Readers’ Digest
Saturday Evening Post
Time
Videomaker
E
A
R
3
M
ilton Gorham passed away
Sunday, March 7 after a
short-term illness, Stan Leese said.
generous vendors
T
hank you Belkin, Iolo, Nik
Software, NTI, Smart Computing, Sunbelt Software, TechSmith, User Group Relations and
ASK SAM Systems for donations
to our 2009 fundraising raffle.
thank you
newsletter contributors!
Charlie Moore, Darry D Eggleston,
Frank Bollinger, Herb Goodman,
Ira Wilsker, John Hershey, Linda
Gonse, Mike Lyons, Neil Longmuir,
Pamela Tabak, Pim, Borman,
Ron Broadhurst, Sharon Parq
Associates, Stan Leese, Terry
Currier, Tim O’Reilly, Wes Taylor
May Deadline
S
$11.95 — —
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—
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april 17
secret keyword raffle
M
Revised October 2009
1 2
goodbye friend
Please allow 10 to 12 weeks for your magazines to start. You must supply an
address label from your present subscription when renewing. I carry over
300 titles at excellent prices. Just email me for a price.
arch’s four keyword prizes
were won by Walter
Jackson. April’s new keyword
prize is a First Alert Universal
Travel Adapter. Find the keyword
in the newsletter or on our website
and be the next prize winner!
bring cartridges!
B
ring used Hewlett Packard,
Canon (BC-02, BC-05, BC-20
or BX-3), Lexmark, Dell, Compaq,
Kodak, Samsung, or Sharp inkjet
cartridges or any laser cartridge to
a meeting for our fundraiser.
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010
31
GROUP INFORMATION
computer users helping
computer users
New Number!
member of the association of
personal computer user groups
benefits of
User Group Membership
ORCOPUG
Post Office Box 716
Brea, California 92822-0716
714-983-2391 • www.orcopug.org
• • • • • • • President, Mike Lyons [email protected]
Treas/Membership, Charlie Moore [email protected]
Editor/Webmaster, Linda Gonse [email protected]
Programs, Lothar Loehr [email protected]
Reviews, Terry Schiele [email protected]
Membership, Carl Westberg [email protected]
Nibbles & Bits is electronically published and distributed by Orange County IBM PC Users’ Group to its
members and vendors. Opinions expressed herein are the writers and are not reflective of the Orange
County IBM PC Users’ Group position, nor endorsed by inclusion in this newsletter. Submit newsletter items
to: [email protected] Reprint Policy: PAGE LAYOUTS AND IMAGES MAY NOT BE USED. User groups
MAY REPRINT UNALTERED, UNCOPYRIGHTED TEXT, WITH CREDIT TO THE AUTHOR AND NIBBLES & BITS.
our website has it all!
• Program of the month
• newsletters • computer site links • pdf & on-site search • location map
• online review form • help & tips • tech news feeds
• contact information • membership application • Members’ Only! page
www.orcopug.org
R
Product & “How To”demos
Free raffles and magazines
Help from other members
Newsletter and web site
Special offers & discounts
Monthly meetings
Affiliation with worldwide group
U
ser groups represent the spirit of the
frontier, a community getting together
to do things that no individual ought to
have to do alone. The pioneers of the American west got together for barn raisings,
cattle roundups, and the occasional party.
The pioneers of new technology get together
for installfests, new user training and
support, and just plain fun. Being part of a
user group is the best way to get more out
of your computer, and lets you make friends
while you’re at it.
Tim O’Reilly, President
O’Reilly & Associates
where are the meetings, when are they held?
egular meetings are held the second Tuesday
of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the North
Orange/County YMCA, 2000 Youth Way,
Fullerton, CA 92835. Call 714-879-9622, for
information. Meetings are free and the public is
welcome!
Planning meetings are held the third Thursday of every
month at 7 p.m. at Downey Savings & Loan, one
block east of Harbor at Bastanchury in Fullerton. All
members are welcome to attend planning meetings!
32
See online map at http://bit.ly/orcopug
next meeting:
tuesday, april 13, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. — north orange county ymca, fullerton
ORANGE COUNTY IBM PC USERS’ GROUP — APRIL 2010

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