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GAS POWER=
12 VOLTS: Many airlines are now outfitting with laptop outlets.
You can use several other types of transportation to power your laptop.
First you need a 12 Volt DC adapter [$80 - $100]; most auto cigarette
lighters will accept these adapters. In addition other 12 volt
vehicles such as travel trailers and boats either have 12 volt outlets
or can be easily fitted with these outlets since most have 12 volt
systems along with standard 110 volt AC. Even a generator can be
used to run a laptop while charging its battery, the 12 volt
system battery and run other appliances. But be careful -
generators can surge especially when called on to power up an
air conditioner. Use a good surge protector, and try to plug in
to a receptacle that is on an isolated breaker.
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2000 READY:
If you have an older portable computer, when the year 2000 comes your
machine may not recognize it properly. A good first resource is your
computer manufacturer's website. Often they have lists of
which machines are year 2000 compliant and which are not.
They also may have BIOS update software that will correct the
inability to recognize the year 2000 properly. Other resources
include free testing software
on the WWW such as "2000.exe" by National Software Testing Laboratories
which tests your system's BIOS for year 2000 compatibility. Also there
are free fix-it programs such as "Year2000.com" by the Right Time
Clock Co.
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GET YOUR
HANDS DIRTY: If you use an inkjet printer you know that new
ink cartridges are often very expensive. If you don't mind a little
messy work [or you can use surgical gloves], buy ink refills for
your empty cartridges. Many computer supply catalogues offer refills
at prices which are 50% or less than new cartridges. |
HIDDEN
WEB-SITES: Sometimes when you access a web-site on certain
servers [such as Geocities and Tripod which offer
free web space], an advertisement page
appears rather than the site you targeted. The page you want is
"behind" the ad page.
Restore
Move
Size
Minimize
Maximize
| Close . . Ctrl+F4 | |
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To show the page you want, either click on
the upper left corner of the ad page or hit Alt-Spacebar and select
Close from
the drop-down menu. The ad page will disappear and the page you want
will appear. |
TAKE A MEMO:
If you regularly use spreadsheets, sometimes it would be advantageous to
make an entry for information purposes only similar to the "non-add"
key on a calculator. For instance if you keep your checking account on
a spreadsheet and want to reflect the receipt of a check that you
endorsed to a second party, make a MEMO entry that will not affect
the checking account balance. To do this, make a regular entry in the
description column with the word MEMO in the number column. In the
deposit/credit column, precede the amount with an apostrophe [']. The
apostrophe converts the amount to a text entry.
| CHECKING ACCOUNT |
| Date | Number | DESCRIPTION | Payment | Deposit | Balance |
| 01/01/98 | Number | Beginning Balance | Payment | Deposit | $ 853.39 | | 01/02/98 | #212 | WALMART- Floppy Disks | 12.90 | Deposit | $ 840.49 | | 01/03/98 | ATM | Cash Withdrawal | 100.00 | Deposit | $ 740.49 | | 01/04/98 | MEMO | Ins.Pymnt Rec'd Fwd to Dr.Smith | Payment | '45.00 | $ 740.49 | | 01/05/98 | DEP | SemiAnnual Bond Interest-Con Ed | Payment | 50.00 | $ 790.49 |
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Other uses of a MEMO entry in a Checking Account include cash
expenditures that you may want to keep a record such as car
repairs/maintenance, medical prescriptions, and charitable contributions.
Investment activity in a brokerage account such as dividends,
interest, and purchases/sales of securities can also be recorded as
MEMO entries. A comprehensive checking account record with supportive
MEMO entries can serve as the principal source of financial information when preparing one's
yearly income tax returns.
[NOTE: If you want to hide
the apostrophe that "disables" the MEMO entry, place the cursor in the Formula Bar just behind the apostrophe.
Hold down the Shift key and hit Backspace.]
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IT'S IN THE WASH: If you
use financial software such as Quicken or Microsoft Money, MEMO entries as
outlined above [Item #98] will not work because only numerical entries in
the debit and credit columns are acceptable. However workarounds are available
in the form of WASH entries. A WASH entry is one which has no effect
on the overall income or expense accounts. Depending on the program which
you are using, you can use a VOID entry, two offsetting entries or an
entry which debits and credits the same account. When using two offsetting
entries, it is handy to create a Clearing Account whose balance will
ultimately be zero; it is used as a temporary repository of values which
will be offset by a subsequent entry. As long as the final
effect is zero and a record is made, any transaction format which your
software will accept is a satisfactory platform for a Wash entry.
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BAD DISKS: If
you have a portable disk or two that just won't mount in your portable
drive, you may have lost your data but maybe not your money. Check your
portable drive documentation, look for the manufacturer's free 800 numbers,
and go to the company's web-site. Often you can get free replacement disks
and save $15-$20 per disk. The same replacement policy frequently applies
to program disks gone bad, and replacements often contain an upgraded
version of an older program.
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SQUEEZED FOR
SPACE?: If you have a compressed hard-drive and the Drivespace
program [usually in the Windows folder], you may be able to add a
few more megabytes to your hard-drive. Open Drvspace.exe; from the
Menu Bar select "Advanced" then the "Change Ratio" option. If you
are at the limits of allowable compression ratio, select "Drive"
from the Menu Bar and choose "Adjust Free Space" between the
compressed drive [usually C:\] and the host drive [usually H:\].
Move the slider to the far left to add more space on the hard-drive.
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BUILD A LIBRARY
: When you want to change a file extension icon or shortcut icon, the usual default
is the program's standard icon or one from a "dll" file which is
often just a plain Windows symbol-
. You can make
your own library of icons and customize the look of shortcuts and
Windows Explorer directories. Many of
the "icon extractor" programs [which are plentiful and free on the WWW]
also have a feature which allows the user to make their own icon library in
the form of a "dll" or "icl" file. Gather your favourite graphics
that you want to use as icons from
all your disks
into a single library [a dll or icl file].
Then put the file on your hard-drive; new pictures can be added at any
time and old ones deleted. If you have an artistic bent, you can make
your own icons with a Paint program and add them to your library.
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CREAKY CURSOR: Is your cursor just creeping around; even cleaning the trackball
does not seem to improve anything. Check your mouse settings
in the Control
Panel to
adjust the pointer speed. If you somtimes have a hard time locating the cursor when reading
or working on a text file, open the Keyboard icon in the Control Panel to
increase the cursor blink rate. Many laptops also ship with OEM trackball
/mouse software which allows you to reset the distance
the cursor will move in relation to a movement of the trackball. Set these
values up the maximum. If you have configured your browser
settings to warn for cookies and if you have enabled "Smart Move"
where your cursor automatically moves to the next dialogue item, this
can be annoying when surfing the web. Before going online, disable "Smart Move".
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RENAME README: Windows has several "Readme.txt" files in many
folders; many applications have their "Readme.txt" file also. Readme has
become the conventional information file which is fine, but with many
applications on your hard-drive and portable disks, the large number of
readme.txt files can be a source of confusion. Also when you
move/install files and applications, a readme.txt may inadvertently get
over-written. {To find out how many "readme.txt" files you have, use
the Find option[Win 95] on the Start Menu, or Tools/Find from the Menu
Bar[Win95] in Windows Explorer, or File/Search from the Menu Bar[Win3.x]
in File Manager.} To customize the readme.txt files, rename them with a
title which is descriptive of its governing application.
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DRIVE BY CONTENT: When you create new files,the default
location is often the folder of the application that created the file
or just the Windows folder. That approach scatters files of similar
content or subject through-out the entire list of files. Try a "content-driven" file structure instead - that is similar categories of
personal documents are filed by subject such as correspondence, taxes,
medical, insurance regardless of the application[s] that created them.
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EXPORT REPORT: If you use financial/investment software, such as
Quicken or MsMoney, the Reporting
function can be used to add informative data to your file system. On a
regular basis, create Income and Expense reports using your financial
software by those categories
for which you maintain personal folders. For instance, if you have a
folder named "Taxes" [which may contain files of correspondence, tax forms,
scanned documents of tax returns, bills, receipts, etc], create a "Tax
Expense Report". Using the Report function of your financial software,
select the pertinent tax expense categories to create a "Tax Expense
Report"; then export the report in text or spreadsheet format to your
"Taxes" folder.
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FROZEN BROWSER: Sometimes a browser freezes when certain web
sites are accessed. The only escape is usually pushing Ctrl+Alt+Del to
close down your browser. Repeated attempts to reach this site suffer
the same fate. Often the problem is some feature of the web-site that
your browser doesn't recognize such as Java or ActiveX. However, the
situation may not be hopeless; the web-site may be accessible from
your cache folder when in offline mode. From the cache, you can read
the web-site and copy any links you might want to follow-up on. This
is especially useful when you are after software downloads, but can't
get past the first web-site page. Just paste the copied link[s] into
your browser to leap over the problem page.
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SOFTWARE JUNKIE: For those who download a lot of software
and save the original "zip" or "exe" downloads as well as those
"patches" and updates that are issued, ones disks are soon overloaded
with files that have strange names. It's time to categorize all these
downloads by type such as graphics, icon extractors, text editors,
browsers, etc. Make folders for each type of download and in each
folder create a "txt" file with the file name, description of
each file including the version number and other pertinent data.
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FIND A FILE: Often you get a new program that requires certain system files or programs. Or you are looking for a specific type of
program or file but don't know it's name. Try the FTP directories of
those sources that keep large libraries of files. For instance, Microsoft
has a library of files at FTP.Microsoft.com; their FTP directory includes
a complete listing of the contents in a file named "index.txt" that
lists files by name, date and description.
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GET PUBLISHED: Anyone who has available web-space and
can make a web-page, can publish their own pages. But that can
really limit your potential audience. If you have some "valuable"
ideas/programs/files of your own making, submit them to those
organizations that will accept uploads and offer them to others
as free downloads such as Simtel.net or Winsite.com. Now, if you
have a bold streak, run through several FTP directories and look
for a folder named "Upload". Be sure that your files are all zipped
up in a package [add a file named readme.txt with all the
particulars about your files including instructions for installation,
system requirements and your email address along with the URL to
your own web-site]. Now try uploading your "zip" [as a binary file];
sometimes you'll be successful.
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FTP ACCESS: Many FTP directories are freely accessible to all
users. Others are restricted and require a user name and password. But
don't be discouraged too easily. Often you can just skip the user name
and password boxes and enter the FTP directory as a "Guest". If that
doesn't work, try finding the home web page [the HTTP address]; you
may be able to sign up for membership. HINT: When picking out a user
name and password, keep it simple and use the same ones for these
"membership access" sites.
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TAKE IT OFFLINE: Filling out forms on web-sites while online can often
lead to errors in the submitted data. Fill in the forms while offline
instead, then go back online to submit the completed form.
For example, if you use IE4.x, the CACHE [i.e. the
"Temporary Internet Files" folder usually found in C:\Windows] holds the
web pages you visited. For instance, if the page which has the fill-out form is named "submit.html", open the page as follows: |
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1. Open the "Temporary Internet Files" folder. [Making
a shortcut to this folder and pasting it on your desktop will give you
fast access to the Cached files.]
2. Find the "submit.html" file or whatever is the name of the file
where the fill-in form resides. Open the file in the usual manner; this
will result in an error notice that the file can't be located. Just
click "Enter" on the keyboard.
3. When the Navigation Cancelled screen appears, select "Work
Offline"
and then "Close" from "File" on the "Menu Bar".
4. Re-open "submit.html" and fill-in the form completely. DO
NOT PRESS THE SUBMIT BUTTON.
5. Select "Work On-line" from "File" on the Menu Bar. Then "Minimize" the filled-in form page from the Title Bar icon.
6. Go back Online, Maximize the "submit.html" file and press the
SUBMIT button for your completed form to be proceessed.
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FORMS FOR SALE: Sometimes when filling out web forms,
questions go beyond the usual request for your screen-name even though
you may be only subscribing to an online newsletter or asking for a
link or listing of your web-site on another site. For the sake of privacy,
security you may not want to give out this information. Besides your
name, address and telephone number are often sold to advertisers
who may target you with unwanted solicitations. Just giving out your
screen-name can result in lots of unwanted e-mail, but you can
unsubscribe or just delete the missives from your inbox. To avoid
other types of unsolicited materials, either don't fill out the form or "invent"
an identity with a fictitious name, address and phone number. {Be
clever enough to at least agree the zip and area codes.}
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MAIL A FONT: If you want to send a font to an e-mail
correspondent as an "attachment", when you try to attach the font
directly from the font folder [usually C:\Windows\Fonts], it won't
work. First, copy the font [from "edit" on the menu bar], then paste
it into any other folder. Now the font is "hardened" and will attach
to outgoing e-mail. While you are in the font folder, look around at
what you have. If you have some fonts you rarely or never use, weed
them out - it's a waste of resources. Just copy [the cut function
doesn't work in the "Fonts" folder] and paste them onto a portable disk in an "idlefont"
folder; zip them up to save more space. Then go back to the Fonts
folder to delete the fonts that were sent to a portable disk. If
you need a stored font later,
it can always be pasted back into the C:\Windows\Fonts folder.
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HOLD THE PHONE: Calls to Tech Support often entail a long
wait period on hold while your call works its way up the que. Get a
speaker phone or for fewer bucks buy a stand-alone telephone
amplifier. You can free your hands and just
listen to the music until your turn finally comes. If the Tech Help
employee wants you to access your computer, your hands will be free to
work the keyboard and mouse as well as write down information.
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DRAG IT OUT: When your cache is filled to bursting[such as
when the little
flashlight icon comes out looking for the contents when you open the
cache folder], it may be time to empty the folder. But if you have a
few files in there you want to read later because you don't have the
time now, then pull out those "read later" files: 1- Create a
new folder on your hard-drive named "ToRead".2- Make a shortcut
to the "ToRead" folder, then cut and paste the shortcut on your desktop.
3- Open your Cache folder to "window size" and drag the "read
later" files into the "ToRead" shortcut.4- Now it's safe to empty
the overgrown Cache folder. |
LOST FILES: If you just saved/downloaded a file and can't find
where it went and maybe don't even know its name, do an all file search: 1- Select Tools/Find/Files or Folders from the Menu Bar in
Windows Explorer.2- From the Name and Location tab, enter "*.*"
[without quotes] in the Named box.3- From the same tab, in the
Location box, select "My Computer" from the down arrow. This will
cover the hard-drive as well as floppy and portable disks which are
currently active.4- From the Date Modified tab, enter todays date
in the from and to boxes. 5- Select the Find Now option to get
a list of files by name, location and date/time modified.
Note:
You can also use this Find procedure when looking for a file that
PKFIXZIP.EXE created when you have "fixed" a zip file.[The resulting
fixed zip is often named "Pkfixed.zip".]
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MINI-MULTITASK: When you are working on a project often several
applications are needed as a file is created. With a laptop's
small screen, some apps are real screen hogs even in "Windows" size. Look
for programs which are "Laptop Friendly" - when running they take up a
small amount of screen real estate similar to Window's own Character
Map. There are icon converter and extractors, reminder notes, multi-clipboards, program and color selectors, and other kinds of software [freely available
on the WWW] that are ideal for the small screen.
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TILING: With a small screen, the Windows feature of tiling
is often a disappointment when working with 2 or more open files. But
there are a few tweaks to get the most out of tiling:1- Hide all
the Bars and Boxes that the application permits.2- Turn on"Word Wrap",
if applicable.3- Select a small font size to get more text on the
screen.4- When working with two files, "Vertical tiling" is usually
the easier method of working back and forth between files.5- When
working with three or more files, "Horizontal tiling" is usually
preferred because screen width noticeably exceeds screen height.
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