Backup files not foolproof (5/31/02)

Recently, I was approached in Barnes & Noble by a Good Booter who was in deep trouble. What made his situation so distressing was he'd done all the right things (well almost) — yet he'd experienced tragic consequences. He faithfully backed up all his valuable "stuff," as I know all Good Booters do. But too late he discovered both his current Outlook e-mail program and his Outlook backup were corrupt.

An unavoidable computing "It Happens"?  Not necessarily. 

Let's say when you complete your daily activities, you back up all your 'Stuff' to a floppy, Iomega Zip or a CD. You know — those irreplaceable files you created and "Saved As" with unique names. But did you know that each time you back up a file, e.g., word processing or database without giving it a new name, the most recent file overwrites the old?

In most cases this is your plan. But should the newer file be corrupt or mistakenly saved with missing information — double doom. For now, both your current and backup file are corrupt or incomplete. And know that you can corrupt files while editing them (particularly databases) and be unaware that you have corrupted them until your next access.

Advanced users may choose to do daily differential or incremental backups. But most novices simply alternate their daily backup storage medium. There's nothing wrong with any of these methods. But I have a recommendation for an alternative. Second Copy 2000, an inexpensive ($29.95) novice-friendly program.  I'll not go into detail, as you can discover all its features at: www.centered.com.

But let me give you an example. Every day I back up all my irreplaceable files — those I have edited and those I have not. By not having to cherry-pick which ones have been edited, I need only to click on a convenient Task Bar Tray, Second Copy icon and then a backup profile.  I use a CD-RW (you can use any medium) for daily or quickie multiple daily backups. Of course, any file I've changed overwrites the previous file. But the joy of this little program is that I can set it to archive to an alternate location (my hard drive, CD or wherever) all overwritten backed-up files.

Say I set it to save five (more if desired) individual archive copies of all my irreplaceable files (My Stuff) that have been overwritten during a backup (or, perhaps, a too hastily saved file). I can go back five archived copies until I find an uncorrupted or complete version.

At our June Chapter meetings, I'll discuss backing up one's "Stuff' and demonstrating Second Copy. If you've never attended a meeting, consider this one. For Chapter schedules go to: www.swfpcug.org. Or e-mail me.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.   [index]

Invest in a cheap insurance policy: Surge protector  (6/7/02)

Recently a new SWF resident complained to me that our local media devote too much time to discussing hurricane preparedness.

Knowing that debating the subject with a newbie is an exercise in frustration, I smiled politely and suggested he type "Hurricane Andrew" in his Internet browser.

With this "new resident" mentality in mind, I hope long time Good Booters will forgive me for a repeat discussion of "romancing your computer with a surge protector."

Like all our consulting technicians, who every year warn of the hazards of the "thunder-boomer season," I, too, periodically warn computer users of the indiscretion of not protecting their computers from the ire of Zeus.

Please pay attention! Traditionally, 95 percent of all "barbequed" computers will be because a user did not have the telephone line to their computer pass through a surge protector.

Now I know I'll receive e-mails from doubting Thomases who will sarcastically tell me they never heard of a telephone, let alone a computer, being zapped by lightning via a phone line. My response will be as always - better keep your A-1 sauce handy.

What kind of a surge protector should you have? To keep it simple, I recommend you spend no less than $40 to $50 (look for sales this time of year). If it comes with an insurance policy, so much the better.

I know of several users who have collected on these insurance policies. They require only that you send them the surge protector along with your barbequed modem and/or computer for full reimbursement at current retail. I also should mention that many homeowner insurance policies cover barbecued computers. But never software. So keep your program CDs safe.

At the very least, register your software so you can get replacement CDs if it's lost or damaged. However it's a good idea to check with your insurance agent, as often one must submit their computer assets prior to a "happening".

I also suggest that if your surge protector is not capable of warning you that it's been "surged out," you should consider replacing it once a year.

And, if your computer creations are of significant value, a battery backup is a must. Not only for electrical surges, but also for those pesky, year-round brown-outs. If the power supply to your computer is lost, for whatever reason, a battery backup will provide the power needed until you can close down your system properly and without the danger of losing information.

Apropos of keeping your program CDs safe. I suggest burning a CD-R copy of all your program CDs. And know they truly love living in your safe deposit box. 

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index]

Outlook good option for backup  (6/14/02)

Recently I discussed Second Copy, an excellent, inexpensive program for backing up all your stuff. (Backing up Files not Foolproof.)  But for those of you who have thrown off the chains of AOL and graduated to an ISP, and are using Outlook Express or Outlook, I have another backup suggestion.

If you're currently an Outlook Express user but would like to have the ultimate e-mail and contact handler, I suggest you consider Outlook. Outlook is the big brother of Outlook Express. The program does everything anyone could possibly want an e-mail handler and contact management program to do. It's now available as a stand-alone program, so you don't have to purchase Microsoft's Office Suite to access its extraordinary features. A bit pricey ($100) perhaps for the basic e-mail user, but indispensable for the user who wants to organize and integrate their email and contacts.

For example, I often receive emails from organizations requesting a presentation. Although they send me the address of their meeting facility, they do not send directions. If I haven't already included the contact's e-mail address in my address book, all I have to do, is right click on the contact's e-mail address.

A contact window opens with the e-mail address posted. I simply copy and paste the meeting facility address in the appropriate location, and any other information such as phone number(s), Web site etc. I then click on "Display Map of Address." Instantly I am taken to MSNs Map Point for detailed directions - right to the front door. All these steps are accomplished in one fell swoop.

If I want to call the contact, I log off and click on auto dialer. The call is placed and the date and time of the call is noted as a Journal Entry. In fact, can set my journal to not only note all phone calls, but to note and have available individual copies of all e-mail (even after I've deleted the original) from anyone in my address book.

However, in my enthusiasm for Outlook, I have digressed from my suggestion for an Outlook Express and Outlook backup program.

Unfortunately neither provide a satisfactory backup feature. But AJSystems (www.ajsystems.com) can help. For Outlook Express it's ExpressAssist. For Outlook it's OutBack Plus. Once you have either of these programs, you'll never worry again about saving your personal configurations and information.

Once backed up, you can restore a corrupted version of either, copy the backup to and synchronize it on any other computer or archive it. And both will also backup all your IE browser configurations and vital information, (e.g. favorites and cookies.)

For less than $30, you can't beat it! 

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.   [index]

Novice with that new PC needs guidance   (6/21/02)

Every so often I make it a point to sit down with novices when they attempt their first white-knuckled, unassisted Boot to Windows. Why?

Because it reminds me that our organization must always guard against becoming too techie and assuming there are no longer novices to serve.

Be as it may, know novices' first Boot to their desktop is usually followed by an expeditious and much anticipated trip to their e-mail carrier . Where, because no one knows their new e-mail address, they discover to their disappointment there's no e-mail awaiting them.

Or if there is, it's their first experience with cyberspace junk mail. Then maybe they attempt to surf somewhere on the Internet. Again, for most, a disappointing adventure. But ah, there's always solitaire to make their extraordinary expensive toy seem a worthwhile expenditure. And, if they don't immediately become addicted, they may even pause long enough to ask me how they can master the beast on their desktop.

If they're XP users, I humbly tell them there's but one way if they don't want to announce to the world they're a dummy or an idiot. Or spend big bucks for a computer tome that requires a computer dictionary to translate. They'll have to subscribe to the Southwest Florida Computing Journal.

'Why?. Well for Windows 95 and 98/Me, there has always been our workbooks. You remember—the tutorials for elementary school children (8 to 14 years old). The ones that teach only basic Windows need-to-know skills. Skills that allow the novice to be able to access the features of all their Windows programs. But not so for XPers. Until Microsoft and the justice Department settle their legal disputes, publishers of workbooks for school children will be reluctant to publish a workbook that might not be appropriate if Microsoft is required to change XP's presentation.

However, know that in addition to editing Windows 95, 98/Me tutorials in the Computing Journal, I also publish an ongoing series of Windows XP tutorials in every journal.

Each tutorial is selected for novice relevancy and edited in what I call "short bursts." A specific topic, written with a minimum of techie talk, illustrated and guaranteed not to keep a subscriber from their daily golf outing.

In addition, subscribers receive a free CD containing all past 2001-02 journals and tutorials that can be read and printed. E-mail me if you are interested.

By the way. There's no living with "she who must be obeyed" since someone told her to type "Lida Winchell" in Google and Yahoo. Try it. Then do a vanity search using your name. You, too, might be surprised.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.   [index]

Don't take chance with protection  (6/28/02)

My article on protectors, prompted several Good Booters to ask if there are surge protectors for cable modems. And if so, should they consider purchasing one. Good question.

There are surge protectors for cable modems and, if discretion is the better part of valor, I suggest that a cable modem surge protector would be a wise decision. The problem is they can adversely effect TV reception.  So I guess it becomes a matter of "buy and try."

Another interesting question was whether one's anti-virus program will protect against a Trojan Horse e-mail attachment.   What's a Trojan Horse?

Like it's namesake in Greek mythology, it's a bad guy disguised as a good guy. In this case an e-mail attachment disguised as a game, utility or application. That when executed does naughty things to one's computer system.

One of the more infamous was the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer screensaver of a couple of years ago. When executed, rather than a cute. little screensaver, Rudolph left with all the user's Word documents.

Know that every file has 3 letters after the dot.  So regardless of what one names a document, those 3 letters designate with what program the document is associated. A (.doc) file is associated with Word. Just as (.wpd) is associated with WordPerfect and (.qdf) with Quicken.

Computing Neanderthals know that (*) in DOS means All. The combination of Delete *.doc disguised as a Rudolph screensaver meant that when the unsuspecting user executed the e-mail attachment to install the screensaver. They deleted all their Word documents!

Why didn't their anti-virus program protect against this disaster? Because Delete *.doc is a legitimate DOS (disk operating system) command. Although most do not use (*), everyone uses the Delete command to delete documents and files. An anti-virus program is primarily designed to detect an illegal exploitation of Windows system files.

Herein lies the problem.  Some anti-virus programs claim they can detect a Trojan Horse. And some techs agree.

So I decided to take the matter to one of our consulting technicians. My question? Can anti-virus programs detect all legitimate DOS commands that arrive as email attachments and could be potentially dangerous if inadvertently executed. David Keller was aware of the controversy, but not being one to take viruses and Trojans lightly, he sent himself several potentially dangerous DOS commands via an e-mail attachment. They were not detected by his Norton anti-virus program

The moral of the story? Why take a chance! Let the techs debate the issue. You obey Keller' s Four Laws for Safe Computing. Go to: (www.swfpcug.org > Good Boot > Viruses > Virus Siren).

Here's wishing you a Good Boot   [index]

Computer study opens wide world of new projects for the persistent  (7/6/02)

I've always been intrigued why so many members of our organization who, after joining with so much enthusiasm, don't renew their membership. In fact, I was so concerned the first year of my presidency, I contacted many deserters and asked why.

To my relief, it wasn't because we were not meeting their expectations. Most said they enjoyed our meetings.

They just lost interest in anything other than e-mail/Internet and solitaire.

This answered one question, but raised another. How could one so quickly lose interest in something that has unlimited potential — particularly after spending a considerable sum to become involved in the first place?

The answer came to me while watching "she who must be obeyed" experiment with a new recipe she was preparing for a dinner party.  Know there are reasons I've survived to become a senior citizen.  One, I never go in the kitchen while Lida is conjuring up a new recipe.  Two, I ignore her unladylike language when she can't find an ingredient.  Three, I never mention that the kitchen looks like a WWII battlefield.

So why will she not mend a pair of my socks and yet spend hours researching and developing a recipe? It's because if my socks aren't mended — who's to know. While, on the other hand, her reputation as a gourmet cook is on the line with every dinner party presentation.

The moral of this story is that to prevent the Beast that sits on your desktop from becoming an endangered species, you must become involved in something that produces a finished product you'd be proud to present to your peers.

Something, such as greeting cards, digital photos, perhaps edited to present on your very own Web site as a slide show. Or, maybe a genealogy with photos, videos and taped vignettes.

Why?  Because if you're producing something to be proud of, you'll persist in your efforts to discover how to do it better. This may evolve referring to the program's Help files or manual.

And you know something? As you become more proficient in your project of interest, you'll learn techniques that apply to all Windows programs.

Techniques that might, in fact, encourage you to expand your computing horizon.

If this makes sense and you're considering out of frustration computer early retirement, may I suggest you attend a Dwayne Alton seminar.

This month it's Fun With Digital Photos for Novices, including sharing digital photos on the Web, preparing photos for e-mail, creating slide shows, masking and layering (the old head on someone else's body trick), creating and printing photo calendars and creative publications.

For additional info go to: www.swfpcug.org.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index]

OmniPage is worth price tag  (7/12/02)

With the popularity of scanning, many have become intrigued with the idea of being able to scan a document, and then convert the graphic image produced to a text document that can be edited in a word processing program.

PDF (Portable Document Format) documents are the documents of choice for those providing information and instruction (to include Uncle Sam) downloadable from the Internet As a result, many have found a need to be able to edit these read-only documents.

Although many PDF documents can be copied and pasted into a word processor (an arduous task at best), some cannot.  Still others cannot be printed.  And many have found that the OCR (optical character recognition) program included with their scanner software leaves much to be desired.

Often it takes more time to retype the unrecognized text than it would've been to type the entire document in the first place. Furthermore, I don't know of any OCR software included with scanners that can convert PDF to text that can be edited.

There is, however, an OCR software program that will do both.  Its a bit pricey but worth every penny!

When I started using ScanSoft OmniPage Pro R (www.scan soft.com), I was so fascinated by its ability to accurately convert scanned documents to text that I spent a good part of a day challenging it. I scanned every poor quality document I could find.

Although the proofing phase time was directly proportionate to the quality of the scanned document, the final product was unbelievably accurate. It even trains itself. If there's a word or character that it cannot identify during the processing correction phase, much like spell checking, you can train OmniPage to remember what it should be and correct it without your input. And when I converted PDF files to text, OmniPage even maintained Word and Excel page layouts.

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Just a note to let you know that this month's 56 page Computing Journal, along with the usual Windows 98/Me/XP and "Healing Thy Computer" tutorials, includes Part 1 of a series on Microsoft Word. I've tried to tame this bear of a program by including only what the novice needs to know to begin their word processing adventure.

Each word processing feature is graphically demonstrated and accompanied by a simple "try it assignment".  Future tutorials will progressively develop skills needed for one to become a word processing maestro. Remember, they say there's one good book in all of us!

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index]

Serif's software won't put drain on wallet  (7/19/02)

Last week I probably shocked you with the cost of a software program I recommended. This week I'll recommend programs that are just as useful but not nearly as expensive.

For most, the name Serif means nothing. But those who have purchased their products know that Serif is synonymous with reasonably priced quality software. They are, in fact, the world's leading independent publisher of desktop publishing, design and graphics software.

Why are their prices so reasonable? Because they're only marketed via the Web, direct mail and word of mouth. Their most popular offerings are: PagePlus 7 ($99) for print and publishing; DrawPlus 6 and Drawplus 6 Design ($99) for draw and design; 3DPlus 3 ($75) for 3D and animation, WebPlus 7 ($50) for Web page making; and a recent release, PhotoPlus 8 ($85) which in my opinion, is one of the best digital imaging programs available.

Besides Serifs quality and reasonable pricing, one of their most attractive features is that they offer upgrades at extraordinarily low prices. I was offered an upgrade to PhotoPlus 8 for only $9.95. If you're interested in more information go to: www.Serif.com. 

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Many Good Booters tell me that after they surf the 'Net for sites relating to their particular interests, they would like to be informed of other interesting sites that will inspire continued interest in the Internet.  I, of course, always mention our Browser and Links Web page at www.swfpcug.org.  Marilyn Samuels and Judy Griffith, our Web editors, offer a cornucopia of interesting and relevant sites—updated every month What makes their offerings unique is that included with each Web site description is a "hyperlinked" address. All it takes is a mouse click on the Hyperlink to take you directly to that site. A feature designed for the likes of me—one who was too macho in high school to take typing. An oversight that is extraordinarily discombobulating when I try to coordinate "Monitor to Keyboard head bobbing" with "hunt and peck gymnastics" when trying to accurately enter a Web address in an unforgiving browser.

But know that I have another source of outstanding Web sites - Wayne Ryker. Wayne is best known for his immaculate white short pants worn regardless of weather conditions, social occasion or surfing activities. Wayne introduced me to www.refdesk.com, arguably the most complete source of facts on the Web and more recently to www.terrafly.com., a site that provides aerial views of just about anything, anywhere in the country. Oh, and don't forget to download and install your Google Internet Explorer browser add-on search engine from: www.google.com

If you miss a Good Boot go to www.swfpcug.org and Good Boot. Every Good boot is indexed by content.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.  [index]