Free software provides all you need for laptop (01/05/09)

I thought you might enjoy this vignette I received from a doting grandfather.

After purchasing a top-of-the-line laptop for his granddaughter the doting grandfather discovered an empty pocketbook denied him the funds necessary to also provide the state-of-the-art software that in combination with the laptop would qualify him as a truly extraordinary doting grandfather.

But because he was a tenured Good Booter, he recalled my articles on quality free software and, as he put it, was able to stock his granddaughter's laptop with all the software she would need to begin a productive computing adventure at a cost of less than $100.

The following is a partial list of the software he installed:

- OpenOffice: A free state-of-the-art office suite that includes word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics and databases. It works on all computers and can read and write files from other common office software packages, e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.

- Picasa: An outstanding free digital photo program to organize, manage, turn photos into movies, collages, slideshows and share them as Picasa Web Albums

- IrfanView: A free, very fast, small, compact and innovative graphic viewer.

- Photo Story 3: Microsoft's free software program for creating slideshows using your digital photos. With a single click, you can touch up, crop, or rotate pictures. Add stunning special effects, soundtracks, and your own voice narration to your photo stories. Then, personalize them with titles and captions. Small file sizes make it easy to send your photo stories in an e-mail. And you can watch them on your TV, a computer, or a Windows Mobile-based portable device.

- Sonic (www.sonic .com) Add this $19.95 plug-in to Photo Story 3 and you can burn your slideshows to a DVD.

- Paint.net: A free software program that includes simple tools for drawing shapes, splines and Bezier curves, a Gradient tool, Magic Wand, Clone Stamp, text editor and a Recolor tool.

- Ashampoo 7: A $39.95 user friendly uncomplicated CD/DVD/Blu-ray burning program to "Burn Files," "Backup Files" and "Burn Movies."

- Audacity: A free, user-friendly audio editor and recorder for recording live audio, converting tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.

I can attest to the quality and usefulness of our doting grandfather's software choices. So if you want to become a doting grandparent or for that matter stock your computer with useful free software, I suggest you investigate these outstanding software programs.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot. 

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Vista can help you sort out those holiday photos (01/12/09)

By now I'll wager many "Digital Point and Shooters" have downloaded their holiday photos with the intent to sort them. Or perhaps are contemplating an early start on their new years resolution to organize the "shoe box" sort of their My Pictures/ Pictures folder.

If you're involved or contemplating becoming involved in sorting your photos, Vista provides a user friendly way to expedite your sorting adventure.

To enable this feature click Start ]] Documents ]] Organize ]] "Folder and Search Options". Click the View tab, scroll down and click on the "Use check boxes to select items" check box.

Although you can still continue holding down the Ctrl key to click on individual photos or holding down the Shift key to select groups of photos, you can now simply click on the check boxes in front of each photo to make individual selections. Or if you want to select all the photos in a folder, click the check box to the left of the "Name" column.

If you've just a few photos you do not want to relocate mixed in with those you do, click on the check boxes of the ones you do not want to relocate. Then on your Toolbar click Edit ]] Invert Selection. Now, only the ones you want to relocate will be checked.

Unfortunately XP doesn't provide this feature. However there's a small freeware program TrayProdder (Google TrayProdder) that although it's not as resourceful as Vista's Check Box feature, will provide a similar check box opportunity.

I'm sure most Vista users are delighted to have discovered the old XP Drag and Drop Bogeyman has been eliminated. That when a group of files has been selected using the Ctrl key if you move your mouse pointer more than 4 pixels while "clicking down" on a file, Windows assumes you've dragged the files where you want to relocate them and executes the drop (copy).

Unfortunately rather than relocating the files Xpers may discover they've simply made copies of the selected files in their current folder.

Xpers can eliminate this frustration by going to Microsoft's Web site and downloading Microsoft's free Tweak UI for Windows XP.

One of its features allows you to configure XP's drag setting. Click on it's "Mouse" feature and change the value under "Drag" to something more than 4 pixels.

Note: Somewhere between 10-20 but no more than 20 pixels should stop accidental copying.

Now you've no excuse not to organize your photos.

Here's wishing you a Good boot. 

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Vista gives quick way to sort photos (01/19/09)

By now I'll wager many "Digital Point and Shooters" have downloaded their holiday photos with the intent to sort them. Or perhaps are contemplating an early start on their new years resolution to organize the "shoe box" sort of their My Pictures/Pictures folder.

If you're involved or contemplating becoming involved in sorting your photos, Vista provides a user friendly way to expedite your sorting adventure.

To enable this feature click Start ]] Documents ]] Organize ]] "Folder and Search Options". Click the View tab, scroll down and click on the "Use check boxes to select items" checkbox.

Although you can still continue holding down the Ctrl key to click on individual photos or holding down the Shift key to select groups of photos, you can now simply click on the check boxes in front of each photo to make individual selections. Or if you want to select all the photos in a folder, click the check box to the left of the "Name" column.

If you've just a few photos you do not want to relocate mixed in with those you do, click on the check boxes of the ones you do not want to relocate. Then on your Toolbar click Edit ]] Invert Selection. Now, only the ones you want to relocate will be checked.

Unfortunately XP doesn't provide this feature. However there's a small freeware program TrayProdder (Google TrayProdder) that although it's not as resourceful as Vista's Check Box feature, will provide a similar check box opportunity.

I'm sure most Vista users are delighted to have discovered the old XP Drag and Drop Bogeyman has been eliminated. That when a group of file has been selected using the Ctrl key if you move your mouse pointer more than 4 pixels while "clicking down" on a file, Windows assumes you've dragged the files where you want to relocate them and executes the drop (copy).

Unfortunately rather than relocating the files, Xpers may discover they've simply made copies of the selected files in their current folder.

Xpers can eliminate this frustration by going to Microsoft's Web site and downloading Microsoft's free Tweak UI for Windows XP.

One of its features allows you to configure XP's drag setting. Click on its "Mouse" feature and change the value under "Drag" to something more than 4 pixels.

Note: Somewhere between 10-20 but no more than 20 pixels should stop accidental copying.

Now you've no excuse not to organize your photos!

Here's wishing you a Good boot.

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Be careful with software (01/26/09)

Because I've always encouraged Good Booters to use "qualified" technicians to service their computers, I'm sure I'll be forgiven if I offer a suggestion on how to avoid their services.

And that suggestion is to due diligence when installing a software program as even software programs by the most respected software vendors can cause problems that range from simple annoyances to catastrophic conflicts.

Although most reputable software vendors do not intentionally want to cause you grief, often in their haste to be first with the most their software has not been tested thoroughly enough to insure it's appropriate for installation on all computers. This and their obsession with insuring their software is at least one of the dominant software programs installed on your computer are perhaps two of the most significant potential problems you should be aware of.

By dominant I mean unnecessarily:

- Running in the background

- Added to the menu of other software programs

- Added to Windows Explorer context menu (the menu presented when you right click on a file or folder).

The following due diligence should be part of any program installation.

Before installing:

- Read a software's requirements listed on its Web site or packaging.

- Back up all your irreplaceable "Stuff".

- Create a System Restore Point.

During installation be sure:

- The suggested default installation setting are those you want installed and installed the way you want them to be.

- You really want a suggested add-on installed e.g., an alternative browser.

After Installing:

- Click Start ]] All Programs ]] Startup to see if the software added an unwanted startup. Right click to delete.

- Click Start ]] Run and type in "msconfig". Click the Startup tab to see if the software added an unwanted startup. Uncheck to stop a startup.

- Open Windows Explorer and right click on any File or Folder to see if the software added an unwanted entry on the context menu. Unfortunately eliminating an entry via the Registry is not a task for a novice. However I've a little non evasive freeware program available to e-mail you if you'd like to clean up your context menu.

- Open the program and put it through its paces.

Some may question my judgement in mentioning a bit beyond novice tweaks. But I suggest failure to due diligence when installing software can be a serious oversight.

Besides, I trust by now most Good Booters are aware of whether or not they're qualified to attempt significant tweaks.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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Avert disaster – be sure to select the safest option (02/02/09)

Moving files can be dangerous

In recent Good Boots I mentioned ways to relo­cate files and folders. Certainly not a task I'd consider having poten­tial catastrophic implica­tions. That is until I received a phone call from a Good Booter who crashed her system because of an inappro­priate drag and drop.

I'm not sure how Arlene was able to drag and drop 50 photos into her Windows folder. Nor am I sure how in her haste to find and relo­cate them from her Win­dows folder back to her Pictures folder, she was able to include an unknown number of sys­tem files.

But she did and you can guess the rest.

So to all you other novices, please take note:

Among the several ways Windows provides to accomplish any given task, there's usually one that provides a novice

with a safe way to accomplish the task. And safely relocating files is no exception.

But before you can safely relocate files you must select them:

•    Individually by hold­ing down your Ctrl key and clicking on each file or with Vista's check boxes, clicking on each checkbox.

•    As a group by click­ing on the first file and holding down the Shift key, clicking on the last file. Or by locating your pointer in front of the first file (and checkbox if you're using them) then holding down your left mouse button dragging it like a lasso to highlight the files you want to relocate.

To deselect one or more files from a select­ed group hold down the Ctrl key and deselect them individually. Or from a list of files, first select the unwanted files using your Ctrl key then click Edit on your tool­bar and click Invert Selection.

Once you've selected files your drag and drop choices are to use your:

• Left mouse button to "move only'.

•   Right Mouse button to copy or move.

However a successful drag and drop requires a steady hand to drag the files to what can become a rather elusive alterna­tive folder.

I suggest novices select the files they want to relocate, click Edit  on their toolbar and select either "Copy to" or "Move to" folder. Then after safely locating the desired folder, copy or paste the files.

Vista users: If you do not see your Menu Bar, click Organize, Layout and click Menu Bar.

I also suggest a "just in case" for novices. When permanently relocating files of any kind, first Copy them to their new location and then go back and delete the copied files.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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Windows 7 release set for holiday season (02/09/09)

It's deja vu all over again.

Although the pending release of Windows 7 does not seem to be generating the degree of anticipation enjoyed by XP or Vista, it has generated significant Good Boot e-mail.

The deja vu as you might have guessed is "Should I wait to purchase a new computer until after the release of the Windows 7?"

My advice has always been based on need. If your computer is doing just about all you want it to do or can be tweaked by a qualified technician for a reasonable cost to do at least most of what you want it to do, if there's a new operating system on the not too distant horizon I recommend waiting for its release.

I also recommend if you're a novice you wait until your technician rec­ommends the new operat­ing system is ready for prime time.

Otherwise you might as well go ahead and pur­chase a new Vista computer

as traditionally the release date of a new Win­dows operating system is overly optimistic.

However because of what I've been told by responsible sources, I suggest if at all possible every­one, particularly Xpers, should wait until the release of Window 7 to purchase a new computer.

Please keep in mind I'm not a technician, but know my reliable sources suggest that Windows 7 will be well worth the wait even if the release date extends beyond the cur­rent projected 2009 holi­day season.

Even the most ardent critics of Vista seem to be enthusiastic about the success of Windows 7 in purging many of Vista's problems. In fact so much so, I've asked Dwayne Alton, one of Vista's most ardent critics, to present Windows 7 at our February User Group meeting.

Dwayne is not only one of Microsoft's most respected Windows beta testers, he's one of the chosen few whose technical expertise and credibility warranted a summons to Redmond from Microsoft.

The Thursday, 6 p.m., User Group meeting is at Lee Memorial auditorium on Cleveland Avenue. The presentation is free and open to the public.

In addition to presenting Windows 7, Dwayne will host a Q&A opportunity that because of his insider knowledge will provide answers to most of your questions and con­cerns.

As a bonus Dwayne will offer his expertise and advice concerning mini PC's. Mini PC's are a recent technological innovation that for many may be a potential cost-effective alternative to the expensive do everything for everybody PGs.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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Dunbar first with Microsoft certification (02/16/09)

On Jan 12, Microsoft's Lutz Ziob, general manager of Microsoft Learning, posted on that company's Web site the following quote: "In the Lee County school district of Fort Myers, Fla., 82-year-old Dunbar High School holds a rare distinction. Last year, Microsoft named Dunbar's Academy for Technology Excellence the first Microsoft Certified High School in the world."

Yes, you read it right — "in the world." Of the 4,700 Microsoft IT Academies in 100 countries Dunbar High School was the first to have 100 percent of its 2008 enrolled students attain one or more Microsoft certifications. Four hundred and fifty in 2008, 850 since the program was launched in 2006 and an expectation this year the 1000th certification will be awarded.

You may be asking yourself why I'm mentioning this extraordinary achievement in a Good Boot.

There are a couple of reasons. It's a Lee County School System success story I believe has been overshadowed by the more pressing issues currently facing our school system. And if you're a regular Good Boot reader, a heads up about the technical training offered by the Lee County School System will most likely be of interest.

In a nutshell the collaboration between Microsoft and the Lee County School District is producing high school graduates that have attained certification in just about every Microsoft application. Many of which would cost thousands of dollars to otherwise attain.

Although all Microsoft application certifications provide opportunities, perhaps the most important is that many provide a high school graduate with immediate entry into the job market.

Last spring, as a member of the Dunbar High School Academy For Technical Excellence Business Advisory Committee, I had the privilege of attending the certification awards ceremony. It was truly an eye opener.

Four hundred and fifty enthusiastic ninth-12th-grade students - male, female, computer geeks, athletes, and those just interested in technology - received certification from Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA and Adobe. All of whom choose to participated in the ATE certification program with the understanding they must maintain acceptable grades in all their other high school courses.

It's a strong program. However there's a catch. Although Dunbar's Academy for Technology Excellence is a fully funded Magnet School program, the cost ($100 to $250) of the certification tests are not fully funded.

If you're able to make a financial contribution, provide your expertise on the Business Advisory Committee or perhaps would just like to tour the Academy for Technology Excellence, contact Denise Spence at 334-4513.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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Get best document-scanning,speech-recognition program (02/23/08)

Of all computing activities anticipated by novices, Optical Character Recognition and speech recognition have traditionally caused the most confusion and been the most disappointing.

OCR is the process of recognizing the text in the image created when a document is scanned and then converting it to text that can be edited in a word processing program.

Unfortunately many novices discover after purchasing their scanner it includes a "lite" version or in some cases an inappropriate legacy version of a popular OCR software program.

In either case, unless the scanned document is printed on quality, preferably opaque, paper with clearly defined standard fonts, you can end up with a word processing document that requires more time to edit than it would have taken to type it directly into the word processor.

State of the art OCR software can cost from $150 to $600. My favorite has always been OmniPage from $150 to $500, but there are other excellent OCR programs e.g. Abby Fine Reader and Adobe Acrobat.

If you're planning on scanning many documents of varied paper quality and font legibility with the intention of editing the scanned documents, best you consider a state of the art OCR program.

If not perhaps you should consider "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing" for $19.95.

Speech recognition software has come a long way in the last few years. However like OCR software you'll probably be disappointed if you do not consider a state-of-the-art program.

If you want an example of how difficult it is to recognize speech, read at your normal speed a paragraph or two into a tape or digital recorder. Play back your recording and listen carefully to your voice modulation and speech idiosyncracies. I believe most will agree to accurately convert their recording to text would require sophisticated software.

And if you're a fellow Bostonian and have a tendancy to pronounce "potato," "podado" and always "pahk your cah in Hahvahd Yahd," you most definitely will need a sophisticate speech recognition program.

In my opinion, Nuances Dragon Naturally Speaking is the standard of the industry. It's truly amazing and the Standard addition can be purchased for only $99.

I recommend the Standard addition as it is the least expensive way for you to determine the value of a speech recognition program. You can always upgrade to Dragon Preferred if you require additional features, e.g., the ability to dictate into a handheld transcription device that'll synch with your PC.

Here's wishing you a Good boot.

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Mac presentation focus of next meeting (03/02/09)

I hope the following announcement will not cause too many Good Booters to spill their morning coffee.

Dwayne Alton will be hosting a "See Why People are Making the Move to Mac" presentation at our March User Group meeting.

Last month Dwayne hosted a Windows 7 presentation to over 100 enthusiastic Windows users. So I thought in the spirit of the equal-time rule, our user group should offer a bit about Macs.

After all, if Steve Jobs had not refused to allow Apple computers to be cloned, today all of us would most likely be using Macs.

And now that the Apple has named its Mac operating system "Leopard," those of us who were a bit suspicious about computers named after fruit no longer have to be concerned.

Mac's Leopard operating system provides the option of installing Windows and running any Windows application without having to forego any of the extraordinary features offered by Mac. All that's needed is a copy of Windows and Leopard's Boot Camp.

Boot Camp supports the most popular 32-bit releases of Windows XP and Vista. And because they have full access to multiple processors and multiple cores, accelerated 3D graphics and high-speed connections like USB, FireWire, Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet, Windows applications will run at their native speed.

Dwayne will present and demonstrate all the significant Mac features, their pros and cons and answer any questions you may have: everything you need to know to make an informative choice if you're in the market for a new computer.

The user group meeting is at 6 p.m. on Thursday (a week earlier than usual) at the Lee Memorial Hospital auditorium, 2776 Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers. It's free and open to the public.

A Good Boot heads up: Whether your News-Press is delivered or you read it online, I'm sure there have been times when you discovered you missed an article of interest, even an ad for a hoped-for discount on a particular product.

Well, know that now, instead if having to rummage through your waste basket or having to scroll through the news-press.com for that overlooked article or advertisement, you can subscribe to News-Press e-Newsletters and receive your favorite sections via e-mail, including breaking news, Local & State, Sports, Lifestyles, Business, Opinion, entertainment, Cape Coral and Bonita news, periodic best offers from advertising partners and boating and tide information.

My News-Press is delivered, but I appreciate receiving my favorite sections via e-mail, so I can archive as needed.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

A Good Boot heads up: Whether your News-Press is delivered or you read it online, I'm sure there have been times when you discovered you missed an article of interest, even an ad for a hoped-for discount on a particular product.

Well, know that now, instead if having to rummage through your waste basket or having to scroll through the news-press.com for that overlooked article or advertisement, you can subscribe to News-Press e-Newsletters and receive your favorite sections via e-mail, including breaking news, Local & State, Sports, Lifestyles, Business, Opinion, entertainment, Cape Coral and Bonita news, periodic best offers from advertising partners and boating and tide information.

My News-Press is delivered, but I appreciate receiving my favorite sections via e-mail, so I can archive as needed.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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This Vista tweak requires editing Vista's Registry (03/09/09)

I'm offering a Vista tweak that requires editing Vista's Registry. So if you're not at least "a bit beyond novice" I suggest you have an experienced user do the editing.

One of Vista's significant features is its "live taskbar thumbnails." By running your pointer over a taskbar icon you're presented with a pop-up thumbnail with a text description above it of the program and/or the location of the folder and file it points to. All the information you really need to know.

So why then is it necessary to have duplicate text descriptions to the right of taskbar icons that as you open multiple tasks overcrowd your taskbar to the point where the value of your live taskbar feature is lost?

Unfortunately however, without editing your registry adjusting your taskbar to prevent overcrowding is limited to:

Enlarging the taskbar by placing your pointer over it and when your pointer becomes an up and down arrow, dragging the taskbar up. A solution that monopolizes your desktop viewing space.

Enlarging your taskbar and then right clicking on Start, left clicking Properties taskbar and right clicking on the "Auto-hide the taskbar" checkbox. A solution that prevents your taskbar from monopolizing your desktop viewing space but can cause taskbar bobble-head syndrome caused by the distraction of having the taskbar pop up each time your pointer inadvertently moves too far south on your screen.

What I suggest is uncluttering your taskbar by eliminating the text description to the right of taskbar icons.

Note: Whether you're a novice or a bit beyond novice be sure to back up your Registry by clicking File Export. Create a New Folder "Registry" in documents and save the file as say, "My Registry Backup."

1. Click the Start button, type Regedit in the "Start Search" box and press "Enter."

2. If you encounter a Universal Account Control panel click "Continue."

3. Once the Registry Editor launches, locate the following key: KEY_CURRENT_USER\ Control Panel\ Desktop\ WindowMetrics.

4. When you access the WindowMetrics key, left click on the right hand pane.

5. Then on the Regedit Menu bar click Edit and select the New ]] String Value command.

6. Name the new key MiniWidth, double click it to open it and set the Value Data to minus 285 (285).

7. Click OK, close the Registry Editor and reboot your computer.

By eliminating Taskbar icon text you'll be better able to take full advantage of Vista's live Taskbar thumbnails feature.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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Add shortcuts to Quick Launch (03/23/09)

Recently there's been a rash of vanishing "XP Show desktop" and Vista "Show desktop" and "Switch between windows" Quick Launch shortcuts.

I'm not sure how so many Good Booters were able to inadvertently deport them but apparently they discovered a way to do so.

If you've not as yet added the Quick Launch Toolbar to your XP/Vista Toolbar, I recommend you do so. Right click on your Toolbar and click Toolbars ]] Quick Launch.

The advantage of placing shortcuts on your Quick Launch Toolbar is they're readily available regardless of how many applications you have up and running.

By default the XP Quick Launch Toolbar displays a "Show desktop" and "Internet Explorer" shortcut and the Vista Quick Launch Toolbar displays a "Show desktop", "Internet Explorer" and "Switch between windows" shortcut. However you can add your favorite Desktop shortcuts as well as shortcuts to Programs, Folders and Files.

To do so first place your pointer on a Desktop shortcut, a Program shortcut on your Start Menu or your All Programs menu or even on an individual File or Folder in your Documents/My Documents folder. Then holding down your left mouse button drag the shortcut, file or folder icon (which will become a shortcut) onto your Quick Launch Toolbar.

Note: Because you're performing a Copy, the original Desktop shortcut, Program shortcut and Folder and File will remain in place.

You can arrange the Quick Launch icons by placing your pointer on a shortcut, then holding down your left mouse button dragging it to a desired location.

Shortcuts on the Quick Launch toolbar can be deleted (right click and delete) or relocated to your Desktop by placing your pointer on the shortcut, then holding down your left mouse button dragging it onto your Desktop.

Although you can easily repopulate your Quick Launch Toolbar with the shortcuts, folders and files you added, should your XP's "Show desktop" or Vista's "Show desktop" and "Switch between windows" shortcuts vanish into Cyberspace it can be a real chore to restore them.

For this reason I suggest copying your Quick Launch folder to your Documents/ My Documents folder.

To find your Quick Launch folder go to:

- XP: C: Documents and Settings\ Name of Your Computer\ Applications and Data\ Microsoft\ Internet Explorer\ Quick Launch.

- Vista: C:\ Start Menu\ Name of Your Computer (the top right button) \ AppData\ Roaming\ Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ Quick Launch.

Note: It's not a typo. The Quick Launch folder is a subdirectory of an Internet Explorer folder.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot 

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Get second opinion when upgrading computer (03/30/09)

Perhaps the economy is the reason so many are choosing to tune up or upgrade their current computer rather than purchasing a new one. But whatever the reason this trend is unfortunately producing its share of horror stories.

All too many Good Booters have admitted to me that in their quest to be frugal, they employed the least expensive technician they could find to tune up their computer or without asking for a second opinion, naively accepted advice from a self serving computer retailer on the hardware they needed to upgrade their computer.

In fact, I've received so many complaints I wish I could become the local technology Tell Mel and periodically dedicate a Good Boot to exposing incompetent technicians, computer scams and rip offs.

But revealing local wannabee technicians and retail rascals is not an appropriate Good Boot topic.

However I can reiterate the standing offer I've made to Good Booters for more than nine years, and that is that you can contact me whether you're a PC or Apple user, have a computer or computing question or concern, need advice or just a second opinion on the hardware best suited to upgrade your current computer.

If your question or concern is out of the realm of my expertise, I'll forward it to one of our consulting technicians who will respond via an e-mail or if you wish, a phone call. Technicians I personally guarantee do not expect or will solicit your business.

As I have in the past, I also recommend contacting me for advice on appropriate freeware and inexpensive software to assist you with either a current computing adventure or one in which you might like to become involved.

- Freeware alert: There are freeware and inexpensive software programs for just about any computing activity.

For example: The following is a freeware program for creating posters from any digital photo. Copy [www.tml.tkk.fi /~tmakipat/thebigpicture/getbigpic.html] into your Browser and download "The Big Picture".

After downloading, right click on the ZIP file and select "Extract All". You'll have a folder named "BigPic". You can open the folder and run the program directly from the folder by clicking on "BigPic.exe".

The Big Picture is a user friendly poster printing program that divides any picture into multiple letter-size pages that can be printed and combined to create a large poster.

Although it doesn't say so on the Web site, it will run under Vista.

E-mail me if you'd rather I send you the ZIP file and/or a PDF tutorial.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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Seminar will help with selling on eBay (04/06/09)

Last week I mentioned the number of frugal Good Booters who were considering tuning up or upgrading their current computer rather than purchasing a new one. So I guess I should not have been surprised at the number of frugal Good Booters who have asked if our User Group would consider providing a seminar on selling their stuff on eBay or as an alternative, having a third party sell their stuff on eBay.

Because of the interest I decided to poll our Good Boot bulletin board and newsletter subscribers as to whether or not there was enough interest to make it worthwhile for a professional eBay Educational Specialist to offer a seminar.

The response was overwhelmingly in favor of a presentation.

So I contacted David and Gina Rosenberg, two professional eBay Education Specialists. They agreed to provide a free hourlong multimedia seminar on what you need to know and what you should consider before becoming an eBay buyer or seller. They will also explain the advantages of using a third party to sell your wares.

And as we always provide at our User Group meetings, there will be ample time for you to ask questions.

The April 9 meeting begins promptly at 6 p.m. at Lee Memorial Hospital Auditorium, Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers.

The seminar is free and open to the public. There's no registration required - seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Now on to my pledge of providing useful free and inexpensive software.

- Revo Uninstaller (www. revouninstaller. com) is a freeware utility everyone should consider. It assists in uninstalling software even if you have problems uninstalling or cannot uninstall them using Windows XP's "Add or Remove Programs" or Vista's "Programs and Features" uninstall.

Revo will also analyze an application's data before an uninstall and scans after using Windows uninstall program for unnecessary leftover files, folders and registry keys. The leftovers are presented for appropriate deletion.

I use Revo for all my deletions.

- The Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder (http://magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/) is a freeware utility that retrieves from your Registry the Product Key (CD key) used to install your Windows. It allows you to print or save your keys for safekeeping. It works on Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, Office XP, Office 2003 and Office 2007 family of products. It also can retrieve product keys for many other applications as well as product keys from unbootable Windows installations.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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Back up your registry as well as your data  (04/13/09)

The Windows Registry is a database that stores settings and options for Windows operating systems. It contains information and settings for all hardware, operating system software, most nonoperating system software and per user settings.

Backing up the Windows Registry isn't as important as backing up your data to include photos, music and documents, but it's still worth the effort as restoring the Registry to a point when it was healthy could save you a lot of grief.

Windows provides two methods for backing up your Registry. I'll provide a third.

1. System Restore: Although Windows is "supposed" to automatically create a restore point every day or so, don't trust that to happen.

To create your own restore point in XP, select Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore. Select Create a restore point, click Next and follow the wizard. In Vista, click Start, right click Computer and select Properties. Click the System protection link, then the Create button.

In either Windows version, you can restore by selecting Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore and follow the prompts.

Unfortunately no single restore point contains a complete backup and if one is corrupted can make all the following restore points unusable.

2. Regedit: To use Windows Registry editor to backup your Registry, click Start, Run (Start in Vista), type regedit, and press ENTER. To make a backup, select File, Export. For the "Export range," select All and Export. This creates a .reg file.

To restore it double click it and confirm you want to change the Registry.

But Regedit also has problems. Restoring the entire Registry from this backup doesn't always work. And even when it does, it'll not delete new keys created since your previous backup.

My recommendation is ERUNT a free Emergency Recovery Utility for XP and now Vista.

However there's a trick to using it to backup Vista's Registry. Rather than double clicking the shortcut as you would with XP, right click the shortcut and select "Run as administrator".

Each ERUNT backup consists of a dated folder containing several files. One of which is ERUNT.EXE. Click it to restore the Registry.

When used with XP, ERUNT will automatically backup your Registry daily. With Vista you must initiate the backup although a "Bit Beyond Novice" user can create a Vista ERUNT daily backup by using Task Scheduler.

I also recommend using ERUNT to back up your Registry before and after installing new software and/or making a major system upgrade.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot

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Installing x64 can cause more problems than it solves (04/20/09)

It seems many Good Booters have been ill-advised by uninformed retailers that because their new computer has a 64-bit processor they should install the 64-bit version of Vista.

This advice may sound reasonable as the x64 version of Vista has increased security and programs written for 64-bit processors will likely run faster.

Unfortunately however, if you're a novice, installing Vista x64 on a 64-bit system can cause more problems than it'll solve.

And here's why.

1. Most existing hardware do not have 64-bit drivers e.g., networking devices, DVD burners, audio cards and card readers.

2. Vista x64 requires that all drivers be properly "signed." If they're not they'll probably fail to load even if when booting you attempt to use the F8 option to "Disable Driver Signatures."

3. Vista x64 currently does not backward support most x86 (32-bit) drivers.

Note: Most 64-bit systems will run most Vista 32 bit applications. However, Vista x64 currently does not run x86 (32-bit) drivers.

4. Vista x64 doesn't support 16-bit software.

5. Currently there are very few Vista x64 bit software programs.

If you're able to achieve the perfect mix and match (x64 software on an x64 system with a Vista x64 operating system) you'll experience a significant performance boost. But because there are so few x64 software programs, I suggest to novices that attempting to achieve the perfect mix and match should not be a high priority.

If all this 32-bit, 64-bit stuff is a bit confusing, my advice for the time being is to stay away from an x64-bit hardware computer or if you do purchase an x64-bit computer, install the 32-bit (x86) version of Vista.

- I'm sure however I'll not confuse anyone if I suggest they consider a software program that determines the health of their hard drive(s).

Hard Drive Inspector (www.altrixsoft.com) is a novice-friendly program that monitors hard drive health. It's appropriate for Windows XP and Vista and costs $29.95 for desktops and $39.95 for laptops.

Most modern hard drives support S.M.A.R.T. (Self Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology). It detects potential hard drive failure. Hard Drive Inspector accesses this technology to monitor the current state of various life critical parameters e.g., reliability and performance. It provides timely alerts allowing you to perform an expeditious backup of your data and hard drive replacement.

You can download a 15-day trial.

Here's wishing you a good boot. 

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You may not need a new computer to use Windows 7 (04/27/09)

In my opinion Microsoft's success in providing a "Vista fix" is truly amazing.

In fact, the more I become acquainted with Windows 7 the more I believe if it delivers all it has promised, unless your need for a new computer is imperative, you should wait until its release before making a decision to purchase a new computer.

Windows 7 promises greater ease of use and reliability rather than a plethora of new resource-demanding bells and whistles. This means that unlike all the previous major Windows upgrades that required more powerful computers, Windows 7 will work with slower microprocessors and fit into less hard drive space.

By being less demanding of your computer's resources, you may discover you will not have to purchase a new computer to access the new features of Windows 7. And even more important: because Windows 7 will run on a full range of PCs to include inexpensive netbooks, you may be able to purchase an extraordinarily pocketbook friendly computer that provides most of the features of Windows 7.

Another feature of Windows 7 I consider to be "good news" is its "Anytime Upgrade."

Because of the smaller size of Windows 7, three versions will be loaded on even lower-end computers.

Should users running the "Standard" version upgrade their hardware -perhaps a high-definition monitor - or need to simultaneously run more than three state-of-the-art resource-demanding software programs, they'll be prompted to upgrade to the pricier "Home Premium" or "Ultimate" version.

In other words, you'll not have to purchase the 800-pound gorilla version of Windows 7 until you actually need it.

And if you discover you do need to upgrade and decide you want to upgrade, Microsoft will make the process much more user friendly than the Vista upgrade process. You need only enter your credit card information, a 25-character code, make a few keystrokes and reboot.

- A Good Boot alert: So many Good Booters expressed disappointment at not being able to attend our User Group eBay presentation, I've prevailed on David and Gena to offer a second free seminar.

It'll be held at 6 p.m. on May 7 at the Beacon Executive Suites, 8359 Beacon Blvd., Fort Myers, (Next to Villas Elementary School). You can register by phone, 590 988 or e-mail David@eBayGuy.net.

David and Gena will also be offering Good Booters an extraordinary discount on their six-hour "Learn to Sell on eBay the Right Way" series of seminars.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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MessageSave great add-on for Outlook (05/11/09)

Traditionally I've been reluctant to recommend software that costs $50 or more. But because I've discovered an extraordinarily user friendly, multi-option Outlook add-on that saves e-mail messages to XP's My Documents and Vista's Documents, I'm going to make an exception.

Until I installed MessageSave I went through the tedious task of individually saving important e-mail by clicking on File ]] Save as and relocating it to the appropriate subfolder of my Important E-mail@ folder. But now with MessageSave I can save individual messages, multiple messages or all the messages in an Outlook subfolder and relocate them to My Documents/Documents, an external Hard Drive/Jump Drive or DVD/CD-R. And by the way do the same for all my Outlook Contacts, Tasks and Calendars.

In addition to being able to save and relocate individual, multiple and all messages in an Outlook folder with only a couple of clicks, MessageSave:

- Offers flexible and customizable file and subfolder naming.

- Saves messages in .msg, .txt, .eml, mbox (mbox format support requires Outlook 2002 or newer), vCard (.vcf) and iCalendar (.ics) formats.

- Works on sent and received messages.

- Files include the entire message content, including attachments.

- Is compatible with Windows Desktop Search.

- Works on Public Folders.

- Automatically save messages with rule wizard rules (custom rule action) or using a scheduler.

MessageSave (www.techhit.com) requires Windows 2000, XP or Vista with the latest Service Pack and is compatible with Outlook 2000 SP3, 2002 (XP SP3), 2003 SP3 and 2007 SP1. It does not work with Outlook Express.

It costs $49.95, but does have a 30-day free trial.

In my opinion if you receive important e-mail, MessageSave is an Outlook add on you should investigate.

A Good Boot heads up. Our final User Group meeting of the season will be dedicated to an informal Q&A session. Our consulting technicians will be available to answer all your computer, computing, digital camera and digital editing questions. You're even invited to bring your laptop and/or digital camera should you need hands-on help.

As long as you do not preface your questions with "this is a stupid question," I guarantee our technicians will be more than happy to insure you enjoy a Summer of Good Boots by providing the in-depth assistance you'll need to solve your problem(s).

Our meeting is at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Lee Memorial Hospital auditorium on Cleveland Avenue and is free and open to the public. No registration required.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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When selecting Google or Microsoft browser, try both (05/18/09)

When Google released Chrome, it's Internet browser, I found it to be superior to Internet Explorer 7. But now after putting Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 though it's paces, I must admit it would be difficult for me to recommend one over the other. In fact when Good Booters ask for a recommendation, I suggest they install both and determine for themselves which flavor they find most satisfying.

I do suggest, however, novices wait before installing IE8 to allow time for Microsoft to eliminate bugs typically discovered after the release of any significant software application.

Regardless of which browser you finally settle on be aware there's a significant difference in the way each backs up your Favorites\Bookmarks.

To back up Chrome's Bookmarks, click on the little wrench (Customize and control Google Chrome) in the upper right of Chrome's menu bar. Click on Bookmark manager, Tools and Export Bookmarks. By default you may be directed to your Download folder. I suggest you create a Chrome Bookmark folder in your Documents/My Documents folder and relocate the Bootmarks.html file to it.

To Back up Internet Explorer's Favorites and if you're so inclined, Cookies and Feeds, click on File, Import and Export and follow the Wizard's instructions. Favorites, Cookies and Feeds must be individually backed up. I also recommend you create an exclusive folder in your Documents/My Documents folder to relocate IE's Bootmarks.htm, Cookies.txt and Feeds.opml. When IE's Wizard requests AExport to a file or address@ click Browse and select the folder you created.

To Import Chrome and IE Bookmarks/Favorites and IE's Cookies and Feeds select Import rather than Export when following the steps listed above.

Now for those who like myself are paranoid about losing data and back up their backups with a backup or for those who are contemplating a new computer and would like to relocate their current Chrome and/or IE Profiles to another computer, I recommend in addition to backing up Bookmarks/Favorites, Cookies and Feeds, you consider a complete backup of all of Chrome's Profile e.g., personal data like history, bookmarks, etc. and Internet Explorer's favorites, history, proxy settings, fonts, dial-up accounts, autocomplete passwords and cookies.

Parhelia Tools (www.parhelia tools.com) for Chrome and BackRex for IE 7/8 (www.backsettings.com) are Afree@ utilities that will Backup and Restore these Browsers in their entirety.

Both of these utilities provide user friendly wizards to walk you through their backup (to I suggest an exclusive folder in your Documents/My Documents folder) and restore.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot

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Can't do without this free utility (5/25/09)

I'm going to once again attempt to entice those who have not done so already to download Revo Uninstaller (revouninstaller.com) as I believe it's one of the most valuable "free" utilities available.

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Subfolders first step in backing up (06/01/09)

This and the next few Good Boots will be dedicated to those who are continuing to have a problem making sense of all the good bad and ugly advice they've received concerning how to back up what they should back up to where it's best to back it up to.

As always I'll attempt to address the issues that seem to trouble novices the most.

Although it's not necessary, if you're a novice and want to participate in the actual backup portion of my tutorial I suggest you:

1. Download a free trial version of Second Copy at www.secondcopy.com. Because it's extraordinarily novice friendly and doesn't create proprietary files, I'll be using Second Copy to illustrate exact and archive backups.

2. Consider purchasing an external hard drive. External hard drives have the capacity necessary to back up all your stuff and are portable.

To begin our adventure -and if you've not done so already -I want you to create Document/My Document subfolders for every program you use to create data e.g., Word, Excel, Quicken and Outlook. Programs that have a "Save As" option on their File menu. Be sure to include an IE or Chrome Favorites and important e-mail subfolders. The purpose of this exercise is to get you in the habit of saving all your application data to a corresponding subfolder.

If you're so inclined you can even create subfolders of subfolders to organize data created by an application e.g., letters to family, letters to the IRS, etc., as subfolders of your Word subfolder.

How enthusiastically you organize your "Stuff" is up to you. But know there's no such thing as your Document/My Documents folder being too organized.

And for those who have procrastinated organizing their Pictures/My Pictures folder, you might consider beginning a subfolder organization of your photos. However, my tutorials will not require you to organize your Pictures/My Pictures "shoebox" display of photos as for many it might take the remaining years of their life.

E-mail me if you have a problem organizing any particular application's data.

Next, install Second Copy and be sure to make a Second Copy subfolder in Documents/My Documents. If you have the time take a look at the Second Copy tutorials on their Web site, but know I'll be providing a detailed, uncomplicated way to apply the application.

Finally, create two folders on your external hard drive - Exact backup and Archive backup.

Here's wishing you a Good Boot.

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