CCN 860

CLUB CORROBOREE NET Webpage: www.wscclub.net	© Westlakes Seniors Computer Club Inc., At Wangi RSL
Editor: Annette Stuckey westlake@bigpond.net.au                                   No. 860	25 February 2018
Hi Silver Surfers, Thank you for all the well wishes I received after last Fridays Information Day.  Sorry I could not be there but all going well I should be well and truly back on deck for the 9th March CLUB NEWS Photography Interest Group Our next meeting will be on Friday 2nd March at 10.30 am. The subject for your photos is "Close-up/ Macro". I hope to get some large prints of macro subjects taken by an old friend to show you. The subject for April will be "Churches" {this would include any place of worship). I have been thinking about the suggested Club Annual Photo Competition. The Morisset Show photography competition has five classes. If we do the same, you will have photos to enter into next year's Morisset Show. We will discuss it at Friday's meeting. Of course the club competition will be open to all financial members of WSCC. Happy snapping, Alan Hadley   DO DROP IN DAY (Wangi RSL) RETURNING SOON "One on One" 1 hour Session            1pm –2pm - 3pm Help available with anything- Computer –Tablet – Phone You can bring your own equipment if you wish Internet available   Phone:4975 3360  : Email: westlake@bigpond.net.au to make a booking $5.00 per session Keyboard Bumps   I would like you all to do something for me, look down at your keyboard and locate the letters of F and J. Do you notice anything a little different about those two keys? Well, depending on the colour of your keyboard, it may be a little hard to see, but those two letters happen to have a little "bump" on them. It's just a little line that goes across the key that sticks up a little like a bump.   The two bumps are there to help you position your hands on the keyboard in the correct places without having to look down. All you have to do is feel around for those two bumps and your right and left hands will be in the right spots. I'm sure you already know this, but the correct way is to place your left index finger on the F key and your right index finger on the J key. You then just line up the rest of your fingers on the other keys to begin typing. So, the little bumps are there just to make sure your hands are in the correct position for the ultimate typing experience! And if you think about it, they can help you to start typing without looking down as well. Just feel around for the right spots and before you know it, you won't have to look at your keyboard at all when you type.   All it takes is a little practice and the bumps are there to help you right along. Try it out today! For those who may have learnt Typing at school all those years ago: Left hand asdf – right hand ;lkj Memories !!!!!!!!! Check out the Numeric keyboard you will find that has a bump on the middle key "5" for the same reason COMPUTER PARTS CPU: The CPU is the computer's control centre.  Think of it as the brain that does all the thinking (computation), thus it is called the Central Processing Unit.  The actual CPU is about 1.5 inches square, yet it is the most critical part of the computer.  Having a fast CPU (measured in Megahertz) greatly aids in the overall speed of your computer. Hard Drive:  The hard drive stores the entire computer's information and retains the information when the computer is turned off. A fast hard drive is needed to supply the CPU with data as fast as it needs it. Hard drive sizes are typically measured in Gigabytes. The larger the number, the more applications and games you can have installed.  A hard drive can be IDE or SCSI. (And more recently SATA) RAM (Memory):  This is the component that holds recently accessed data for the CPU to have quick access to. It is much faster than reading from a hard drive, so having a lot of RAM makes it quick to retrieve recently accessed files, applications, and other data.  All programs must be run through RAM before they can be used.  RAM stands for Random Access Memory and is typically measured in megabytes. In short:  To increase the capacity of your hard drive means you need to purchase a larger one. To increase memory of your computer you will need to purchase additional sticks of compatible RAM. Make Word's Page Setup Changes "Permanent"   Okay, so maybe permanent isn't the best word to describe this, but would you settle for a default setting? Do you find you're constantly making changes to the Page Setup information in MS Word? Are those changes the same each time? Maybe you don't agree with the default margins or perhaps you're always making adjustments to the header/footer settings. Whatever changes you frequently make, I bet you'd really like it if Word would just cooperate and keep those changes. I mean, wouldn't it be nice if you could cut out the repetitious work of making the same changes every time you start a new document? Yes, I agree! The key to making that wish come true has been right in front of you the whole time.   In  Word 10  you can access the Page Setup dialogue window via the Page Layout ribbon. Click on the down arrow in the bottom right hand corner of the Page Setup section and you'll instantly be in familiar territory Do you see it? Yep, there it is. There's a Default button on the Page Setup dialogue window. So, go ahead and make your changes, click on the Default button and voila! The changes will affect the active document and any new documents you create with the same template.   With this little trick, you can cross one more thing off your "to do" list when you begin working on a new document. Yes!   The following  tips are from Cyn's Tech Tips and are used by permission Windows 7: edit desktop photo slideshow   Using your own photos for a desktop slideshow is a great way to make your desktop unique and personal. Let's look at how to set up a slideshow and how to edit it. First, right-click on a blank spot on the desktop and choose Personalize. When the Personalization window opens, click Desktop background in the lower-left corner. To use your own photos, click the drop-down arrow next to Picture location and choose Pictures library. By default all of the pictures in your library will be selected. Note that the box next to each image is ticked. If you want to use most of the images in your pictures library, you could scroll down and untick them one by one. Or, you can just click on Clear all at the right. Then go through and tick the boxes next to the images you want to use. You might consider creating a folder just for the images you'd like to use for backgrounds. Just hover over the image to get the option to tick the box.  Make sure to click Save changes.  The two questions you must ask when something stops working I had a frustrating experience in troubleshooting yesterday that I thought I'd share with you. Tech expert, heal thyself. I was happily working away, writing an article about password retrieval when my mouse stopped working. It's wireless, so I thought that perhaps the batteries were the problem. Changed the batteries, but that didn't make a bit of difference. Then I noticed the keyboard wasn't working either. But the computer wasn't frozen. Video was still playing on a website. So, it was time to duck under the desk. The receiver for the mouse and keyboard had slipped behind the desk. I put it back in place, but still no luck. Then it was back under the desk to trace the cord for the receiver. BINGO! When the receiver fell, it had slowly started to pull the cord out of the USB port in the back of the PC tower. Either my leg or one of the cats had given that final pull and taken it clean out of the plug. I plugged it back in. Still, no go. I did a hard reboot of the PC (Turned it off and on with the button instead of properly powering down).  When it came back up, all was well. That leads me to the two most important questions you can ask yourself when you troubleshoot anything: Is it plugged in? Is It Turned On? Many years ago, a wise engineer gave me the best tech-support advice I've ever received. He said that if something isn't working, always ask yourself two things: "Is it plugged in? Is it turned on?" This sounds ridiculously simple, but in the course of a career spent surrounded by computers and other highly technical and infuriating equipment, I've found it to be the most useful piece of advice I've ever received. First of all, is it plugged in? Check to make sure the plug is actually securely plugged into the wall or power strip. A few days ago I was staring at my electric kettle wondering why it refused to boil and realized that I had plugged in my coffee grinder instead. If you are plugged in, make sure the power strip or outlet is turned on. If it's turned on, double-check to make sure it is functioning. Outlets break just like anything else. If your device uses batteries, make sure they are properly placed and working. Even if you've replaced them recently, try a fresh set and see if that makes a difference. Power cords aren't the only things that come unplugged. If your device has cables of any kind, make sure everything is securely in place. Sometimes cables to a monitor, modem or headphones can work loose. Is it turned on? Don't take this as an insult. I've seen an engineer with a master's degree struggling to figure out why something wouldn't work for half an hour before realizing he'd neglected to flip the on-switch for a server. On/off switches are not always clearly marked or conveniently placed and it can sometimes be difficult to tell if something is powered on or off. Hopefully, these two simple questions can save you a lot of trouble when dealing with electronic devices.   (I would like a cent for every time this has happened to me.  ~ Annette) Well folks that's it for another week.  Until next time this is your Secretary signing off Annette Australian Seniors Computer Club Assoc :   http://www.ascca.org.au/  "ASCCA is the national peak body for seniors and technology".	In This Issue ·        Club news ·        Keyboard Bumps ·        Computer parts ·        Make Words page setup permanent ·        W7 –Edit desk top photo slide show ·        Two questions you must ask if something is not working.   DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY INTEREST GROUP   1st Friday of the month   10.30 am-12.30 pm   Wangi R.S.L   For further information contact coordinator: Alan Hadley alanhadley@bigpond.com   Lake Macquarie Public Library "What's on" In your area.   Click link below: LIBRARY CLUB BUDDIES   Wangi Wangi Arcadia Vale   Annette Stuckey      4975 3360   Rathmines & Toronto Eric Maronese        4975 1725        All other areas ring either buddy   Justice of Peace Available to club members     WANGI  WANGI Annette Stuckey 4975 3360 CORRANBONG George Drinkall 02 4977 2950     Most of the Justice of Peace are usually available on most Information Days.   USEFUL INTERNET SITES Family History http://library.lakemac.com.au/family-history www.coraweb.com.au www.ww2roll.gov.au   Australian Cemetery Index http://austcemindex.com/   Lake Macquarie Family History Group http://www.lmfhg.org.au/   Newcastle Family History Society http://www.nfhs.org.au/   Wyong Family History Group Inc http://www.wyongfamilyhistory.com.au/   Fun things Jigsaws http://www.jigzone.com Sudoku http://www.websudoku.com/   Seniors Site (Puzzles etc) www.yourlifechoices.com.au   Hobbies http://www.about.com/hobbies/   Photography Ideas www.carlwarner.com   Lake Macquarie Council http://www.lakemac.com.au/     Fight the Scammers www.scamwatch.gov.au   The Streets of Sydney www.walksydneystreets.net   Australian Public Toilets www.toiletmap.gov.au   National Continence www.bladderbowel.gov.au   Australian Weather www.weather.com.au   Yellow pages. www.yellowpages.com.au   White pages www.whitepages.com.au   Get Directions www.whereis.com   DISCLAIMER :The Corroboree Is Issued "As Is" Without Guarantee Of Any Kind.  Any Use By The Reader Of The Tips, Suggestions, Or Advice Is At Your Own Risk. © Westlakes Seniors Computer Club Inc.,   If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please send a blank email with 'Unsubscribe' in the ' Subject' window to  : Annette