Q.  My friend told me I should use a signature with my email.  What is a signature and how can I use it?

A.  A signature is a text file that you create and tell your email client to add at the bottom of every email you send.  For example, I could create a short (no more than four lines please) file with my name, email address, and company and save it as cybersign.txt. Then I go into my email client and tell it to add it to every message.
Each email client works a little bit differently but for Outlook Express 5.0 you can manage your signature by clicking on the Tools menu, selecting Options, and then clicking on the Signatures tab.  In Netscape 4.5 you can add your signature file by clicking the Edit menu, selecting preferences, then clicking on identity in the Mail & Newsgroups area.  In the signature file box if you click Choose you will then be able to browse to where you saved the file and double click it.
Once you've got a signature file, you can easily change it by opening the file, making the changes you want and saving it again.

Q. When I used to open MS Word, I had some buttons at the top but now I don't anymore.  Where have they gone and how can I get them back?

A. I can't say for sure where they may have gone but it's easy to get them back.  Microsoft Word comes with several toolbars as well as the option of customizing your existing toolbars.
Most folks have two or three toolbars visible at a time.  My three favorites are Standard, Formatting, and Drawing.  To see these three, click the View menu at the top of the window, highlight Toolbars and, if they aren't already checked, check them.

Speeding Along Yet?

Sure lots of us still use super slow modems.  I just set up an old PC for my son to plunk around on and the only modem we could find was a 14.4k modem.  And many of the machines purchased over the last two years came with 33.6k or 56k modems, quite a jump over the 14.4k but still not humming along.

Well stand back because the Information Superhighway is about to become a reality.  At last we are beginning to see choices for connecting at high speed.  That plain old copper wire that brings you your telephone is being pushed and pulled and used in ways Alexander Graham Bell never would have imagined.   With cable modems beginning to make inroads as well, the consumer couldn't be in a better position.

Without having to rewire your whole house/business, you can get a digital subscriber line (DSL).  DSL's come in two main flavors, Assymetric and Symetric. ADSL operates on the premise that most of us do a lot more downloading than we do uploading so the pipeline going on may be narrow but the incoming pipe is widened for faster downloads.  SDSL keeps both directions the same width but makes them a lot wider than your old 56K modem.  You can get bandwidth ranging from 144 kbps to 1.5 mbps depending on your plan and the company you do business with. 

If getting a T1 is not within your budget, you no longer need to dream of faster connections.  Cable modems are also becoming more common.  Since most of the towns and cities in the U.S. are now cable connected, it's not too big of a step to get a cable modem.  In fact, Educyber connects to the Internet via a cable modem and we've regretted the step up as wait time for pages is no longer a problem.

If you're not yet willing to pay $50 or more a month for Internet access, then don't throw out your modem.  But as competition increases, expect prices to go down.  The baby Bell in our neighborhood is already dropping prices to stay in the race for customers.

  Web Site Reviews

NASA Homepage

http://www.nasa.gov/
Summer is here. Many people go camping, fishing, or maybe driving to enjoy the world.  In between that leisure time outdoors, may I suggest a quiet time to discover the world? How about visiting the NASA homepage? The NASA TV, which can be viewed after downloading Windows Media Player for free, offers varieties of video sources from their video library during the non-mission period. You can learn about oceans or get a video tour of the international space station. During a mission period, you can view the launching of the space shuttle live. This site is a great source of educational resources both for adults and children. 
NASA for Kids page has information on Hurricanes, how they are formed, how they are named and so on. You can also search the list of hurricane names and see if your name is on it.

The Food Museum

http://www.foodmuseum.com

We consume food every day as a part of our routine and don't really think too much about what it is. This site is dedicated to telling us about what we eat each day, its history and other interesting facts. The Food Museum started as The Potato Museum in 1975 in Belgium to study the history of potatoes, where they came from, how we eat them and the role they have played in our culture. In addition to learning about different food items, you can also read through Food News - interesting news around the world in relation to food. There are some food- related-book reviews which might draw your interest.  

10 Cool Things You Can Do on the Internet

You bought a new computer. Hooked it up to the Internet. Now what do you do? Maybe you go to a search engine and browse through a few sites they recommend? There really are lots of things you could be doing and here are 10 useful things to try:

1         Emailing is one of the most popular ways the Internet is used. It is faster, and easier than snail mailing (through your local post office). You don't need to address an envelope or put stamp on. It is more convenient than phoning in some ways as you don't have to worry about when to call or long distance discount hours. If you need to send a long document or even pictures, type (or scan) them in, simply attach them to a message and send it off. There are also some websites that allow you to send digital postcards or virtual flowers for free.

2         Shopping.  There are thousands of online stores where you can purchase just about anything. Amazon.com and eToys are very well known to this date, but many large retailers now offer online shopping using credit cards and their security system is quite reliable. They offer bargains and discounts so sometimes shopping is cheaper online than actually going to a store. If you are too busy to go shopping for a birthday present, some online shops offer gift-wrapping with a message card so that it can be delivered straight to the person.

3         Learning.  You can read many books online or do research for a particular subject of interest. There are many sites that offers detailed information on how to raise plants, raise children, repair household items, cook, use your computer, and many hundreds more. You can read about your health and learn more about it, too. Even though you work late or have other plans and miss an important sports event, you can still catch the news by visiting their websites or reading a sports news update.

4         Traveling. The Internet also allows you to "go places". Virtual town is a fun way to explore as it is set up just like a real town you can go visit. Many museums also have websites where you can "walk through" their corridors and view their collection of paintings and sculpture. You can "go" overseas and learn about different culture. For example, I wanted to make some Indian food the other day but wasn't sure how. So, I found several sites with Indian cooking and found what I wanted. My family was able to enjoy delicious tandoori chicken and Naan for dinner. Though not everything's in English, if you get to a site in a different language, look for an "English" button which many Non-English sites have to switch to their English version.

5         Staying Informed. I mentioned this earlier but you can get news on any topic from any particular region or country at any time you want on the net. Many TV stations and newspapers have an online news page and often they let you set up your personalized page so that you can just get the news you want.

6.       Saving/Making Money. Managing finances, making investments and filing tax forms on the Internet is increasingly popular and companies that offer such services are increasing rapidly. The IRS has its own site where you can download the forms you need to take care of your taxes.

7.       Building careers.  Starting your own business via the Internet may sound extreme but it is not necessarily so. There are many people who became very successful merchants without having real (physical) stores.  They offer their goods and services through the Internet. The Internet is a very effective way of advertising as you can show your potential customers what you have to offer more cost effectively. Moreover, more companies are advertising job openings on the Internet so you can possibly find an opportunity in such way.

8.       Playing. Playing online games is a popular way of using the Internet. You can try many games without purchasing the programs and some sites offer interactive games where people can get together and play cards, chess, or action games. But the online entertainment doesn't stop there. There's a very good chance your favorite TV show or favorite movie has its own site as well. You can read more about them and they sometimes have games that you can play.

9.       Listening. For music lovers, there are many sites where you can go and download music files for free. You can find any genre, and, unfortunately, a wide variance in quality. For slower modems, downloading may take longer but once you have it on your hard disk, you can listen to it over and over. Recently, many artists have had online concerts that you can view through your computer.

10.   Entertaining.  Finally, the Internet is very useful when you are planning an outing. You can look up current events in your area or find new places to go or eat. When you are taking a trip, you can access a web page of the area you'll be visiting beforehand so you know where to go. The same thing could be said with your local area. Living there doesn't mean you know all about it. It is fun to look through a local directory and find more about what is there to see.

Like I said, the things I suggested are only a part of what you can do on the Internet. The media is expanding everyday and there're always new ways to enjoy it. So, get on the net and enjoy!

  by Maki DeLaet <maki@educyber.com>