December 2002 EduNotes

Last notice: If you haven't updated your records yet, please note that our new phone number is (720) 275-4646.
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EduCyber is pleased to present the December 2002 Edition of EduNotes. In this issue you'll learn more about Christmas shopping online, tinkering with your computer, tweaking Windows XP, and getting rid of Pop up and pop under ads. Enjoy and as always, send feedback to edunotes@educyber.com.
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Christmas Shopping Online
My how the times have changed. When we first started this newsletter - 31 issues ago - the Internet was growing and changing at a phenomenal rate. In December of '98 we recommended two sites for Online Christmas shopping. Were we to give you our complete recommended list this year, it would take several pages and cover hundreds of sites, many of which we use regularly.
Basically, if you've got a larger store that you like, be it Wal-Mart, Sears, or any other large chain, you can visit their online store and shop or at least find out if the item you're interested in is available at your local branch. Often you'll find online specials that are not available at the physical store so it's probably worth a web site visit even if you prefer to actually hit the malls and the crowds.
Sales forecasts for online shopping this year are for continued large growth even as the economy continues to waiver. For many of us, it's really a no-brainer. If you've got a pretty good idea of what you want to get, skip the crowds and endless searching for a parking place and order it online. With many web sites competing for your business, look for the free shipping deals and check out a few sites to make sure you're getting the best price on your product.
Clicks and Bricks are the stores that are the most reliable (stores that have a physical store as well as the web store) but there are a handful of online-only stores that have definitely established themselves. Among them are Amazon, Buy.com and CDW - the mega-superstores of the Internet.
Wherever you do your holiday shopping this year, we wish you the very best.
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Do you like to tinker?
There are lots of folks out there who like to "lift the hood" on their computer and see what makes it tick. The following are sites created by people who like to do just that and they are full of tips and tricks to get more out of your computer.
Lifting the hood, in this case, doesn't mean getting out your screwdriver though. It's looking at what makes the operating system work like it does and involves tinkering with the normal or default settings of your operating system. Just remember you should make any such changes with care.
Windows XP Sites:
Bob Cerelli's Windows XP Page
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/windowsxp_tips.htm
Microsoft's Windows XP Professional Tips
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/tips/default.asp
Microsoft's Windows XP Home Edition Tips
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/tips/default.asp

Windows 2000 Sites:
ActiveWin: Windows 2000 Tips and Tricks
http://www.activewin.com/tips/win2000/index.shtml
Windows NT/2000 FAQ
http://www.windows2000faq.com/

Mac OS:
Mac OS X Hints
http://www.macosxhints.com/
The Ultimate Mac OS Tips Library
http://macos.about.com/library/bltipsubject.htm
MacFixIt - Troubleshooting Solution for the Macintosh
http://www.macfixit.com/
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A Closer Look at XP
And of course we've got a few tips of our own to share. If you haven't seen Windows XP yet, of if you've recently switched to XP, it may look a bit different from what you're used to seeing. And if you haven't tried XP yet, we recommend it for anyone not using Windows 2000 (in other words, those using Windows 98, ME, 95 or NT 4.0). Especially Windows ME users should check it out - an upgrade to XP home edition can be had for as little as $90 if you watch the specials.
The first time I fired up an XP computer I waited for the desktop icons to appear. And waited. And waited. "What?" thought I "No icon's on the desktop?" For legal and perhaps aesthetic reasons, familiar icons like My Computer, Network Neighborhood (or My Network Places) and that familiar blue E for Internet Explorer are hidden. Bringing them back (only the ones you want) is easy though. Right click somewhere on the desktop (not on an icon) and then click on Properties. When the Display Properties window comes up, click on the tab labeled Desktop and then on the Customize Desktop button. Put a check in the box next to the icons you want to appear on the desktop and Apply the settings and voila, your icons appear.
A really invaluable tool for the multi-taskers amongst us is the Quick Launch toolbar that appears next to the Start button on the task bar. If you don't see it, right click on the Task Bar and highlight toolbars. Then click on Quick Launch. You can add or remove buttons from this bar but the one we like the best is the "Show Desktop" that minimizes all your open windows so you can quickly get back to your desktop. Now if someone would just invent a button like that for my home called "Straighten Up House." Of course then my kids would want one labeled "Do Chores."
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Pop Ads Got You Down?
Normally we strongly discourage using all these "great" little utility programs that you can download and install on your computer and that promise all kinds of great things that can happen to your computing life by using them.
There are two that we have recently begun recommending however. This month we'll take a look at the first one. It is called Pop-Up Stopper. The name pretty much says it all.
The first thing to note about this program is that it is free. So you can try it and if you aren't satisfied with it, simply uninstall it and you're not out anything.
When we first installed Pop-Up Stopper, we were decidedly unimpressed as the pop-ups just kept coming - it's the pop-unders that I find particularly annoying. So anyway, we started nosing around a bit and found in the preferences (right click the icon in your system tray in the lower right-hand corner and then click on preferences) a box to check to more aggressively block pop-ups and unders. Once that was checked, all those annoying windows went away.
One thing to note about this setting is that clicking on a link that is supposed to open in a new window is slightly more difficult. Once it's set, you have to hold the Shift key when you click on the link. Each person surfs differently and for some people, having to hold the shift key is more annoying than the pop-ups. If that sounds like you then this product isn't for you. We'd much rather hold the shift key and be rid of those nasty pop-ups.
Pop Up Stopper is produced by Panicware. Visit http://www.panicware.com to learn more or click the Pop-Up Stopper Free Version link to download this utility.
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© 2002 EduCyber, Inc. This newsletter is brought to you by EduCyber, Inc. Visit us on the web at http://www.educyber.com or call us at (720) 275-4646. Permission is hereby granted to redistribute all or part of this newsletter as long as this entire copyright message is included.
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