 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
September 2002 EduNotes
EduCyber is pleased to present the September 2002 Edition of EduNotes.
In this issue you’ll find out our new number, where to search for
new news, what the recent software updates and patches are and what my
favorite web sites are. This month’s newsletter ends with an excerpt
of the President’s proclamation about Patriot Day. Enjoy and as always,
send feedback to edunotes@educyber.com.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
New Number for EduCyber, Inc.
We’ve got a new phone number so please update your records. Our new
number is (720) 275-4646.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
News Needs to be New
If you’ve ever done an Internet search for a recent event and got
instead results about events from years ago then you are probably searching
in the wrong spot. And Google has just the search engine for you. They
now have a news search at http://news.google.com
that gets feeds from many national and international sources and brings
it all together for your searching convenience.
Google just keeps getting better. While testing the site out for this
piece, my fat fingers typed “anthraz” instead of “anthrax.”
Google quickly reported there were 0 results for anthraz but then delivered
the 135 results it did have for anthrax. Within those results were several
articles that had been on the wire about an hour.
Having the ability to search through different news organizations reports
on the same story can be of benefit and a real eye-opener as you begin
to see the various ideological stances through what stories are covered
and how a specific story is covered from organization to organization.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Update Time
Well it’s time for an update. Microsoft has just released Windows
XP Service Pack 1 and they have also recently released Service Pack 3
for Windows 2000. For security needs alone it is worth making sure your
Windows XP or Win2K computer has the latest service pack. From the user
point of view, the only thing you might notice that is different is the
Set Program Access Defaults button added to the Start Menu. And the reason
for this new button is because of Microsoft’s agreement with the
Justice department. Now you have more control over the programs on your
computer.
But wait, there’s more. Office XP users can and should download and
install Service Pack 2 but you first have to install Service Pack 1 if
you haven’t already. If you have an Exchange server you’ll want
Service Pack 3 (talk to your IT people about this). Internet Explorer
users should have IE 6.0 Service Pack 1, or IE 5.5 Service Pack 2. Of
course for all your Microsoft products you should regularly visit the
Windows Update site and make sure that all Critical Updates are installed
or use Microsoft’s automatic updating tool.
For reading pdf files, the latest version of Adobe’s Acrobat Reader
is 5.05. Mac OS users should be running 10.1.5, or 9.2.2 or 8.6. And Mac
users should also verify with the Apple web site that they have the latest
security updates installed.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
My Favorite Web Sites
What are your favorite web sites and why? I’ve got a few that I’d
like to share because I think they’re cool.
My.yahoo.com is the
page I use for my portal or start page. I’ve got it customized with
the news, stocks and sports that matter to me and I can check up on all
the latest news. I’ve even got three of my favorite comics on the
page so I don’t miss them when I don’t have time for the paper
in the morning. I used to use my.netscape.com but they couldn’t seem
to get the sports right and it just got too annoying. Of course the pop-under
ads at my yahoo are also annoying but I can live with them. I used to
use home.excite.com but that’s a whole other story.
And of course, though you’ve heard me say this repeatedly, google.com
is a pretty cool site. They’ve got the best searches, up-to-date
news and loads of other features. I’ve been using google since it
was a college project and it seems as though most of the world uses it
now. The only downside is that they’ve so brilliantly outdone the
competition that they don’t really have any anymore. Hopefully this
lack of competition won’t lead Google to rest on their laurels.
Buy.com has some of the
best deals around and that makes their site a frequent visit for me. Their
site is easy to use with quick menus to drill down to a specific area
or a search menu that can quickly help you get to what you’re looking
to buy. Though I use Buy almost exclusively for computer-related stuff,
they also have books, magazines, games, and music.
And, for a local plug, you should check out applewoodbusiness.com.
This is one of our newest sites and we’re quite proud of it. If you
live in the west Denver area, you can find local businesses that would
be happy to have you as their customer. It’s also a good place to
locate your local government’s web site or to learn more about the
Applewood area.
My last shameless plug is for educyber.com.
If for no other reason, you should visit to browse through our newsletter
archive with newsletters dating back to 1998. But you can also learn about
our other services and educators can get a special treat. Our education
links and our grants information page continue to get a lot of visitors.
Got a favorite site? Let us know about it and we’ll include it in
a future newsletter.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Excerpt from President Bush’s Patriot Day Proclamation
I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby
proclaim September 11, 2002, as Patriot Day. I call upon the people of
the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and
activities, including remembrance services and candlelight vigils. I also
call upon the Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, as well as appropriate officials of all units of government, to
direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on Patriot Day. Further, I
encourage all Americans to display the flag at half-staff from their homes
on that day and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m.
eastern daylight time, or another appropriate commemorative time, to honor
the innocent victims who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of September,
in the year of our Lord two thousand two, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and twenty-seventh.
GEORGE W. BUSH
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
© 2002 EduCyber, Inc. This newsletter is brought to you by EduCyber,
Inc. http://www.educyber.com Permission
is hereby granted to redistribute all or part of this newsletter as long
as this copyright message is included.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
For questions, or to be removed from this monthly newsletter distribution,
email us at edunotes@educyber.com.