Maki & Brian DeLaet EduCyber founders

January 2004 EduNotes

EduCyber extends warm New Year's greetings to you . We are pleased to present the first edition of EduNotes for this new year. In this month's issue you learn about ergonomics and whether your keyboard is right for you, do some froogle Christmas shopping, learn a bit about some digital cameras and compare prices on some of our favorite items. Enjoy and as always, send feedback to edunotes@educyber.com .

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Ergonomics

Do you sit at your computer all day? Do you find your arms or wrists getting all achy and sore? Perhaps you need a new keyboard. The standard Qwerty (follow the letters from the top left row to figure out why it is called this) keyboard has been around since the typewriter was invented. It may be time for you to move on.

If you really want to start from scratch, you can try the Dvorak keyboard (or, following the logic of the Qwerty name, the “<>pyf” keyboard). The Dvorak puts the most used letters in the home row which makes it easier on your hands and fingers. But that isn't what we're advocating here.

Sit down at your computer and place your hands in their normal typing posture. Note how your hands angle from the wrist and where your elbows are. Now freeze your arms and hands in that position and stand up. Can you imagine any other activity that would require you to put your hands and arms in such a position?

We can't either. Which is why a couple of years ago I got myself a natural keyboard. With a natural keyboard, all the letters and numbers are in the same order as a typical qwerty keyboard. If you take a knife and cut down the middle of your keyboard, separating F5 from F6, 6 from 7, t from y, g from h, and b from n, you're just about there. Now you just rotate the left half a few degrees clockwise and the right half a few degrees counter-clockwise and make the space bar a little bit longer and you've got a natural keyboard.

Now, making sure that my chair and elbows are at the correct height, my wrists don't need to bend at all while I'm typing, relieving a lot of stress and tension in my arms. And I like it. It takes a bit of getting used to yes but the Dvorak advocates tell you it takes a month or more to retrain on their keyboard. It takes less than a day to get used to a natural keyboard and, if something goes wrong with it, you don't have to relearn the qwerty keyboard until you can get a new natural keyboard.

Oh, but you don't have to get your knife out. They actually sell these things. And they aren't pricey either. Buy.com has them for as little as $25 and office stores like Office Depot or OfficeMax for around $45 - $55.

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The New Trojan War

Ah, the Greeks and the Trojans are at it again, eh? Er, no that's not the war we're talking about. In the last month we've helped several clients dealing with Trojans on their computers. Much like the famous horse that the Trojans dragged into their city, modern day computer users welcome the Trojan into their computer, thinking it to be some cool Internet feature or part of program they are trying to install.

And voila! Your computer has been compromised. A Trojan is different from a virus in that it doesn't replicate itself (by, for example, sending out emails to others) but it can be just as nasty and just as there was an unpleasant surprise waiting for the citizens and soldiers of Troy inside the horse, modern day Trojans may have viruses or other nasties hiding inside. One client had lost control of his Internet as spyware had hijacked his browser.

How can you protect yourself? Most antivirus software should detect known Trojans. But if you're antivirus definitions are up-to-date and you suspect you've got a Trojan, you might also try one of the spyware programs. We still like Ad-aware (January 2003 edition) but found that Pest Patrol (www.pestpatrol.com ) worked best in getting rid of spyware that had been introduced by a Trojan. Of course, we recommend calling your IT professional if you suspect you've got a problem. You can reach us at 720 275-4646.

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Support Extension

Just when you thought that you were finally going to have to upgrade your Windows 98 computer, you've been granted a reprieve. Microsoft had planned to quit supporting 98 and 98 SE but have extended their support until 2005.

While some seem incredulous that they would have tried to stop support, let's just stop and think about it for a minute. 1998 was six years ago. Since that time our world has changed dramatically and so has the computing world. For all the jokes comparing Windows to cars (can you imagine if your car crashed as often as windows?) can you imagine a car dealer still providing free maintenance to a car you purchased 6 years ago? Just like the dealer would recommend you buy a new one and give you a deal on your trade in, Microsoft would like to have you upgrade to something newer. And while your car dealer has had 6 newer models since then, Microsoft provides you with two fine choices, Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

The main thing this means to most users is that you will still be able to download security updates from Microsoft for the next year. And, I suspect, this is probably the main reason driving the extension. But if you're still using a version of Windows 98, don't wait until next year to see if you're granted another reprieve. Instead, upgrade or start saving for that upgrade now so that you'll be ready when they really do stop support.

And there are dozens if not hundreds of good reasons to move on to a newer OS. XP has integrated file compression (zipped files) and basic CD burning into the OS itself. XP and even 2000 are more intuitive and have features built in that help you work the way you want to. One thing to be VERY careful of is whether it is better to get a whole new computer or just upgrade your operating system. With the low cost of computers these days, you'll likely be better off with all new hardware to go with your new Operating System.

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Kids Computing

Quite some time ago, my wife and I decided that our kids wouldn't have an Internet connected computer in their rooms. Instead they have one (with access to another) in a common room, enabling us to keep closer tabs on where they go and what they do online.

We've also worked with our children to make sure they ask when venturing away from their favorite web sites (like cartoonnetwork.com or bonus.com). But even a tech-savvy household such as ours needs to stop and re-evaluate from time to time. Our older son loves playing a certain online game and plays as often as we let him with his friends. While he plays with his friends, anyone can join in the games they play. And the chat feature which is certainly helpful in playing the game, can also be used for lots of mischief completely unassociated with the game. When one of his friends told his mother that they almost got a 13 year old girl's phone number, we realized it was time for that little parent child talk about the facts of life.

Unfortunately, no, not those facts. About how someone claiming to be 13 could be 40. About someone claiming to be a girl might not be. About how information given out or received over the Internet can cause all kinds of harm. As with all things in life, kids need to hear from their parents what the boundaries are and they also need to know that those boundaries will be enforced. So now our son knows that when we let him back online, that we will be watching and he knows what his boundaries are. If you've got kids on the ‘net, take the time to make sure they know what your boundaries are. But please don't react like the parent who no longer lets the children out alone in the day because there was some neighborhood violence at night. Instead, escort the kids onto the Internet. It could even become a good way to spend time with your child but just be careful you don't get hooked on the games as well :-)

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© 2004 EduCyber, Inc. This newsletter is brought to you by EduCyber, Inc. EduNotes can be viewed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online at http://www.educyber.com/edunotes/ . 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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