Laptop Lab

Welcome to the Laptop Lab homepage

2022-03-16T15:45:00.007-04:00

What classes can I take? Find out at the ACPL Events calendar.

What is a Laptop Lab? The Laptop Lab is a mobile lab consisting of nine Dell laptops. They are used to hold classes that will help library patrons master computer-related skills. It can be used both in and outside of library walls.

What do I need to know to take these classes? Prerequisites for classes will be posted at the calendar.

If you have any other questions regarding the use of the Lab, you may e-mail Pamela Martin-Diaz at pmartin@acpl.info

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Its mission is to grow and sustain a “Nation of Learners” because life-long learning is essential to a democratic society and individual success. Through its grant making, convenings, research and publications , the Institute empowers museums and libraries nationwide to provide leadership and services to enhance learning in families and communities, sustain cultural heritage, build twenty-first-century skills, and increase civic participation. To learn more about the Institute, please visit: http://www.imls.gov

PowerPoint Basics

2009-07-01T07:01:00.001-04:00

Prerequisite:
Computer Fundamentals, using point and click.

Click here for an introduction video to PowerPoint.

PowerPoint 2007
PowerPoint 2007 is the presentation graphics software in the Microsoft 2007 Office Suite. With PowerPoint, you can use its easy-to-use predefined layouts, themes, or templates to create dynamic and professional presentations.

PowerPoint 2003
PowerPoint 2002 , also known as PowerPoint XP.
PowerPoint 2000

Once complete, you can learn PowerPoint Tricks to create visually stunning presentations.

How to Airbrush like a Professional

2009-07-01T04:21:00.000-04:00

Goal:
We'll improve a picture digitally, airbrushing using a typical photo manipulation interface. From this practice you'll learn basic skills for image manipulation.
Class requirements:

Basic understanding of windows point and click.
Pain.net installed.
A picture you want to improve manually.

The following guide is courtesy of Lindsay Korsen from the Paint.net forums where you can learn even more and post what you have done.

By popular demand, (and explicit force) I will download the whole tutorial here...step by step.

Only because I love paint.net and this community so much, and I have been a guilty lurker for so long.

So basically this tutorial will let you edit photos of people in high quality. The example photo is a pretty low quality, but the same process applies for all pictures.

For example, you can go from this picture:

to this

using the same process.

Oh, and P.S. before you start insulting the model, it's me.

Start up your Paint.net program, pick a picture, and get ready to learn!

STEP ONE:

STEP TWO:

STEP THREE:

STEP FOUR:

STEP FIVE:

STEP SIX:

STEP SEVEN:

STEP EIGHT:

STEP NINE:

STEP TEN:

STEP ELEVEN:

STEP TWELVE:

STEP THIRTEEN:

halfway there...

STEP FOURTEEN:

STEP FIFTEEN:

STEP SIXTEEN:

STEP SEVENTEEN:

STEP EIGHTEEN:

STEP NINETEEN:

STEP TWENTY:

STEP TWENTY-ONE:

STEP TWENTY-TWO:

STEP TWENTY-THREE:

STEP TWENTY-FOUR:

STEP TWENTY-FIVE:

STEP TWENTY-SIX:

Have fun with this. I edit EVERY good picture I find. It's addicting.

Post your creations! I'd love to see them!

PowerPoint Tricks

2009-06-28T02:21:00.005-04:00

Prerequisites:
PowerPoint Basics

Here are example slide effects with instructions. If you are leading a group or studying on your own, and want to download the tutorials, click here for direct links to the power point files.

First you may want to view an introduction to Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007. There will be some features that can't be used in older versions, but it is important to learn what is out there now.

Reproduction instructions are included so that you can customize the slides to your preference.

How do you get started with MySpace?

2009-06-23T23:42:00.010-04:00

You must be age 13.

On MySpace you share your profile, photos, blogs, and messages with a fast-growing network of people connected to you by your friends.

The first thing to do is to invite your friends -- then when they invite their friends you'll all be connected!

Click Here: Invite Friends

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

Link to FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions:
http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=misc.faq

Back to School--Find your Classmates on MySpace !

Be sure to add your school to your MySpace page if you haven't done so yet! It's an easy way to find your friends on MySpace, since it has a fully searchable school section.

Click here to add your school.

College Students--Grade your Professor!

MySpace has a very handy feature for college students called "Grade your Professor"-- this helps students find the best professors on campus. You can read reviews, or add your own. Just add your school and go to the schools page, by clicking the name of the school on your profile, or from your homepage click in the "view my:" dropdown under your name to see your schools.

You can also schools or visit schools you have already added from the main schools page. Click here for the schools page!

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

Activate MySpace on your Mobile: http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vcHJvZmlsZWVkaXQubXlzcGFjZS5jb20vaW5kZXguY2ZtP2Z1c2VhY3Rpb249YWNjb3VudFNldHRpbmdzLm1vYmlsZQ==

Profile 2.0 Users:
We now have three new modules you should know about:

Status & Mood: Lets you display your status & mood history on your profile (up to 50 past posts)

Activities: Lets you show your recent activities on your profile (photos & videos uploaded, apps you've added, etc.)

Post Comment: Display a "comment box" to make it easier for your friends to leave you comments

To add these modules, choose “Customize Profile” from the Profile menu. Once the editor has loaded, click the “Modules” icon on the far left and you'll see a list of modules available for 2.0. Just click a module and it will be added or removed from your profile. You can drag & drop them and customize them like any other module.

MySpace has just launched support for maiden names where you can enter your maiden name, keep your new married name, and still have all of your friends find you.

All you have to do is fill in your maiden name here.

While you’re filling in your maiden name, you can also add alternative email addresses and Instant Messaging handles that people can use to find you as well.

How to make a resume: step-by-step, with Microsoft Word.

2009-06-16T15:10:00.005-04:00

Here are the handouts. These are useful to have for students as they wait for class to start.

Here’s your desktop, click the Start Button:

Open up Microsoft Word. You may have to find it by clicking on the start button. Then look under the menus of All Programs / Microsoft office / MS Word.

MS Word opens up to its main interface. It should look like the following picture. Below is the 2003 version which is the familiar interface for most public terminals found at your local library.

Start a new document by clicking on the menu File / New …

On your far right, a task pane will open with options to select your template’s location. Click on the 2nd option, “On my computer…”

Your available templates pop up:

Click on the Other Documents tab then on Resume Wizard, and OK.

When the Resume Wizard opens, click Next:

You can click any style you want. But for this guide, we use Elegant. Click next when ready.

Choose the type of resume to use. One way to do that is to choose the resume format that best highlights your experience, education, and skills. Let’s help you pick.

The Chronological Resume

The most commonly used resume format is the chronological resume. On a chronological resume, your work history is listed by job title beginning with your current or most recent job.

The chronological resume works best for job seekers who:

want to showcase a steady employment history
are looking for a position that matches or logically progresses from previous jobs
are seeking a conventional position, such as an office clerk, accountant, or teacher

The Functional Resume

A less popular resume format among recruiters and hiring staff, the functional resume highlights your skills without revealing the dates associated with your job history. The functional resume minimizes specific job titles and eliminates dates of employment , while emphasizing your abilities and skills by placing them in functional skill categories.

The functional resume works well if you:

Have worked lots of different jobs or possess very diverse skills
Have skills that relate to the position, but not a lot of previous work experience in the field
Have gaps in employment history, are a recent graduate, or are changing careers
Are a mature worker who wants to de-emphasize your age

The Combination Resume.

You can combine the two previous types. The combination resume format combines the functional and chronological formats. It includes functional skill categories, but also lists the dates of previous employment.

This format works well for job seekers who:

may have obtained the required skills from seemingly unrelated industries or jobs
are trying to change careers and want to emphasize transferable skills
have had a steady work history

To learn more in greater detail, including examples, please visit the GCFLearnfree.org's resume types. To review, the most common is Chronological, highlighting steady employment history and if all your previous employment is related to the position being sought. Functional highlights your skills even if in unrelated job and for those with gaps in their employment history, recently graduated, or changing career directions. For most people’s use, the entry level is where you want to start. Once you choose, click Next.

So look now, we are half-way done with the wizard! Here, we fill in your contact information.

What Contact Information Should You Include?

You probably already know that your contact information -- which includes your name, address, phone number, and email address -- should always appear at the top of your resume, regardless of which resume format you use.

But did you know that some employers actually use the contact information section to screen out undesirable candidates? They may pass you over if you live in another part of the country, to avoid paying relocation costs. Or they may form a negative opinion about you if your contact information is inappropriate in some way. A lot of hiring managers today will even use this information to search for you on popular social networking sites to see what is posted about you.

So what should you include to make sure your resume doesn't get eliminated?

INSTRUCTIONS: Roll over each highlighted component of the contact information section on the interactive resume below to explore tips for what to include or not include in your contact information.

Your first and last name are expected to appear at the top of your resume. Enter your Name in place of [FirstName I. LastName], keeping the following in mind:
- The middle initial is optional. Include it if that is how you are known in your field or if your name is fairly common and you want to distinguish yourself from other job candidates with the same name
- You can use your given first name (Elizabeth, e.g.) or your shortened first name (Liz or Beth, e.g.)
- Don't use a nickname, especially one that can lead someone to form an opinion about you. (Ace or Dizz, for example)
You are also expected to include a home address on your resume. Type it in, by:
- Entering your House number and street name in place of [#### Street Name], your city and your state abbreviation in place of [City, ST], and your five digit zip code in place of [ZipCode].
- Consider using your complete state name if your state abbreviation is easily confused with another, like MO, MS, and MT
Enter the digits of the phone number you have decided to use in place of [(###)###-####]. Your home, work, mobile/cell phone numbers are all acceptable to use. However, when thinking about which number to include, consider these things:
- It is acceptable to include more than one telephone number.
- Make sure you have a reliable (as well as appropriate and polite) message system or message taker if you cannot answer the phone yourself.
- Make sure the number you include is one on which you can actually take calls as they come in. Your current work phone number is not a good choice if your employer does not allow personal calls, or if you don't want them to know you are looking for another job.
- You will want to check your messages regularly during your job search, so make sure the number you include will be accessible to you.
In this digital age, it is becoming increasingly expected that you include an email address on your resume. Not only does it show that you are tech savvy, it also gives the hiring manager a very easy way to get in touch with you. But make sure it is an appropriate email address before you enter it in place of [email@emailprovider.com]:
- Use a conventional email address (firstname.lastname@email.com), not one with an inappropriate connotation (like bootyman24_7@email.com)
- During your job search, you will need to check your email regularly so you don't miss an opportunity.
- If you don't have an email account, there are many free online providers (like Yahoo! and Gmail) that you can access at your local library or internet cafe.
If you don’t have an email address, click here to help setup an email address, send a message, and attach your resume and send a message. Click Next when you have completed entering your contact information.

Let’s choose which main headings we want in our resume:

You can remove these later, but it’s easiest to add them now. Remember, you want to put your best foot forward, but you don’t want to have a 3+ page phone book for your future boss to read. Choose what’s relevant for the specific job you are applying for. Good practice: You can select more than less for now, and delete later to custom fit for each resume app. Next, you also have some optional headings.

Anytime, during this wizard if you remember something you forgot to do, you can go backwards and add them; once you click Finish on the wizard, you’ll have to make changes manually. Don't worry -- we will walk through how to manually edit after the wizard does its magic!

If there’s information that is not included in the wizard, you can add it here. Try to make sure it will help you get the job you are looking for.

Let’s take a look at our new file. Let’s save it before anything happens. Click File, then Save in a place you trust. Your desktop is fine for now, but use a USB thumb drive if you have one.

You’ve got your resume! Now let’s add some flesh to these bones. First, go to Objectives and click on it to highlight it.
Just for practice, type in “To get a job.” We’ll revise this part later.

Next, let’s fill in your qualifications:

To help keep the formatting and alignment, let’s see the Gridlines on the table. Click on the menu Table, then Show Gridlines. You can turn them off anytime just by doing the prior steps again.

Now we can see the hidden lines that keep the page aligned and your resume impressive:

Fill in your information by following the select-and-type method. After clicking on where you want to input your information, type over it and delete the unnecessary pre-format marks. Highlight the text you are editing. Repeat this for the rest of the form. Note to presenter: walk through these steps on the screen for all to see.

Then type in your dates. Repeat for the next field, and so on:
Do the same click-and-type method for the Company name:

Click-and-type. If you mess up, there’s the undo button at the top. It’s right next to the redo button. (It can remember multiple undo’s, but it can not undo an old history after a new course of action.)

Fill in your City:
Fill in your degree: Look at how great things are going, in the following examples. How do I add another school experience? Or How do I add a second or third job? First highlight the whole section you wish to copy, by click-and-drag the mouse over the whole section. Next, copy and paste. You can use the menus above or the right click to do the copy and paste function. Fill the Fill the rest out accordingly. Save often! Look at Look how awesome your whole page is!

There's one more thing that needs to be fixed. See it? If you were a hiring agent, (maybe your new boss if you impressed her,) would you interview this person? Consider revising the Objective, perhaps like the following. It may take some soul searching, but your first impressions will be worth it. For example, take a look at the following link:

Then save it manually, often, because automatic-save can be trusted too much.

Print out. Use thicker resume paper but nothing too fancy.

Great, you’re done! Click here to help setup an email address, send a message, and attach your resume and send a message.

Now you have a resume page that represents you and helps your prospective bosses see if you fit their business. Turn your good resume into a great one, by visiting “How to Get that Job” with tips also on writing a cover letter and interviewing.

Now that you have a resume to turn in on hard copy, you can make a web presence for yourself quickly. Sign into Google Docs, then upload your saved file or create one from Google Docs templates. Then when ready, click on share and save that link to place in e-mails, web pages, blogs, anywhere you can. Because your special formatting is not easily kept, make sure it looks right using different screen sizes and different computers if possible.

Backup your Blog

2009-04-18T16:48:00.003-04:00

Wouldn't it be awful to find your blog deleted or corrupt somehow? Maybe you want to make edits or move the blog. Well just in case, like with most things, back it up. Here's how to save yourself a lot of heartache.

http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/02/how-to-backup-blogger-blog.html

How to sign-up for hands-on classes

2009-02-28T12:36:00.010-05:00

Option 1: To self-register, click here to see the current calendar of scheduled classes, which is also available on the toolbar above.
http://host5.evanced.info/allenco/evanced/eventcalendar.asp?lib=ALL&et=Computer+Class

Option 2: If you are new with computers, any of our librarians at our ACPL local branches would be glad to help you in person schedule a class. They can sign you up for a basics class.

(On the left, you'll find the search list. If not, please click on "search slider.")

Once there, you can do a search if you know the program you want. To browse the classes, you can narrow to just computer classes by unclicking "All Event Types" and leaving only "Computer Class" clicked. You may narrow your search options by specifying "Location" and "Age Groups".

When you've found the class you want, please click on it, fill out the relevant information, and be ready to learn on the scheduled time. If you'd like to, you may of course bring your own laptop, but we will provide hands-on laptops for the classes. For some classes such as making a resume, making a website, or customizing photos, please bring your materials to work with, such as photos on a USB thumb-drive or a reference paper/file of info you'd like to have on your finished project.

Setup a reminder for yourself on a calendar, just in case. See you there!

Scheduled classes, How to Register

2009-02-28T12:03:00.004-05:00

This interactive calendar will show you the upcoming classes available for the Laptop Lab in the local Fort Wayne area. Please make note of the location of the classes, as this program originated in the Shawnee Branch, but is shared with all the other agencies as well.

For a complete list of hands-on classes that are offered, click here.

While walk-ins for the hands-on classes are permissible, please remember that we only have 9 computers total in the Laptop Lab, so available seating are limited per class. To ensure you have a seat, please register. This link will show you how to register and this link will send you directly to the ACPL events calendar registration pages.

2009-02-28T11:44:00.005-05:00

On this page you can see the whole list of posts published.

To show the full table of contents, please click on the link below (this may take a few moments to load, depending on the speed of your computer and internet connection.)

Show table of contents

If the list isn't showing, please click on the table of contents again above. Like us, computers sometimes need to be told what to do more than once.

How to backup a PC – A must do.

2009-02-10T21:29:00.001-05:00

Don’t let your precious photos, documents, and personal data get trashed by computer melt-down.

It happens. So be prepared. If you are like most of us who have files that are important to you, backup soon. By that, I mean *zoinks* like yesterday.

While you can get backup software from other companies, Microsoft recommend that you use the software that comes with Windows XP and Windows Vista. Here are pointers to get you started.

Backing up a PC running Windows Vista

To get an overview of back up options for Windows Vista, see this article: Methods for backing up your files.

We recommend that you use the Windows Backup and Restore program. It comes with Windows Vista, and is the best and easiest option for backing up your PC. These articles show how to use it: Back up your files and Restore files from backup.

Backing up a PC running Windows XP

We recommend that you use software we've provided, Windows XP Backup. If you have Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Media Center edition, the software is already installed. If you have Windows XP Home Edition, you'll need to install it. Here's how: Install Backup from the CD-ROM in Windows XP Home Edition.

When you're ready to use Windows XP Backup, here are a couple articles to get you started:

Note: The backup methods described here do not preserve installed programs—only data. If you are using an Operating System that expire, (such as trials like Windows 7 Beta which expires on August 1,

2009,) you'll need to reinstall a prior version of Windows or a subsequent release of Windows 7 before the expiration date, as well as any previously-installed programs.

(The above is adapted from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-pc-backup.aspx)

Complete Class list

2009-01-31T12:42:00.012-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

Work Related:

1. How to Get that Job
2.

How to make a Resume: apply for a job with a brief written account of personal, education, and professional qualifications and experience. (55 min)
3. Setting up a free email account
4. Step-by-Step: Sending an E-mail Message
5.

Attach a File to an e-mail

6. How to save online videos (Youtube, etc.) and even convert them; save them offline, into PowerPoint for a presentation
7.

How to make a Banner

Relevant links:
Scheduled classes, How to Register.

Ultimate List of free programs for XP and Vista

2009-01-27T10:18:00.002-05:00

Image by Voetmann via Flickr

So you’re curious what you can get for free, that’s also good? There are a lot of free programs but what you’ll find in the following lists is some of the most popular and useful programs all listed easily for your downloading pleasure.

Many of these programs deserve more than can be said in this small post, but please feel free to explore them. You’ll want to bookmark these 2 pages.

1.) Ultimate List of Free Windows Software from Microsoft:

http://bhandler.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!70F64BC910C9F7F3!1231.entry

2.) Ultimate List of Free Windows Vista Software from Microsoft:

http://bhandler.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!70F64BC910C9F7F3!1844.entry

Easy way to make an animated picture?

2009-01-17T15:48:00.002-05:00

So, you've got a picture perhaps from an avatar, or for your profile in your personal page. But you'd like to make it more fancy? Maybe you can't decide between two stunning pictures of you. Well, now you can do that, with your own pictures. Visit http://www.picasion.com/ and with a few easy clicks you’ll be done before you know it.

All you need to do is upload the pictures to the website and they’ll animate your individual pictures into a moving picture for you that you can download and put it where you want, whether MySpace of Facebook, a forum, your email signature, or even your own personal web page.

Be careful though to keep the file size of the package small, so it’s easier for your friends to download quickly. You can do that by cropping the taller and wider image to a manageable size. Also, keep as few frames as possible. The more frames you have, the longer it is takes to download, the sooner people will skip your stuff.

All types of Avatars

2009-01-07T15:37:00.006-05:00

Here are some resources for making avatars, ranging from quick & simple to super-customizable & involved.

Make a manga avatar at www.faceyourmanga.com Just take a look to the left to see all the different kinds of faces you can make.

“Mypictr is a simple web app that helps you create avatars - or "social pictures", as it calls them -- by uploading a picture and either selecting the social network you want to use it with or defining your own dimensions.

For example, let's say you've been dying to upload your favorite avatar, but you just don't know (or don't have the time to figure out) how to get your image resized to 160x160 pixels. Just upload your picture, enter your desired dimensions, and drag around the zoom and crop tools until your avatar is perfect. Hit "pictrit" and you have the option to download the cropped image or have it emailed to you. Now you've go no excuse for that unattractive "no image available" default.” — Adam Pash

At www.ImageChef.com, (example on the right) you can make

stylish custom images and animations. Turn your slogan into a neon sign. Drop your own photos into picture frames. Add your own text and share via e-mail, Face Book, MySpace and more.

Ever wonder how you might look as a South Park character? Find out with Create-a-Character.

This browser-based Flash 'game' lets you assemble characters in a matter of minutes. Pick yourself a head, a hat (or hair), eyes, a mouth, and all the other trademark South Park parts, then adorn yourself with amusing extras.

There's no save feature, but a simple print-screen will copy the image to your clipboard. From there you can paste it into your favorite image editor and save it for posterity. Great way to make an avatar, too. For anyone who's a fan of the show, there's no better way to kill five minutes. Respect my authoritah!" — Rick Broida

“

Bored with your typical IM icons and emoticons? Us too. That's why we're thrilled to see Mojizu and the Mojicon Dispenser. It's a free download, for Windows only, that will let you browse a whole bunch of Mojis; neat, unique character avatars, emoticons and more.

The icons are based on characters created by artists around the world for the Mojizu community. Not only will you find some neat icons, you'll be helping artists get their work seen. Give it a look, there's lots of fun stuff there.

”

http://avatars.yahoo.com
This is Yahoo’s very customizable, and easy avatar maker. It is useable in Yahoo’s instant messenger and all around yahoo’s massive offerings. It’s animated and really easy to update, because you can mark certain items and extras as favorites.

http://www.doppelme.com
Cuter, simpler, and for another purpose. You can use this pretty much anywhere, unlike Yahoo’s avatars. For web pages, social network site, blogs, and even e-mail signatures.

http://www.photofunia.com
Put some Photoshop wizardry at your fingertips with photo manipulation site PhotoFunia. Take a clean head shot of yourself or the soon-to-be-victim of your prank and upload it to PhotoFunia. There are currently sixty nine photos that faces can be pasted into ranging from the Andy Warhol-esque art gallery scene featured in the image above to magazine covers, currency, famous photos, and more. The process is fast and requires no interaction from the user other than selecting the template to be used and uploading the picture. With a simple head shot most of the templates worked just fine, with a few having odd sizing issues (i.e. my noggin looked way too big for the scale of the picture.) Once PhotoFunia generates the picture it can be saved at full size, saved in a smaller forum-friendly avatar size, or saved to ImageShack.

http://www.imvu.com

For 3D chat, animated 3D scenes, dress up your 3D avatar with new clothes, shoes, hairstyles, accessories, pets, furniture and more.

The New York Zoo and Aquarium want to help you let your wild side out, with their web site, http://www.buildyourwildself.com

At www.meez.com you can create your very own 3D version of yourself that you can export. Here's my version.

How to save online videos (Youtube, etc.) and even convert them; save them offline, into PowerPoint for a presentation.

2009-01-03T15:08:00.002-05:00

It’s nice to use multimedia, where our learners can see and hear fantastic videos. With limited budgets we can produce only so much in comparison to the wealth already out there. But how do we get what's available in to our class room?

During power point presentations videos can be embedded into our slides. The best way to do this is have them downloaded to your disk, then imported into power point through the usual insert menu system. This allows us to have the additional benefit of freeing the media from streaming during high traffic times, which often causes video stutter and delay. I’ve encountered this during class; it critical that videos be reliable for the class leader as well as the students.

The hard part of this then, is how, in the first place does one get those great youtube videos and flash files downloaded off the bandwidth-weary Internet and onto a trusty local drive in the first place? Here are a few resources to do just that:

http://www.downloadhelper.net has the easy solution -- push-button download and automatic conversion.

1.) Firefox can download the video from Video DownloadHelper, a button extension that is a must-have. It will even download the HD versions.

2.) Next there’s an auto-convert extension, working in the background for you, all in a very reasonable file size. There is a fee to remove the icon. But it all is very automatic, so it can easily be worth the price.

http://www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free This is less automatic, but has no cost. Additionally, this free video converter can batch-convert a large group of files, into many formats. Just follow step one above, but substitute step 2 with the any-video-converter.

http://vixy.net Online, no install, web-service converts a Flash Video / FLV file (YouTube's videos,etc) for you into DIVX and other formats like MPEG4 (AVI/MOV/MP4/MP3/3GP), such as for your phone and PSP, then lets you download.
It converts FLV to MPEG4 faster and with less loss than a typical transcoder. When you submit a URL, it will download and convert to the video format, and then you can download the converted file. Not a problem if you have DIVX installed, because the Video portion is encoded in DIVX format, you won’t see anything in your media player. So that causes some work and may be a challenge during the play of the file.

http://www.sameshow.com/powerpoint-to-flash.html I haven’t tried this product, but I can see how useful it would be. It will help distribute slideshows with transitions and animations, with very small file sizes. I’d love to find a free version of something similar.

Remember to distribute the videos according to net rules of information property. I try to include a bibliography or a clickable link in the PowerPoint to reference to the video’s original source.

How to make a Banner

2008-12-06T14:20:00.002-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

A banner is useful to put at the top of a page, at the end of an e-mail as a signature, on the side of a post, in a document you want to publish, even as an intro or transition in a video or slideshow. But how to do that quickly and powerfully, without a lot of hassle, right?

Here’s one great way and you won’t even have to install a program. Just visit: http://www.bannerfans.com/banner_maker.php

Putting your own pictures in the background will help you personalize it even more so. The fonts they have are difficult to find anywhere else and give you that extra touch of style.

Create Attractive Free Banners Easily without Photoshop !

There's no floppy disk in this here 'puter!

2008-11-24T20:04:00.005-05:00

Ok, Image via Wikipediaso by now you realize there's no floppy disk, no easy way to transport your files from the computer at the library to the computer at work. How are you going to save the files from the public computer you borrowed to write up some important notes to some place where you feel safe leaving them? Don't sweat it because you have options.

(Besides, do you know how big a laptop would have to be to fit a floppy disc? Yeah, I remember too!)

Maybe you forgot to bring your external hard drive. Y'know the one, the 10lb monster with the AC adapter and the tinny fan buzzing your ear to keep the hard drive from getting too hot. Maybe you ran out of DVD write-ables,Image via Wikipedia or you just want to have an easier way to store info on the go in your pocket.

If you are already stuck at the library reading this, and can't go to your local retailer, just e-mail yourself the file. It's the fastest way to get things around, privately to yourself. With all the cons against this, consider something a little more easy and elegant.

Your solution? It's a little storage key that can fit on your key chain, or in the front miniature pocket-in-a-pocket in your jeans, or wherever you think you want to hide it. It's goes by many names. Because it may look like a thumb, be the size of a thumb, or get pulled out of your computer with a thumb (sure beats using your teeth.) The name possibilities don't matter, they just get confusing, but it's the same thing. Yes, it's a drive, though it's called a stick, as in a small stack of chewing gum, when they used to make them stick-sized. Jump drive, thumb stick, memory drive, sandisk, etc. Rose by any another name would still smell as sweet. It's a USB storage device, no moving parts, and very reliable.

Either name, the USB drive plugs directly into your computer's USB port. From there, in today's fancy computers, it's magic. The computer knows you plugged it in and installs the software to use it, and even sometimes automatically pops up your portable drive's contents for view.

Some good bews:

Image via Wikipedia1.) Prices are dropping. (As cheap as a few dollar bills. Cheaper online if you can get free shipping.)
2.) Storage is increasing. As of this writing, you can get a 16GB drive for the price of a movie.
3.) Speed is increasing. Transfers large files like videos in seconds.

4.) Keeps getting smaller and easier to carry. Retractable designs prevent you from losing caps.
5.) Some are waterproof to serious depths and shock-proof, covered in Titanium.
Image via Wikipedia
It's rewritable, not one-time use. This means it's well worth the price and will often be a great backup for very important files.

If you want this tool to be more fun, you can even get it as your favorite character or car.

Hi-Definition, what's the big deal with HD?

2008-11-20T09:22:00.006-05:00

There's a lot of techno babble that you don't need to know about. If you get confused with the technical things, maybe the following presentation helps your eyes see the difference:

http://www.cornbread.org/FOTRCompare/index.html

With digital TV coming in, there's a lot of wondering, whether it's worth the money or not, to spend for a big HDTV. Well that's is a good web site to look at to compare the difference. See it for yourself.

Make sure you are comparing a HD TV with a HD source. As they say, "Garbage in, garbage out." Some laptops are coming with Blue-Ray drives, so you can play HD movies on your HD laptop.

"There's a lot to be said for additional visual information, but in the end, do you think this provides a powerful argument for upgrading to HDTVs (and high definition DVD's) or is 480p just fine for you?"

Bibliography:
http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/02/27/1080i-vs-480p-hdtv-smackdown-on-lord-of-the-rings/

Setting up a free email account

2008-11-17T17:50:00.003-05:00

The free email accounts from the big three are really good. Whether your choose Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, or Gmail, you'll be content with the great service they all provide for an impossible to be beat price -- they are ALL free. You don't have to only have one email address (although that does sometimes makes life easier). So go ahead and get started, with this site's favored one, Gmail:

1. To create an account, first open up your web browser and surf over to www.gmail.com

2. Click on Signup for Gmail.

3. On this "Create an Account" page, please enter your information.

Your Login Name will be used for your email address. You can click on the "check availability" button to see if anyone else has used the name you want yet. Popular names are often taken (like jasondavis). Try adding numbers to make it unique (like jasondavis1974 or jason74davis).

4. Password: Make it something you will remember! It must be at least 8 characters (letters and/or numbers and/or symbols) long. The password strength indicator will let you know how secure your password is. For hints about make a secure password, click the Password strength link.

Renter your password: In order to make sure you typed it correctly, type it again. The passwords in both boxes must match exactly.

You may wish to remove the checkmark next to "Remember me on the this computer." (Highly recommended if you are on a public computer -- you don't want anyone else to have access to your account.)

You may want to remove the checkmark next to "Enable Search History." This will remember anything you search in Google while you are logged in to your email and/or Google.

Make Sure you Remember your Username and Password. Write them down somewhere safe if necessary. You will need these every time you want to access your email.

5. Security Questions: Choose one of the questions in the drop down box (click on the arrow to see the choices and click on the one you want).

Make sure it is a question no one else knows the answer to, but one you will remember.

Answer: Now type your answer to the question you selected in the next box.

Secondary E-mail: If you don't have another email address, leave this blank. If you do have another email address, you can enter it here.

Location: This is set to United States; if you will use your Gmail account primarily from another country, click on the arrow and select that country.

6. Word Verification: Type the letters you see on the screen into the box. (They will be different from the example printed here.)

Terms of Service:
Read the terms of service and click on "I accept. Create my account."

8. On the Congratulations page, click on "I'm ready --show me my account" and you will be shown your new Gmail account.

9. To write an email, click on "Compose Mail" under the Gmail logo (top left).

The next time you need to get into your email, go to www.gmail.com

You will need your username and password. Do you remember yours?

Related modules:
Step-by-Step- Sending an E-mail Message
Attach a File to an e-mail
How to Get that Job

Need PC help?

2008-11-04T22:34:00.001-05:00

Do you want your own personal troubleshooter, always on, ready to

help you? How much is it going to cost? How about for free!

Introducing Microsoft

PC Advisor.

It helps you fix your computer troubles, maintain it, customize settings, and repair the usual ails. It has incredible full-screen tutorials that show you how to use your own mouse in the programs installed on your own computer! Download it here for free.

About Microsoft PC Advisor

Microsoft PC Advisor is a self-help tool that notifies you about problems in your PC and helps you fix them. Microsoft PC Advisor scans your PC continuously, notifies you about important issues, and, when possible, suggests an easy fix solution. Additionally, it provides a checkup function, so that you can manually check your PC. This manual checkup displays information about additional, non-critical issues, such as suggestions and tips for improving the way you use your PC. The checkup advises you about security, performance, networking, printing, and more.

Main features and benefits

Optimized: Checks your PC and maintains it for optimal system performance.
Secure: Helps you keep your system secure, by continuously monitoring your PC's security settings and software, and by offering relevant security updates.
Up-to-date: Helps you keep your PC up-to-date with the latest relevant updates.
Real-time monitoring: Monitors changes that occur on your PC and require your attention, and when it detects such a change, displays a relevant notification with solution options.

Services

PC Checkup
Tutorials
Toolbox
Offers
Online Help

Support Center

The Support Center is a customized browser window that you can use to manage the program's services.

Notification window
Whenever the program detects high-priority issues and relevant offers, a notification window will pop up in the bottom right hand side of your screen and display the relevant issues and offers.

Improvement Feature
The program improvement feature collects information about how you use the program and about some of the problems you encounter on your PC. The information collected does not contain any confidential details about you or your PC.

The program improvement feature collects standard, non-confidential information about your PC, such as your operating system version, browser version, your regional and language settings, and your IP address. Other non-confidential information collected includes:

Information about your antivirus vendor
Program usage, such as:
- Messages viewed
- Messages clicked
- Whether or not a problem was fixed

If you don't want the program to collect this information, you can turn off this feature through the General settings.

About the PC Checkup service

PC Checkup service alerts are issues that the program detected on your PC. These alerts provide additional information about the detected issue. They also provide information about how to resolve an issue by using automated fixes when relevant and links to relevant updates.

PC Checkup service alerts are divided into the following categories:

Security and Privacy: Alerts that help you keep your PC safe from attacks from unauthorized users, and help ensure that your private information remains private.
Performance and Maintenance: Alerts that help you improve the performance of your PC and maintain it in optimal working order.
Network and Internet: Alerts that help you maintain your home network, Internet connection, and e-mail, and improve your online experience.
Peripherals: Alerts that help you manage your printers, including all-in-one devices and printing tasks.
Usage Tips: Tips and suggestions for improving your computing experience, such as how to organize your desktop.

If you're online and click Run a PC Checkup in the Support Center, the content of the PC Checkup service is updated, and then checked.

In addition, every seven days, the program automatically updates the content of the service and runs a comprehensive checkup.

Note: Whenever possible, Microsoft PC Advisor provides you with an automated fix, Auto Fix, in order to fix a problem that it detected on your PC. The Auto Fix runs automatically on your PC and resolves the detected problem, usually without requiring any additional input from you.

Microsoft PC Advisor Support Center offers the following, which continually is updated with new offerings with an easy online update.

Tutorials- interactive tutorials and other common services using easy interactive tutorials.

The Tutorials service provides you with a set of interactive checkup and overviews that teach you about different features of your operating system, browser, and other popular programs and services.

Tutorials created by using Coach technology show you how to use different features of your PC, operating system, and other popular programs, rather than just telling you about these features. Coach checkup utilize the actual programs on your desktop, so you can interact and work in a personalized and familiar environment. Because the explanations are displayed on the screen using the actual program you will be working with, you'll know exactly what to do and where to do it.

Security and Privacy
1. Enable the Internet Explorer pop-up blocker
2. Adjust your Internet privacy settings
3. Adjust your Internet security settings
Performance and Maintenance
1. overview of personalizing your mobile PC's battery alarm
2. Overview of creating power plan for your PC
3. How to use removable media device to increase speed
4. How to change function of the Start menu power button
5. I How to customize the Start menu search feature
Network and Internet
1. How to add a website to favorites
2. Overview of Internet Explorer
3. Overview of tabbed browsing
4. Overview of Internet Explorer Print Preview feature
Pictures and video

Overview of fixing red eye in windows Photo Gallery
Overview of windows Movie Maker
Overview of adding tags to pictures and videos
Overview of applying ratings to pictures and videos
Overview of fixing photo in windows Photo Gallery
Overview of changing names of imported pictures
Overview of windows Photo Gallery
Overview of rotating photo in Windows photo Gallery

Appearance and Personalization
1. How to change your background using one of your pictures
2. Overview of changing your desktop icons
3. How to restore Computer icon to desktop
4. How to restore Recycle Bin to desktop
5. How to show desktop icons
6. How to enable Toggle Keys
7. How to use visual cues instead of
8. sounds
9. How to display your battery icon
10. How to personalize window appearance and color
11. How to change Start menu style
12. How to display more Start menu programs
13. How to set a screen saver
14. How to change your user account picture
Programs and Games
1. Overview of the taskbar's notification area
2. Overview of Windows Sidebar
3. Overview of creating a program shortcut
4. Overview of the Start menu
5. Overview of the Start menu search feature
6. Overview of the taskbar
7. Overview of uninstalling a program from your PC
8. How to create a new calendar
9. How to create an appointment
10. How to create a task
11. Overview of Windows Calendar
Music and Sound
1. Overview of setting your PC's sounds
Files and Folders
1. How to show hidden files and folders

Toolbox - Performance and Maintenance

The Toolbox service provides you with a set of operating system-related tools to help you better manage your PC and troubleshoot problems you may encounter.

Uninstall or change a program
Change your PC's power options
Open Disk Cleanup
Open Disk Defragmenter
Change your PC's regional and language settings
Change your display settings
Change your PC's sounds and audio devices
Change your mouse settings
Change your user accounts
Open System Restore
Open System Information
Open Backup Status and Configuration
Open Network and Sharing Center
Personalize your PC
Open the Windows Security Center
Fix Common Sound Problems

Get Online Help

For a good review on the product and a little walk through in using it, please visit MaximumPC for their review.

Intermediate and Advanced Blogging

2008-11-02T19:19:00.003-05:00

Now you've got a blog and want more. There's lots of help online but here are some more suggestions.

First, you'll find tons of videos at the following site. From creating a blog to transforming your personal blog into a web site check out MagicWithBlogs. A quick look there will help you find a visual guide to most anything you want to do with a blog.

A lot of people are interested in customizing the look and functions of their blogs. Here are some of my favorite places to go for that.

Software: (Step up from the built-in writer, and start blogging in style!)

Windows Live Writer Works with MSN Live Spaces, Google Blogger, Wordpress, etc.
Zemanta It delivers free images, automatic smart links, associated photos, related articles, and automatic tags. Integrates directly into Windows Live Writer and helps you dress up your posts quickly!
Ecto For Mac use, it's feature rich at a low price, integrates into iPhoto and the rest of your Mac world.

Templates:

Install Blogger Templates how-to Video
Using Custom Templates how-to Video
http://www.ourblogtemplates.com/ Beautiful with tabs
Free BloggerBuster Templates
101 Excellent Blogger XML Templates
54 Inspiring and Original Blogger Designs Gallery of beautiful designs: be in awe!
"Premium" Blogger Templates available from Theme Forest, for a small premium.
http://bloggertemplates.itmag.org
Final Sense Blogger Templates
Get a free animated header for your blog
How to hide the Blogger Nav-Bar (in case it messes up your design aesthetic)
Admin Control Panel (after hiding the Nav-bar, this only appears when you, the Administrato,r logs in for management)

Widgets and Add-ons:

Manage your blog:

Examples of top blogs: (Hint: It's the content that got them there!)

Travelpod "Lets you chart your trips on a map, share unlimited photos and videos, and stay in touch while you travel."
Seth Godin "Seth Godin's riffs on marketing, respect, and the ways ideas spread."
MacRumors "Apple News and Rumors"
AutoBlog
How to Change the World "A practical blog for impractical people."
Gizmodo, the Gadget Guide
Engadget
LifeHacker "Tips and downloads for getting things done"
ArsTechnica "The art of technology"
BoingBoing "A Directory of Wonderful Things"
GoogleBlog "Insights from Googlers into our products, technology, and the Google culture."
SlashFilm "Blogging the Reel World, movie news and reviews"
DailyBlogTips "Improve your blog with Daily Blog Tips. A fast paced blog featuring articles on blog design, SEO, promotion, monetization and more."
A List Apart "A List Apart, For People Who Make Websites, is one of the longest-running, most trusted, and most influential independent user experience and web design magazines."

Step-by-Step: Sending an E-mail Message

2008-11-02T17:21:00.003-05:00

E-mail is by far the most popular service on the Internet. Sending messages is a snap. Just follow these simple steps. (Although our demonstration uses Microsoft Outlook, most e-mail programs work the same way.)

Open your e-mail program and launch a new message window by clicking on the appropriate icon.

In the TO box, type the name of the recipient. It should take this form: comments@learnthenet.com. Make sure you enter the address correctly or the message will return to you.

You can send a message to more than one person by entering multiple addresses. Just put a semicolon (;) between each address.

You can also send a copies (Cc:)and blind copies (Bcc:) to multiple addresses.

Your return address is automatically sent to the recipient.

Type the subject of the e-mail.

Write your message in the message window. You can also copy text from a word processing program and paste it into the window.

Click on the Send icon or select Send from the File menu.

* How to attach a document into an e-mail

* How to send and receive pictures

Hands-on Classes

2008-11-02T13:49:00.005-05:00

What classes can I take? Find out at the ACPL Events calendar.

How to sign-up for hands-on classes

Complete List of Classes

Flickr: online photo web sharing and photo blogging

2008-11-01T14:00:00.002-04:00

Ok, everyone here probably notices I try to stick with one place, Google. That makes it easier for you to log in once, and do all those nifty things Google has for you. Here's an opportunity to see how there are other ways to do things (other than Google's Picasa for example) that has other benefits.

With their easy interface, you can add notes, send to multiple friends at the same time, blog, view in different file sizes and order prints. If someone has a slow Internet connection, it's always kind not to send them 3 Megabyte files, but to let them view and/or download it at the size they want it. You can even edit photos online. So no installing! Great stuff for computers where you can't install programs.

Watch their awesome home page, so you can connect with others.

It even interfaces with Facebook. If you prefer, you can even blog on an any external blog provider of your choice.

What is Flickr?

Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world. Let us show you why!

Flickr is a way to get your photos and videos to the people who matter to you. And since basic accounts are free, there's no reason not to explore further...

Upload:
Upload from your desktop, send by email, or use your camera-phone.

Edit:
Get rid of red eye, crop a photo, or get creative with fonts and effects!

Organize:
Use collections, sets, and tags to organize your photos and videos.

Share:
Use groups and privacy controls to share your photos and videos.

Maps:
Share where your photos and videos were taken, and see photos and videos taken near you.

Make Stuff:
Cards, photo books, framed prints, Target pick up, DVDs, etc.

Keep in Touch:
Get updates from family and friends.

Start the Magical Feature Tour »

Which one is better? It depends on what do you need. They both are initially free. Google's Picasa gets you up quickly by not restricting bandwidth, but at 1 gigabyte only, it's easily used up if you snap casually or with large enough pictures. See, that's where Flickr takes over with always unlimited storage space, but (with the free account) you can only upload 100 Megabytes of pictures a month, which is about 50 large pictures.

If you compare their paid programs above, you'll see that the unlimited Flickr is a much better deal with both unlimited uploads and unlimited bandwidth. It's clear Google's plan is tempt you away from competitors with a free (I admit incredible!) program, Picasa... but then in time, you'll be hooked, and pay the tiered subscription fees.

So my personal solution for now, for a free yet powerful system, is to upload to Flickr. Once an awesome program can upload (and preferably sync like Picasa does) to Flickr, it will become my online backup for all my pictures and videos. New places are popping up all the time. Please comment after this article if you have a preferred system for photos online, photo blogging, sharing, and/or backup.

How do I send and receive pictures in an e-mail?

2008-11-01T10:46:00.002-04:00

Learn how send pictures through your e-mail. You use e-mail to attach the file. The following video will show you how to share your photos.

Be nice to your friends and don't clutter up their e-mail boxes: uploaded it to the web via Picasa or Flickr, so they can preview many smaller files at once and choose which larger pictures they want to spend time looking at. They can view it comfortably at they choice of size. One can surf your picture albums as well and leave comments on the pages right from your one link you e-mail them. Give them a try, you may even soon find yourself blogging.

How do I manage my photos? Picasa!

2008-11-01T09:17:00.001-04:00

Picasa is simple, powerful, and free! It's a must download for so many reasons. Watch it in action here for an overview of what you'll be learning:

This page explains the basics, but you'll need to get your hands dirty to really appreciate the changes. We will have a hands-on practice with Picasa finishing several projects in class.

Download the Picasa 3 at http://picasa.google.com. To get additional support or to give feedback for this beta release, please visit our Picasa Help Group to find answers from our most knowledgeable users and the Google Guide.

	Collage Experiment with six different collage types and a slew of new settings in the more hands-on collage creation screen. Collage has been reborn. You now have total artistic control over your collage content and layout. For 'Picture Pile' collages, click an image to drag it to a new location or use the wheel to rotate and resize it. Add or delete images to your collage as you go. Grid spacing: Use the slider to precisely control the space between images. More background options: Select an image as background or select any color you'd like. Print your collage in high resolution, and choose from 10 different display dimensions. Getting started Create a collage for all photos in a folder or album by clicking the Create Photo Collage button in the folder or album header. If you'd like to pick and choose photos from different collections, place them in the Photo Tray and click the larger Collage button in the Photo Tray. Use the Settings tab to control the collage type and appearance. Use the Clips tab to find additional images to insert. Experiment with these tabs to perfect your creation. Troubleshooting Depending on the type of collage you choose, you'll have different options on the Settings tab. While all collage types share basic settings like 'Background Options' and 'Page Format,' there are some settings that are only available for specific collages. If you're half-done creating a collage and need to finish later, just click the Close button, and you'll be prompted to Save Draft. You can pick up your work at any time in the 'Collages' folder.
	Sharing Why take two steps when you can do it in one? Upload an album to Picasa Web Albums and email invitations to friends and family with just one click. By clicking the Share button on the right side of the folder or album header, you can choose your recipients, and compose your accompanying message. Click Send, and your photos will be uploaded and shared in the same step. If you use the Share button for an album that's already been uploaded, it'll simply set up an invitation that you can send to friends to view your existing online album.
	Auto red-eye Our improved technology automatically detects faces and corrects the red eye in your photos. While editing any photo, you can access the Redeye button from the Basic Fixes tab. After the red eye is identified and auto-corrected, click Apply to accept the changes. Your manual controls are still there, should you want them. Just click the Reset button after the automatic correction is made, and you'll be able to use the red-eye tool manually.
	Cropping The Crop tool offers three crop suggestions based on the composition of your photograph. Don't miss the 10 different dimensions to choose from when cropping. You can access the Crop button from the 'Basic Fixes' tab. Select your chosen dimension. Click the Preview button to get a sneak peek before you apply the changes.
	Screensaver Spice up your screensaver by pulling in pictures from additional photo sources, such as your Web Albums and photo feeds. You also have more control over presentation aspects such as slide transition style, slide duration, and captions. To customize your screensaver, click the Tools menu in Picasa 3 and select Configure Screensaver. Select Google Photos Screensaver in the dialog window and click Settings to choose your screensaver sources. Click the relevant Configure buttons to get more granular choices.
	Multiple word tags You can now add multi-word tags to your photos. Finally, you can tag your rocking chair as 'rocking chair,' rather than 'rocking' and 'chair.' To add a tag, select your photo and click the Tag button next to the Photo Tray area or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+T. The blue status bar at the bottom of the screen shows any tags that have been applied to your pictures. If you'd like to see all your tags listed under each photo, click the View menu, select Thumbnail Caption, then select Tags.
	Importing To help you import images from a particular day or event, Picasa now segments your images according to the time frame when they were taken. Each group of images in the import window will be marked by a clock icon. Hover over the clock to see the time stamp of this group or click a clock to select all the images in the group. Click the Import button , choose your media, and watch as your photos are segmented by the time period in which they were snapped. Due to size constraints, Picasa can only create up to five groups at any one time. The first four groups will be segmented according to time and the fifth group will contain the remaining photos that can be imported.
	Slideshow Make your slideshow come alive with new capabilities. Try these features: Include your videos: Liven up your slideshow with video footage. Zoom: Use the magnifying glass slider to zoom in on your photos during the slideshow. Slide transition: Choose from an assortment of different slide transition styles. To get the slideshow up and running, just click the Play button in the folder or album header.

	Sync your Picasa 3 and Picasa Web Albums edits Tired of having to manually re-upload your photos after making further edits? By enabling 'Sync to Web,' edits made to your photos in Picasa 3 are automatically transferred to your corresponding online albums. You can sync the following changes: Picasa 3 edits (Basic Fixes, Tuning, and Effects) Photos added or deleted in Picasa 3 Captions, tags, or geotags Getting started The Sync to Web button is located on the right side of each folder or album header. When you click this button, you'll first be prompted to upload the photos in that folder or album to Picasa Web Albums. You can change the upload size, album privacy setting, or even add a watermark to your uploaded photos. When the upload is complete, any subsequent Picasa 3 edits to those photos will automatically transfer to your online album. Troubleshooting You can disable the sync feature at any time by clicking the Sync to Web button again, or by selecting Disable Sync in the drop-down menu to the right of the Share button in the folder or album header. All your photos and their edits up to this point remain online, but any new edits and changes will no longer be synchronized. The following changes don't transfer to your online albums: Reordering photos Changes made to folder or album properties Changes made to filenames
	Retouch your images Always want to be airbrushed? Use the Retouch tool to remove unsightly blemishes and improve photo quality. It can also help you to restore old photos with marks, water stains, and scratches to excellent condition. When editing any photo, just click the Retouch button on the 'Basic Fixes' tab. Adjust the size of your brush, and use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom in and out of the photo for precise edits. Click once to highlight the area you'd like to retouch, and then find another portion of the picture that should take the place of your highlighted area. Hover over this replacement area and click a second time.
	Preview image files with Picasa Photo Viewer The photo viewer is a fast, lightweight application for viewing images on your desktop or through Windows Explorer. Installed with Picasa 3, it lets you to take a quick look at images without having to fully open the Picasa 3 program. What you can do with the photo viewer: Add stars, zoom in and out with your mouse scroll wheel, rotate, or proceed to Picasa 3 to make more extensive edits. Upload directly from the photo viewer to Picasa Web Albums or Blogger. Jump right into emailing or printing as well. From your computer desktop or from within Windows Explorer, just double-click any image file to launch the Picasa Photo Viewer. You can reconfigure the file types that the photo viewer will display by clicking the Tools menu in Picasa 3 and selecting Configure Photo Viewer. If you'd prefer to use a different application to view certain file types, deselect the file types that the photo viewer shouldn't open. To disable the Picasa Photo Viewer entirely, click the 'Don't use Picasa Photo Viewer' option.
	Create and edit movies Combine your photos, videos, and music into a movie or use the editing room to trim your existing movies. Creating movies Use the movie maker to combine your photos, videos, and music into a movie, and create a Windows Media file. Share it with friends by uploading it directly to YouTube. About the movie maker: You have complete creative control - change the music sync, the slide duration, and slide transition style, among other things. Supported audio formats include mp3 and .wma. Add text slides: Create a title slide or a divider to provide some context. You can choose to include your photo captions as well. There are two ways to launch the movie creation screen: Create a movie for all photos in a folder or album by clicking the Create Movie Presentation button in the folder or album header. If you'd like to pick and choose photos from different collections, place them in the Photo Tray and click the larger Movie button in the Photo Tray. Use the Movie, Slide, and Clips tabs to alter movie settings, add text to slides, and insert new images, respectively. When you're satisfied, click Create Movie. Once created, use the Upload to YouTube button to share your creation with family and friends. Depending on the number of images and size of your audio file, the movie creation process can take a significant amount of time. Can't create the entire movie in one sitting? No problem, just click the Close button, and you'll be prompted to Save Draft. You can pick up your work at any time in the 'Movies' folder in Picasa. Editing movies When playing any video in Picasa 3, explore these features: Use the In and Out buttons in the lower-right corner to trim a shorter clip. Rotate your video using the Rotate buttons in the Photo Tray. Click Export Clip to output a newly trimmed or rotated video. Use the Take Snapshot button to capture a single frame of the video. Use the Play full screen button in the lower-right corner to watch the large version. Or use the zoom slider to adjust the size of the video in the Picasa editing window. Use the . and , keys on your keyboard to step the video frame-by-frame.
	Capture your screen Instantly take and import your screen captures and webcam captures into Picasa 3. Screen captures Press PrtScn to capture a shot of your entire screen. Ctrl+PrtScn will capture the highlighted window. These images will be placed in the 'Screen captures' folder. If you're having trouble importing screen captures, make sure Picasa 3 is open. Screen captures won't be imported if the application is closed. Webcam capture This is webcam importing made simple: Capture video or stills from within Picasa 3, and import them in the same instant. Make sure your webcam is operational, and then click the Webcam Capture button on the top button bar. The Capture tool will let you take and import video and stills. If the Webcam Capture button is inactive, first make sure your webcam is set to go. Then try closing Picasa 3 and opening it back up.
	Add text or watermarks to your photos You can easily personalize your photos using the Watermark and Text tools. Watermarks Help protect your images by stamping a watermark on all images that you export or upload. The watermark signature will be placed in the lower right-hand corner. Upload photos with watermarks Click the Tools menu in Picasa 3, select Options, then click the Web Albums tab. Select the option labeled 'Add a watermark for all uploads.' Type the text for the watermark in the field below the option. Export photos with watermarks When you click the Export button in the Photo Tray, you can select the 'Add a watermark' checkbox to include a watermark on your exported images. Type the text for the watermark in the field below the option. Text Use the Text tool to add text quickly and easily to your photographs; you can even print the result. You can edit the style, size, color, and alignment of the text, as well as drag it to your desired location on the photo. When editing a photo, click the Text button on the 'Basic Fixes' tab to access the tool. Do you want to add the same text to multiple photos? From the main Library view, click the Edit menu and select Copy Text to copy the text you've placed on one photo. Then select Paste text to apply it to all other selected photos. The text change isn't permanent. Once you've added your text, you'll see a 'Show Text' checkbox on the 'Basic Fixes' tab for that image. Deselect the checkbox and the text will disappear.
	Print captions Your captions are about to see a little more action. You can now print your captions or photo file names on or below your photos. Control the style and color of your printed caption, in addition to the width and color of the printed photo border. After you've selected the photos you'd like to print, click the Print button in the Photo Tray. Click the Border and Text Options button to add borders and adjust the style and placement of your printed text. Click Apply to preview your work, and OK to accept the changes.
	Upload easily to Picasa Web Albums Use the Drop Box to hold quick uploads and upload throttling to multi-task during your upload. Drop-box upload The Drop Box is an online album that serves as a holding pen for your quick uploads. Click the Upload to your Web Albums DropBox button located above your photo on the 'Edit Photo' screen to upload a single picture directly to your Picasa Web Albums Drop Box. Upload throttling You can choose to have Picasa 3 reserve some of your Internet bandwidth for surfing the Web while you're doing large uploads to Picasa Web Albums. During your upload, the dialog box will have an option labeled 'Don't eat all my bandwidth.' Just select this checkbox, and then continue multi-tasking.
	Control your Picasa Web Albums settings If you have an online album in Picasa Web Albums, you can now control the online settings through the corresponding folder or album in Picasa 3. There are a few different controls located in the drop-down menu to the right of the Share button in the folder or album header: Adjust the privacy of your online album. Change the online image size. Delete an online album. Sync your edits to your online album. You can also choose to apply 'Sync to Web' to starred photos only. Use 'Refresh Online Status' to pull your captions, tags, and geotags that you've added in Picasa Web Albums down to your photos in Picasa. Troubleshooting The button's only available for folders or albums that have been uploaded to Picasa Web Albums. You must be signed in to your Google Account for Picasa Web Albums. You can sign in by clicking Sign in to Web Albums in the upper-right corner of Picasa 3. You will only be able to adjust the online image size if you have enabled 'Sync to Web.'
	Manage folders on your computer It's now possible to move entire folders around on your hard drive from within Picasa 3. From the folder list, right-click the folder you'd like to move, and select Move folder. Choose your desired destination or create a new folder altogether. These moves are permanent on your hard drive, so make sure you properly stow your folders.
	Get more information about your photos We've added new icons and tools to the Library view to quickly communicate useful information about your photos. Magnify your images Magnify your photos for a closer inspection when browsing your library. You can find the Loupe tool next to the thumbnail size slider at the lower-right corner of the main Library view. When you click the Loupe tool, a round magnifying glass will appear. Hold down the mouse button and drag it to a photo you'd like to take a closer look at. When you're done, release the mouse button and the Loupe will disappear. See EXIF information You can now view the EXIF information for your RAW files in Picasa 3. While editing a photo, click the EXIF button at the lower-right of the screen. You can also right-click any photo and select Properties. New icons Here is an explanation of the most common icons: The swirling circular arrows adorn the photos for which you've enabled 'Sync to Web.' The star denotes images that you've starred as a favorite. The crosshair identifies the photos that you've geo-tagged in Google Earth. The upward green arrow indicates that you've uploaded a photo to Picasa Web Albums, but that 'Sync to Web' isn't enabled. This allows you to easily keep track of which photos you've placed in your online albums. The red suppress arrow points down to indicate that you've manually blocked the photo from being uploaded. When the red suppress arrow is present, 'Sync to Web' will not automatically re-upload the image in question. The little film frame is placed on all of your videos. Troubleshooting These icons are not actually applied to your photos. They're just available in your Picasa 3 library to provide you with at-a-glance updates on the status of your image. To manually suppress a photo from being uploaded, you can right-click the image in Picasa 3, and select Block from Uploading. It's not possible to turn off these adorning icons.

Want to learn more about Picasa 3? Check out the improvements we've made to existing features.

Attach a File to an e-mail

2008-10-31T17:51:00.000-04:00

All e-mail programs work the same way, but have some differences. Here you'll find a generic way to attach documents, (spreadsheets, photos, or any other type of file) in most e-mail programs. As usual, click the images to see them larger.

The video file at the bottom will show how to attach in 3 of the most popular free e-mail providers: Yahoo! Mail, GMail, and Hotmail. Here are guides for Microsoft Outlook and for e-mailing a resume.

If you don't have one, sign up for an e-mail address. (If you are setting one up to send a resume, make sure you have a respectable e-mail address that won't hamper your job hunt.)
Open your e-mail program, such as Outlook or Thunderbird. Or, log in to your e-mail through a web browser if it's an online e-mail service.
Start a new e-mail. Do this by clicking on the New e-mail button (or use the drop-down menus), Write Message, or similar button, depending on your application to create a new e-mail message.
Tell the computer who you want to send it to, by entering the e-mail address of the recipient into the address input box. It's usually marked To: or Subject. (Type carefully. You don't want to send some important files to the wrong person and find out too late. This is when an electronic address book is useful, because it will safe your addresses for you.)
Type a subject in the Subject field.
Add a message to the body of the e-mail as usual.
Click on the Attach button, usually a paper clip, but sometimes something else. Alternatively you can use the drop-down menus. Also look for an Insert File or Insert Attachment option in the File menu.
Browse your files to find the attachment you want to send. You may need to click on a Browse of Find button to see/find your directory. (Organizing your files well and using your desktop wisely help one find files faster.)
Click on the filename. If your program allows you to attach more than one file at once, hold down the Control key (or Shift key on a Mac) as you select another one.
Click the Attach Insert, Open button, or OK, depending on your e-mail program.
To send another file from a different location, click the Attachments but-ton again and repeat the steps.
Click Send when you are done.

It's a good idea to follow up with a person to make sure really important e-mails were received. You can also visit your sent folders and make sure it's there, not stuck in drafts waiting to be sent. Drafts are were you save e-mails you are not ready to send yet, but it can become a trap of productivity if one mistaking-ly clicks on Save instead of Send.

How to Get that Job

2008-10-31T13:15:00.007-04:00

Please come to class with all your information collected such as: Education (dates, degree, institution), certifications, employment history, work experience (dates, job title, description of job responsibilities), volunteer work, references, etc.

"Employers want to know several things about you within seconds of glancing at your résumé. Your job, then, is to be hit-them-over-the-head obvious about who you are, what job you're seeking and what you have to offer them," says Louise Kursmark, a certified professional résumé writer and author of "30-Minute Résumé Makeover."

Learn about the difference between a Good and Bad resume. Be careful. If you are a photographer, don't say you like to "shoot people." Of the many internet resources available, I suggest Career Builder's site will help you get where you want to be: resume help, skills building, job searching, etc.

To get attention in a short paragraph, no more than 3 sentences, read articles on Writing Good Resume Objective, which can be the reason your resume is on the top of the hire list, or the bottom of the trash. Here's a step by step guide on writing a sound career objective.

When it comes to computer skills, you need to be specific, such as "Proficient with Adobe Photoshop" or "Expert with various desktop publishing applications" if you're an end user. On the technical end, you need to cite any certifications you might have, such as with Java or Microsoft's .Net, or maybe networking skills.

Attach a cover letter to your resume: it's your opportunity to make the sale! Make sure that you are not hurting your job search by poor Internet information on you because of MySpace, Google, blogs, etc.

So they can contact you, make sure you include at least both an e-mail address and phone number, and probably a mailing address. We have modules to teach you how to setup an email account, compose an email message, and attach a resume.

Should you get foot in the door for an interview, even the most confident and experienced applicant should brush up on interview skills. Read articles on Preparing for a Job Interview, Job Interview Etiquette, Body Language, Stress Interviews, "Ten Rules about Interview". Know the company and be prepared with good questions to ask them so you have a conversation (instead of a monologue) of how you fit just right on their team. Learn about overcoming nerves and even how to ace that interview.

After the interview, don't let them forget you. Have some follow-up strategies such as Interview Follow-up Etiquette, Job Interview "Thank You Letters" / E-mails, Feedback, and post-interview "Thank You" letter. It simply says thank you, I’m available, interested and following up to let you know these facts. Also, learn how to handle the dreaded "Thanks, but no thanks" letter.

If your job is to get a job, you'll get one. Stay diligent. 70% of job searches last 4 weeks or longer. Consider articles on 20 Companies Hiring for the Holidays, Unconventional Ways to Expand your Network, and Job Searching in a Recession. Especially if you have the time and funds, do yourself a favor: spend some time growing and improving yourself. We all can get better at interpersonal skills and customer service, two of some of the most important things any wants in a job and in life. Get Computers Training at GCFLearnFree.org and even a Career Development Tutorial for free. Don't just pretend: BECOME that person on the catchy resume that your future-boss must hire.

(Please comment and add places you'd suggest to add to all our tutorials.)

Blogging Class

2008-10-25T14:24:00.001-04:00

Learn how to make a blog, your

personal web site

with push-button publishing.

Here is the class:
Google Blogging Class

Please use the following to help go through the steps in the class:
How to create a blog with Blogger.pdf

To set your page apart, take a look at these templates to customize your blog's look, in minutes:
http://www.bloggerbuster.com/2008/04/54-inspiring-and-original-blogger.html
http://www.ourblogtemplates.com

A few more resources worth looking at, if class time permits:

Blog Basics - How to Build a Blog

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: blogger build)

Making Money Blogging

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: problogging blogging)

10 Ways to a Killer Blog

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: tips cartoons)

The 25 Basic Styles of Blogging ... And When To Use Each One

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: tips marketing)

Blog's Eye View

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: blogging social)

Computers 101 - Basics - FUNdamentals

2008-10-24T15:20:00.001-04:00

Here is the basics class that I'm working on. Click on the link to follow the published version on Google Docs. With a Google account, the built-in chat program can help us hold an online-class.
http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dcxq4g8c_69c6t5zqp6

Please make sure you click on the speaker's notes so you can read what was taught during the slides. It was written for me people who have never used a computer before, but should be interesting and entertaining for all.

Click here for the Mousercise page, to practice mouse techniques.

http://www.ckls.org/~crippel/computerlab/tutorials/mouse/page1.html

For mouse practice, some of the games we played are listed here:

Checkers (You are green.)
Bejeweled (point and click puzzle game)
Pi-R Action (Click on the yellow ball before you get hit!)
Curve Ball (Ping pong in 3-D)
Gutter Ball 2 (Wacky bowling game)

Click here to learn how to use your keyboard faster. http://www.freetypinggame.net This is a very fun way to speed up your text input. Have fun with those games!

Laptop Lab

Welcome to the Laptop Lab homepage

PowerPoint Basics

How to Airbrush like a Professional

PowerPoint Tricks

How do you get started with MySpace?

How to make a resume: step-by-step, with Microsoft Word.

The Chronological Resume

The Functional Resume

The Combination Resume.

What Contact Information Should You Include?

Backup your Blog

How to sign-up for hands-on classes

Scheduled classes, How to Register

Table of Contents

How to backup a PC – A must do.

Backing up a PC running Windows Vista

Backing up a PC running Windows XP

Complete Class list

Work Related:

Beginners:

Just for Fun:

All Things Digital:

Relevant links:Scheduled classes, How to Register.

Ultimate List of free programs for XP and Vista

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Easy way to make an animated picture?

All types of Avatars

How to save online videos (Youtube, etc.) and even convert them; save them offline, into PowerPoint for a presentation.

How to make a Banner

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There's no floppy disk in this here 'puter!

Hi-Definition, what's the big deal with HD?

Setting up a free email account

Need PC help?

About Microsoft PC Advisor

Support Center

About the PC Checkup service

Tutorials- interactive tutorials and other common services using easy interactive tutorials.

Toolbox - Performance and Maintenance

Get Online Help

Intermediate and Advanced Blogging

Step-by-Step: Sending an E-mail Message

Hands-on Classes

Flickr: online photo web sharing and photo blogging

What is Flickr?

Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world. Let us show you why!

How do I send and receive pictures in an e-mail?

How do I manage my photos? Picasa!

Collage

Getting started

Troubleshooting

Sharing

Auto red-eye

Cropping

Screensaver

Multiple word tags

Importing

Slideshow

Sync your Picasa 3 and Picasa Web Albums edits

Getting started

Troubleshooting

Retouch your images

Preview image files with Picasa Photo Viewer

Create and edit movies

Creating movies

Editing movies

Capture your screen

Screen captures

Webcam capture

Add text or watermarks to your photos

Watermarks

Text

Print captions

Upload easily to Picasa Web Albums

Drop-box upload

Upload throttling

Control your Picasa Web Albums settings

Troubleshooting

Manage folders on your computer

Relevant links:
Scheduled classes, How to Register.