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Several members have been using "PalTalk", which Paul MacCauley (Compu-Dynamix) demonstrated at the March meeting. Larry Muter, using it for a voice and video "conference call" with his daughter in Australia, found the voice and picture quality quite acceptable, with both parties using 56k modems. And, of course the price was right - it's free!
One of the first things to learn about computers (or anything, for that matter) is that there's no such thing as a stupid question. The "round table" portion of the meeting triggers many a silent (or not so) "am I ever glad you asked that!", and everyone goes home with some useful tip because of a question asked or a discovery shared. Here are some recent contributions:
"Why does my computer interrupt what I'm doing and start to dial in to the internet?" We decided that her Netscape email "preferences" had been set to "check mail every xx minutes".
"My son's computer had a virus, and he had to erase his entire hard drive." Paul Scarborough offered a less drastic solution: if you have a virus checker installed, boot from the "rescue disk" that you made when you first installed it, and follow the "clean" instructions. If you don't have a virus checker, boot in "safe mode" (ie. hold down F8 while the computer starts up, and choose "safe mode" from the menu) and install one PDQ ! Now - use it to get rid of the virus.
Incidentally, watch out for the latest virus out there: "Homepage". If you get an email with that subject, and the text "You've got to see this page. It's really cool", hit delete! Then - be sure to empy your trash! Also, people are still receiving "Snow white - hahaha" messages. When in doubt, delete!
My computer keeps "freezing up" so I can't reboot without switching it off. Again, try the least drastic solution first, the infamous 3-finger salute: cntl-alt-delete. If this pops up a task window, highlight the item that's "not responding" and choose "end task". If that doesn't work, before you turn off your machine, write down any error messages that did show up, so you can pass that information on to the manufacturer of the software that's causing the problem.
We're getting quite a collection of useful web sites (after each meeting they are listed on our web page). Some recent additions: search engines at www.ixquick.com and www.hotsheet.com, web design lessons at www.w3schools.com, and a Canadian reverse phone or address lookup at www.infospace.com. One member had tried a Canadian on-line pharmacy at www.vivacare.com. Their prices seemed very competitive, but he later received an email (and apology) from the phamacist, saying that the product had been misquoted. Two conclusions: when internet shopping, as elsewhere, caveat emptor - and secondly, always check out your local stores first. You might be pleasantly surprised!
And if you really have time on your hands, you can watch a web camera in the depths of Loch Ness, and snap a photo if you see her nibs swim by. For the link, go to www.bobcaygeon.com and search for "Nessie".
The Kawartha Internet Users' Group meets on the second Thursday of each month, 7pm, at the Lions Club, Main St., Bobcaygeon. New faces are always welcome
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