Backing up your email

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Backing up your email

• by Jim Bell
• Microsoft Certified Professional

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• Go to file
• import and export
• export to a file
• personal folder file .pst
• expand the folders by clicking on the sign
• check the include subfolders box

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• decide on how to handle duplicate entries and
  select accordingly
• select a location and name for the backup file

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• The file name and location is remembered from
  the previous task and overwrites the file so give
  it a different and identifiable name
• Run this for each part of your email you would
  like to backup contacts, calendar, messages,
  etc.

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• Move the file to backup location such as a CD-ROM
  disk or external hard drive.
• Use the back up files to copy your email to a
  new computer or to recover from a disaster.

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Setting up a Secure Wireless Access Point (WEP)

• by Jim Bell
• Microsoft Certified Professional

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• check your router has wireless capabilities and
  that the wireless light is on
• Download or load the manual file from the
  Internet or the CD-Rom from your ISP. Dont be
  afraid to look at it.
• Enter your router IP address in your browser
  address bar (usually an address such as
  192.168.1.1)

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• enter the user name and password you set up with
  your ISP. Call them if you dont have it.
  (Sometimes Admin/admin works)
• find the wireless setup tab in your router. Most
  ISPs have a How-to section on their web page
  that shows how to do this.

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• Select WEP as the encryption method if you wish
  to be secure and give your network a name.
• Find your WEP number on your router. It is
  usually printed on the bottom of the router

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Does your computer have wireless capabilities?

• Most modern laptops do
• Look for a switch on the side that turns on your
  wireless Network Interface Card (NIC)
• Check Start-All Programs for a proprietary
  management software that overrides the windows
  wireless management software

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• Open the computer or windows wireless software
  and let it manage your settings. When your
  software finds the network with your name it will
  show the network security protocol used and allow
  you to enter the WEP number if you have enabled
  it.

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WAP setup tips

• avoid 2.4 MHz wireless telephones near the
  Wireless Access Point
• Place it 4 to 6 ft from floor away from walls.
• Place in a central location
• Use wired connections whenever possible.
  Wireless is slower, less secure and less reliable

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Picking out your new computer

• by Jim Bell
• Microsoft Certified Professional

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• Is your computer slow and old?
• Was it given to you by someone getting a new
  machine several years ago?
• Is it running Windows 2000, 98 or Millennium
  edition?
• Is sharing one computer creating problems?
• Time to get a new machine.

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The facts of life

• Larger, faster, newer and more expensive are
  generally better.
• We cant afford the best computer money can buy
  and we wouldnt be able to use all the horsepower
  if we had it.

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What are you going to do with it?

• email, web surfing, and solitaire will work with
  most any machine.
• Editing your family pictures, playing newer games
  and running newer versions of applications such
  as office will take a better machine
• Everything is better with a better machine

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Laptop or desktop?

• Get a laptop if
• You take your computer on trips or move it around
  the house
• You are willing to sacrifice speed or pay more
  money for the same features
• You are willing to invest in a service contract
  (most laptops contain proprietary parts and cant
  be serviced locally)
• If not, get a desktop

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Mac vs. Windows XP vs. Windows Vista vs. Linux

• Mac - If you have a support group for a Macintosh
  and like the machine it is a good choice
• Windows XP More reliable and stable than Vista
  but nearing the end of its product support life
• Windows Vista Newer but has a steep learning
  curve for XP veterans, still being debugged and
  has peripheral compatibility issues.
• Linux Still more of a hobbyist operating
  system, only for the brave on a secondary machine.

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Interacting with your computer

• Mouse, keyboard, monitor and speakers are the
  human parts of your computer. Dont short change
  them when you pick out your machine
• Integrated network cards and audio are OK
• BUT
• Integrated audio can create pops and hiss
• Integrated network cards or modems connect your
  motherboard to the area phone grid

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Video display

• Always get a separate video card that has its own
  memory, never use integrated video
• New generations of video cards come out every 6
  months or so. Check the latest reviews if you
  are picking one out.
• If you are building a machine from a website such
  as Dell get the best you can afford

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How much is enough?

• How much RAM (memory)
• 1 gig minimum, 2 gigs better
• How big a hard drive?
• 120 gig is a good size, if a much bigger one is
  available for a few dollars more go for it.
• How big a monitor?
• get 22 if you can afford it, the extra visual
  real estate is easier on the eyes. (19
  widescreen OK)
• What kind of processor?
• Use a site such as Toms hardware
  (www.tomshardware.com) to look at a chart of the
  relative speed of a wide variety of processors

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Other considerations

• Which vendor
• Consumer Reports survey of consumers found Dell
  as the most reliable supplier
• Price points
• If you get a packaged system for 599 the seller
  has made choices to achieve that price even
  though a 615 machine might be much better

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Other considerations

• How to shop
• Do your homework
• Decide how much you want to spend but dont make
  poor choices based on an arbitrary number.
• Project the cost over several years and figure
  the cost per year when you add a feature
• Plan to purchase software - computers arent much
  good without it.
• Allow for appropriate extended warranty support.

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Questions?

• a jim bell presentation