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Bentsen Grove 2006 Summer NEWSLETTER by Hope Jones 

For six summers, I've been a central repository and dispersal for some of the B/G news. It started out modestly with sharing news with B/G folks I corresponded with regularly. The next summer, more asked me to add them to my email list. Then, this spring, yet others asked to be added.

I have no set schedule for sending out B/G info. As I receive tidbits, I format them into a mail newsletter. These letters contain the glad as well as the sad news of current and former B/Gers. When something needs immediate attention, I send it out ASAP.

I send out all my emails using "Bcc" (Blind Carbon Copy) so that your email address is kept absolutely private. On occasion, a person will request another's email address. When this occurs, I write to that person with the request (including e-mail addresses) copied & pasted into that e-mail I write. It’s then up to the individual to personally fulfill the request, or not.

Understand it's only a seasonal activity with me, from mid-April to mid-October, when most of us are scattered to the four winds.

If you'd like to be added to my B/G summer newsletter, send me your name (both names if couple), email address and your B/G lot number. If you'd like copies of this season's earlier emails, let me know. Otherwise, I'll add your address only for future newsletters. 

Web 2.0 and The Evolution of the Small Office/Home Office (soho)

By John Abbott, member of the Bentsen Grove Resort Computer Club, Mission Texas www.bgrcc.com   john@bgrcc.com

 Will the evolution of Web 2.0 have any lasting effect on the proprietary software vendors? I believe so to a limited extent. There are a myriad of new Web 2.0 companies springing up hourly. Each offering something unique to attract users. For some, this will prove satisfactory enough that they will no longer purchase proprietary mail programs or word processors, and possibly even spread sheets.

 The advent of Open Office has most certainly put a dent in the profit margins of Microsoft's Office Suite. There is a new look coming from Microsoft Office that adds a lot of eye candy to their existing Suite, but not a lot of additional function. I believe that between Open Source and the Web 2.0 companies the bottom line at Microsoft will feel their presence.

 Even though Microsoft is reacting to the popular features of Mozilla's Firefox browser by copying most of them into Internet Explorer 7. IE7 still doesn't have several of the most advanced features of Firefox like ad blocking and several extensions made available for free download. And the folks at Mozilla aren't sitting around waiting for Microsoft to catch up, they are already beta testing Flock, a Web 2.0 oriented browser with blogging and social tagging built into its rich function package. However, if you don't consider yourself a true Web 2.0 Juggernaut then you may not enjoy it as much. It is designed to accommodate the blog grabbing and social bookmarking of web sites.

 Google is clearly among the leaders in Web 2.0 features. They offer on line mail, on line calendar, financial portfolio tracking, the best search engine on the planet, news aggregated to your personal interests, image search, even a Linux search engine or a couple of other specialized search engines. And Google was the company that forced the email providers into offering 2 Gigabites of storage for their mail. [http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/]

 But there are other companies close on the heals of Google. My current favorite is inbox.com inbox offers personalized email, with spell checker, rich text (font control) manageable folders and the absolutely best spam system on the Internet. You can set your Spam to capture any mail not from someone in your address book. Or you can set it to challenge anyone not in your book and then hold that challenged mail in an "Unverified" folder where you can accept or permanently reject it. Along with the email, you are offered 2 Gb of storage with folders containing your various upload/download type .: music, documents, pictures or files. And if that weren't enough, inbox also offers a calendar that emails you up to 3 reminders on calendared events. [ http://www.inbox.com]

 Another great company is Zoho. Zoho derives its name from SOHO (small office/home office) and it has laid in virtually everything one would need. The Zoho stable contains email, spread sheets, planners, collaborative white boards etc. Their banner program is Zoho Virtual Office and it is complete with reminder calendars, email, a virtual drive (only with XP) Instant Messaging, task management, and all of it can be collaborative for up to 10 users. Not all of the features are available on the free packages, but small version is available for you to try before you buy. [http://www.zoho.com]

 The only thing missing from a small office/home office would be a telephone. Ah, but you can have that on-line too. From full service phone systems like Packet8 to totally free Gizmo and Skype. The packet8 system will give you an adapter to plug your phone into, or you can buy a Uniden phone system with a base phone and up to 10 wireless handsets for $79. Or you can use your current phone connected into their free adapter and your up - both systems carry a $20 a month fee for caller ID, three way calling, and your choice of area code and depending on where you live you can keep your phone number. If you want to get exotic if you buy their VideoPhone and then the same $20 a month. [http://www.packet8.net/]

 But for the true Web 2.0 user, Skype or Gizmo reign supreme. Each is totally free, and has adapters for a web camera. Of course, if you are not calling another SIP subscriber you will have to buy an outgoing AND an incoming outside line. I prefer using Gizmo because it has superior audio setup and a test point to call to check for echo suppression or the lack thereof. [http://www.gizmoproject.com] [http://www.skype.com]

 And finally for setting up those conference calls you can always use the services of Gizmo which offers a free conference system. For those using Gizmo, it is entirely free. For those checking into the conference from their cell phones or land line phone they will pay the standard rate to their provider. There is a great company called Live Office that gives you much better control (mute, mute group, roll call etc) and it too is absolutely free and the quality of the connection much improved over Gizmo. And should you need to step up to a toll free call in system, Live Office offers them for a variety of rates.

[http://freeconferencing.liveoffice.com/]

 And now you are equipped to take your entire home office with you in a USB thumb drive.  And depending on the version you use, it can all be automatically encrypted.   SOHO has become portable and secure.

 There is no restriction against any non-profit group using this article as long as it is kept in context with proper credit given the author.  The Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an international organization of which this group is a member, brings this article to you.

Gerry Says

By Gerry Gerstenberg, 1^st Vice President, Broward Personal Computer Association, Inc., Florida

www.bpca.com          tutor101( at )earthlink.net

Here are some suggestions to get your computer back up to speed.

Viruses

Check your system for viruses and Trojans, make sure that your antivirus definitions are up to date. Viruses, worms, and Trojan Horses can all create serious system slowdowns.

If you're already running anti-virus software, make sure the virus definitions are up-to-date. I use AVG from http://www.Grisoft.com. It is free as is Avast at http://www.Avast.com. Only run one Virus Checker at a time.

Spyware/Malware

Second, check your system for spyware and malware.

This can be done by using a spyware detector like Ad-Aware found at http://www.Lavasoft.com and/or Spybot Search and Destroy, found at http://spybot.com/en/index.html.

Keep them up to date.

I also use Microsoft Antispyware. It can be downloaded from http://www.Microsoft.com.

Improve Online Security

Install and configure a firewall.

Turn off unnecessary networking software.

Download and install Windows updates on a regular basis.

Secure your Web browser by using such options as setting its “security zones.”

Remove System Clutter

Delete any unneeded icons from the Windows desktop and Start menu tree.

Each one requires a little time to process when the system is booting up, and each one eats a little bit of system memory. It seems like every bit of software you install these days wants to claim its space on your desktop, whether you need the program or not. Right click on Start then Properties then the Start Menu Tab.

Clean out fonts.

Fonts are wonderful things. But unused or useless fonts are a drag on system performance. Windows loads all your fonts at bootup, just to keep them handy in case an application needs them. But the more fonts you have, the more resources Windows consumes in keeping track of them. You probably have dozens of fonts you won't ever need. Periodically go into Windows Fonts folder – Start then run and type in (C:\Windows\Fonts) and remove any unused Fonts. Select each font (hold down SHIFT or CTRL while clicking to select contiguous or noncontiguous groups, respectively) and choose Delete from the File menu. Double-click a font to view a sample.

Do a disk cleanup.

This will remove some of the junk that is cluttering up the temporary file folder. Click on Start then All Programs then Accessories then System tools and finally Disk Cleanup. Follow the instructions. This process will take a few minutes.

Uninstall any software you will never use.

Examples are the AOL and other ISP installations preloaded at the factory and any other preinstalled software. Access the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs (Add/Remove Programs in Win98 and WinMe), and systematically remove anything that isn’t absolutely necessary. You need to decide what is necessary to you. Reboot after each uninstall for the best results.

Run MSCONFIG

Go to Start then Run. Type in msconfig and click on the startup tab. Then uncheck any program you do not want to start when the com­puter starts. These programs take time to run when the system starts up, and they take up precious system memory. This will keep the icons from appearing in the Windows Navigation Tray on the right side of the task bar.

Defragment the hard drive.

A full hard drive isn't your only potential problem. Even with plenty of free space on a drive, the file system can become so fragmented that Windows can't efficiently access and store data. The OS stores information on a hard drive in sectors. When there aren't enough contigu­ous sectors available, Windows stores parts of files in different places on the disk and then keeps track of them all in a file allocation table. Removing files and applications further scatters sectors on the disk. Thus, over time, fragmentation occurs as more and more files are split up and stored in more and more places. And, because the system has to search more places to find files and work harder to put them together, fragmentation is a major drag on system performance. Run Windows Disk Defragmenter tool to rearrange files in the most optimal way.

You may have to reboot and defrag several times to get the hard drive defragmented and the files compacted completely. From the Start menu, open Programs, Accessories, and then System Tools.

Open the Disk Defragmenter utility. In WinXP, let the utility analyze each drive to assess its level of fragmentation and determine whether it's worth defragging.

Do you have any running processes that don't need to be running?

Check this by doing Ctrl, Alt, Delete, choose Process tab, make sure that everything that is running is necessary. You can also try this to see what is preloading: Start > Run, type in "msconfig" (without the quotes) Click the Boot.ini tab and then select the /SOS switch. Now instead of seeing that black and white progress bar you will now see in real time what files are being loaded. This can give you a clue where it is hanging up.

Keep it simple.

WinXP's default set of animations and transitions is pleasing to the eye. But it doesn't do your PC any favors, especially if your hardware is a couple years old. All that sliding, fading, and shadowing takes a toll on memory and processing power. But WinXP animations aren't an all-or-nothing proposition. You can customize which effects to use or let Windows handle the decisions. Access your System Properties from the Control Panel (or by right-clicking My Computer and selecting Properties). Select Advanced then select Settings under Perform­ance. Select Adjust for best performance. All entries will be unchecked. You can then selectively check any animations and transitions that you would like to keep. Click apply and OK.

Windows' Disk Cleanup utility will help you free up hard drive space, giving Windows and other applications more room to work.

Navigate to the Advanced tab and select the Settings button in the Performance category. Prioritize performance, appearance, or let Win­dows choose a middle route. Alternately, choose the Custom option and enable or disable specific visual effects by checking or uncheck­ing their respective entries.

File System.

Organize and maintain your files to keep your PC running smoothly. Here are some tips for the specific areas.

Make room.

A full hard drive will bog down your system on all fronts. For one, as the drive fills up, Windows has to search more and more data to fulfill each request. More importantly, though, a full disk hinders the OS' ability to move files around temporarily and to manage virtual memory. First, empty the Recycle bin. You can easily lose hundreds of megabytes to files just sitting around waiting to be fully deleted. Then, run Microsoft's Disk Cleanup utility. From the Start menu, you will need to go to Programs, Accessories, and System Tools. Open Disk Cleanup, select the drive, and click OK. The utility will analyze the system and offer suggestions. Check each box and click OK. Next, uninstall un­used applications. From Windows' Control Panel, select Add/ Remove Programs. Remove any programs you don't use, especially applica­tions preinstalled by the manufacturer. Finally, archive infrequently used data to removable storage.

Remove temporary files.

Disk Cleanup doesn't get rid of everything. Free up even more space by manually searching for and deleting temporary files. Most applica­tions use temporary files to store session-specific information, back up active files, and (in theory) delete them when you close the pro-gram. But sometimes, for a variety of reasons, temporary files aren't deleted. So they sit, taking up valuable disk space, and not doing anything remotely useful. Open Windows' Search tool (called Find in Win98) from the Start menu. Find all files beginning with a tilde (~) (search for "~*.*") and all files with a .TMP file extension (search for "*.tmp"). Remove any that aren't immediately associated with an open file or application.

Perform regular maintenance.

Don't make Disk Cleanup, temporary file removal, Disk Defragmenter, and antivirus scanning one-time activities. Without proper mainte­nance, system speed will continue to degrade needlessly. Schedule these activities using built-in tools (as with most antivirus programs) or using Windows' Task Scheduler. From the Start menu, navigate to Programs, Accessories, and System Tools. Open Scheduled Tasks. Double-click Add Scheduled Task to launch the Scheduled Task Wizard. Choose an application you want to run (Disk Cleaner, for exam­ple), set the schedule, and enter the login information of a user with permissions to run the program.

A Little Goes A Long Way

The secret to optimal PC performance is recognizing that every little improvement helps. By implementing a variety of techniques, includ­ing those we just described, you’ll slowly but surely see system performance improve and maintain itself at a peak level.

There is no restriction against any non-profit group using this article as long as it is kept in context with proper credit given the author.  The Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG), an international organization of which this group is a member, brings this article to you.