Dave "Bytes"

Please remember to use your thinker, before you tinker!

January 1, 2007

A Periodic Newsletter for the Members of the Sarasota PC User Group and the World!!

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Here's An E-Mail Tip

Using E-Mail Folders Effectively

Most, if not all, e-mail clients allow you to use folders to organize your e-mail. In fact, folders are a great boon to keeping your incoming e-mail uncluttered and under control.

Don't confuse e-mail folders with file folders on your disk drive. Conceptually, they're similar to each other only in that each allows you to organize information. While some e-mail clients may use file folders to store your e-mail, many do not. The folders are maintained within the client as a logical structure, with no relation to file folders on the hard drive.

Rather than leaving all your e-mail in your inbox, give some thought to how you can organize it using folders. For instance, you could have a folder for your work-related e-mail or a folder for each project you're working on. You could also create folders for family e-mail, hobbies, and other categories.

You can configure most (if not all) e-mail clients to display available folders onscreen. The folders in Outlook are part of the Navigation pane. When displayed, the pane is at the left side of the program window.

The Navigation pane (or its equivalent) is helpful when working with folders. You can easily drag messages from one folder and drop them in another or move entire folders. To create an e-mail folder, simply right-click an existing folder and choose New Folder. Name the folder and start using it to store messages.

While Wandering The Web
Voice your customer service issue at www.WhatsReallyAnnoying.com
Have you ever had a frustrating experience with customer service? I am sure most of us have; for instance, I am having a problem with Bank of America right now. Like me, you may have spent hours on the phone talking with an unresponsive person or even written letters without an acceptable response. -- Well, Jim created a new social site called [What's Really Annoying] that allows you to vent your frustrations and then have others who are experiencing the same issues with that company chime in. The site states that if there are very popular annoyances then its staff will try to contact that company to get a response. -- You will also see a link on the left of each annoyance labeled "Fix It" that allows you to start a Fix It Group (FIG). A FIG is a collaborative message board where you can coordinate responses. The main intent, though, is to let you vent and feel comforted that there are others out there as well. I think it is also good to see what companies people are complaining about since you may then be able to avoid those companies and possible future problems. -- Sign up and give it a try if you have an issue with a company.

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Take Windows XP to the Next Level with the Free Vista Transformation Pack

If you don't want to shell out the cash for a copy of Windows Vista, Windows Vista Transformation Pack (VTP) is an easy and free way to emulate Vista's look and feel. I've been playing around with it for a couple of hours now, and it makes for a nice change after looking at the same old XP icons and UI.

VTP bundles together many different applications that mimic Vista's UI in different ways to give you transparent windows, a new Start Menu, a Vista Sidebar, and a new Explorer. Overall, your computer should look revitalized after installing VTP. Everything has a bit of Web 2.0 glossy sheen.

Install a Vista wallpaper, and you're basically there. There might be some stability issues if you install VTP, so you'll want to be sure before you install it. The good part is that uninstallation is easy: just go to Add or Remove Programs. Some files are overwritten during the process so keep your setup CD handy if you want to undo all the changes.

If you decide to install VTP, you'll have a lot of control over the installation. Check off the things you want changed like boot screen, process manager, or sounds and leave what you want to stay the same unchecked.

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Got something "computer related" to sell? Looking for that rare peripheral? If it's computer related you can submit a short classified ad for exposure in Dave "Bytes". Be sure to include your name and e-mail address in the ad. You can also include a picture of the item. Now some would suggest that there be a charge for this feature but alas, since my bookkeeping skills leave much to be desired I've determined that this will be a free service to all SPCUG members in good standing. "Bytes" is currently sent to almost 1500 homes in the area. Ad requests will be included as soon as possible. I assume absolutely no responsibility as to the accuracy or completeness of supplied info. All transactions are between consulting adults which leaves me entirely off the hook.

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New Series
Top 10 Dumb Things Users Do That Can Mess Up Their Computers
We all do dumb things now and then, and computer users are no exception. Inadvertently pressing the wrong key combination or innocently clicking OK in the wrong dialog box can change important settings that alter a computer’s behavior or even crash the system.
Nervous newbies are often fearful that one wrong move might break the computer forever. Luckily, short of taking a sledge hammer to the box, the consequences aren’t usually quite that dire. Even so, users often do create problems for their computers and for your network. In this series we'll examine a description of common missteps (in no particular order) you can use to help steer clear of preventable problems.

Keep disks full and fragmented
One of the results of installing and uninstalling lots of programs (or adding and deleting data of any kind) is that it fragments your disk.
Disk fragmentation occurs because of the way information is stored on the disk: On a new, clean disk, when you save a file it’s stored in contiguous sections called clusters. If you delete a file that takes up, for example, five clusters, and then save a new file that takes eight clusters, the first five clusters’ worth of data will be saved in the empty space left by the deletion and the remaining three will be saved in the next empty spaces. That makes the file fragmented, or divided. To access that file, then, the disk’s read heads won’t find all the parts of the file together but must go to different locations on the disk to retrieve it all. That makes it slower to access. If the file is part of a program, the program will run more slowly. A badly fragmented disk will slow down to a crawl.
You can use the disk defragmenter built into Windows (Programs | Accessories | System Tools) or a third-party defrag program to rearrange these pieces of files so that they’re placed contiguously on the disk.
Another common cause of performance problems and application misbehavior is a disk that’s too full. Many programs create temporary files and need extra free space on the disk to operate. You can use Windows XP’s Disk Cleanup Tool or a third-party program to find and delete rarely used files, or you can manually delete files to clear space on your disk.