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Posted - September 18 2009 : 06:51:21
Listen now. or Download the archive.
Question: After last week's show, Erwin from Hawkins wrote, "Yesterday on your segment on KBJS you mentioned using a "3G card" for Internet service. What is that and how does one use it? Is it a subscription service?"
Answer: First of all, let me say that it's good to hear from you. The 3G card (for 3rd Generation) is a cellular wireless device. It can also be called an EVDO card, or AirCard. You get it from your cell-phone carrier. They can connect via USB to any computer, or to a notebook computer via USB or its expansion card slot, whether that's a PCMCIA or ExpressCard slot, it depends on the notebook. It acts like a telephone modem, and dials into the cell service to connect you to the Internet. You own the card, but subscribe to the cellular service at about $70/month for "unlimited" data plans. If you get a good cell signal in the places you're looking to use it, it's a good investment because it's fast. It's still not as fast as Cable or DSL, though. In the show notes we’ll have a link to a YouTube video of one of the commercials about it; and to a longer one that tells much of what I've already said, but shows more than I have here. The one drawback of the last video is that it shows the Alltel service, which is now all Verizon.
Cool Site: Microsoft Office First Steps: If you've gotten a new computer with Microsoft Office on it lately, it has come with the 2007 version of their suite. It's got some features that are great for new users, but not so much if you've been used to older versions of Office. I don't have the 2007 version, but people like my wife that do use it don't seem to have much problem with it once they get used to it. Because this version represents a fairly radical departure from what we've come to expect in Microsoft Office, you may find you need to take a bit of training on it. The Computer classes we teach for free at the Jacksonville Public Library aren't updated for Microsoft's 2007 Office System yet, but Microsoft has its "First Steps" series of self-paced classes available on their website. You'll need to look into the show notes for the link, it's kind of long. There are classes offered on the major programs, Word, Excel, Outlook and Powerpoint, with 9 to 11 classes for each program. Each class doesn't cover much, making them ideal for new users. In fact, the website's mission is to let you "learn Microsoft 2007 Office from scratch." If you already know about Windows and just want to become familiar with the new Office System, check out these online classes, direct from Microsoft.
Cool Gadget: Flashbag: I don't know why someone didn't think of this sooner. The Flashbag is a USB flash drive that has a built-in micro pump. What happens is that as you copy pictures, music, and other stuff onto the flashbag, the pump inflates the rubberized cover. As you delete its contents, it deflates. It keeps its shape after it's unplugged so you can get a visual idea how full it is. It's not available to buy yet, and may never be, for that matter. An LED display might be more practical, but would require power.
It's All "Geek" To Me: Fragmentation: This week's term is fragmentation. When you save things onto your hard drive, the files are stored in chunks. The size of the chunk depends on the size of your drive. When you delete a file, the space it used to occupy is marked as empty even though the file is still really there. When a new file is saved, Windows might decide to use some of that new empty space. If the file fits completely, fine. If it doesn't, another free space will be chosen to continue saving. So what you have is a file in two parts. Windows knows where the parts are, and will reassemble them when needed. It's a similar process to reading a newspaper or magazine where an article begins on one page, and after a few paragraphs or so, says, "continued on page" whatever. That article didn't all fit into the allotted space in the publication and to read it, you're directed to another page for the conclusion. Next week we'll talk about the remedy for this situation.
Links
Bill Curtis Found the Internet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZXpm4zXIoE
Internet Anywhere – even in a moving vehicle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CCAwEbdsdw&feature=fvw
Microsoft Office First Steps:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/FX102704851033.aspx
FlashBag on PlusMinus.ru:
http://www.plusminus.ru/flashbag.html
Fragmentation on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_system_fragmentation |
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