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Posted - March 25 2010 : 18:03:36
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Question: Shaloam David, I am a KBJS listner and appreciate your Tech Tip Friday program. I just purchased a new Laptop PC with Windows 7 and had a modem installed only to find out that my ISP ( Netscape) will not work with Windows 7. I sure would have appreciated the salesman telling me that before I purchased it. Would you address this for unsuspecting listeners before they purchase a PC? I wish I had come to Jacksonville and talked to you before I bought a computer. Sincerely Orbin.
Answer: Thanks for the observation, Orbin. One thing you might try is if you have Windows 7 Business or Ultimate, install the Windows XP Mode and see if it works there. I'm not sure whether XP Mode can see your modem. But.. Strangely enough, Netscape in particular chose not to upgrade its software for Windows Vista. They never explained why that decision was made. However, if you're looking at buying a new computer, you might want to run Microsoft's Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. The reason for this is that even if you are planning on replacing your computer, you'll have some software, like the Netscape software, that may not run in Windows 7. You also may have some devices like printers that may or may not work with Windows 7. I once sold a computer to a lady that had Vista Home Premium on it and she wound up having to replace both her perfectly-working printer and scanner; all because Vista drivers weren't available for them and weren't forthcoming from the manufacturer. We'll have a link to Netscape's statement on its decision not to support Vista (and hence Windows 7) and the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor in today’s show notes.
Cool Site: Kids Astronomy: If your kids like astronomy or if you’d like them to like astronomy, then check out kidsastronomy.com. It's operated by the KidsKnowIt network and is an "absolutely free astronomy resource designed to teach children about the exciting world of outer space." On this site, you'll find games that teach astronomy, desktop wallpaper images featuring cool images of planets, galaxies, nebulas and such. These are artistic pictures, rather than, for instance, Hubbell photos, but actual astronomical photos may have been used as elements within the images. You can send e-cards, make your own planet or solar system, and see what's going to be in the sky tonight. You can also color pictures online and then print them out. You can solve a sliding puzzle, do word searches, or a shape match, crossword puzzles, or even a quiz. The site has an online astronomy academy where you can complete lessons for a certificate of completion. One course is for ages 7-11, the other for ages 12-18. In the teacher's corner, educators and homeschoolers can find 25 different worksheets in 6 categories that could be used for homework or maybe extra credit. All in all, a pretty awesome site.
Cool Gadget: ProvideChat: Do you have a website? Have you seen those sites that have a picture on the screen that says "click here to chat"? Most of the sites that offer chat for your website don’t have a free version available, or require you to host everything on your own server. Providechat is different. It gives you a free chat application that you can put on your website. The nice thing is that there's a free plan that allows for one operator and one department. That's the plan I use, and the one that the smallest businesses would need. There's nothing to install on your webserver, you only have to include a link and they provide the code to put it on your page. After that, you log in, set a few parameters and then you’re ready to go.
It's All "Geek" To Me: Cybersquatter: Today's term is one you may not have heard. The term is cybersquatter. During the land rush of the 1800's, people took over land and became known as squatters. Then along came the Internet's "land rush" of first-come-first-served domain names. People did, and do, register domain names that are common misspellings of other common sites, hoping to capture visitor traffic when people misspell an address. Another type of cybersquatter buys a domain name, hoping to resell it at a huge profit. Right before MSNBC started, Microsoft and NBC announced their joint venture into broadcasting. Somebody beat them registering the domain msnbc.com, and made out like a bandit because that was the domain they wanted for the new network.
Links
Netscape’s "No Vista" announcement:
Go Here
Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx
Kids Astronomy:
http://www.kidsastronomy.com/
Provide Chat:
http://www.providechat.com
Cybersquatter on TechTerms:
http://www.techterms.com/definition/cybersquatter
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