 | The
mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to
its original size.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes
| Kerrville
Texas
830-895-5016 |
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Welcome to another issue of our weekly newsletter!
No
one can dispute that the human brain is the greatest computer of all
time! But sometimes it requires a little nudge to grow new cells. I also happen to
believe that hardware computers are very useful tools which can
help to provide that nudge. That's why this
newsletter is not just full of computer-related information, but also
includes entertainment and educational items to tickle the brain cells.
Feel free to pass this issue along
if you find something worthy to share with your friends, family, and
acquaintances. Don't forget that you can also call on us at 895-5016
when your next computer problem strikes.
What's In Here?
Lots of cool, fun, and
informative stuff every week! I'm dubbing this
week's issue the Johnny Cash Edition. Our Ctrl-Alt-Backspace
section also includes a special click-link image to transport you to
the Official Johnny Cash Website (turn your sound on) and one name
quote link that will transport you to Wikipedia's informational
webpage about this fascinating American musician.
Click any of
these links to go
directly to your favorite section...
Missed an
issue?Check out
past issues here...Archives
 Hear
Ye! Hear Ye!
Sometimes
we have
special sales, important notices about virus outbreaks or
other technical
bulletins. Call 830-895-5016 if you're
interested in any sale items we might list here. But please click here to read our disclaimer before
visiting any third-party websites.
Editorial
Micro$oft Office 2003 versus StarOffice versus OpenOffice?
Decisions,
decisions, decisions. Micro$oft is getting ready to foist yet
another operating system (Windows Vista) onto a public that has barely
learned to drive Windows XP. I wouldn't doubt that along with
Vista's release they will silently drop support for older versions
of Micro$oft Office such as Office 2000 and Office 98 so they
can force you to upgrade to Office 2003. Otherwise they won't
maintain their bottom line profits.
So what's a person or small
business to do? Upgrade again and spend more money on an Office Suite
upgrade that costs $239 or $399 for the full version of Office 2003?
Well,
there are two excellent alternatives that won't cost you an arm and a
leg. I'm referring to StarOffice made by Sun Microsystems and its
open-source sibling called OpenOffice. Best of all, both of these
alternative office suites support Micro$oft Office file formats so you
can open, edit, and save Word documents and Excel spreadsheets.
 StarOffice
does everything Micro$oft Office does but at a fraction of the price
for just $69.95 per copy. Let's see, shall I spend $69.95 for
StarOffice or $399.00 for Micro$oft Office? Wow! That's a really tough
decision.
Finally, there's OpenOffice that also does everything
Micro$oft Office does but again at a fraction of the price for just
$00.00 per copy. OpenOffice will even let you save documents as Adobe
Acrobat PDF files. Not so with Micro$oft Office. You'll have to spend
several hundred more on the full version of Adobe Acrobat just for that
feature alone. Let's see, shall I spend nothing at all for OpenOffice or $399
for Micro$oft Office? Wow! That's a really tough decision.
So
for your convenience and in the sake of fairness to Micro$oft, I'm going to give you
the links to each so you can compare features for yourself and make a
better informed decision...
http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/index.jsp
http://www.openoffice.org/
http://tinyurl.com/cv5lr
Latest Virus
Threats
W32.Beagle.DO@mm
W32.Beagle.DO@mm
is a mass-mailing worm that uses its own SMTP engine and file-sharing
networks to spread. It opens a back door on the compromised computer
and attempts to lower security settings. The worm also tries to
download and execute remote files.
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.beagle.do@mm.html
W32.Beagle.DP
W32.Beagle.DP is a Worm that drops Trojan.Lodear and opens a back door on the compromised computer.
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.beagle.dp.html
Check For New Sale Items In Our Online Store...
 Fun
& Educational Stuff
Each
week we stumble across interesting, educational and fun sites on the
internet.
We hope you enjoy this section of our
newsletter as much as we do! But please click here to read our disclaimer before
visiting any third-party websites.
Academy of Achievement - Johnny Cash
Interesting profile, biography, interview, and photos about Johnny Cash...
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/cas0pro-1
Here's Your Monday Morning IQ Test (hehehe)...
http://www.risingstarkaraoke.com/monday_test.html
Extreme Model Airplanes
Now here are some model airplanes to blow you away...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1022675629959483801
Whisky Bottle PC
Now this guy was really creative by putting his empty whisky bottle to good use...
http://www.metku.net/index.html?sect=view&n=1&path=mods/whiskypc/index_eng
Keylogger Basics
"The term keystroke logger, or keylogger for short, has
come to be associated primarily with its use as an unauthorized or
malicious tool installed to secretly capture all of the keystrokes
typed on a compromised machine. The reality is that, like many
malicious hacker tools, keystroke logging has its roots as an
administrative and diagnostic tool. Unfortunately, some of the most
helpful tools and utilities can end up being used for evil." Click to read entire article...
http://tinyurl.com/c568o
 OnGuard Online
"OnGuardOnline.gov
provides practical tips from the federal government and the technology
industry to help you be on guard against Internet fraud, secure your
computer, and protect your personal information."
http://onguardonline.gov/index.html
Hubble's Top-Ten Discoveries
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/04/photogalleries/hubble/
Understanding Evolution
Everyone's
heard of the theory of evolution. But do we really understand
everything about evolution? Here's an excellent site that's full of
information...
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/
Designed For Children
Although this site appears to be designed for children, it is fascinating even for adults to explore...
http://www.poissonrouge.com/
Bugscope
"The
Bugscope project is an educational outreach program for K-12
classrooms. The project provides a resource to classrooms so that they
may remotely operate a scanning electron microscope to image "bugs" at
high magnification. The microscope is remotely controlled in real time
from a classroom computer over the Internet using a web browser." Click to read entire article...
http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/
PowerPlay
"A fun online
game to "capture power" by putting
together some crazy virtual machines. You'll need the free
Flash Player." Click here to play...
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/powerplay.html
Molecularium
"What lives in the nano world? You'll
find out here through interactive activities, a gallery,
and more! By Rensselaer’s
Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center for Directed Assembly
of Nanostructures. You'll need the free Flash Player." Click here to play...
http://www.molecularium.com/kidsite.html
Grid Computing
"What's
"grid computing" and how can it solve huge problems like finding a cure
for cancer? You'll learn through several online and offline activities
available on this site. You'll need the free Flash Player." Click here to play...
http://www.tryscience.org/grid/home.html
Don't Click It
You'll have fun with this one too...
http://www.dontclick.it/
Impact Lab
"Just when you think you've got your building figured out they go ahead and do this to you. Cool photos." Click here for mind-bending photos...
http://www.impactlab.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=7189
 Web
Hosting
Tips
Do
you
have a domain website hosting account with
us? If so, you'll want to check this section for handy tips
to
help make your website standout from the crowd. Sometimes
we'll
give tips about working with your Plesk Control Panel. But please click here to read our disclaimer before
visiting any third-party websites.When You Want a Website Done Right!Does
your website load slow? Does your website not fit in a full screen
browser window? Does your website need some visual improvements?
If you answered "YES" to any of these questions, then you would benefit
from a website makeover. Bright Ideas Computing has the experience you
need to plan and build a website that works for you. Give us a
call at 830-895-5016 and let us put our extensive web development
experience to work for you.
 Linspire
Linux Tips
Linspire
Linux is a great operating system designed to be the easiest of all desktop linux distributions.
If
you haven't tried it for yourself yet, ask for a free demo CD the next
time we service your computer. But please click here to read our disclaimer before
visiting any third-party websites.
Need A Good Backup Program For Linspire Linux?
Then install Backup Copy from the Click n' Run Warehouse...
"Backup
Copy is basically a smart copy program that allows a user to copy mass
files from one place to another. When copying over a previous copy, the
key features will allow copying only of new or non-existing files in
the backup. This results in saving time and less load on the drive.
Built into the same feature of copying new files only, is a file
removal procedure. If a file is removed from the source path, the same
file will be removed when the next backup is performed. This provides a
backup that is exactly the same as the source without filling up the
drive. As an added option, all files that will be overwritten or
deleted when doing a copy over a previous backup, have the opportunity
to be stored in a trash bin. You can leave this trash bin to grow and
grow just in case you need a backup of your backup. When you start
running out of disk space you will need to remove or clean up the trash
bin." Click here for more instructions about Backup Copy...
http://www.linspireguide.com/backupcopy
Where Are My manpages?
Have you noticed that your installation of Linspire might be missing those old and venerable manpages?
That's because they're not installed by default. You can easily install
them from the Click n' Run Warehouse by searching for "man-db" and then
click the green CNR button. Click here for more information...
http://www.linspireguide.com/man
Linspire Linux Tip of
The Week
Don't
forget to check the archive link at that page for previous tips...
http://www.linspire.com/tooltips.php
Latest Linspire Letter....
http://www.linspire.com/linspire_letter.php
Michael's Latest Minute...
http://www.michaelrobertson.com/
 Microsoft
Windows
Tips
Microsoft Windows is
still the operating system that most people are familiar with.
Many businesses have based their requirements around
this
commercial operating system and so it remains the cornerstone of our
onsite support service. But please click here to read our disclaimer before
visiting any third-party websites. How To Add or Remove Desktop ItemsYou
just installed Windows XP or bought a brand new PC and your desktop is
missing icons such as My Computer, My Network Places, Internet
Explorer, and My Documents... http://www.bictx.com/tip2-12-06.shtmlFree Notable Software Download...Access Manager" Access
Manager is a FREE software solution that keeps all your passwords in
one, simple to use list. It offers fast, easy and secure password
management. One 'Master Password' is all that is needed to access
all your passwords and private information." http://www.accessmanager.co.uk/
(click
the image)
| Ctrl-Alt-Backspace I fly a starship across the Universe divide. And when I reach the other side, I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can. Perhaps I may become a highwayman again. Or I may simply be a single drop of rain. But I will remain, And I'll be back again, and again and again... ~ Johnny Cash (1932 -2003)
|
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I
hope you've enjoyed this edition of our weekly newsletter. I try to
make each week's edition different and special by including meaningful
computer tips and links to fun, educational, and scientific websites.
If
you have any items of interest you might like to see addressed in the
future, or you have any Fun Stuff links of your own that you might like
to share, drop me an email and we'll see if we can include them for you.
Visit
the following website if you want
to subscribe or (gasp!) unsubscribe...
http://lists.bictx.com/mailman/listinfo/brightideas
Meanwhile,
don't forget to keep your computer's anti-virus current and your
critical and security patches up-to-date for the most reliable
computing experiences on the internet.
Happy
Computing!
Tomas
Bright Ideas Computing
Kerrville,
Texas
http://www.bictx.com
830-895-5016
|
Please
make sure that you possess the fundamental and required skill sets
before you implement any advice or attempt to perform any
troubleshooting steps we, or other websites, might recommend. You
should also be advised that we have no control over how you perform any
troubleshooting steps nor do we have any control over the content of
other third-party websites you might visit that are listed in our
weekly newsletter. We also do not know if you have patched your
computer with the latest security updates nor do we know if your
anti-virus definition files are fully up-to-date.
Therefore,
in
no event shall Bright Ideas Computing or any of its third-party product
or service providers be liable to any person for any special,
incidental, indirect, consequential, or punitive damages of any kind,
including, without limitation, those resulting from loss of use, loss
of data, or lost profits, in connection with any advice provided by
Bright Ideas Computing, damages resulting from visiting third-party
websites or damages resulting from implementing any advice from those
third-party websites, whether or not you are advised of the possibility
of such damages.
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