Home Computer Tutor Help: Recent Posts

Home Computer Tutor Help: Recent Posts http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ For when your computer is not behaving! en Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:04:38 +0000 comp_access on "Mac Display Settings" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=20#post-29 Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:30:45 +0000 comp_access 29@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ Hi, I'm looking for some help with adjusting the settings on an iMac running OSX. I need to change the display settings for a visually impaired user who also has some physical access issues. I need to be able to adjust the size of the traffic lights and the menu fonts to make them easier to see and access. I can easily do this on a PC however am finding it impossible on a Mac. I know there is a zoom function within applications and the magnifier but neither are any good. Thanks Dave on "router setup" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=7#post-17 Sun, 26 Apr 2009 21:33:45 +0000 Dave 17@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ Bit of a late update on this. Following a home visit, I found that it is always the obvious things that you miss. A router will run a network in your home and provide each computer with a link to the internet via your ISP. It will also operate as a firewall - a protective barrier between your computer and the big bad bits of the world wide web But to get it to connect to the internet, you have to tell it who your ISP is and then provide it with a password to 'route' through your ISP and onto the internet. So once you plug your router into your web connection, you then access its control panel (bunch of numbers called an IP address in a browser) and fill that control panel with bits of information your ISP will tell you. It is relatively straightforward to do yourself. You can follow the instructions, but like all these thing it involved a bit of stupid jargon, some silly acronyms and abbreviations and a few confusing choices in the process. However, since your ISP is about to make £x per month out of you for the foreseeable future, for doing nothing, I suggest you phone them up and make them do at least a little work for their money. Call them, tell them you want them to talk you through setting up your router. Once they have verified that it is you they are talking to, you will actually find them very helpful. If they are not, change ISP. Dave on "Slow start up" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=8#post-16 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:54:52 +0000 Dave 16@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ Maybe and yes. Much anti-virus software will have an impact on the speed of your computer. If the computer is already slow and old then it is not going to help much either. Over time computer performance degrades. Laptops can get their components damaged over time with heat going trough the components, it is possible to have a bug in your system without McAfee picking it up. As a general rule, you should run some 'house-keeping' procedures from time to time. Defrag your machine to start with and make sure your copy of McAfee is up to date. Give me a call if i becomes completely unbearable. I can come out and check it over. In the meantime, I will publish a guide to maintenance shortly and post a link back here in due course. Dave on "router setup" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=7#post-15 Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:46:59 +0000 Dave 15@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ As a rule of thumb, if it is new kit, make the retailer do their job and get tem to talk you through it or otherwise take the product back with your laptop to the shop and ask for either (a) them to sort it out or (b) a refund. They should help you. If you need to sort it out yourself, I am afraid that has a lot of 'ifs' and 'buts' associated with it. It depends upon your computer operating system and the make/model of your router. There seems to be a few problems with Vista computers and some routers. This is often to do with security settings. So, as a first guess, if you can disable these and then see if it works you might get somewhere. After that you can try putting the security back in place bit by bit util you have both a working and secure connection. Before you change anything, make sure you have your wireless password noted somewhere (In my case it's 128-bit WEP so it's a long password to remember). I would need t take a direct look at this. Give me a call on 07017 343434 and I will try to talk you through it or arrange a home visit. Neil Copeland on "Slow start up" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=8#post-14 Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:32:07 +0000 Neil Copeland 14@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ Hi Dave, When I start my laptop it takes ages to complete the start up process. Is it because I have McAfee on a slow and old laptop? Or could there be something else causing it to be slow? boardman on "router setup" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=7#post-13 Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:40:55 +0000 boardman 13@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ I have been trying to setup a router I have acquired. I have made the connections as per the instruction manual. I can ping the router from the pc, but cannot connect to the internet. My old router can connect when I plug it back in. The lights on the new router indicate it is functioning correctly. The internet connection is continuous with no password or login, any ideas? Dave on "apple hastags" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=6#post-12 Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:34:36 +0000 Dave 12@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ What a great tip. Thanks for that Anthony. Anthony Brooker on "apple hastags" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=6#post-11 Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:29:08 +0000 Anthony Brooker 11@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ Since nearly the beginning of Mac-dom, when you wanted to find out which key combination produced a font’s special characters (stuff like ©, ™, £, ¢, ‰, ƒ, etc.), you used a utility called KeyCaps. More than a decade later, KeyCaps is still a part of Mac OS, but a better way to access these special characters is through the Character Palette. You can access it two ways: (1) From within Mac OS X business apps (like Mail, TextEdit, Stickies, etc.), just go under Edit and choose Special Characters or click on the Actions pop-up menu at the bottom of the Font Panel and choose Characters; (2) add Character Palette access to your menu bar, so you can access it when you’re working in other applications (like Microsoft Word or Adobe InDesign). You do this by going to the System Preferences in the Apple menu, under International, and clicking on the Input Menu tab. Turn on the checkbox for Character Palette and it will appear in the menu bar along the right side. Dave on "apple hastags" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=6#post-10 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:03:23 +0000 Dave 10@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ Hi braeburn. Annoying but simple one this. The apple keyboard doesn't give the # symbol a key of its own. instead it has been given a status as an 'alternative' key press option. So, if you press the 'alt' key at the same time as the '3' key you get a '#' 'alt' + '3' = '#' Given how often you use a # these days for all sorts of thngs on computers and websites you would have thought they would have promoted the # symbol to have a key of its own. In the meantime, I guess you could use an indelible pen to write 'ALT #' on the no 3 key. Hope this sorts it out. Dave braeburn on "apple hastags" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=6#post-9 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 21:07:24 +0000 braeburn 9@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ How do I create a hash tag from an apple keyboard for twitter entry? Dave on "Cannot open RAW image files" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=5#post-8 Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:05:41 +0000 Dave 8@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ I've just taken a call. The question was: My digital camera takes pictures and saves them as RAW image files. My computer cannot do anything with these files. I don't know if I have lost all my pictures. What can I do? This is one of those stupid things technology manufacturers do from time to time. They make a camera which takes RAW images. They make it too easy to get the settings wrong and then fail to provide you with software to handle the format. I have dubbed these people 'Techwits' or 'T-wits' But not to worry... First of all, just about all cameras will take pictures in JPEG format. Make sure you have the camera's settings correctly set. If you cannot work out how (it can be very fiddly on digital cameras) give me a call on 07017 343434 and I can come over and sort it out. However, some cameras will also take images in RAW format. A RAW image file is a very high quality file and professional photographers and designers will often prefer them. However, not all non-professional software can handle them. The answer is to get some software that will handle RAW files. For both PC or a Mac most versions of PhotoShop will manage the RAW format. Otherwise, Google's free software Picasa <a href="http://picasa.google.com/" rel="nofollow">http://picasa.google.com/</a> will open and allow you to convert RAW files to JPEGS. Mac users should also be able to convert from RAW within the pre-installed iPhoto application. Press the Ctrl and Click on the image when in iPhoto and it will give you the option of changing its format. Dave on "slow laptop" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=3#post-7 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:29:49 +0000 Dave 7@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ As a supplementary issue, there is a slight concern many have over releasing Ebay names and passwords onto web hosted services for sniping. I should point out that it is possible to get Ebay sniping software that lives on your own computer - you will probably need to leave your computer on over the auction period and you will have to rely on your connection running well. I have used EZ Sniper myself and have not a had a problem, but it is not just EZ Sniper (or equivalent) themselves, it would be a good target to get hacked and that could be a problem with all the details held somewhere in their system. Dave on "Parrallels Desktop" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=4#post-6 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:01:10 +0000 Dave 6@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ Hi I know this problem and you can get round it - It is slightly circuitous but it does work. Email Imagine trying to hold a conversation with someone from China who doesn’t speak English. And just for one moment, let’s pretend that you don’t speak Chinese. You won’t get too far without a translator to help you out. And this is what is happening with Outlook and Entourage In computer terms the translator could be a third email program which can understand the other two and translate their file formats from one to the other. One such program would be Mozilla Sea-Monkey You import your Outlook emails into it, then export the same emails, in a different format, to Entourage. I have written the procedure up on the Home Computer Tutor website (link below). Take a look at it there. If it doesn't work a home visit is in order, although looking at your settings, Australia would put you a tad out of my normal area! <a href="http://www.homecomputertutor.co.uk/free-tips/transfering-email-from-outlook-pc-to-entourage-mac.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.homecomputertutor.co.uk/free-tips/transfering-email-from-outlook-pc-to-entourage-mac.html</a> Calanders etc. Syncing other data is a bit of a pain. It depends on what sort of tools you have at your disposal. I used to use a Palm Pilot and manually sync my Mac at home then my PC at work daily to keep them all the same. I imagine other such devices (such as a Blackberry) will also handle it. It is a bit clumsy. To migrate from Outlook completely, I would probably try to sync to the Blackberry from Outlook, sync the Blackberry to a 3rd party service like Remember The Milk and then you will be able to import the data into iCal which will work with pretty much any hosted service. Have a look at the Missing Sync <a href="http://www.markspace.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.markspace.com/</a> as well. It might provide a good solution. Once you have liberated the data from Outlook, you should think about using web based hosted services. I am increasingly using the Mac's Mobile Me service but it is $99 a year. There are free variations: Google Calendar, Remember The Milk <a href="http://www.rememberthemilk.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.rememberthemilk.com/</a> and Gmail. They are all hosted on the web and this is the way to go. If you keep this stuff hosted online, you can swap between computers as often as you want without having this kind of headache when you need to migrate data. Good luck! - - <ol> P.S. As a rule of thumb... </ol> As you have discovered Parallels is not as good as we would all like it to be. To my mind, asking a Mac to run Windows is a bit like towing your caravan with a Ferrari. It goes very fast, but ultimately it's a bad idea and a poor partnership. Since you have the Mac hardware I would suggest that you go for Mac software - and be cautious with Mircrosoft Entourage for the Mac. Sooner or later Entourage will get a corrupt database. Symptoms of a corrupt database include incorrect sorting, messages not displaying properly, and other unexplained behaviour, like your mouse not working. Rebuilding the database should correct these issues and it is easy enough to do (it sounds technical but it is not. It pretty much involves deleting a couple of folders and pressing a couple of buttons). However, regular rebuilds are not recommended. These days I use Mac Mail. It is a simpler, but better, application in many ways. dbendall on "Parrallels Desktop" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=4#post-5 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 03:05:47 +0000 dbendall 5@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ I am having trouble transferring my email on Outlook2003 to Mac Entourage. I find parallels quite flaky and would prefer to now run just the system. does anybody have any advice as I seem to loose email, contacts and calendars whenever I transfer from XP to Mac. Any held greatly appreciated. Dave on "slow laptop" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=3#post-4 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 20:04:15 +0000 Dave 4@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ Hi Adrian Slow laptops could be caused by almost anything. As laptops get older, they get slower. Of more concern it could be something like a virus or even your Anti Virus software (Norton used to make my PC run really slowly) CCleaner won't do any harm. In general, it depends what the problem is and what OS you have - XP or Vista. It could be anything from needing a defrag to spyware. You might want to try the service at this link: <a href="http://www.eset.eu/eos/eset-online-..." rel="nofollow">http://www.eset.eu/eos/eset-online-...</a> If this doesn't work, you need to put a call in to me. I'll drop by. If I can't fix it I won't charge you, but I will put you in touch with a friend of mine who is a expert in this area. Re Ebay: I think you are referring to the EZ Sniper service. <a href="http://www.ezsniper.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.ezsniper.com/</a> On Ebay, it can be a good idea not to get into a bidding war early on, but to decide how much you are willing to spend and then put a bid in at the last minute. It can stop the owner forcing the price up as well and if the item is quiet, the last thing you want to do is arouse any interest in it. Sniping software such as this allows you to allocate an amount you are prepared to spend on the item and it will place bids up to your allocation in the last few seconds of the auction. Adrian on "slow laptop" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=3#post-3 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:50:02 +0000 Adrian 3@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ Dave, My laptop runs very slowly until I reboot it then it is fine for a few hours/days then it runs slowly again. Would something like CCleaner help, if so can you recomend one? Can you please also remind me of the link to e-bay bidder? Thanks, Dave on "Hello and welcome" http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/topic.php?id=2#post-2 Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:21:07 +0000 Dave 2@http://homecomputertutor.co.uk/forums/ Hi there. To use this forum, all you need to do is login or register at the top of the screen, pick an area to post your query and then wait for us to respond. If you mark your topic as a 'Favourite' you should automatically receive an email when I (or anyone else) responds to the post. You may be able to find an existing post that answers your problem, but don't spend too much time trawling through the forum looking for something similar, just start a new post and we'll get onto it.