Learn to Use a Computer -- Easily and Effortlessly

Actually there are TWO perfect solutions. But before I get into that, let me provide some background first. The majority of web pages you find on the Internet are created by young computer programmers. These young programmers have perfect 20/20 vision. So, when they use small text on a web site, even though they CAN see it clearly--they do not realize that most of us older folks CANNOT see that same text. But do not despair, since I have two perfect solutions to this problem.

The first solution is to use the little-known web page magnification feature built into the current versions of most web browsers. This list includes Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera web browsers. Here's how it works: To increase the magnification of any web page, press and hold down the Control Key (abbreviated Ctrl.) and then press the "+" sign one on the number keypad on the right side of your keyboard. Each time you press the "+" key the page on your screen will increase the magnification. Conversely, to reduce the size of a web page, hold down the Control key and press the "-" (that's the minus key) on on the number keypad on the right side of your keyboard. To return a web page to it's original size, press and hold the Control key and then press the "0" zero key--but don't use the "0" on the keypad. Instead use the "0" on the top row of your keyboard. Sometimes if a web page will not respond to the magnification keys, try clicking your mouse pointer on any blank area of that web page and then try the magnification again. NOTE: this technique only works on web browsers and doesn't work with other types of software programs.

Here's the second solution: "ZoomIt". ZoomIt is a free utility that will magnify whatever is on your screen. It's one of the neatest magnification utility programs I've ever come across.
To download the ZoomIt utility click HERE.
To view the ZoomIt instructions click HERE.

After reading the above headline, you may be thinking "Easy??? He's got to be kidding! There is nothing that is "easy" when it comes to learning how to use a computer!"

If, like most people, you've asked someone who knows how to use computers for help--and you've probably received an overly complicated technical answer to your inquiry. And you still didn't have an answer to your question!

You've come to the right place, so sit back and relax! Any subject--including 'How to Use a Computer' can be easy to learn, but only WHEN it's presented in the right way.

I teach computer classes with an easy to understand methodology...without all the confusing technical terms...presenting computer subjects so anyone can understand them. I also alert you to the pitfalls and glitches that can make learning computers difficult, so you can avoid stumbling into them. In short, I'll teach you what doesn't get taught in regular computer classes. Now let's have some fun!

In this web site, you'll find something for everyone: I have links to online tutorials for beginners. I also have links to diagnostic tools for advanced users. And you'll find links to Discounted Computer Products!

Mr. Brown resides in Sonora (Tuolumne County), California. An experienced Instructor who is a veteran of Silicon Valley's computer industry, he brings a unique combination of experience and a wealth insider knowledge to his students and clients. In addition to group computer classes, personal one-on-one tutoring, Mr. Brown also provides computer diagnostic and repair services.

Mr. Brown provides these on-site services within Tuolumne County. He can be reached at (209) 352-6033

You've probably seen them, the mouse that is attached to a computer. It has a wire coming out of it, and so it actually looks like mouse.

The mouse is one of the trickiest things to operate--at first. Once you go through the exercises you'll have a better command of the mouse. And once you've gotten the hang of using the mouse, you'll find it easier to use the rest of the computer.

If someone has previously tried to show you how to use a computer, you've heard them say "Click on this" or "Click on that". Well, to any beginner, that directive is a total mystery!

Let me clarify. Each mouse has two buttons, a left and a right button. Unfortunately, because these buttons are part of the design of the mouse, they're often difficult to locate. I remember my early struggles in learning how to use the mouse. The fact that these two mouse buttons are not labeled adds to one's initial difficulty in using a mouse. here's a picture of the one I use in my classes: each button is labeled ("L" for Left Mouse Button, and "R" for Right Mouse Button).

OK, now we know--finally!--where the mouse buttons are located. However, when the directive "Click on this" is given, most beginning students will still be at a loss. Here's why:
Computer instructors never (well almost never!) tell you to just "Click on the LEFT MOUSE BUTTON". They just assume you know what they're talking about-and most beginning students DON'T know what the instructor is talking about.

With this in mind, from this point on, whenever you hear the instruction to "Click on this/that", just know that this simply means to click on the LEFT mouse button, ok? Conversely, whenever someone asks you to "Right Click on this/that", know that what they really mean is that you should click on the RIGHT mouse button.

Here's some useful tips on using the computer mouse:

1. Rest the base of your wrist on the top of the mouse pad. Cradle the mouse between your four fingers, with your index finger on top of the Left mouse button. This should leave your third finger on top of the Right mouse button.

2. You'll find that as you move the mouse, you'll run out of room on the mouse pad. Whenever that occurs, simply lift the mouse up and place it down on the opposite side of the mouse pad. That allows you to continue moving the mouse pointer on the screen.

3. Avoid having the mouse at any edge of the mouse pad. The reason for this is that it is harder to control the movement of the mouse pointer

1. Picasa - for your photographs!
If you're a photographer, you know that it's easy to amass gigabytes upon gigabytes of photos. But if If you're like us, you don't want to sort through photos with Windows Explorer. Google's Picasa 3 is an all-in-one monitoring service for your photo folders. It offers less overall editing functionality than alternatives like XnView and Photoshop Lightroom, but comes packaged in an easier-to-use interface with tons of options for Internet-related tasks. For example, you can add geotags to your photos using Google Earth or have Picasa 3 automatically upload your shots to the web. Picasa 3 also interfaces with online shops for easy photo printing, and can turn your images into collages, movies, and screensavers. Included backup functionality helps keep your precious photographic memories safe from hard drive failure (provided you configure it, of course). But our favorite feature, by far, is Picasa's ability to search through your photographs by dominant color. Get Picasa Here

2. Audacity
Audacity, the best free audio editor on the Internet. Audacity's multi-track editor lets you drop in audio files of any format (or record from a handy hardware source) to cut, copy, and add to an unlimited number of tracks to mix. Built-in effects and pitch adjustment let you manipulate your samples and you can output your compositions at up to 96kHz. Sounds good to us. Get Audacity HERE

3. 7-Zip
Do we really need another archiver program? Of course we do. We don't just use ZIPs, we need support for RARs, CABs, JARs, DEBs and whatever else we can think up, and we want it all open source. And for all that, there 7-Zip: an elegant, open source file archiver that can handle just about any compressed file you throw at it. Get 7-Zip HERE

4. Copernic Desktop Search
Copernic is not only comprehensive in i it quickly searches emails, Office documents, and web pages-it's also light on system resources and processor utilization. We like its ability to sort and refine searches, which is particularly useful for navigating through densely packed drives. Our only gripe? The newest version of Copernic Free omits real-time results as you type-a feature reserved for the $50 Professional Edition. Get Copernic Desktop Search HERE

5. FileZilla
Cloud storage may be the next hot thing, but we still find ourselves using FTP to transfer files across the Internet. And we've found no better way to utilize FTP than with FileZilla, an open source FTP client. FileZilla can maintain connections to multiple servers, drag and drop files from the desktop, and deftly handle large files and large numbers of files. Both client and server versions are free, distributed under GNU General Public License. Get FileZilla HERE

6. FooBar2000
The days of WinAmp are long past. For audiophiles with massive music libraries, foobar2000 is the preferred alternative to the memory-intensive iTunes organizer. Created by a former WinAmp developer, foobar2000 has won the hearts and minds of savvy album collectors with its highly customizable interface, comprehensive audio format support (including OGG, FLAG, and AAC), and gapless playback. There's even a rich SDK for third-party coders to tinker with to add more functionality. Sure beats sorting through all your music in a long playlist. Get FooBar HERE

7. FoxIt Reader
As a small and fast PDF viewer, Foxit Reader currently has over 50 million users all around the world. After keeping users waiting for almost two months, Foxit Reader 3.0 has been released and introduces many fascinating new features such as multimedia design and Foxit On Demand Content Management. Get FoxIt Reader HERE

8. GIMP
When it comes to high-end image manipulation, there are really only two options of Adobe's offering right now: PhotoShop and GIMP. GIMP doesn't quite capture the usability and polish of Adobe's offering, but where it does beat PhotoShop is in price--totally free and open source is a whole lot easier on the pocketbook than the $700 or so that a legal copy of PhotoShop will run you. And even if it's not totally perfect. GIMP is full-featured enough for almost any photo manipulation needs you might have. Get GIMP HERE

9. Media Player Classic and FFDshow
There are lots of different ways to play videos on your PC, but the best-performing, most compatible one-two punch we've tested is FFshow tryouts and Media Player Classic. There are literally hundreds of different codecs and container formats that the video you want to watch can be trapped inside, and while you could install a codec pack to get support for them, FFdshow tryouts just looks better, performs better, and causes fewer problems than traditional codec packs. And while FFdshow tryouts enables video playback in a wide variety of apps, our favorite playback app is Media Player Classic. This clone of Windows Media Player 6 features support for soft subtitles, alternate audio tracks, and other power-user features. The fact that it's extremely lightweight just seals the deal. FFdshow tryouts: http://FFDShow-Tryout.SourceForge.net; Media Player Classic: Get FFDShow HERE

10. Skype
Like many of the apps on this list, is not here because it did something new, but because it did something better than anyone else had before. Offering high-quality, peer-to-peer VOIP with a convenient client and a bevy of features, Skype easily earns our recommendation for all your Internet telephony needs. Skype also has video-conferencing functionality and allows for conference calls, a feature we put to good use making our very own Maximum PC Podcast.
Get Skype HERE

11. SyncBack Free
Though it might be hard to believe, a surprising majority of PC users still back up their files to CD and DVD media. As experienced users, we're a Little smarter than that, so we recommend using SyncBack Freeware to back up important documents to more reliable (or at least, more convenient) storage mediums, such as hard disks and network servers. The free version of SyncBack lets you automatically archive copies of your files to any destination (though it won't perform incremental backups), and then restore those files after any unforeseen disaster. A more functional SE version ($30 or 30-day trial) offers faster backup and versioning, though the free counterpart should be more than enough for most users. And, yes, it does back up to optical media as well. Get SyncBack HERE

I've a little confession to make: I personally abhor "Top 10" lists! As handy as any "Top 10" list is, by it's very nature it excludes other, equally good items. And it's in these unlisted and overlooked items that I often find the gems. So this list includes more than 10 programs-a lot more!

These programs and utilities can be used by both Beginners and Advanced computer users.

1. KeePass
KeePass Password Safe is indeed a password safe-a program that maintains a list of your passwords, strongly encrypted, with a single master passphrase or keyfile. The benefit to using a password safe is that you can use a different, secure password on every site you log in to, without having to write them all down or remember them all. This helps protect you by letting you use multiple strong passwords; it ensures that one compromised password (through a data breach at a website you have an account with, for instance) won't affect all the other sites you log into, Get KeePass HERE

2. SpeedFan
Most of your PC components include monitoring chips that track their voltages, fan speeds, and temperatures. SpeedFan gives you access to that information by tapping into the sensors of important parts like your CPU and GPU. This free app can also access SMART technology in hard drives to diagnose and warn of potential disk failures. And as the name implies, you can also adjust fan speeds for extra performance or reduced noise. Get SpeedFan HERE

3. Belarc Advisor
For those times when you really, really, really need to know every little detail about every component in your PC, there's one tool for the job: Belarc Advisor. This tiny app interrogates every component to find out everything from the manufactured-on date to the model number to the current firmware. Then it turns its eye to installed software. Need to update your BIOS but can't remember whether you bought the rev A or rev B version of your mobo? Belarc Advisor will tell you, and it won't make you find a flashlight or crawl around under your desk. Get Belarc Advisor HERE

4. CPU-Z
If you haven't used CPU-Z, you're not a hardware enthusiast. This tiny CPU interrogator is the standard tool for anyone who needs to find out what hardware is hidden in his cousin's PC. CPU-Z will tell you a processor's model, code-name, process, core voltage, stepping and revision number as well as the core speed, FSB, and multiplier the PC is currently running. You can also find out what speed your DRAM is running at and even check the SPDs on some machines. Get CPU-Z HERE

5. GPU-Z
Sure, you know you have a speedy new GeForce GTX 295 card, but what do you really know about it? If you want something that'll shake down the card for all of its specs, GPU-Z (no relation to CPU-Z) will do the dirty work for you. This handy utility will tell you the important clocks, the card revision, the number of transistors on the card, and the process technology used in the GPU. Get GPU-Z HERE

6. DropBox
Get this: A Windows application that "just works." Yes, we're being serious. Dropbox came out of nowhere last year to stun us with its amazingly intuitive approach to online storage. The program creates a user folder that acts just like a folder on your hard drive. You can drag, drop, copy, and even save up to 2GB worth of files to the cloud ($100/year for 50GB), while the service works it's magic and syncs your documents in the background. The online interface lets you track your file transfer history and download any file remotely, as well as restore any files that may have been accidentally deleted. You can even create shared or public folders to pass files along to your friends and family. And you won't have to endure any online ads. Get DropBox HERE

7. Fraps
Like to play games on your PC? So do we. That's why we absolutely cannot live without Fraps, a lightweight app that lets you benchmark your games to monitor performance. When running, Fraps hides in your system tray but runs a tiny numerical overlay on top of any DirectX or OpenGL game to show your current frame rate. You can also capture high-quality screenshots and AVI videos (with sound) so you can post your exploits online. The free version limits the length of your captured video, and it watermarks your footage, but the full version costs just $37. Get Fraps HERE

8. ImgBurn
Burning ISO files is a native feature in the upcoming Windows 7, but XP and Vista force disc burners to use third-party apps if they want to mount a disc image on a CD or DVD. For this simple yet essential task, we prefer ImgBurn, a lightweight stand-alone program that provides a no-nonsense interface for burning and reading discs. You just pick the image file location, destination drive, and whether you want to burn as a CD or DVD. We still don't know why this feature isn't bundled in Windows. Get ImgBurn HERE

9. Secunia Personal Software Inspector
Every geek knows to make sure that the OS and browser are updated, but what about the Flash, Java, or Quick-Time versions you're running? Not to mention the dozens of other applications you have installed. Have no fear, Secunia.com's Personal Software Inspector tracks a massive number of security exploits in applications, and will monitor your PC for susceptible apps. If it finds one, it will point you to the appropriate patch. Get Secunia Personal Software Inspector HERE

10. TrueCrypt
TrueCrypt lets you create and mount an encrypted virtual drive. You can store whatever you want in your drive and it will be completely inaccessible and invisible to anyone who doesn't have the passphrase.

Even if you're not an international man of mystery, you never know when you might want to encrypt something, whether it's sensitive financial data or a simple list of passwords. Since TrueCrypt is a tiny file (about 3MB) that can be set up to run without installing anything, we feel very comfortable giving it a "download it, keep it on your disk, you never know when you might need it" recommendation. Get TrueCrypt HERE

11. WinDirStat
Have you ever sorted a folder by file size, hoping to track down a hard disk hog, only to be frustrated by the fact that Windows doesn't let you see the size of nested folders' contents? So have we, and that's why we make sure we've always got WinDirStat close at hand.

WinDirStat analyzes the composition of your hard drive and presents the information in a size-ordered directory view, or as a colorful map, making it a snap to identify which files are eating up your hard drive space. Once you've figured out which files are filling your drive, you can get rid of them with WinDirStat's built-in deletion tools. Get WinDirStat HERE

12. AnyDVD
Unlike more traditional DVD ripping tools, AnyDVD decrypts, unlocks the region code and even removes annoying ads and that pesky FBI warning on the fly. It's not free, but it's well worth the cost for anyone who wants to exercise his fair use rights on Blu-ray or DVD discs. Typically the brain trust at Slysoft manages to disable new copy protection tricks mere moments after they go public, which is more than worth a few bucks a year. And AnyDVD works on 64-bit Windows, to boot! (Standard version is 50 EUR for two years, HD edition is 79 EUR for two years.) Get AnyDVD HERE

13. Digsby
First there was instant messaging, and that was pretty cool. But before long, we started asking questions like, "Why can we only talk with people using the same client?" Thus, the first multi-platform clients, such as Trillian, were born. And those too were cool. But soon after that, we started asking, "Why can't we use our IM client to check our email? And our Facebook account? And how come, if I log in on another computer, don't all my preferences carry over?" And then there was Digsby, which does it all. We're not thrilled that the app tries to install a bunch of unneeded search bars onto your computer, but if you pay attention during the install and press the Decline option you can get off clean. Get Digsby HERE

FINALLY, after a long search, I have finally located a reliable supplier of discount computers and computer parts. This company stands behind their products and they back-up their product warrenties. Reliablilty and quality are two qualities I look for in a computer parts supplier...and unfortunately, I don't always find these qualities. Until now!

STAY TUNED...Check back here frequently. I'll be posting this information for you here shortly, so be sure to bookmark this web page

USEFUL LOCAL WEB SITES:

Sonora FreeCycle:
One of the Best Recycling Sites in Tuolumne County. Folks use this to keep unused items out of the landfill, items that are perfectly usable to someone else. Check it out!
Sonora FreeCycle

Local News & Information:
www.MyMotherlode.com

The Internet Public Library (Great reference source!):
www.IPL.org

"ANSWERS, ANSWERS, WHERE CAN I FIND ANSWERS??" (Online, that is):

www.BleepingComputer.com provides excellent answers to any computer question you may have. Registration (required to post a message/question) is Free. This site comes highly recommended.
www.BleepingComputer.com

Yahoo Answers (answers on everything else):
http://Answers.Yahoo.com

Expert Advice: About.com is an online neighborhood of hundreds of helpful experts, eager to share their wealth of knowledge with visitors:
www.About.com

Wikipedia, the online Encyclopedia.
Wikipedia Link

Microsoft Programs and Software Updates:
www.Microsoft.com

Microsoft's Online Training (for New and Old Programs!):
Click HERE for link

Online Computer Diagnostic Tools:
'Sys Internals': offers a collection of expert tools for identifying and eradicating sophisticated Viruses, Malware, and Trojans (etc.) that are hidden from virus scanners:
www.SysInternals.com (this will automatically redirect your browser to SysInternal's new TechNet site).

Alternative Programs (you don't necessarily need Microsoft!)::

Internet / Web Browsers:
FireFox Internet Browser:
Get Firefox HERE

Opera Web Browser:
www.Opera.com

Word Processor / Spreadsheet / Database / Presentation / Drawing:
Open Office (compatible with Microsoft Office. And it's Free!):
www.OpenOffice.org

To view the Fall 2009 Class for All classes click here.

First, a quick reminder. On many keyboards the Control keys (there's two of them) are often abbreviated "Ctrl". It doesn't matter which Control key you use, they both do the same thing.

Start ZoomIt like you would any other software program by double clicking on its icon. To activate the Zoom feature, press Control + 1 (i.e. press the Control key, hold it down, and then press the "1" key on the top row of your keyboard. Control + 1 will toggle the zoom on and off.

LIVE ZOOM (this section will be added shortly)

Draw = Left Mouse Button (toggles)
Erase All Drawings = e
Center Cursor = Space Bar
Enter Drawing Mode w/o zoom = Control + 2
Pen Width = Left Control + Mouse Wheel -- or Up/Down Arrow
Pen Color = r (red), g (green), b (blue), o (orange), y (yellow) p (pink)
Draw Strait Line = hold Shift key
Draw Strait Line w/Arrow = Shift + Control
Draw Rectangle = Control key
Draw Ellipse = Tab key

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