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Senior Computer Tutor Don Edrington Home Page  About Don
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"Google Voice"
Now Available to Everyone
I was asked to beta test Google Voice last year and have been happily using it ever since. This is a free service from Google, whereby all of your various phone numbers will ring when someone dials a certain number you have chosen. Not only do both our cell phones and our land line ring, Google will record a caller's voice mail and send us a text translation along with a link to the audio. More information here: Google Voice Free Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware Software Yvonne Kieran asked if she should buy the extended coverage of the MacAfee Anti-Virus program that came with her new PC. We suggested getting the free anti-virus program "Microsoft Security Essentials" from Microsoft.com. We've been using it on three PCs since it became available several months ago, and are very pleased with the way it works. Can't Open PPS (PowerPoint Slideshow) Files Frosty Foster asked if the reason he can't open PPS files is because he has WinXP instead of Win7. No, PPS files are a function of Microsoft PowerPoint and not of any operating system. For those who don't have PowerPoint, a free PP Player is available from Microsoft.com. PPS files can also be opened (and edited) with Docs.google.com or OpenOffice.org, which are also free. Names Mysteriously Added to Contact List Outlook Express user Julie Gilbert wrote to ask why names accumulate in her Address Book when she doesn't put them there. This is a default feature of Outlook Express that can be circumvented by clicking on Tools>Options>Send and disabling "Automatically put people I reply to in my Address Book." Change Default Text in OE Outgoing Email Another Outlook Express user asked how to change the default font in emails he composes to a different font and style that he prefers. Launch OE and click on Tools>Options>Compose and make the changes. Change Text Size in OE Incoming Email Still another Outlook Express user asked how to make text larger in email she receives. Launch OE, click on View>Text Size and make your choice. Gmail Address Book Jim Whiting wrote that he can't find a Contact List in Gmail. well, along the left side of Gmail's Inbox several items are listed, such as Trash, Spam, and others. If you don't see Contacts, click the underlined More link and it will appear.
Mary Tyer said she wants to scan a magazine article and be able to edit it, and asked how this can be done. Being able to edit text scanned from printed material is a function of an OCR (optical character recognition) program, which often comes with the purchase of a scanner. Also, such programs can be downloaded from the Internet.
The accuracy of the conversion depends greatly on the condition of the original document; and spell-checking is always required, since characters like B and 8 often tend to look the same to the software. Richard Cooke wrote that he bought a Kodak digital camera, along with "Kodak EasyShare" for sending photos to friends. Richard complains, however, that everywhere he goes via Kodak he is bombarded with ads to buy everything from glossy prints to mugs printed with his pictures.
We also use Irfanview with our scanner, since we prefer it to the software that came with the device. More about Irfanview can be found on these pages: Overview of Irfanview Digital Photo Management Made Easy How to Crop a Photo How to Straighten a Photo |
