** Issue #7 November 15th, 2006 **

 

1) News, News, News

In This Issue...

Daves Computer Tips now has an RSS feed. What is RSS? Well you've come to the right place. In this issue I'll explain RSS, tell you why you need it, and how to use it. Why do you need to know about RSS? RSS is becoming more popular every day. More and more sites are offering RSS. It will make your life easier and time spent browsing the web more enjoyable.

#2 What is RSS? - I'll tell you what RSS is, how you find it, and discuss some terms you make run across.

#3 How do you get it? - I'll tell you how to set RSS up with Internet Explorer and Firefox, of course everyone uses Firefox.

#4 Using Mail Merge in MS Word - Carol explains how the Mail Merge function works to save you time in MS Word.

#5 My recommended software - This is the software I recommend for a variety of purposes including protecting your PC.

#6 The lighter side - Funny videos, sites, and games I find while surfing that I think will lighten your day and make you laugh.

#7 A Few Websites You May Find Useful.

In the next issue...

You won't believe what's coming! The next issue may be longer than normal. Why? Beginning with the next issue I'll be doing a real world, no BS, anti-spyware program test. I'm going to test the big boys, as well as some of the newer free programs. All in an effort to find the "King of the Hill" in anti-spyware programs. If this isn't a good reason to tell your friends to sign up for the newsletter, I don't know what is!

The next issue will begin with an article by Tom Mercado. Tom is a current Microsoft MVP in security and runs www.temerc.com. Tom's article will be about the current state of spyware and where it might go in the future. This will be incredibly informative. Remember, you can't wage a war on spyware if you don't know your enemy. I'll jump in with the boring details of how the testing will be done. This is important for you to know. The test will mean nothing if I just say #1 is better than #2, unless you know exactly how I determined the results.

Finally Carol will have another one of her great Microsoft Office columns. If that isn't an All-Star lineup I don't know what is!

Here is where I beg!

I hope you find this newsletter useful. I strive to provide information in a manner that is entertaining and useful for everyone. There is something in each newsletter for everyone. If you do enjoy reading the newsletter I would appreciate if you would tell a friend, relative, or coworker. Use any means necessary to spread the word about Daves Computer Tips. A quick suggestion: If you have friends that drink heavily, wait until they pass out and write www.davescomputertips.com on their forehead with a sharpie marker!

As always I appreciate your comments and suggestions about the site and newsletter. If you would like to share please contact me at dave @ davescomputertips.com.

Carol is our resident "Office Goddess". If you have Microsoft Office questions or suggestions for future Office articles shoot her an email at carol @ carolscorneroffice.com.

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2) What is RSS?

Imagine you have 100 sites that you regularly visit, some more often than others. You visit them because they have something you want - content. The content can be anything from videos to shopping to important sites like this one. Each of these sites has hundreds of pages, which change frequently. How do you know what is new when you visit a site? You can visit every page and waste hours of time each day. You can hope they place new content in an easy to find place. You can just plain miss the new content and spend time trudging through pages you've already read. What to do?

This is where RSS comes in. RSS is short for Really Simple Syndication, an XML (extensible markup language) format. Think of RSS as a newspaper delivered right to your door. You check the headlines and read the articles you want at your leisure. The newspaper has covered thousands of stories in the last year, but you only get the new ones in the paper each day. More than likely you don't care about the PTA meeting from 3 months ago, but you might care about an article describing the upcoming road construction on your side of town. RSS gives a website owner the ability to send you just the important items. Unlike email where you can be spammed by anyone with your address, you choose which sites you want to keep track of. No one has your email address. You don't like the content? Unsubscribe. The best selling point of RSS, in my opinion, is the ability to monitor many sites from one location and at a glance see what is new. If it's interesting you are only one click away. Guess what? It's become so popular that both Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 have RSS abilities built in.

What will you use RSS for? When I update my site, I'll post it on my RSS feed. If software company XYZ has an RSS feed they may post program updates on their feed. CNN will post headlines and breaking news on theirs, as do the New York Times, MSNBC, and others. You see a list of the headlines and with a simple click you go directly to the web page. No searching. No wasted time.

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3) How do I get it?

What to look for

You have probably seen the signs of RSS and didn't even know. Sites offering RSS feeds have added icons to their pages which show they have a feed. Clicking on the icon subscribes you to the feed. Several of the icons used in the past are:

As you can see there are many different icons used to indicate the various feeds available. I think this has caused quite a bit of confusion for users and prevented the early adoption of RSS by users.

In the last year or so a common icon has began to appear. Both Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 use this icon to represent RSS feeds so you don't need to worry about the huge display of icons to the left that vary greatly from each other.

The new icon is displayed to the right of the address bar in both Firefox and Internet Explorer 7. When you see the icon an RSS feed is available if you choose to subscribe. Isn't that much easier than looking all over a web page to find an icon that is different on each site?

I know you can hardly contain your enthusiasm so I will now unveil the new RSS icon (drum roll please).

Pretty simple, yet elegant with a touch of class, if I do say so myself! This is becoming the universal indication of an RSS feed. Firefox will display this in the address bar of a site which offers a feed. Internet Explorer 7 has a tool bar button to indicate the presence of a feed.

How to subscribe to a feed with Firefox

Firefox has the ability to read RSS feed built in, but Firefox also has thousands of extensions that add functionality. I prefer to use a free extension called Sage for RSS feeds. Go to https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/77/ and click the install link, which will download the extension and install it. You will have to restart Firefox to complete the installation. When you reboot you will notice a new button on the toolbar. This button opens Sage. You can change the order, location, and even which buttons appear by right clicking on a button and choosing Customize, which will open the Customize Toolbar Window. You can now drag buttons from the toolbar to the window, from the window to the toolbar, and from one place on the toolbar to another. When you are done click Done in the window.

Now that you have the the button where we want it let's click it. When the button is clicked it opens Sage in the side pane of Firefox. Clicking on the magnifying glass opens a discover feeds window. It's possible for a site to have multiple feeds and this allows you to choose which one you wish to subscribe to. I only have one. By highlighting the feed in the window and clicking the Add Feed button you subscribe to the feed, which will now appear in the Sage window. Pretty easy, isn't it?

Now you have subscribed to an RSS feed. What next? Sage automatically checks the feeds and displays the headlines in the lower pane. The full content is displayed in the browser window, with links to the full story or web page.

How do we add a feed in Internet Explorer 7

If you are using Windows XP and haven't upgraded to Internet Explorer 7, you should. I recommend Firefox for web browsing because it's more capable and safer, but IE is integrated so deeply into the operating system and has so many vulnerabilities I believe you should upgrade. Even if you never use Internet Explorer 7 to browse the web, and you shouldn't, the slightly increased security of IE7 is worth the upgrade. For those who insist on using Internet Explorer (why, oh why?) the upgrade can be found at the Internet Explorer 7 page. Unfortunately those using Windows 2000 and earlier operating systems can not upgrade.

When you arrive at a site with an RSS IE7 notifies you by the RSS icon in the toolbar. If you click this button a screen similar to this appears, which shows the feed. To subscribe to the feed you need to click the link or the star with the plus sign.

Once you have subscribed to a feed or feeds that star toolbar button allows you to open the feeds window and check for new content.

And there's more

Do you use Google.com or Yahoo.com for your homepage? Did you know you can add RSS feeds right on your homepage with both Google and Yahoo? You can. It doesn't get any easier than RSS! There it is. RSS in a nutshell. Try it out. It will save you hours of time and add new life to your web browsing!

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4) MS Word and Mail Merge

by Carol A. Bratt

One way to take advantage of the processing power of Word is to use the Mail Merge features to create personalized form letters. You can also create mailing labels and put together documents, brochures and other items that must be sent to a large number of recipients.
Mail merges allow you to print multiple copies of a document in which certain information (such as name and address) changes for each document. The form letters that you receive from businesses are examples of mail merges at work.
Mail merges combine two kinds of documents:

• A Main document which contains the text that is identical for each printed copy; and
• A Data source which contains the text that is specific to each copy printed.

The main document also contains fields that tell Word where to find the information that is stored in the data source. These fields are referred to as merge fields. As you type the main document, you can insert the fields at any desired location.
Word's Mail Merge Wizard makes it easy to produce form letters, mass e-mails, envelopes, or labels. Just follow the easy steps below:

1. If you want to create a new document and enter text in the body of that document to serve as your main document, open a blank document now. If you have an existing document that you're using as your main document, then open that document.

2. Choose Tools | Letters and Mailings | Mail Merge. The first of several Mail Merge panes appears within the task pane area.

3. In the task pane under Select Document Type, choose the type of output document that you wish to create.

4. Click Next: Starting Document at the bottom of the task pane to continue.

 

 

 

 

The Second Mail Merge task pane appears.

5. In the Task Pane under Select Starting Document, choose whether you want to use the current document, start from another existing document, or start from a document based on a template.

6. Make your desired selection and then click Next: Select Recipients at the bottom of the tax pane to continue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The third Mail Merge task pane appears.

7. In the Task Pane under Select Recipients, choose what you want to use as the source of your mail merge data. Your options are:

Use an Existing List: This option allows you to choose an existing database file containing the names and addresses that you want to merge. After making this selection, you can click the Browse button that appears, to locate and open the database file of your choice.

Select from Outlook Contacts: This option lets you use an Outlook Contacts folder as the source of the names and addresses. When you choose this option, you can then select the Choose Contacts Folder option that appears in the task pane to view and select the Outlooks Contact folder.

Type a New List: This option allows you to type a list of names and addresses. When you select this option and then click Create in the task pane, a New Address List dialog box appears, as show in Figure 4.

 

 

 

 

You can enter the names and addresses using this dialog box, clicking New Entry after completing each entry to add another. When done, click the Close button (the X in the upper right corner) in the dialog box and the wizard will ask for a name and location to store the list. Your list will be stored in a Microsoft Access database file, with the .MDB file extension.

Bearing this in mind, you should select the data source that you want to use for your letters. In this example I chose Type a New List and entered the address to which I wanted the letters sent. If you don't already have data existing in an Excel Workbook or an Access database, this is probably the best choice to go with.

When you are finished typing your list, Word returns to the third step in the Mail Merge Wizard. The only difference is that the Use an Existing List Option is now chosen and the task pane indicated the name of the Access database you used when saving the names you previously typed.
When you have finished specifying your data source, click Next: Write Your Letter at the bottom of the task pane to continue.

The Fourth Mail Merge task pane appears.

8. Now is the time to enter or edit the document that will serve as your main document. You can type the text that will remain static for each form letter, using the normal Word editing methods.

To enter the appropriate merge fields (the data that will change for each form letter) such as name, address, city, state and zip code, you use the commands shown in the Step 4 of 6 Mail Merge task pane. The options available in the task pane vary, depending on the type of document you are creating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The table below explains the commands available if you are creating a letter.

When you're finished designing your main document, save your work thusly:

1. File | Save.
2. Click Next
3. Preview Your letters at the bottom of the task pane.

The next Mail Merge task pane appears and a completed letter based on the first name and address in your list appears in the document window.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once this task pane appears, you can preview your form letters using the forward (>>) and reverse (<<) buttons shown in the task pane. You can also search for a particular recipient in the list of names and addresses by clicking the Find a Recipient link in the task pane and entering the search text into the Find Entry dialog box that appears. And you can modify the recipient list that's based on your chosen data source, if you wish, by clicking the Edit Recipient List link in the task pain. When you are finished previewing the results of the mail merge, click Next: Complete the Merge at the bottom of the task pane to continue.

The last Mail Merge task Pane appears.

In the Merge area of the task pane, you can print your form letters immediately by clicking the Print command. Alternatively, you can choose to store all the completed letters in a single Word document by clicking the Edit individual Letters link and using the File | Save or File | Save As command.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carol writes the monthly Word Bytes Newsletter with more tips and tricks each issue. Visit Carol's website for more great Microsoft Office tips and tricks! Visit Carol's site at www.carolscorneroffice.com.

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5) My Recommended Software

Anti-spyware and Anti-malware Software

Webroot SpySweeper - Daves Computer Tips Seal of Approval Winner! See the test results HERE. Spysweeper provides the best protection of the seven anti-spyware programs tested! Great detection and removal rates with a small real-time protection memory footprint. This is the one you want! SpySweeper includes the ASK toolbar. Be sure to uncheck this option during installation. Free 14 day trial.

CounterSpy - Runner-up in my Anti-Spyware test. Not only does CounterSpy scan and remove spyware, it also uses real time protection. Real-time protection prevents spyware infection. Free 15 day trial. Winner of Computer Shopper Magazine's Best Buy Award!

Antivirus and Firewall Software

ESET Smart Security - New from the maker's of NOD32. Antivirus, Antispyware, Antispam, and Firewall all wrapped into one effective, swift, and low resource package. It is what I use to protect each of my computers!

Kaspersky Antivirus - Kaspersky is my second choice for antivirus software. A good program that is very close in performance to NOD32. Free trial.

Online Armor Firewall - You shouldn't be on the internet without a software firewall that offers inbound and outbound protection. Online Armor is the Best of the Best. Online Armor uses an interface that is easier to navigate than most other firewalls and the protection level can't be beat! Online Armor is available in both a free and reasonably priced paid version, which offers even more protection!

Audio and Video Software

Acoustica Audio Converter Pro - This program converts audio formats and bitrates. Perfect for those with portable audio players or large music collections. 30 day trial.

Adobe Premier Elements - Elements is the consumer version of Adobe Premiere. It costs 1/6th the price, but is very capable of making videos that will impress everyone.

DVDFab is my favorite DVD software. I tried over 30 different programs before settling on DVDFab. It offers every function of the other programs and more! Copy, burn, shrink, convert for mobile devices, or convert for streaming. Almost all of the other programs I've tried did not function as advertised, were extremely slow, or did not have features that worked as advertised. DVDFab works, and works as advertised! It's easy to use, has a pleasant user interface, and it updated often.

Computer Hardware

Crucial Memory - Memory (RAM) is the upgrade that gives any computer the best bang for the buck. If you want to speed things up with more memory, why not purchase it from the leading source of quality RAM memory. Great selection, good prices, excellent support, and a lifetime warranty! A real winner!

CyberGuys - The place to get those hard to find cables and accessories for your computer!

HP Computers - My current pick for new laptops and desktops. In the current market I don't think you can beat HP's combination of price and performance. Their laptop line is very cost effective and the design is absolutely beautiful!

Newegg - Newegg.com is known for great service and awesome pricing on computers, upgrades, and electronics. If you're looking for computers, computer parts, or electronics you owe it to yourself to start here! Great Products. Great Prices. Great Customer Service!

Computer Maintenance Software

Diskeeper 2008 - My current favorite defrag program. As files are written and erased from the hard drive they begin to leave "spaces" behind. When the drive is written to again files are broken up to fill in these spaces. This causes the drive to go to several different locations to read an entire file, which slows performance greatly. Diskeeper has several advanced features such as; automatic defrag, scheduled defrag, and the ability to defrag the MFT (Master File Table) and paging file. 30 day trial.

Registry Mechanic - A very thorough and efficient registry cleaner and defragmenter. A definite must to maintain peak performance and stabile operation. 30 day trial.

Computer Utility Software

Acronis True Image 11 - Do you value the data on your computer? Do you value your time? How much time will you spend recovering data and returning your computer to its original state after a hardware failure or software glitch? True Image is my #1 choice in backup tools. Whether you choose file or image based backups (you should use both!) True Image will perform better than any other application I've used. Disk images created with True Image are generally 10-20% smaller than those from comparable programs. If your time and files are as important to you as mine are to me this is a must have.

Acronis Disk Director - My favorite tool to partition, format, and resize hard drives.

Roboform - This program is the next best thing since sliced bread in my book! This program integrates into Internet Explorer and firefox. It generates very secure passwords at the click of a button. How do I remember these complex passwords? Roboform allows you to save passwords and personal data in an encrypted format. A master password (yes only one password to remember!) allows access. Roboform in IE and FireFox works like a super powered bookmark. You click the site you want to go to and Roboform opens the site, enters your username and password for the site (if required) and as if by magic clicks the submit button. If you shop online Roboform can enter your personal information and credit card information, which is also stored in a secure encrypted file, in one click. A real time saver with great security thrown in to boot! 30 day trial.

WinRar - What is commonly called a zip utility, similar to the more widely known WinZip. WinRar is faster and works with more formats for about 1/2 the price of WinZip. 30 day trial.

Desktop Utility Software

LogonStudio - Change the screen that appears when you boot Windows (the one with the moving bar graph). Hundreds of free skins available online. It's free.

Cursor XP Plus - Change the cursors on your computer. Hundreds of cursor packs are available online for free.

Icon Packager - Change the icons on your computer. Icon Packager puts you in control to change every icon with the click of a button. Tired of the plain icons built into Windows? There are hundreds of Icon Packs available online for free, which will add a truly personal feel to your computer.

WindowBlinds 6 - This is the icing on the proverbial cake. WindowBlinds changes the look and feel of Windows. By changing the appearance of the task bar, start menu, and any other window or program you open. It adds transparency, shadows, alpha blending, and animations. Hundreds of themes are available online for free.

Internet and Email

1&1 hosting - If you want to start your own website, blog, photo gallery, or have a personalized email address then 1&1 is for you. 1&1 can not be beat for reliability, features, support, and price. 90 day guarantee.

Google Gmail - The best internet based email (webmail) available. Each mailbox has a 6.5GB limit. The interface is superb, and the spam filter is top notch. You will never need to delete an email again! It has a great search function and a feature called thread view, which makes finding emails easy. A webmail account offers several advantages including not being required to change your email address if you change service providers. Gmail requires an invitation from a current member. If you are interested shoot me an email and I'll send you an invite.

Microsoft Outlook 2007 - Outlook is the current email client of choice for corporate America. I get well over 200 emails a day. Outlook has a few features I really need such as a plug in for automatic backups, office sounds which offers me some audible feedback, and the ability to change headers. I've used Mozilla Thunderbird and liked it a lot. With the amount of mail I go through I really need the features of Outlook. If you aren't a heavy user, or don't need the features I do then Thunderbird is a great alternative.

- An amazing, free, web browser. If you aren't using it you should be! Highly customizable through addins called extensions. There are thousands of extensions which can allow FireFox to do just about anything you can imagine. More importantly, Firefox is not subject to ActiveX, which is a large part of Internet Explorer, AOL, and MSN. No ActiveX means much less chance of getting spyware! Firefox also conforms to web standards more closely than Internet Explorer, which means you will see what the authors intended, not Microsoft.

Mozilla Thunderbird - A great free email client, from the same folks that brought us FireFox. Easy to use and highly customizable through extensions.

Photo and Picture Software

Adobe Photoshop Elements - Photoshop Elements is a consumer version of Adobe Photoshop. If you are serious about digital photos you will find Photoshop Elements a great program to have at your disposal. Elements provides all the functionality most will need at 1/6th the price.

Picasa - A great (FREE) way to organize, edit, and share your digital photos.

6) The lighter side

After spending countless hours surfing the web in search of various funny or interesting things to share with you here are a few of my finds to lighten your day! I go through a lot to please my readers!

Are you tired of your plain jane PC? - Jack-o-PC Jack-o-Mac The Great Pumpkin

Homeland Security - a funny SNL skit. May be objectionable to some.

Hotel key commercial - hmmm be careful out there :)

The Matrix cow - you've seen the movie, but do you know about the cows?

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7) A few websites you may find useful

I've been a reader of Terry Stockdale for quite some time. He has been kind enough to share his experience with me when I've had site difficulties and we've bounced ideas off each other from time to time. Terry has his own newsletter titled Terry's Computer Tips. We share quite a few similar ideas about software. Check Terry's site out - www.terryscomputertips.com.

Tom Mercado is a Microsoft Security MVP. His website, Temerc Internet Countermeasures, is full of helpful tips and advice about spyware, malware, and other vulnerabilities. Visit before it's too late.

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This site and all content are copyrighted by their respective authors. Copyright © 2006 by David Hartsock. All rights reserved.