How to Scan using Windows Photo Gallery

One way to SCAN a photo or document to a computer with Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 Operating Systems, is to use the free Windows Photo Gallery that is part of these operating systems. This will allow you to scan, edit, and organize pictures and the pictures you scan will automatically be saved Pictures folder, in a My Scan/Scan folder.

Scanning allows you to create and save a "digital" copy of your photo or document on your computer.

Most printers today are also scanners. Be sure to turn your scanner on and be sure to always scan one "1" photo or document at a time; otherwise you will have one "1" scan of multiple photos or multiple documents - Now:

• Open Windows Photo Gallery by clicking the Start button , clicking All Programs, and then clicking Windows Photo Gallery
• Click File, and then click Import from Camera or Scanner
• In the Import Pictures and Videos window, click the scanner that you want to use, and then click Import
• In the New Scan dialog box, click the Profile list, and then click Photo. The default settings for scanning a picture are automatically displayed
• If you're using a scanner with a document feeder, click the Paper size list, and then click the size of the picture that you've placed on the scanner or click the size that most closely matches the picture
• Click the Color format list, and then click the color format that you want the scanned file to display
• Click the File type list, and then click the file type that you want to use to save the scanned file – for pictures .jpg is the most popular, especially if you are going to be using 3rd party software for projects, such as Walgreens, Cvs, Snapfsh etc. to create gifts such as books or mugs..
• Adjust the brightness and contrast settings or type the values that you want to use
• To see how the picture will appear when it is scanned, click Preview. If needed, modify the scan settings, and then preview the picture again. Repeat these steps until you're satisfied with the preview results
• Click Scan. When the scan is complete, Windows Photo Gallery prompts you to tag/name the picture so that it's easier to organize or find later
• In the Tag These Pictures (optional) list, type a tag name, and then click Import. Windows Photo Gallery displays the picture so you can view, fix, or organize it.
• Once the photo is in your Picture/My Picture Library/folder-you can move it to whatever folder you want it in and you can now use your Photo Editing software to make changes to the original..

If you don't have Windows Photo Gallery on your computer - go the following link and download it for free:

http://windows-live-photo-gallery.en.softonic.com/download

Tomorrow's blog posting will explain how to Scan your Photo's using Picasa Photo Editing Software...

What do the Social Security Numbers (SSN's) mean in the United States?

SSN's are not assigned consecutively; the first was not the lowest number, and the most recent is not the highest. They are assigned regionally and in batches.

SSN's are nine-digits and has been issued in more than 400 million different sequences. SSN's are divided into three parts:

1. Area numbers
2. Group numbers
3. Serial numbers

Area numbers - The first three numbers originally represented the state in which a person first applied for a Social Security card. Numbers started in the northeast and moved westward - Since 1972, the SSA has assigned numbers and issued cards based on the ZIP code in the mailing address provided on the original application form. Because most people today receive SSNs as infants, the area number indicates the state we were born in.

Group numbers - These two middle digits, which range from 01 through 99, are simply used to break all the SSNs with the same area number into smaller blocks, which makes administration easier. (The SSA says that, for administrative reasons, group numbers issued first consist of the odd numbers from 01thru 09, and then even numbers from 10 through 98, within each area number assigned to a state. After all the numbers in group 98 of a specific area have been issued, the even groups 02 through 08 are used, followed by odd groups 11 through 99.)

Serial numbers - Within each group designation, serial numbers -- the last four digits in an SSN -- run consecutively from 0001 through 9999. Although SSNs are issued in some order, there is no simple way to tell a person's age based on his Social Security number.

Here is a listing of how the Area Numbers are assigned:
001-003 NH
004-007 ME
008-009 VT
010-034 MA
035-039 RI
040-049 CT
050-134 NY
135-158 NJ
159-211 PA
212-220 MD
221-222 DE
223-231 VA
691-699 VA
232-236 WV
232 NC
237-246 NC
681-690 NC
247-251 SC
654-658 SC
252-260 GA
667-675 GA
261-267 FL
589-595 FL
268-302 OH
303-317 IN
318-361 IL
362-386 MI
387-399 WI
400-407 KY
408-415 TN
756-753 TN
416-424 AL
425-428 MS
587-588 MS
752-755 MS
429-432 AR
676-679 AR
433-439 LA
659-665 LA
440-448 OK
449-467 TX
627-645 TX
486-477 MN
478-485 IA
486-500 MO
501-502 ND
503-504 SD
505-508 NE
509-515 KS
516-517 MT
518-519 ID
520 WY
521-524 CO
650-653 CO
525,585 NM
648-649 NM
526-527 AZ
600-601 AZ
528-529 UT
646,647 UT
530,680 NV
531-539 WA
540-544 OR
545-573 CA
602-626 CA
574 AK
575-576 HI
750-751 HI
577-579 DC
580 VI
580-584 PR
596-599 PR
586 GU
586 AS

For more information about Social Security Numbers - how and when they began and how the use of the numbers have changed over the years, check out this website...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_number

What is clip art & how do I use it?

Holidays are coming and you might want to use clip art or photos to enhance your documents - invitations, holiday letters and more.... First of all ~ always insert graphics into your documents vs. copying them, so they react the way you want or need them to...

Clip art is a picture or graphic that can be inserted into various documents, such as those you might create in word processing, power point, excel or publisher to name a few...
You don’t have to purchase clip art software (as we did years ago) - There are thousands and thousands of different CLIP ART options built into various documentation programs and you can continue to build your own clip art collection from a variety of sources such as Microsoft online or Google images…

When you are in your word document, put your cursor/insertion point to the specific location in your document where you want the clip art, picture or symbol to be “inserted”.

• In Office 2007-2010 Word, Excel, etc.. go to the Insert Tab
  
• In Office 2003 or older versions, go to Insert on the Menu Bar and then to Pictures, Clip Art, etc.

You will now choose what you want to Insert - Picture, ClipArt, Symbol, Text Box, Word Art etc..

For clip art you will now see the gallery and/or the gallery search bar, so that you can search for or choose the image you want – if it is a picture, then open the folder or sub-folder the picture is in and choose the picture – one it is highlighted choose insert.

The image will now be inserted into your document…

When the graphic is on your page, the Picture Formatting Toolbar appears (in older versions of Word 2003 and prior-you can right click on your toolbar and turn this on or off) in Word 2007 & 2010 it appears as a new/additional tab, after the View tab..

When you insert graphics into your document, always go to the Text Wrap Icon (looks like a little dog in a postage stamp) and when the list appears choose Through. This allows you to easily work with both your text and graphics. Later, you can then change your choice of text wrapping – tight, square, behind text, in front of text (choices vary depending on your version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc 2000-2003-2007-2010?)…

Use your sizing handles around your graphic to change the size of your graphic – personally I like to use the sizing handles in the corners so that I change the height and width of my graphic all at once to be sure I don’t distort the graphic making it too tall/short or too wide/narrow…
Use the four headed arrow on the graphic to move the graphic around on your page to where you want it…

If your sizing handles boxes aren’t there or you don’t see the picture formatting toolbar, simply click on your graphic again – you must have the sizing handles around your graphic in order to see the picture formatting toolbar…

Clip Art & other graphics are a great way to enhance your documents - remember: one picture can be worth a thousand words... have fun & enjoy

Which is faster – cable, telephone or wireless internet??

This is a question that comes up all the time. The following two links are to articles on ehow.com, that we thought might help you better understand this ever changing technology:

www.ehow.com/info_8260618_fios-vs-cable-internet.html#ixzz1ahQZA7JP

www.ehow.com/about_4587185_dsl-cable-wireless-faster.html

According to “ehow.com” FIOS might be the fastest, but FIOS (“fiber optic service”) a product from Verizon, is not available everywhere. Here are some of the differences according to “ehow.com” FiOS potentially offers a lot more bandwidth than cable modems do, and both FIOS and cable offer more download speed than a typical DSL connection.

All Internet providers rate their Internet speeds with two numbers -- download speed and upload speed, where the upload speed is lower – here are the major 3:

• Verizon advertises its top FIOS bandwidth as 20/5 -- 20 megabits per second (Mbps) download speed, and 5 Mbps upload speed
• Comcast digital broadband typically runs at 5 to 7 Mbps download speed and 2 Mbps (or less) upload speeds
• DSL (Digital Service Telephone Lines) are typically 1.5 Mbps download speed and 0.7 Mbps upload speeds

Each has advantages and disadvantages:

• Verizon’s FiOS service is offered in a limited set of areas and the fiber optic cable has to be run to your home once it is available in your area
• Cable Internet, such as Comcast’s digital broadband, typically has the widest general reach and is available anywhere there's a coaxial cable connection, over the same wires
• DSL (Digital Service Telephone Lines) have somewhat wider coverage, but your home has to be within a certain distance of the telephone switching station

So although Cable Internet may offer higher maximum speeds than DSL or wireless connections, remember that DSL lines belongs only to the person paying for it – whereas, cable connections are usually shared with others in our area, which is why cable users often have fluctuations in the download speeds. So again, according to some, DSL – although slower – might offer more consistent speed..

No matter what – you have to do your homework and be sure you are comparing apples & apples and with technology changing as rapidly as it is, it’s another reason it’s never a good idea to sign a long term contract for any type of service…

Your personal budget should also be a major consideration before making any choice – are the extra few seconds worth hundreds of $$$$ every year??

What is the NUM LOCK key on my keyboard?

NUM LOCK is just an abbreviation for numeric lock.

The NUM LOCK key is usually located in the upper left corner of the numeric keypad on your keyboard and enables and disables your numeric keypad.

When you turn the NUM LOCK on you can use the numbers on the keypad; when you turn the NUM LOCK off the keys now perform other functions such as using the keypad as an arrow pad (typically the “other” functions are noted right on the numeric keypad keys).

On most keyboards, when the NUM LOCK key is enabled, there will be an LED light indicator, so that you know the the NUM LOCK key is turned on (just like the CAP LOCK) light indicator…

How and Why's of Setting Up Users Accounts (with Windows 7)

How to set up different User Accounts on your Computer..
Windows Operating Systems have always allowed us to set up different user accounts for different users of the same computer, so that when each user signs in they will see the desktop icons/software – wallpaper, screen savers and of course files & folders that are just theirs…

Although it’s a little different in each of the operating systems – Windows 7 makes it easier than ever to do this…

Note: Whenever two or more user accounts are created, one of them MUST BE an administrator account. It is then the administrator account that is able to set restriction on what additional user accounts can and can’t do…

• Go to Start, Control Panel, User Accounts, then left click “Manage another Account”
• Now left click on “create a new account”
• Choose an account type, enter a name and then left click, create account
• To password protect the account, click that choice. You will see different account options in addition to creating a password

Remember passwords are always case sensitive, so be sure to note what the different passwords are that you assign to each user

Why set up different user accounts? I’ve found it helpful to have a user account with my name on it and another user account that says “kids” for the grandkids to use and another user account for “guests” which allows anyone else to use the computer… This way, the grandkids and guests can use our computer, and I'm never concerned that any of our personal and/or work information will be compromised - it remains private and can’t be accessed by anyone else using the computer…

October Computer Classes

Seats are still available in the following October computer classes .. and remember MCC offers a a 25% discount for senior AZ residents over 62 – so be sure to ask for this if this applies to you!!

Consider signing up with a friend – coming to class with someone else gives you the motivation to practice and the more people in each class the more is learned from questions....So call Registration 928-855-7812 or 453-1139 and join us ~

DIGITAL CAMERA BASICS LSC100A-221: October 14 & 17, Friday & Monday mornings, 8:30am – 12:20pm $32 - Two 4 hour classes-Intro to digital cameras; pixels, camera lingo, basic how to’s, move photo’s to your PC with memory card & memory card reader, organize photos on your PC using Windows Explorer; save photos to portable drives Bring your digital camera to class

WORD-CREATE GREAT LOOKING DOCUMENTS LSC068-121: October 18 & 19, Tuesday & Wednesday mornings, 8:30am-12:20pm $32 - Two 4 hour classes-reviewing the basics to open, create, save documents; highlight; cut-copy-paste, set & change margins; create letters, envelopes, labels& use clip art, word art to enhance documents, create flyers & invitations & lots of printing tips

HOW TO BUY & SELL ONLINE LSC101-121: October 18 & 19, Tuesday & Wednesday afternoons, 1pm-4:50pm $32 - Two 4 hour classes-Buy and Sell on Line, find what you want; searching, making travel arrangements, general shopping tips, intro to online sales with sites such as eBay; eBid; Craigslist & others: shortcuts, security - great way to get comfortable before you begin shopping for the upcoming holiday season...

COMPUTERS FOR THE FUN OF IT LSC062-122: October 25 & 26, Tuesday & Wednesday mornings, 8:30-12:20pm $32 - Two 4 Hour classes reviewing computer hardware, software, printing tips, keyboard shortcut tips, customizing desktop-changing backgrounds, create shortcuts, using quick launch bar, Start Menu, Task Bar, control panel & much more…

POWER POINT SLIDE SHOWS: LSC069D-121: October 25 & 26, Tuesday & Wednesday afternoons, 1pm – 5:40pm $32 - Two 4 hr. classes Two 4 hour classes to create basic Slide Show presentation and enhance your presentation with text, photos & clip art, animation, transition & timing features, music and more…

Hello from the Mohave Community College Library

“Hi everyone! It’s finally October and everyone is still looking for ways to beat the heat here in Lake Havasu. With more than 63,000 books, we’ve got the latest bestsellers from James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Stuart Woods and many others. Swing on by the Library and see what new books we have for you. And we also have 36 computer workstations for students and 6 additional computer workstations for community users - so check us out...

The Hodel Library, which is open to the entire Lake Havasu City community, is located towards the back of the Mohave Community College – Lake Havasu Campus at 1977 Acoma Blvd. West. We look forward to seeing you.”

We are open Monday thru Thursday 8am to 8pm and Friday 8am to 5pm.

So call us at 928-453-5809 to ask for more information or email me directly at wbirkhead@mohave.edu. Let us know how we can help.

Looking forward to seeing you all, Wendi Birkhead, MLSCampus Librarian

Hodel Library - Lake Havasu City Campus
Mohave Community College
1977 W. Acoma Blvd, LHC, AZ 86403
Tel 928-453-5809
Fax 928-453-8335
Toll Free: 1.866.664.2832
wbirkhead@mohave.edu orwww.mohave.edu/library

Using Facebook's top bar for navigation

It's helpful to know how to "navigate" around Facebook and an easy way is to use the Navigation Bar which is located at the top of your Facebook page - to the right of your profile photo...

Here are brief descriptions of each of the available options on this navigation top bar..

Home (facebook logo) - Clicking this logo will take you to your wall (News Feed) that shows all friends recent posts.

Friend requests - If any friend requests are waiting to be approved this icon will show a notification of how many friends are waiting for approval. This icon can also be clicked when you want to view any friend recommendations or search for friends on Facebook.

Messages - This section allows you to send and receive private messages between one or more people you're friends with.

Notifications - Any time a friend or Facebook application creates a new post you'll be notified in this section. Clicking this icon will show all recent notifications. If you wish to change what is capable of sending you notifications including any Facebook applications or games click the See All Notifications link at the bottom and check or uncheck what you want to be notified on.

Search - Finally, the search box in Facebook can be a powerful tool that can be used to quickly find any current friends or people on Facebook. In addition searching for terms such as a company name, product, sports team, music band, etc. will find fan pages and groups that can be joined.

Facebook - Update your privacy settings

Despite all the bad press Facebook gets about their site and the privacy issue, one of the basic reasons there is a problem is that we, the users, don’t pay close enough attention to our privacy settings, which we should carefully and often..

As technology changes, Facebook has also changed and continually is adding more privacy options for us to use to help protect ourselves –but we have to use them…

Not sure how and what to do – then see what’s news:

Click Account in the top right corner of the Facebook window and then click Privacy settings to adjust who is capable of seeing what on your Facebook profile. We highly recommend going through all the privacy settings to verify your privacy is properly protected.

Understand, that anything that is not set to FRIENDS ONLY or FRIENDS OF FRIENDS can be seen by anyone searching on the Internet. Some good tips for most of us…

• Under Search in Privacy settings uncheck Public Search Results. This will prevent users from finding your account and profile picture in search results such as Google


• Under Application settings, make sure you're only allowing applications you want to have access to your information. Applications that you grant rights to can have access to your Facebook profile information.

Error Message: Windows-No Disk

Question: I am getting a error message a lot lately: “WINDOWS-NO DISK” pops up on the monitor and it makes no difference what I’m working on or have open and it happens several times a day…

Answer: Tech support forums and sites (including Microsoft) indicate that this is common (more so with Windows XP & Vista) than Windows 7. THe following is the solution, copied directly from Microsoft’s website at the following link:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_xp-system/windows-no-disk-exception-processing-message/b1a67525-d5e8-46ae-9801-6b169547e656

"The answer lies in the words "Windows: No Disk", your PC is looking for a USB device - e.g. a USB stick or a cell phone - that you've recently plugged in and have removed without using the "remove hardware safely" option in the right hand bottom corner of your screen. Put the last USB device you used back into the USB port and then use the "remove software safely" option.

The pop up message will disappear."

In my case, I didn't have to plug the USB device in, I just needed to click on the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the system tray, and tell it to remove the device that is no longer plugged in.

Change the desktop "wallpaper" on your PC

FOR THOSE WITH WINDOWS XP..

When you are on the desktop, put your mouse on a blank area (just make sure you are not on an icon) – now RIGHT CLICK

• At the bottom of the action list, the command you want to choose is “Properties”




• Now the Display Properties Dialog Box will open, which has several tabs: Themes-Desktop-ScreenSaver etc..




• Choose DESKTOP – and when this section opens, you can now change what is showing for the desktop wallpaper – there is a list of choices – NOTE: “none” which is at the top of the list is what we use to display the solid color MSN basic blue screen or




• You can go to the BROWSE button which opens My Pictures and add a photo from your folder








• Now you can now decide to have the picture "stretch" which covers the entire screen, such as you cat photo; or "center" which means the picture will be in the center will color around it, or "tiles" so that it takes the photo and replicates it many times.




• When you are done, at the bottom of the dialog box choose APPLY and then OK and your desktop wallpaper is changed until you change it again...

FOR THOSE WITH WINDOWS 7..

When you are on the desktop, put your mouse on a blank area (just make sure you are not on an icon) – now RIGHT CLICK

• At the bottom of the action list, the command you want to choose is “Personalize”




• Now a list of choices will appear, once of which is Desktop Background




• Click the picture or color you want for your desktop background




• As with the directions for Windows XP users above, you can now choose either a picture from those supplied by Windows 7, or if you want to choose something else left click the Picture location down arrow to view other categories, or click Browse to search for the picture on your computer. When you find the picture you want, double-click it. It will become your desktop background and appear in the list of desktop backgrounds.

What is Excel? And why would I use a spreadsheet?

Most of us understand that word processing software makes it much easier to create documents such as letters, forms, invitations, greeting cards and anything that contains text. Well – Excel does the same thing for us – making it easier to work lists, figures, numbers for list management, budget, statistics, data – anytime any type of calculation needs to be done. Although Excel spreadsheets/worksheets used to be used primarily for accounting and other analytical information where calculations needed to be made easily; but many of us find them a wonderful resource for list and other data management.

Like so many software application programs, Excel opens with a blank document – but in Excel that blank document is a blank worksheet, which is actually a grid of rows and columns.

In Excel, the rows of you spreadsheet/worksheet are serially numbered 1,2,3 .... and the columns are serially lettered A,B,C..... This numbering enables each space or cell to have its unique address; thus D15 represents the cell in the 4th column and the 15th row.

In Excel, using the ‘=’ sign, simple mathematical equations or formula can be used and sums, differences, products etc. calculated. Thus typing say, ‘=23+56’ in any cell will give the result of 79. The same work can be done by typing in the numbers 23 in cell A1, 56 in A2 and ‘=A1+A2’ in cell A3 and in fact what you have done is create a “formula”

Using a formula with cell references allows us to change the value in either cell A1 or A2 to get the revised result. This has significant advantages when using a complex formula or the same formula across multiple cells. The more recent your version of Excel, the easier it is to create and/or use formulas included in the software command list.

So many of the basic commands that we use all the time in Word Processing whether you use Microsoft Word Pad, Word or Word Perfect, such as Open, Save, Copy, Paste, Find, Replace Undo, Redo, Center, Left, Right etc.. are also available and work the same in Excel, Excel also offers a variety of basic commands that are designed to work with spreadsheets – whether you are managing a list of data or one with numbers and some of those are Paste Special, Filter, Sort, Wrap Text, Autofill, and Freeze panes.

And with the newer versions - Excel 2003, 2007 and 2010 - each new version adds more and more "templates" so that we don't have to recreate the wheel - so whether you are creating a budget for the holidays, a special event, your vacation or next years income & expenses - or various lists for managing data - there are hundreds of templates to choose from with the formulas already built in...

So whether you are trying to create a basic budget or want a way to quickly and easily maintain you all of your contact lists in one document – Excel is the answer.. So give it a try... it's easier than you think and can be used for so many things..

Texting Lingo & Slang…

It’s only a short time ago (a few years) that none of us knew what “TEXTING” was, but we now hear it referred to all the time – on the radio, TV, newspapers, magazines – even billboards.
Texting from cell phones has created the need I guess for it's own “Texting Lingo” which allows anyone texting save time, energy and keystrokes with this new abbreviated language – problem is, many of us (and them) don’t know what it all means and the lists are growing every day… so here are just a few Texting Slang Expressions that you might see, but more importantly a new list of Texting Lingo a students just sent me for us “older adults” that I thought you’d enjoy and get a chuckle out of… and feel free to share these with your BFF’s…

Texting Slang:
Texting slang involves both symbols, and special abbreviations that mean certain things. Here some of the most popular texting slang symbols:

:) Smiley face / happy
=) Happy
:-) Happy
:( Sad
=( Sad
:' ) Happy Tears
:-* Kiss
:-D Laughing

Texting Lingo for Older Adults/Seniors:
And we are all aware that the younger generation is using lots of Texting Lingo (abbreviations) when they talk, text and email.. so why shouldn’t us “older adults” have some of our own - So here are some "texting lingo" terms created for us older adults/seniors and I want to thank Peg G. from New Brighton, MN for sending this to me to share with all of you:

ATD - At the Doctor's
BFF - Best Friends Funeral
BTW - Bring the Wheelchair
BYOT - Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM - Covered by Medicare
CUATSC - See You at the Senior Center
DWI - Driving While Incontinent
FWBB - Friend with Beta Blockers
FWIW - Forgot Where I Was
FYI - Found Your Insulin
GGPBL - Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low
GHA - Got Heartburn Again
HGBM - Had Good Bowel Movement
IMHO - Is My Hearing-Aid On?
LMDO - Laughing My Dentures Out
LOL - Living on Lipitor
LWO - Lawrence Welk's On
OAS - Older Adults-Seniors
OMMR - On My Massage Recliner
OMSG - Oh My! Sorry, Gas
ROFL..CGU - Rolling on the Floor Laughing...Can't get Up!
TOT - Texting on Toilet
TTYL - Talk to You Louder
WAITT - Who Am I Talking To?
WTFA - Wet the Furniture Again
WTP - Where're the Prunes
WWNO - Walker Wheels Need Oil

Hope these help!

GGLKI - Gotta Go, Laxative Kicking in!

Computer Classes Begin October 4th

Greetings everyone, On behalf of all the staff at Mohave Community College, we hope you have had a wonderful summer and are ready to hit the books (well the computers anyway) again… My computer classes will begin again on Tuesday, October 4th at Mohave Community College.

We have some great classes lined up from October until May (other than a short break for the Christmas holidays) to help you become more comfortable with your computer, digital camera, using social networks, such as facebook and blogging, using your printer and lots of different software so you can create letters, newsletters, greeting cards, spreadsheets, power point slide shows, even to create your own books with or without photos…and of course lots of tips for using your email or skyping family all over the world…

The following classes are being held in October and it’s easy to reserve your seat, Call Registration 928-855-7812 or 453-1139.. Consider signing up with a friend – coming to class with someone else gives you the motivation to practice and the more people in each class the more is learned from questions....

COMPUTERS FOR THE FUN OF IT LSC062-121: October 4 & 5, Tuesday & Wednesday mornings, 8:30-12:20pm - Two 4 Hour classes reviewing computer hardware, software, printing tips, keyboard shortcut tips, customizing desktop-changing backgrounds, create shortcuts, using quick launch bar, Start Menu, Task Bar, control panel & much more…

SOCIAL NETWORKING & BLOG BASICS LSC080-121 October 4 & 5, Tuesday & Wednesday afternoons, 1pm –4:50pm - Two 4 hour classes learning all about social networking & blogging, including “Facebook” “Twittering” etc.. Create a family or organization blog – learn how, why & when to post – comments; Set Up Your Own Blog; Templates; Add Ons: Links, Photos, Slide Shows, Blog Tools & more - it’s fun free & easy

INTERNET AND IT’S MANY USES LSC071-121: October 11 & 12, Tuesday & Wednesday morning, 8:30am-12:20pm Two 4 Hour classes designed to help you get totally comfortable with the Internet, tips & lingo, such as ISP, browser, blogger; when/why to use F5 & F11; website basics, hyperlinks, email basics, using “Google & Bing” to search web, images, news; translating to & from different languages; blogging

LIST AND DATA MANAGEMENT WITH EXCEL LSC069-121: October 11 & 12, Tuesday & Wednesday afternoons, 1pm-4:50pm, Two 4 hour classes-Learn to work with numbers & text (budget, contact lists for mail merges) Workbook vs. worksheet; cells, columns, rows, auto-formats; margins, grid lines, sorting numbers & data & print basics Bring an address book or contact list to class

DIGITAL CAMERA BASICS LSC100A-221: October 14 & 17, Friday & Monday mornings, October 14 & 17, 8:30am – 12:20pm, Two 4 hour classes-Intro to digital cameras; pixels, camera lingo, basic how to’s, move photo’s to your PC with memory card & memory card reader, organize photos on your PC using Windows Explorer; save photos to portable drives Bring your digital camera to class

HOW TO BUY & SELL ONLINE LSC101-121: October 18 & 19, Tuesday & Wednesday afternoons, 1pm-4:50pm, Two 4 hour classes-Buy and Sell on Line, find what you want; searching, making travel arrangements, general shopping tips, intro to online sales with sites such as eBay; eBid; craigslist & others: shortcuts, security

POWER POINT SLIDE SHOWS: LSC069D-121: October 25 & 26, Tuesday & Wednesday afternoons, 1pm – 3:40pm - Two 4 hr. classes Two 4 hour classes to create basic Slide Show presentation and enhance your presentation with text, photos & clip art, animation, transition & timing features

CREATE/PUBLISH YOUR OWN BOOK LSC100A-124: November 15 & 18, Tuesday & Friday afternoons, 1pm – 4:50pm, - Two 4 hour classes learning to create & publish your own book, using free book publishing software from www.blurb.com known as personal book making & publishing-use your wp skills & digital photos and learn in quantities as small as just one. You decide: soft or hard cover, various sizes, all text, all photos or a combination of photos & text, story book or recipe book-we will also work with walgreens.com to create a book & greeting cards using your photos Bring photos to class (on camera or flash drive)

We will post new upcoming classes every few weeks, and remember you are welcome to check the college website at your convenience.. Anxious to see you all...

As always, there are lots of great happenings going on in Lake Havasu City, so be sure to check out the Lake Havau City Tourism website, which has been totally redone nad looks fabulous. Once ther check out the events tab and choose the month you are interested in..

www.golakehavasu.com/events

Apple iTunes, iPods, iPhone, iPads & Music...

So many students are now using various Apple devices – such as iPod, iPad, iPhone etc.. and the questions we receive are as varied as the devices themselves.

Bu the most popular question I receive is “how do I get music from my computer to my iPod, iPad, iPhone etc”…all of which use Apples iTunes…

Apple has a wonderful instructional site that answers every conceivable iTunes questions you might have – The site walks you through (in English) the various aspects of everything and anything you might want to do with these and other Apple devices… And trust me, it is easy…

So if you have created an iTunes library and/or you have one of the iPod, iPad, iPhone devices - visit this website. The website boasts “It will answer all your questions from burning CDs to watching HD TV, everything you always wanted to know about iTunes"

I would recommend that you save the website to your Favorites/Bookmarks or better yet, add it to your Favorite Bar, because I’m sure you’ll visit it often…

http://www.apple.com/itunes/features

Tribute to the victims and families of 9/11

I want to thank Paula Abrahms from Schnectedy, NY for sending this to me and I hope you will join us today as we all remember all the families who lost children, parents, husbands, wives, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, associates, friends and personal heroes on that dreadful morning that we now refer to as 9/11. Cherie Houston

No doubt most of us remember that beautiful Tuesday morning, ten years ago today “September 11th, 2001” when in just moments, 2,996 people lost their lives that morning - 2,977 innocent victims and the 19 highjackers.

Yes 246 innocent victims were on the four planes, the two that struck the towers in New York, the one that struck the Pentagon and the 4th that went down in a field in Shanksville, PA; another 2,606 innocent victims in New York City who were in the towers or on the ground, and the 125 innocent victims at the Pentagon in Washington. Yes all the deaths that morning were innocent civilians except for 55 innocent military personnel who were killed in the attack on the Pentagon…

This morning please take a moment to remember these families who continue to live with the impact of that dreadful morning, so that they will continue to find the strength needed to continue moving forward on their life journey..

This day is remembered and quietly kept
I pray to God that we never forget,
Yes the blow was hard, the shock severe,
So many lost, so much fear amidst the tears

I pray its true they still live on in the hearts and minds,
Of the loving families, that they left behind
No longer here in our life to share,
But in our hearts – they are always there

Our love for them and theirs for us, can never go away,
I think they are with us every day
Unseen and unheard, but always near,
So loved, so missed, and so very dear.

Yes its hard for sure when we’re left behind
Trying to move forward, praying for some peace of mind
Time and faith and kinds words when spoken
Will help heal our hearts that were so badly broken

Good Lord Above
Please grant strength and peace
to all 9/11 moms and families

And take a moment to visit the website dedicated to the 911 Memorial being dedicated today in New York City, NY in memory of all who lost their lives...

http://www.911memorial.org/

GPS & tips when using one - Part 2 of 2

Whats The Difference Between A Typical Gps Unit Or Using The Gps Navigation On A Smartphone?…

Let’s Talk Cost First….

• A Typical GPS unit for your car and/or boat will range from $120 - $250 and remember, most GPS’s require you to pay extra for annual software/map updates ranging in cost for this an annual free of $70-$90/per year/upgrade.
  


• Smartphones typically cost $149-$299 with a two year contract, plus an average of $30 per month for a data plan, and turn by turn navigation apps rane in [rice from free to $99, byt smartphone navigation aoos don’t carry annual map update fees…

What About The Types Of Maps On A GPS Vs. A Navigation App On A Smartphone

• As we mentnioned with a typical GPS you have to be sure you periodically update the mapping software, so that you have the most current maps..


• Smartphone map and points of interest databases “apps” are either downloaded initially with the purchase of the app (like with TomTom for the iPhone or you can download them on the fly a they say, per MotionX GPS drive or antoher app…
  


• When you downloard maps on the fly, you will always have the latest version. But you might be without a map if you are ni a remove area and out of cell phone tower range, such as when youa re cmaping or hiking…

What is a GPS & tips when using one - Part 1 of 2

GPS - stands for Global Positioning System

If you aren't familiar with these great little devices, a GPS is a space age navigational system that can pinpoint where you are anywhere in the world very accurately within a few yards or meters for our Canadian students. They will work day or night using a constellation of 24 satellites in precise orbits approximately 11,000 miles above the earth and the satellites transmit data via high frequency radio waves back to Earth in all weather conditions on land, on water and even in the air.

Although you don’t need one they are great to have if you are boating, driving, camping, hiking, 4 wheeling and anywhere on the move…

Top Sellers are the Basic Garmin, TomTom and the Garmin Magellan

Although they are great, when you are using a GPS a few helpful things to remember:

• Once you input your route, review it to be sure it makes sense to you



• You may not want to use the smaller recommended roads where services might not be readily available especially in new areas that you aren’t familiar with



• Your GPS should be a helpful tool, but always take and review a new updated street, topographic or marine map



• Don’t let the GPS distract you – don’t program it while driving; don’t pay more attention to the GPS unit than the road and never neglect your line of sight while following the directions from the GPS unit



• Pay attention before making turns when the GPS tells you to turn or take an exit, remember the GPS has no idea if its safe to do so at that moment… Some drivers might panic when thеу gеt thе instructions and aren’t able to take the turn or exit..



• Remember if you miss a turn or exit, thе GPS will recalculate аnd gеt you back οn track.



• Mοѕt GPS devices offer multiple routes tο a destination, ѕο іf you don’t lіkе or agree with thе proposed route, then choose another way with the help of a map….



• Don’t check your common sense at the door (or the dock) just because you are using a GPS device…

Apologies for no posts this week

Just a quick note to apologize for not having made any posts this week - but thanks to an unwelcome "guest" I haven't had any power, Internet or telephone since quite early Sunday morning when Hurricane Irene decided to visit the east coast and her winds and heavy rains introduced themselves to all of us in the wee hours..... Fortunately by the time she actually landed in Massachusetts she was just a Level I/tropical storm, but the damage has been incredible - trees and power lines down everywhere, but thankfully the loss of life could have been considerably worse.. so for that we are all very blessed and grateful...

Fortunately, our power was restored this morning and we now have Internet.... So within the next few days I'll be back in full swing and posts will be posted again every few days....

As always, if you have any specific topic or question you'd like addressed - just send me an email... the more questions or requests the better - that's how we all get to learn from each other.

In the meantime, let's hope that the next storm "Katia" which is brewing in the Atlantic Ocean will decide to take a stroll out to sea...

Enjoy your evening and I look forward to hearing from all of you ~ Cherie Houston