Number 294 - November 2007

UPDATE
Beginners    Although she advertises ten steps in the title of her article, author Sandy Berger gives only six--but they are good ones. Take a look at "10 Steps to Safe Computing" by Sandy Berger.    In "Dufferdom - Tales from the Kingdom of the Ordinary user - Faxing" the author David Uffer recounts some of his experiences with computing over the years and his on-going tussle with some Norton products. Software Notes    In an article entitled "Would You Sign This Contract?" the author discusses the extremes to which some manufacturers try to limit their liability and your rights when using their products. Most of us don't read the terms and conditions in the EULA. Maybe you should. Take a look.    In the article "Open Source Software - Mostly Free to Use and Modify" the author makes us aware of the wide range of free open source software available. The extent and capabilities of the software offered is remarkable and any regular computer user should be aware of it. A couple of good sources are listed. You should read about it.	In "How To Answer 'The Question'" the author discusses answers to the question about what hardware to buy or recommend. Often a computer newbie may ask you, who have years of experience, for advice on the matter. You are an expert aren't you?    In "Using Imaging Software for Backup" Brian Lewis discusses the perinnial problem of backing up the files on your computer. He discusses the problem in some detail giving both the pros and cons. Hardware    In "Upgrading Your Hard Drive" the author Sean Henderson describes the process he went through to upgrade the hard drive on his laptop computer. He tried a couple of approaches unsuccessfully including XXCOPY. It just didn't complete the job leaving some files uncopied. He finally had success using a program called XXCLONE. Read all about it.    In "A Fat Client Diet" the author discusses setting up a network of older computers that are too good to scrap or throw away. He uses a version of Ubuntu Linux to network the system. Members will remember that we had Ubuntu self-booting CD as a library offering some time in the past year.
Number 294 - November 2007