Hi Folks,

Q:
I've heard you talk about turning off computers every night for safety and to save electricity, but what about printers? Do those need to be turned off as well? Please explain!

A:
Good question! The answer to this basically comes down to how much you're going to be printing. Most people usually use their computers off and on all day, so they leave them on throughout the day and then turn them off at night to save some power. It's also a good safety precaution to take. So, you can use the same rules for your printer. If you're going to be printing off and on all day long, you might as well just keep the printer on until you're completely finished. If you're just going to print one item and then stop for a few hours, go ahead and turn it off.

The two reasons that coincide with this are electricity usage and your ink cartridge print heads drying out. The bigger issue here may be the drying of the print heads, because printers really don't use that much electricity. The newer ones use even less, but older printers don't really use that much either.

Most ink cartridges have some sort of a capping mechanism that saves the head from any outside air that may come through when the printer is turned off. If you leave the printer turned on all day when you're not using it though, you're just setting yourself up to have to buy another cartridge much sooner than you would normally have to. If your print heads dry up, your printing quality will be poor as well.

Make sure you always turn your printer off via the On/Off button and not by flipping your power strip device. When you use the On/Off button, the capping mechanism I mentioned above will fully engage and do its job correctly. Otherwise, it won't and your cartridge will still be at risk for drying out. If you follow these simple rules, your printer and your ink cartridges will live a long, healthy life!

~ Erin

Computer No Nos

Back by popular demand!

Have you ever committed a computer no no? I'm sure we all have at one time or another, but we really should watch ourselves from here on out. To help you pinpoint a computer no no, here are a few things you should never do with your computer. With this list, maybe you can stop yourself in the act next time something comes up!

First of all, you should never turn your computer off while you're in the middle of a program or if you have a bunch of windows open. You need to always close out all your programs and windows before shutting down your computer. If a program freezes up on you, always try to use Ctrl + Alt + Del before you do anything else. Another thing you should never do is turn your computer off and then turn it back on without waiting at least 60 seconds. The system needs at least that long to calm down a bit before you put it back to work.

Here's more! Never remove a disk or a CD from their respective drives until the drive light has turned off. It usually takes a few seconds for it to turn off, but if it's still on, don't push that release button! Here's an interesting one: don't ever use a magnet around your computer, the monitor or around a diskette (floppy disk). Magnets are bad news! Also, don't ever try to force a disk into its drive. If it doesn't fit, you may have it upside down or backwards.

Two more and then I'll let you be! Always make sure you turn your computer off before you start connecting any new hardware. It will save you some trouble on down the road. And last, but not least, you should never have any type of food or drink around your computer. Just eat and drink somewhere else. By using these guidelines and some basic common sense, your computer will be in perfect shape for as long as you need it!

~ Erin

Q:
What exactly is the navigation pane in Windows Vista? What am I supposed to be using it for? Any information you can give me would be great. Thanks!

A:
Sure thing! I'm sure you're not the only Windows Vista user out there who has wondered that very same thing. The navigation pane is a little something new Microsoft threw into Vista and I think once you figure out how to use it, you'll be glad they did. It's a very easy way to keep all of your files organized and put in place. So, without further ado, I bring you Vista's navigation pane!

I think a good place to begin is actually finding the navigation pane, what do you think?! To get to it, just double click on the Computer icon on your desktop. It's located on the left hand side of that window. Across the top, you'll see tabs for Organize, Views, Explore and so on. Below that, there are two sections broken up into Favorite Links and Folders. Under Favorite Links, there are a few entries there for Documents, Pictures, Music, etc. and under the Folders section, you'll see some of the folders you work with on a regular basis.

Let's start with the Favorite Links section. By default, you have the Documents, Pictures and Music links, but you can add as many others as you'd like. If you have a few other files you use on a daily basis that you'd like to have easier access to, you can add them to the navigation pane. That way, you don't have to go through a line of folders and files to find the single one you need. You can just click on your Computer icon and they'll be there! For example, maybe you're working on a big project and you need quick access to one of your Word documents. Just add it to your Favorite Links and it will be right there waiting for you each time you need it. Or, maybe you have some pictures you're editing and you need to be able to open them fast. Add them to your Favorite Links and voila. The options are endless!

To add a file to your Favorite Links, all you have to do is drag and drop it into your navigation pane. It's as easy as that! Once you have all the files added that you want, you'll also want to check out the Recently Changed link. If you click on that, it will show you which files you have created or modified in the last 30 days. So, if you make a change to one of your files, you can look it up right there. There is also a Searches link and you can use that to look up any searches you've performed on your Vista computer. You can use it to quickly find files, no matter where they are on your hard drive. It's just an easy way to find exactly what you need, without having to look in a million places. You can even add custom saved searches to your Favorite Links if you'd like.

Now, if you prefer the traditional way of looking through your folders to find the files you need, you can resort back to using the Folders link on the navigation pane. You can even resize it to fit the whole pane if you don't like the idea of the Favorite Links section. It's up to you, depending on the way you like to do things. Either way, Microsoft has done a really good job of giving you more options when it comes to navigating through your data. The navigation pane is a great way to keep all of your files organized and it just couldn't be easier to use. So, if you're a Vista user, I recommend giving this a try today. You never know, it could be your next best favorite thing!

~ Erin

Please feel free to forward this to anyone that you think might be interested in it.  If they wish to subscribe, they can click on the link below.

If this was forwarded to you and you wish to subscribe, please click here: Subscribe
If you wish to be deleted from the mailing list, please click here: Unsubscribe