Sydney TRS-80/MS-DOS Users Group - sydtrug

Newsletter of Sydtrug Inc.
Sydney TRS-80/MS-DOS Users Group
C/- Peter Wignell PO Box 95 NARWEE NSW 2209
AUSTRALIA
Website : www.sydtrug.org
Volume 32 Issue 04 April 2012 Price $2.00
Contents
TITLE AUTHOR Club/Source PAGE
youSENDit
Corinne Goeke CCGV 25
- A Program to Send Large Files
Better File Information
Les Townsing Melbourne PCUG 25
with Windows Explorer
Windows 7 Partitioning Dick Maybach BCUG 26
Shortcuts and How to Type Strange
Tanya Mattson CUERIE 27
or Odd Symbols on Your Computer
Creating a Survey Form
Nancy DeMarte SPCUG 28
in Microsoft Word 2007
Convert Books for eReaders Len Nasman BVCC 29
Computer Password Tips and Strategies Jim Cerny SPCUG 31
Tablet or Laptop, a Popular Question
Gregory West SCUG 31
...and More App Reviews
Ian Mavric
Collects and repairs TRS80 machines
Advertisement 32
Who s Who
President Denis J Pagett (02) 9772 4848
den119@optushome.com.au
Vice- Peter Wignell (02) 9759 8024
President
pwignell@bigpond.net.au
Secretary Alex Zui (02) 9727 8440
axle@axlecomp.com
Treasurer Peter Wignell (02) 9759 8024
Membership Peter Wignell (02) 9759 8024
Secretary
Hardware Errol Rosser (02) 9796 1185
Co-ordinator
errol@lan-mind.com.au
Newsletter Brian Keegan (02) 9890 8180
Editor
briank@sydtrug.org.au
Ordinary John Mercer (02) 9579 2915
Member
Ordinary George Lumb (02) 9871 5581
Member
Web Editor Brian Keegan (02) 9890 8180
briank@sydtrug.org.au
Public Officer John Mercer (02) 9579 2915
Meeting Arrangements
Meetings will be held on
SECOND Saturday afternoon each Month
Starting 1:00pm at 1 st Sefton Scout Hall
4 Waldron Road, Sefton
2012 Meetings
Aprl 14 th
May 12 th
Jun 9 th
Jul 14 th
Closing date for the Newsletter
contributions
At the monthly meetings
The contents of this publication are © 2012 by Sydtrug Inc. All rights reserved. Enquiries should be
directed to
The Secretary , Sydtrug Inc., C/- Peter Wignell PO Box 95 NARWEE NSW 2209.
Non-copyright materials appearing in this publication may be reprinted in similar computer group
newsletters and non-profit publications if accompanied by the following notice:
Reprinted from SYDTRUG News (at the above address)

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SYDTRUG News
Distributed on a regular basis, it
includes the Groups business
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SYDTRUG Inc Members contact details
As at 14 th January 2012
Members please note that if no internet address is shown on your membership form or renewal, then none will
be shown in this listing.
NAME Internet address Phone
Barnes Robert J Deceased 14 th June 2011
Edmonds Owen edmonds@spin.net.au (02) 9451 5758 (H)
Evans, David David.evans9@three.com.au (02) 9771 4119 (H)
Gillies, Lorraine lgdancer@tsn.cc (02) 6559 1661 (H)
Jarrett, Robert gizmomaker@bigpond.com.au (02) 9371 8539 (H)
Keegan, Brian L bkeegan@zeta.org.au (02) 9890 8180 (H)
Kennedy, Ivan R Ivan.kennedy@sydney.edu.au (02) 8065 5756 (H)
Lin, Yao (Jenny)
jen@axlecomp.com
Luther, Robert rluther2@bigpond.com (02) 9874 4770 (H)
O Toole, Anthony totoole1@bigpond.net.au (02) 4774 1881 (H)
Pagett, Denis J den119@optushome.com.au (02) 9772 4848 (H)
Randall, John maryr@axlecomp.com (02) 4774 1566 (H)
Randall, Mary maryr@axlecomp.com (02) 4774 1566 (H)
Rosser, Errol G errol@lan-mind.com.au (02) 9796 1185
Sijnstra, Egbert sijnstra1@bigpond.com (02) 4751 3941 (H)
Webster, Keith wombat@iprimus.com.au (02) 4774 2207
Wignell, Peter pwignell@bigpond.net.au (02) 9759 8024 (H)
Zui Alex ax@axlecomp.com (02) 8704 3222 (H)
Please check your entry to confirm that there are no errors
For any changes to this listing please advise the MEMBERSHIP Secretary

25
Ed it or s Not e .
Wh en s ta rtin g th e n ew volu m e of th is
n ews letter in J a n u a ry 2012, I om itted to
res ta rt th e pa ge n u m berin g. I am
ren u m bered th e PDF files on ou r website a n d
a ls o corrected th e in dex on th e res pective
front pages.
Sorry about that.
youSENDit
A Program to S end Large Files
By Corinne Goek e, Com pu ter Club of Green
Valley, AZ, Green Bytes, Summer 2011
h ttp:/ / ccgv.apcug.org
cmgoeke (at) yahoo.com
Ha ve you ever h a d a la rge file you
wa n ted to s en d s om eon e? For exa m ple, you
a re a prou d n ew gra n dpa ren t a n d wa n t to
s h a re th e digita l video of th e ba by with a ll
you r fa m ily a n d frien ds. You cou ld try
attaching the file to an email and send it that
wa y. Bu t m os t em a il progra m s h a ve a lim it
on h ow m a n y m ega bytes of files you ca n
s en d in a s in gle em a il m es s a ge (typica lly ten
megabytes).
Th is is wh ere th e website,
youSENDit com es in h a n dy. You ca n u ploa d
th e la rge file to th eir website, a n d th ey will
s en d a n em a il to th e lu cky recipien t(s ) with a
down loa d lin k. Th e recipien t down loa ds th e
file, a n d you receive a ccola des of h ow th e
n ew gra n dch ild looks ju s t like you . Here's
how to navigate the program the first time.
Open your favourite web browser
and go to http://www.yousendit.com Go to
"Compare Plans" and select the "Lite"
account. This type of account is free. It limits
you to uploading one file at a time, and the
file size is limited to 100 megabytes. Hey, it's
a free account, you have to accept some
limitations. Sign on up.
Sydtrug Editor . Th ere is a FREE trial for
14 days then you have to pay by the month
or year
You will have to confirm your new
account via a confirmation email sent to the
email address you used. Click on the link in
the email, and your new account will be
verified.
Once your free account has been
created, locate that large file you want to
send someone. If you have multiple files to
send, zip them into a single big zip file. Go to
the "Overview" tab in the youSENDit browser
window. Click on the green "Send It Now"
button.
Type in the email address of the
person to whom you wish to send the large
file. Fill in the subject and include a message
telling the recipient what you are sending
them.
Now click on the "Select File"
button, and pick the file you want to upload.
It's your choice. I just click on "No thanks."
You can also click on "Don't show this
message again."
At this point you have three
choices. You can 1) Set an expiration date for
the file (one week is the default); 2) Set the
file to be downloaded a certain number of
times, or 3) Never have the file expire and
always be available to download. Pick your
option and click on the green "Send it"
button at the bottom.
Again, you get another pop-up
window hey! They need to make a living!
You are being asked if you want your files
tracked (free 14-day trial). Just click on "No
Thanks" and "Don't Show This Message
Again."
Now, your file will be uploaded.
When uploading is finished, the recipient will
get an email telling him or her there is a file
waiting. The recipient can click on the link in
the email and download the file.
Finally, you get a "File Sent
Successfully" message. You can also share
the download link on Facebook or on Twitter
by clicking on the appropriate button. Then
all the world could see that beautiful
grandchild!
A few caveats never click on an unknown
link in an email. You may want to warn your
recipients that you are sending them a large
file via youSENDit. Also, sharing copyrighted
music and movies is illegal. But I am sure
you all knew that!
Bet t er File Inform a t ion w it h Wind ow s
Explorer
[S ort y our files m ore in telligen tly w ith a few
simple clicks.]
By Les Tow ns ing, a m em ber of the Melbourne
PCUG, Australia editor (at) melbpc.org.au
April 2011 issue, PC UPDATE
www.melbpc.org.au
Th ere is often a lot of in formation
a u tom a tica lly recorded wh en you s a ve a file.
Th is in form a tion ca n be ea s ily dis pla yed a n d
ca n prove to be u s efu l wh en
sorting/categorizing files.
Norm a lly, wh en you open Win dows
Explorer (righ t-click on th e Sta rt bu tton a n d
s elect Explore ) you get dis pla ys in dica tin g

26
th e file n a m e, s ize, da te m odified, a n d oth er
general information (see below).
If, h owever, we righ t-click a n ywh ere
on th e Colu m n Hea din g ba r we get a lot of
a ddition a l colu m n s we ca n a dd. Depen din g
on th e type of files you ca n s elect s om e
m ea n in gfu l colu m n s . If we a re lookin g a t
pictu re files (jpg) s om e a ppropria te colu m n s
may be Date Taken, Dimensions or file size.
If you righ t-click on a file a n d s elect
properties , you get to view a ll th e pos s ible
information as well as the ability to edit some
of the fields.
You ca n n ow s ort you r files by a n y
of th e colu m n s (ju s t left click on th e colu m n
heading).
If we righ t-click on a file, we ca n
s elect Ren a m e a n d ch a n ge th e n a m e to a
m ore m ea n in gfu l title ra th er th a n a bu n ch of
numbers . Th es e fea tu res m a y be m ore
m ea n in gfu l if we u s e m u s ic files a s a n
example.
Un fortu n a tely, s om e of th e Ripper
progra m s (progra m s th a t copy CDs a n d often
con vert th e files to MP3s ) get it wron g or
lea ve a lot of s tu ff ou t, wh ich ca n be qu ite
annoying, pa rticu la rly if it is th e a rtis t s
name or the title of the song.
Wh en s electin g a CD Ripper
program this is one item worth checking.
Extra Tip
If you s elect a file (click on it) th en
h old down th e s h ift key wh ils t clickin g on
another file then the system will select all the
files in between a n d in clu din g th e firs t a n d
last file you clicked on. Now, if you right-click
on a n y on e of th e s elected files a n d ch oos e
properties , you ca n edit a field for a ll th e
s elected files . Th is is n o good for titles a s
every file m u s t h a ve a differen t n a m e.
However, it is good when you want to edit the
album title or artist for a number of tracks.
Extra Extra Tip
Often th e files you wa n t to s elect
a re n ot con s ecu tive in a lis t. No problem ,
h old down th e con trol key th en click on th e
files you wa n t. As you click on th e files th ey
becom e m a rked a s s elected. You ca n th en
right-click on a n y s elected file to edit th e
properties of a ll th e s elected files .
Windows 7 Partitioning
By Dick Maybach
Decem ber 2011 is s ue, BUG By tes , Brook d ale
Com pu ter Us ers Group, NJ
www.bcug.com
n2nd (at) charter.net
In th e da rk a ges (before XP), it wa s
im porta n t to pa rtition you r h a rd dis k s o th a t
you r da ta did n ot res ide on C:, beca u s e ea rly
vers ion s of Win dows cra s h ed frequ en tly, a n d
in th e proces s , s om etim es corru pted th e C:
drive. To recover, you h a d to reform a t C:,
in s ta ll Win dows a n d a ll you r a pplica tion s ,
a n d res tore you r da ta , bu t if you r da ta wa s
on a s epa ra te pa rtition , it s u rvived th e cra s h ,
m a kin g th e recovery ea s ier. (However,
becau s e th es e ea rly vers ion s of Win dows
s tored you r e-m a il files a n d Web favourites
on th e s a m e volu m e a s th e s ys tem files , th ey
were lost unless you had backed up C:.)
Ma n y, in clu din g m e, con tin u ed th is
pa rtition in g pra ctice in XP by m ou n tin g th eir
My Docu m en ts directory on D:. Th is
s epa ra tion wa s la rgely h idden , beca u s e wh en
you a cces s ed you r da ta in My Docu m en ts ,
you didn't have to specify on what partition it
s a t. Th e on ly a wkwa rdn es s a ros e la ter in th e
PC's life wh en in evita bly on e of th e pa rtition s
beca m e fu ll, even th ou gh th ere wa s plen ty of
s pace in th e oth er, lea vin g you with th e
tricky task of repartitioning a nearly full disk.
In h in dsigh t, th e pa rtition in g wa s
unnecessary, because XP rarely crashed, and
in m y experien ce, even wh en it did, th e C:
drive was not corrupted.
If pa rtition in g for rea s on s of s a fety
is n 't n eeded in XP, it certa in ly is n 't in Vis ta
a n d Win dows 7, wh ich a re even m ore robu s t.
You s h ou ld s till be con cern ed a bou t s a fety,
bu t a m u ch better wa y to a ddres s th is is by
u s in g a good ba cku p procedu re. No m a tter
h ow robu s t you r s oftwa re is , h a rdwa re
fa ilu re or Malware ca n s till s trike, a n d
pa rtition in g is a com pletely in effective
defence a ga in s t th es e. If you m a ke a n d follow
a good ba cku p pla n , pa rtition in g is
redu n da n t; if you don 't you a re livin g on th e
edge.
Wh en you in s ta ll Win dows 7, it s ets
u p a flexible directory s tru ctu re, wh ich
in clu des (a m on g oth ers ) th e folders
Down loa ds, My Docu m en ts , My Mu s ic, My
Pictu res , a n d My Videos . Ma n y a pplica tion s
kn ow a bou t th es e a n d u s e th em by default.
For example, I use iTunes to manage my iPod
MP3 pla yer, a n d wh en I a dd th e m u s ic from
a n ew CD, iTu n es pla ces th e s on gs in My

27
Music/iTunes. It makes sense to me that any
oth er m u s ic I a dd wou ld a ls o res ide
somewhere in the My Music folder.
My PC is n ew a n d a s a res u lt, its
h a rd dis k is n ea rly em pty, bu t from
experience I know that this will change. What
I don 't kn ow a re th e deta ils of m y fu tu re
s tora ge n eeds. Will I con tin u e to a dd to m y
m u s ic collection , will I bu y a n ew ca m era
wh os e pictu res requ ire 10 Mbytes ea ch , or
will I develop a n in teres t in videos ? Beca u s e
a ll m y directories s h a re th e dis k, I don 't ca re.
Wh ich ever directory n eeds th e m os t s pa ce
will occupy it.
Com pa re th is to th e s itu a tion if I
decide th a t I'll m a ke s epa ra te pa rtition s for
ea ch in teres t, for exa m ple D: to h old m u s ic,
E: pictu res , a n d F: videos . Now I m u s t decide
on h ow la rge to m a ke ea ch , a n d if m y
prediction s tu rn ou t to be wron g (a s th ey
certa in ly will), I'm fa ced with la ter h a vin g to
repa rtition a dis k fu ll of m y s oftwa re a n d
da ta . Win dows 7 provides a wa y to m a ke
s epa ra te partition s a ppea r a s folders , wh ich
m ea n s th ey a ppea r to res ide with in th e
s tru ctu re of you r h om e folder, s o you ca n
h ide you r pa rtition s ch em e from th e OS. (In
th e pa rtition in g exa m ple a bove, D: wou ld be
lin ked to My Mu s ic, E: to My Pictu res , a n d F:
to My Videos . If you don 't m a ke th es e lin ks ,
s om e a pplica tion s m a y store th eir da ta in th e
defa u lt file s tru ctu re, in s tea d of in th e
pa rtition you wou ld like, u n les s you ch a n ge
th e defa u lt s tora ge for m a n y a pplica tion s
(wh ich is n ot n eces s a rily pos s ible). However,
you s till h a ve th e problem of h a vin g to
es tim a te th e fu tu re s tora ge n eeds of ea ch
folder.
I've s een two a rgu m en ts for pu ttin g
u p with th is s itu a tion : (1) it is ea s ier to
in s ta ll th e OS a fter it corru pts th e C:
pa rtition , a n d (2) it fa cilita tes ch a n gin g or
recon figu rin g you r OS. I've a rgu ed a bove th a t
modern OS's s eldom corru pt dis ks a n d a
good ba cku p procedu re is a s u perior wa y to
h a n dle OS rein s ta lls . I've u s ed XP for over
ten yea rs on five differen t PCs , a n d n ot on ce
h a ve I experien ced a corru pted C: drive;
h owever, in th e s a m e tim e, I've h a d two h a rd
dis k h a rdwa re fa ilu res . Fortu n a tely, m y
ba cku ps let m e recover m y s oftwa re a n d
da ta , wh ere pa rtition in g wou ld h a ve been n o
h elp a t a ll. I don 't s a y th a t Win dows 7 will
n ever corru pt a C: pa rtition , bu t it's ra re.
Ha rd dis k fa ilu re, wh ile n ot com m on , is n ot
a t a ll ra re. Fin a lly, I th in k it's foolis h to
experim en t with th e OS on a PC th a t h olds
you r fin a n cia l records a n d a ll you r
ph otogra ph ic m em ories ; a virtu a l m a ch in e
provides a much safer approach.
All th is is good n ews , beca u s e th e
bes t pa rtition in g s tra tegy is a ls o th e ea s ies t
to im plem en t; ju s t lea ve in pla ce th e s in gle
pa rtition th a t you r PC m a n u fa ctu rer pla ced
on you r h a rd dis k. As fa r a s s u bdividin g it
in to m u ltiple pa rtition s , in th e words of
Sa tu rda y Nigh t Lives Em ily Litella , Never
m in d.
Shortcuts and How to Type Strange /
Odd Symbols on Your Computer
Tany a Matts on, Librarian, Com pu ter Us ers of
Erie, Pennsylvania. faith6860 (at) verizon.net
January 2012 issue, Horizons
www.cuerie.com
Ever won dered h ow people manage
to type th os e s tra n ge s ym bols (for in s ta n ce
) th a t a re s een in em a ils , websites, and
letters? Gen era lly, in m a n y programs
everyone knows (a t lea s t for Win dows ) th ese
simple shortcuts.
TO SELECT ALL
(as in the complete document or page)
Hold down the Ctrl key and press A
TO COPY (as in the selected section)
Hold down the Ctrl key and press C
TO CUT
(as in remove a selected part of a paragraph
or sentence)
Hold down the Ctrl key and press X
TO PASTE (the cut or copied selection)
Hold down the Ctrl key and press V.
These shortcuts work not only in
documents, but in some drawing and photo
applications.
Now for th e odd on es :
Sydtrug Edit or For th e followin g m a ke
s u re you r Nu m Lock is ON or th ey don t
work, especially on a laptop keyboard..
HOW TO TYPE CENT SIGN ¢
Hold down th e ALT key a n d type 0162 on th e
numeric keypad
HOW TO TYPE BULLET (lis t dot)
Hold down th e ALT key a n d type 0149 on th e
numeric keypad

28
HOW TO TYPE COPYRIGHT ©
(Copyright sign, copyright symbol)
Hold down th e ALT key a n d type 0169 on th e
numeric keypad
HOW TO TYPE PARAGRAPH -
(Paragraph symbol)
Hold down th e ALT key a n d type 0182 on th e
numeric keypad
HOW TO TYPE REGISTERED SYMBOL - ®
(registered trademark)
Hold down th e ALT key a n d type 0174 on th e
numeric keypad
HOW TO TYPE TRADEMARK -
Hold down th e ALT key a n d type 0153 on th e
numeric keypad
HOW TO TYPE HEART -
Hold down th e ALT key a n d type 3 on th e
numeric keypad
To fin d m ore/ oth ers s ym bols , pu n ctu a tion ,
accent marks just search the web.
How to type s ym bols s ea rch led m e to these
sites:
Alt-Codes.org
http://alt-codes.org/how/
(th ey h a ve pa ges for Ma c, Lin u x, Win dows ,
and Laptops)
How To Type.net
http://www.howtotype.net /
(ju s t click on th e m a rk you wa n t, a n d it will
list the different formats)
Wikihow.com
http://www.wikihow.com/Type-Symbols-
Using-the-ALT-key
Very good lis tin g of a ll s orts of s ym bols a n d
characters.
For Windows:
Click on the Windows Start menu.
Select "Progra m s ", "Acces s ories ", "Sys tem
Tools", a n d th en "Ch a ra cter Ma p". (For
Windows 7 ju s t s ea rch for ch a ra cter map),
Ch oos e a fon t a n d Double-click th e
ch a ra cter(s ) you wa n t. It is im porta n t to
select th e exa ct fon t you 're u s in g in you r
docu m en t before s electin g th e s ym bol you
wis h to copy. Not a ll fon t-faces con ta in a ll
pos s ible com bin a tion s of a va ila ble s ym bols .
Th en Copy, Retu rn to you r docu m en t and
Pa s te. Fon t s ize of th e ch a ra cter m a y n eed to
be ch a n ged a fter you 've pa s ted it in to you r
document. Als o with in m os t a pplica tion s
s im ply INSERT.SYMBOL a n d s elect th e on e
required.
For Macs:
Hold th e Option key a n d pres s a n y oth er key
to get custom ch a ra cters To get a s econ d s et
of cu s tom ch a ra cters , h old down both th e
Option key and the Shift key.
On e ca n a lwa ys do s ea rch es for n ot
on ly s ym bols , bu t s pecia l ch a ra cters , a ccen t
marks or if you know the name do a search
for h ow to type in fin ity s ym bol
Good luck!
Creating a Survey Form in Microsoft
Word 2007
Nancy DeMarte, Regular Columnist (Office
Talk), Sarasota PCUG, Florida
nd em arte (a t) Veriz on.net
March 2012 is s ue, S aras ota PC Monitor
www.spcug.org
It s a well-kn own fa ct th a t bein g
fa ced with a ta s k or problem is th e bes t
motivation for
lea rn in g n ew
s kills . I h a ve
fou n d th is to
be tru e for
m a s terin g th e
a dva n ced fea tu res of Word 2007 (a n d 2010).
So let s preten d you belon g to a n
orga n iza tion th a t wa n ts to con du ct a n on lin e
s u rvey of its m em bers . Th is a rticle expla in s
h ow th e a vera ge Word u s er ca n crea te th is
type of s u rvey u s in g fea tu res in trodu ced in
Word 2007.
Crea tin g a n in tera ctive s u rvey in
Word in volves th ree ta s ks: gen era te th e
con ten t, ch oos e a form a t, a n d a dd res pon s e
tools. Th e con ten t of even a s im ple s u rvey
in clu des n ot on ly th e qu es tion s you wa n t
a n s wers to, bu t a ls o a few dem ogra ph ic
qu es tion s s o th e da ta you collect ca n be
analysed. Wh en con s iderin g form a t, you m a y
decide to ba s e you r s u rvey on on e of th e
Su rvey tem pla tes a va ila ble th rou gh Word.
Click th e Office bu tton New -- Micros oft
Office On lin e. Click th e Form s ca tegory --
Su rveys . Wh ile th es e form a ts m a y n ot fit
you r n eed, th ey provide idea s a bou t la you t
a n d oth er s u rvey fea tu res . An oth er option is
to s ta rt with a bla n k pa ge, wh ich is th e
Norm a l tem pla te in Word. Addin g res pon s e
tools in th e form of pla ceh olders (con trols )
in volves a s u rpris e. Th ere is a h idden ta b for
th e Word ribbon ca lled th e Developer ta b; to

29
com plete you r s u rvey, you n eed to dis pla y it
on th e ribbon . Click th e Office bu tton Word
Options -- Popu la r a n d click th e box n ext to
Sh ow Developer ta b in th e Ribbon . You will
be workin g with com m a n ds in th e Con trols
and Protect groups on that tab.
Creating the Survey
Let s a s s u m e you h a ve ch os en to
ba s e th is s u rvey on a bla n k docu m en t. You
have a dded th e con ten t a n d s a ved th e s u rvey
with a n a ppropria te n a m e. Now you a re
ready to add the controls:
The Controls group on th e Developer ta b
gives you a grou p of con trols or pla ceh olders
wh ich ca n be a dded to ga th er in form a tion
in tera ctively. You cou ld decide to in clu de a
Date-Picker to record wh en th e res pon den t
la s t a tten ded a clu b m eetin g or th e da te h e
com pleted th e s u rvey. Click in th e s pot in
you r s u rvey wh ere you wa n t th is to a ppea r.
Th en click th e da te-picker icon (bottom row)
to in s ert a da te-picker. Clickin g th is con trol
will revea l a ca len da r wh ere th e res pon den t
m a y click a da te. You ca n a ls o in clu de
in s tru ction a l text to m a ke clea r wh a t
in form a tion is bein g s ou gh t. With th e da tepicker
s elected, click Des ign Mode --
Properties . Here you ca n type a Title for th e
da te picker, s u ch a s Las t Meeting Attend ed,
a n d ch oos e a form a t for th e da te. Click OK to
save your changes.
Next, you might include a few Drop-
Down Lis ts to record oth er bits of
dem ogra ph ic in form a tion , s u ch a s a ge ra n ge
or gen der. Us in g a ge ra n ge a s a n exa m ple,
click in th e s u rvey, th en click th e drop-down
lis t icon (m iddle row) to in s ert th is con trol.
With th e drop-down lis t s elected, click
Des ign Mode -- Properties . Next type Age
Range in th e title box. In th e Dis play Nam e
section, select the phrase, Display Name, and
click Rem ove. Th en a dd a ge ra n ges , s u ch a s
51 - 60, on e a t a tim e, clickin g a fter ea ch
on e. Fin a lly, click Con ten t Con trol ca n n ot
be deleted to lock th is fea tu re in pla ce. Now
des elect th e Des ign Mode bu tton , a n d you
h a ve a drop-down lis t wh ere res pon den ts
merely click a choice.
In th e m a in s ection of th e s u rvey,
you h a ve lis ted pos s ible pres en ta tion topics
th e clu b cou ld fea tu re for th e com in g yea r.
To get feedba ck on th es e idea s , you m igh t
insert Ch eck Boxes n ext to ea ch topic. For
exa m ple, you ca n a dd a row of fou r ch eck
boxes s o res pon den ts ca n in dica te th eir level
of in teres t in th e a ctivity: No In teres t, Mild
In teres t, S trong In teres t, Very S trong In teres t.
To a dd a ch eck box, click th e Lega cy Tools
icon (bottom righ t) a n d th en th e ch eck box
icon in th e top row. Th e boxes ca n be lin ed
u p n ea tly u n der th e res pon s e h ea din gs to
crea te a grid-like s tru ctu re by s ettin g Ta bs.
Don t th in k you ve m a de a n error if you ca n t
click in a ch eck box righ t a fter you in s ert it;
th e ch eckboxes ca n on ly be filled a fter th e
s u rvey is protected, wh ich will be th e la s t
step.
Fin a lly, you m igh t a dd a Text
Control s o m em bers ca n type com m en ts or
a n s wers to open -en ded qu es tion s . Click in
th e s u rvey, a n d th en click th e Text Con trol
icon (Aa -s econ d from left, top row). To title
it, s elect th e pla ceh older, a n d th en click
Design Mode -- Properties. Type Comments in
th e title box, lock it, a n d click OK. Now
des elect th e Des ign Mode bu tton a n d try a ll
th e con trols you h a ve a dded to m a ke s u re
they work as expected before you move to the
final step.
Protecting the Survey
On ce you h a ve fin is h ed crea tin g th e
s u rvey, it is im porta n t to protect it. Des elect
th e Des ign Mode bu tton . On th e Developer
ta b in th e Protect grou p, click th e Protect
Docu m en t bu tton a n d th en click Res trict
Form a ttin g a n d Editin g. Th is open s a pa n e
on th e righ t. Click th e ch eckbox u n der
Editin g Res triction s wh ich s a ys , Allow on ly
th is type of editin g in th e docu m en t. From
th e drop-down lis t, s elect Fillin g in Form s .
Fin a lly, click Yes , Sta rt En forcin g
Protection . Now you r s u rvey is protected
a n d, u n les s you wa n t to a dd a password to
it, rea dy to u s e. To fu rth er en s u re th a t its
form a t is pres erved, you r m igh t wa n t to s a ve
you r s u rvey a s a tem pla te. Th e s u rvey
tem pla te will rem a in in its origin a l form a n d
s a ved in you r My Tem pla tes folder n o m a tter
h ow m a n y tim es it is u s ed. Click th e Office
button Sa ve As Word Tem pla te (.dotx).
Sa ve it in Micros oft Word Tem pla tes (top of
the left pane in the Save As window).
To find it, Open Word, click the
Office button New -- My Templates.
Convert Books for eReaders
By Len Nas m an, Ed itor, Bris tol Village
Computer Club, Ohio bvclub (at) bvres.org
January 2012 is s ue, BVCC new s letter
www.bvcc.org
It wa s n ot
exactly a Ch ris tm a s
pres en t, bu t I n ow h a ve
a n ew Kin dle Fire. We
h a d a ccu m u la ted a
bu n ch of rewa rd poin ts
on ou r PNC Ba n k

30
a ccou n t, a n d I dis covered th a t u n u s ed poin ts
were expirin g every m on th . Lookin g th rou gh
the rewa rds ca ta log, I dis covered th a t I h a d
enough poin ts for a Kin dle Fire. So, s in ce th e
price was right, I ordered one. It seems that if
you a re m ore th a n 21 yea rs old, h ow to u s e
th es e n ew-fa n gled th in gs is n ot in s ta n tly
obvious.
Th e Kin dle Fire s eem s to a s s u m e
th a t you a lrea dy kn ow h ow to u s e it, s o n o
instruction Ma n u a l wa s in clu ded. Of cou rs e
th ere is a m a n u a l a va ila ble on th e Kin dle,
bu t u n til you kn ow h ow to u s e th e Kin dle,
you ca n n ot rea d th e m a n u a l. An ywa y, I
even tu a lly got to th e poin t wh ere I wa s rea dy
to look for free books on the Internet and add
them to the Kindle.
Free Books from Project Gutenberg
My firs t s tep wa s
to go to th e
Project Gutenberg
web s ite to look
for free books.
Th e good n ews
a bou t Project
Gu ten berg is th a t th ey n ow h a ve file form a t
options for eReaders, including Kindle.
On ce a book file h a s been
down loa ded to a folder in th e com pu ter s
h a rd drive, th e qu es tion is h ow to copy in to
the eReader.
Using Calibre to Move Books
Fortunately, I
discovered a free
program called
Calibre
http://calibreebook.com/
that
makes it almost easy
to convert books and send them to different
eReaders like Kindle, Nook, Android and
others. Before you start using Calibre, you
need to create (using Windows Explorer) an
empty folder for storing the book files you
will be using with Calibre.
After you r em pty Ca libre book
folder h a s been crea ted (u s in g Win dows
Explorer), th e Ca libre in s ta lla tion proces s
will a s k you wh a t e-Book rea der you h a ve
a n d wh a t folder you will u s e for you r Ca libre
book lis t. The u pper left corn er of th e Ca libre
win dow h a s a tool for a ddin g books. If you
down loa ded books from Project Gu ten berg,
you loca te th e files a n d a dd th em to you r
Calibre list.
Ca libre provides a n option for
down loa din g cover a rt a n d in form a tion for
th e books on you r lis t. Ca libre refers to th is
a s 'm eta da ta .' Firs t s elect a book a n d th en
click on th e Edit Meta da ta tool. Th ere is a
bu tton in th e Edit Meta da ta win dow for
down loa din g da ta . Wh en th is is s elected,
Ca libre s ea rch es th e In tern et for in fo a bou t
your book. Wh en it fin ds book in fo in m ore
th a n on e loca tion , it s h ows a s election lis t for
you to pick from . You will a ls o h a ve th e
option to ch oos e a book cover th a t will be
dis pla yed in you r Ca libre lis t a n d, in m y
case, eventually on the Kindle Fire list.
You a ls o ca n rea d a book on you r
com pu ter. Dou ble clickin g on a book in th e
Ca libre lis t will open a n e-Book viewer righ t
on you r com pu ter s creen . (Th is is a n option
for th os e wh o tra vel with a la ptop com pu ter
and want to use their laptop as an eReader.)
After th e Ca libre book lis t is in
pla ce, it is tim e to s en d th e books to th e
eReader. In th e ca s e of th e Kin dle Fire, a
USB to m in i con n ecter com pu ter ca ble wa s
n ot s u pplied. Ra th er th a n bu yin g th is from
Am a zon , I got on e on EBa y a n d for a cou ple
of dollars (including shipping).
Wh en th e Kin dle Fire is con n ected
to th e com pu ter, it a ppea rs in Win dows
Explorer ju s t like a n oth er dis k drive.
However, Win dows Explorer is n ot u s ed to
m ove books to th e Kin dle. Th is is don e
directly from
Ca libre. Ca libre
talks directly to
th e eReader
th rou gh th e
USB ca ble.
Th ere is a tool
in Ca libre th a t will s h ow you r eRea der book
list. If you down loa d a book from Project
Gu ten berg in th e Kin dle form a t, you a re
rea dy to go. If n ot, Ca libre provides a n option
to con vert book files to th e MOBI file form a t
that Kindle uses. Wh en you a re rea dy to
s en d books to th e eReader, s elect th e Ca libre
Sen d to Device tool. That's it. Ha ppy rea din g.
If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try
missing a couple of payments.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool,
than to speak and remove all doubt

31
Computer Password Tips
and Strategies
By Jim Cerny , Director, S aras ota PCUG,
Florida jim cerny 123 (at) gm ail.com
March 2012 is s ue, S aras ota PC Monitor
www.spcug.org
Most of us have several computer or
in tern et a ccou n ts wh ich provide u s with
m a n y free s ervices s u ch a s em a il, m ovies
(Netflix), video com m u n ica tion s (Skype),
ph oto prin tin g (a t Wa l-Ma rt, Wa lgreen s , etc.),
m u s ic (I-Tu n es ), ba n kin g, s h oppin g, ga m es ,
en terta in m en t, books , a n d m a n y m ore. In
fa ct, you r com pu ter is th e perfect win dow to
th e world a n d a ll th e people a n d s ervices in
it! Bu t ea ch a ccou n t you s et u p requ ires
s om e s ort of ID a n d a pa s s word. For
exa m ple, you r em a il a ccou n t is you r em a il
a ddres s a n d it requ ires a pa s s word to a cces s
you r em a il. Ma n y oth er a ccou n ts will u se
you r em a il a ddres s a s you r ID (s o th ey ca n
em a il you n otices a n d a ds ) bu t will requ ire
a n oth er password. How do you h a n dle a ll
you r a ccou n ts a n d passwords? Here a re
some helpful tips:
1. ALWAYS WRITE DOWN EVERY ACCOUNT
AND PASSWORD YOU HAVE. I ca n n ot
em ph a s ize th is en ou gh . Review th is lis t every
few m on th s a n d m a ke s u re it is cu rren t.
Keep it with you wh en you tra vel. Keepin g
th em on a s m a ll porta ble ju m p drive is a
good idea too. You m a y h a ve s et u p you r
com pu ter a t h om e to ea s ily a cces s you r
em a il, perh a ps tellin g th e com pu ter to
rem em ber m e or you r pa s s word for you ,
but when you travel or use another computer
you will n eed you r pa s s words! Pers on a lly, I
do n ot ever a llow m y com pu ter to
rem em ber a n y of m y pa s s words I en ter
th e password from th e keyboa rd ea ch tim e I
log in a n y a ccou n t. Th a t wa y, n o m a tter
wh a t com pu ter I a m u s in g, th e wa y I a cces s
m y a ccou n t s ta ys th e s a m e I a lwa ys en ter
my account and password.
2. Write down th e in tern et a ddres s of th e
web pa ge wh ere you en ter you r a ccou n t a n d
pa s s word. Ma n y people u s e a favourite or
a n icon on th e des ktop to qu ickly get to th e
log in s creen for th eir a ccou n t. Th is is ok,
bu t if you u s e a n oth er com pu ter you will n ot
h a ve you r s h ortcu ts ! So write down th e web
page address needed for each account.
3. Th e lon ger a n d m ore com plex a pa s s word
is , th e s a fer it is . In fa ct, m a n y s ervices n ow
requ ire a pa s s word of 8 or m ore ch a ra cters
with s om e digits or oth er n on -letter
ch a ra cters . Som e a ccou n ts m a y requ ire you
to periodica lly ch a n ge you r pa s s word. Bu t,
h ey, we a re n ot s pies gu a rdin g govern m en t
s ecrets . Keep you r pa s s words s im ple. Us e
u n u s u a l com bin a tion s wh ich a re ea s y for
you but would be difficult for someone else to
gu es s . Ch ildren s n a m es , birth dates , a n d
h om e a ddres s n u m bers a re too ea s y for
someone to guess since such information can
be obta in ed with ou t too m u ch effort. In s tea d,
try th e m a ke a n d m odel of you r firs t ca r, a
childhood favourite ga m e or toy, th e n a m e of
you r s u perh ero, th e n ickn a m e you ga ve to
you r wors t in -la w, etc. Get th e idea ? Ea s y
for you bu t h a rd for s om eon e els e to gu es s ,
a n d im pos s ible to fin d ou t with ou t kn owin g
you personally.
4. Yes , you ca n u s e th e s a m e pa s s word for
m u ltiple a ccou n ts . Now if s om eon e rea lly
wan ted to u s e you r Skype a ccou n t or rea d
your email and they had a hint to one of your
pa s s words, it wou ld be m u ch ea s ier for th em
to gu es s you r oth er pa s s words. So you r
s ecu rity is redu ced. Bu t, h on es tly n ow, wh o
wou ld rea lly wa n t to s tea l you r pa s s words
anywa y? Wh o wou ld ca re? Well, ok, m a ybe
for ba n kin g or credit ca rd a ccou n ts I wou ld
be m ore ca refu l, bu t for m os t oth er a ccou n ts
I do n ot feel th e n eed for a s u per s ecu re
pa s s word, s o I do u s e th e s a m e pa s s word or
a variation of it for several accounts.
In bu s in es s , th in gs a re differen t. Mos t
com pa n ies a re very ca refu l a bou t com pu ter
a n d telecom m u n ica tion s ecu rity. Bu t for
pers on a l h om e u s e, I th in k you ca n be m u ch
less paranoid.
Bu t rem em ber -- If you r com pu ter is repa ired
or repla ced, or if you u s e a n oth er com pu ter,
you will n eed to h a ve you r pa s s words!
Tablet or Laptop, a Popular Question
...and More App Reviews
By Gregory West, APCUG Advisor, Region 6 &
International - gwest@apcug.org
VP of Sarnia Computer Users' Group (scug.ca)
Un les s you a re a h a rd core
com pu ter ga m er, you ca n n ow officia lly s a y
goodbye to the laptop.
Th e da y of com pu ter fru s tra tion is
coming to an end. The answer to pulling your
h a ir ou t a s you a re tryin g to figu re ou t wh y
th e la ptop is s o h a rd to u s e is ca lled: tou ch
pads .
Recen tly, I wa s on a tech n ology
cru is e ou t of Mia m i, wh ere 400 plu s geeks

32
roa d th e s ea s a n d clicked on com pu ters in
va riou s s em in a rs . Wa it, th a t s n ot correct. It
wa s n t com pu ters th es e everyda y people were
u s in g. No, it wa s tou ch s creen devices .
Mostly iPa ds I m u s t a dm it. Th is too is
s tra n ge a s th e grou p wa s 99.9% Win dows
u s ers . Th e a vera ge a ge in th e 400 plu s crowd
wa s , s h a ll I s a y, m ore th a n 50+. Mos t of
th em s a id th ey ca n n ot believe th e differen ce
a n d ea s e wh en th ey s witch ed from a la ptop
or desktop to a tablet.
Mos t people on th e tech cru is e, wh o
recen tly bou gh t a ta blet a n d s till own ed a
la ptop/ des ktop com pu ter, s a id th a t th ey
h a rdly ever u s e th eir com pu ter a n ym ore.
The hot topic on the ship was the app. People
were con s ta n tly s h a rin g n ewfou n d a pps for
their tablets.
So wh a t m a kes th es e ta blets s o
popu la r? Price, ea s e of u s e, two click
down loa ds for s oftwa re, porta bility, a n d low
price is en ticin g la ptop/ des ktop a re ju s t a
few of th e fa ctors en ticin g people to s witch .
Here a re s om e tips wh en s h oppin g for a
tablet:
Tes t drive s evera l. As k frien ds wh o
own th em wh a t th ey s u gges t. Do on lin e
searches for reviews.
Decide wh a t exa ctly you a re goin g
to u s e it for th en decide on th e s ize. I
wou ldn t worry too m u ch a bou t th e h a rd
drive size as most of what we do on computer
is h ea din g to th e clou d a n d s oon you won t
need software programs for your devices.
Make sure the tablet of choice has a
USB s lot for th u m b drives , ca m era s , a n d
oth er s u ch devices . ITworld.com s u gges ts
Decide on th e opera tin g s ys tem . Th e th ree
m a in ch oices th es e da ys a re iOS, An droid or
Blackberry Tablet OS. Do a bit of research on
a ll th ree a n d pick th e on e th a t will work th e
bes t for you .
On e fin a l word...Mos t people will
tell you on ce th ey bou gh t ta blets th eir oth er
computers beca m e lon ely. J u s t a s k a n yon e
wh o own s a ta blet a n d th ey ll tell you th ey
h a rdly u s e th eir com pu ters a n ym ore
beca u s e th e ta blet is s o m u ch ea s ier to u se
a n d les s h a s s le .
Fores ter.com res ea rch ers predict
Ta blets will ca n n iba lize n etbooks a n d ou tsell
th em s ta rtin g in 2012. In 2015, 23% of a ll
PCs s old to con s u m ers in th e US will be
ta blets .
Happy hunting.
App Reviews... AppZilla 2 won th e App or of
the year award.
I broke down and bought an app for
my iPhone, AppZilla 2. Ninety-nine cents is a
fa ir price to pa y for a n a pp th a t h ou s es 120
a pps with ju s t on e click. Apple reports th is
a pp s u rpa s s es 2,000,000 down loa ds!
AppZilla 2 works on th e iPh on e, iPa d, a n d
iPod touch. Sorry droid users!
With 120 a pps in on e a pp it will
ta ke s om e tim e to tes t drive th em a ll. Som e
a re kin da corn y bu t s till fu n . As a Google
u s er of Docs , m a il a n d m u ch m ore, I like th e
wa y th is a pp h a s corra lled a ll th e Google
produ cts for ea s e of u s e. Th ey ca ll th is th e
u tility a pp a n d righ tfu lly s o a s th ere a re
levels , a pp for fla s h ligh t m ode on you r
ph on e, pa th fin der s o you n ever get los t,
n igh t vis ion , password keeper, pa rkin g m eter
rem in der with a la rm , police s ca n n er for
m a n y cities , a n d m a n y m ore I h a ven t tried
but sure will. I give this app a 10+.
Gregory ca n be rea ch ed a t:
gregory@alternatecloud.com Vis it th e free
website for 50+ lea rn in g com pu ters :
http://alternatecloud.com
Free Ba s ic Com pu ter Help Worksh ops firs t
Monda y of every m on th 9:30 to n oon : Gra ce
Un ited Ch u rch - Sa rn ia , On ta rio - 519-542-
1203
Ian Ma vric collects a n d repairs TRS80
m a ch in es , h e will provide a h om e to a n y
u n wa n ted TRS80 s com plete or oth erwis e.
He is tryin g to s tim u la te in teres t in th e TRS
m a ch in es , n ot s o m u ch a s a u s efu l
a ltern a tive to a cu rren t Win 7 or MAC
com pu ter, bu t a s collectors a n d res torers of
old hardware for posterity.
Ia n repa irs , u pgra des , pu rch a s es a n d re-sells
TRS s tu ff... followin g is th e a ddres s of h is
website to give you m ore of a n idea of wh a t
he does.
http://ianmav.customer.netspace.net.au/
trs80/