Help with Your Computer Problems.
The workers and professionals of the world will soon be divided into
two distinct groups.
Those who will control computers and those who will be controlled by computers.
It would be best for you to be in the former group.
Lewis D. Eigen
Searching the Internet
If you're looking for something specific, go to http://www.google.com/ or http://www.yahoo.com/. For more convenience you should install the Google Toolbar. Find out how here.
Meantime, use this:
In the search window enter the word(s) or phrase you're looking for, click the button or tap Enter, and in an amazingly short time you should be presented with an huge array of choices.
For instance, if you type in: free help internet explorer You'll find 220 million hits. Don't worry, Google is smart enough to rank them in likely order of importance. You should get the most useful first.
Refining Your Search
If you cut out free: giving: help internet explorer, you'll find 80 million hits.
If you're looking for a phrase it's better to enclose it in quotation marks. This constrains the search to the exact phrase rather than all of the individual words. For instance: "mercury bay weed" (986 hits) will give you a much narrower search than mercury bay weed (613,000 hits!).
Try "internet explorer help" - 35,000 hits. Now try "help for internet explorer" - aha! Only 400 odd hits. More likely to be useful than 220 million.
Search engines like Google and Yahoo provide you with advanced features to help you to refine your search. Phrasing the input is a bit of an art, but easily learned with a little forethought.
Looking for Definitions
If you're after a definition, type in this format: define:virus Google will come up with many alternative definitions of the word "virus".
More on searching here: The Internet
Free Help on the Internet
The following websites contain a lot of information which can help you with your computer problems, click on a link to connect to a site:
Microsoft Help & Support has a huge amount of information. The site contains extensive Windows help and search facilities and answers to FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions).
PC Technology Guide Explains how your computer works.
Protonic Ask direct questions, or check the link to FAQs.
Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows FAQs Follow the links (relevant to your Windows version) which you'll find listed on the right hand side of the web page.
ZD Net Reviews Page provides a wealth of information about specific computer products.
Computer World Magazine and PC World provide plentiful help.
The Experts' Exchange
The Experts' Exchange
is a forum for computer geeks, but can be of great help to we mere mortals.
One downside: if you don't want to pay for membership of EE, you must gain
points by answering questions.
However, if your livelihood depends upon quick answers to tough PC questions there's no better source.
Study
Computer Textbooks
Computer programs once came with fat manuals which, although often clunky, usually enabled the user to get to grips with the software. I still have the 1993 manuals for Word and Excel and they're still useful for latest version of MS Office. CorelDraw had excellent manuals in 1996 but the latest manual is of limited value. Nowadays most programs come with nothing much but the Help files with perhaps a manual in a .pdf document. I find that on-screen manuals don't foot it with a book.
Once upon a time I told my SeniorNet classes and anyone else who'd listen that the way to become knowledgeable was to read computer books and magazines. For beginners, I particularly recommended the Idiot's Guides, the Windows for Dummies and the Made Simple series.
One day one of my older ladies, an intelligent and capable woman, told me that she'd spent a mint on these books and that they were totally useless to her. It transpired that she wasn't alone. Some people benefit from textbooks, others don't.
Nevertheless,
if you're a textbook "coper", those series mentioned are good stuff at reasonable
prices. There are many other more expensive titles, some excellent, some
impenetrable. Flick through them at the bookshops to get a feel for
whether they're your style or not. If you can't find what you want in a
bookstore, amazon.com have an enormous
range of books available through their website and most titles have many
reader reviews.
Most people would benefit from a fat book on Windows; one on the Internet; and, if you use an office suite, one on Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works Suite, or whichever other suite you have.
Computer Magazines
For some people, I'm one, computer magazines like PC World, PC User and PC Magazine are are a useful source of helpful information. Some of the content is over the heads of beginners, but a lot isn't. You can soak up a lot of knowledge by osmosis. Over time the jigsaw falls into place and you can learn a lot.
Some magazines are pitched at serious professionals, others are aimed at ordinary mortals. Check them out.
Find back copies at your local library.
They invariably come with CDs and DVDs full of useful stuff. If you don't have a fast internet connection this is the only practical way to get your hands on a lot of useful free software and some of the very large updates for windows and other programs.
