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The name was chosen by a helpful sub-editor because it seemed to him that it cleverly combined the subject matter, with our seaside location. ;-)
For convenience sake, I have transferred my photo blog and a few other bits and pieces to this location as well. There are some older posts whose illustrations were lost in a move from Blogger to WordPress, and some broken links here and there, which shouldn't affect the overall usability of the Blog much, if at all.
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Allan,
Saving photos from facebook – i have a link with fotos on my fb that i want to save, i used the program zapgrab and saved in paint, excel & word, but de quality is not good and i also lose pixels, do you have any ideas, right clicking on de photo and using the facilities available i just received an error message? Tks,
@Eddie. I’m not totally sure what you mean by an error message when you right-click a picture in FB. The ones I’ve tried save OK. That being said, the pictures are usually pretty small and I’m not sure if that’s because they are uploaded small or FB compressed them. Taking a screen capture is never going to be a great solution, especially if the picture is small on the screen in the first place.
Hi Allan
Recently you published a story about Linux Mint. I’ve got myself a copy and have been trying to install it on my computer which has an existing installation of Windows XP Home on it. There doesn’t seem to be an option to load it in tandem with my Windows, it only gives me an option to wipe my computer. Is there anyway you could help me find a solution to this?
Regards
Brian
Hi Brian
I’ve fiddled a bit with Linux Mint Gloria and it’s a bit nerve-wracking, but it seems you have to take the installation option and then, only, do you get the option to repartition the disk and install Mint in its own partition on the disk. It will ask you how big to make the partition and the user guide says about 10GB would be good, although it can get by on three. See page 15 of the user guide which you can get here: http://ftp.heanet.ie/pub/linuxmint.com/stable/7/user-guide/english.pdf.
Good luck and I can only echo the warning in the guide that, although the process should be safe, you should make sure you have a backup of all your data. That’s just in case the world turns to toast, but it shouldn’t.
Let me know how it does. Allan.
Hi Allan,
Can’t wait for Sundays to read your column. Got a problem with todays mention of Afrihost.com though. We have been paying R179 pm to MWeb, including Telkom ADSL rental, for the past two years. If you add on the Telkom charges to Afrihost.com it isn’t much of a bargain in comparison. Can’t wait for a “real deal” to surface. Looking forward to next weeks column!
Granny, that does sound like a good deal but remember that the Afrihost was 2 for the price of one, making it R14,50 per GB. However, just check out Mweb’s uncapped offering, referred to in the next post.
Hi,
A stupid question!
Most queries advise how to go from Windows or Apple Mac to an open source OS like Kbuntu, but none advise how a Kubuntu user can or could communicate with one of the other OS’s.
Hi Deryk.
Not quite sure what you’re asking here but machines with different operating systems can be networked together providing they are set to use the the same network protocol (say TCP/IP) and file and resource sharing is enabled on each of the machines. I do know that Windows desktop machines are often on networks with Unix file servers, for example. It possibly won’t be a walk in the park to set this all up but, once done, there should be no problem sharing files, or whatever have you, across the network.
Cheers
Allan
Hi Allan, enjoy your weekly column, sad that even YOU have irritating technical problems with your computers. I am a simple, self-taught, retired computer user of some many years experience. My service provider is Telkom, has been for two/three years, no problems ever with 1GB per month bandwidth access.
Until three months ago -now I run out after ten/fourteen days each month and have to buy another GB. I monitor usage morning and night, switch on/off each day. I receive weekly usage reports from Telkom, on frequent enquiries eventually received helpful letter suggesting various things to do, also confirming that all my usage is via my landline, not wireless. My wife and I are the only two living here, she never surfs internet, nor do I surf it casually, but I do genealogical research on occasion, not excessively.
Our use of internet has not changed its pattern over the years – yet now my bandwidth is being chewed up at a rate of knots. My detailed records show that Uploading is often excessive! Doesn’t make sense.
Please, can you help me with some suggestions?
Greetings
Alistair Walker
Hi Alistair. The bit about much increased uploads is worrying because that is one is one of the signs that someone might be using using your machine to send SPAM e-mails. Networks of computers which have come under the control of criminals are called botnets. There is a good definition of them here:
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/terms/botnet.aspx
Microsoft provides a free PC scanning facility and malware removal tool here:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.aspx
I am now using their free suite of protection tools and you can download them from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
I’d do the scan and remove first and then download and install Security Essentials.
I’m afraid I can’t come up with another plausible idea why your uploads should have increased so much. If it were the downloads, it could be that one of your programs (or Windows) is downloading updates for itself, but uploads are worrying. Please be aware that, if your computer has become part of a botnet, the malicious software may have recorded any passwords (online banking) that you might have typed in.
Cheers
Allan
P.S. I’ve just downloaded Family Historian and have started on my family tree. Fortunately, we know quite a lot already, but it promises to be fascinating.
Hi Allan, I have approx 70 hrs of video of my family, children, holidays etc in 4 different formats. VHS large cassette, VHS small casette, 8mm, digital tape and digital memory.
Can you recommend a conversion programme and a simple to use video editing programme to store all these videos onto DVD.
I have a Lenovo T500 laptop and run windows 7.
Many thanks,
Ian Pugh
Hi Ian
I’ve spoken to a friend that knows these things and he tells me that you need a PC/laptop with a TV tuner and AV inputs on it. The PC will be able to record any TV signal that is played through it, which you can edit. He says his strategy with the 8mm film would be show it and record it off the screen with a video camera. If you’re unable to lay your hands on a PC with a TV tuner, it might pay you to have someone do importing for you, and then edit the result.
As far editing video goes, Windows Movie Maker is a free basic solution but I’d be inclined to take a look at Adobe Premiere Elements which is pretty capable, and quite resonably priced.
Hi Thanks For an interesting column.
On 4th april you mentioned uncapped service for R159 p/m .That’s cheap even if you add on telcom costs.Please tell me who supplies at that price.I tried to stay away from telcom and use a vodacom modem which works quite well but is pricey if you download music and such.Lightning is also not a problem as i don’t use the fonelines.I pay R189 for 500megs.
Thanks again
Ivan
Hi Ivan, MyISP (http://www.myisp.co.za/) is offering the uncapped deal for R159 and there’s a whole host of providers including Mweb, Afrihost and Axxess up around the R200 mark. I haven’t any experience of MyISP but you don’t have to sign a contract. Allan
I am looking for the “easiest” to use software to enable me to edit captured video (from my sport webcam) and be able to play it back on any PC (without having to load that software) if possible? I would also like to email small 1-2mb clips to friends? Cheers
Hi Lawrence.
Why not try Windows Live Essentials which is downloadable from http://download.live.com/. It’s free, reasonably capable, and will allow you to output .WMV files which can be played on any PC with Windows Media Player on it. You can even use .WMV files to create DVDs which can be played on any TV but you will require DVD creation software. One example is Windows DVD Maker which comes free with many versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Cheers
Allan
Hi Allan
I hope you are well… Please could you let me know if you are aware of any courses that would cover e-mail etiquette.
Thanks
Vicki
Hi there
I haven’t heard of any but I’ll look into it to see what I can find. It’d be interesting to find out.
Cheers
Allan
G’day, Allan
Many thanks for your comprehensive reply some weeks ago. Should have thanked you sooner. I shall keep the details but, by my painful process of elimination, wittled the problem down to the back-up process called MOZY! Do you know it? Introduced to me by my computer guru last September. I have now stopped it from operating and my bandwidth usage is back to normal. Must add that had it not been for my Genealogical back-up on MOZY I would actually have lost my records (during an almighty virus invasion) going back about fifty years. Phheeww! I was most grateful but am now considering acquiring an external harddrive for back-up purposes.
Thanks again, all strength to your typing fingers!
Alistair Walker
Hi Allan, I read your article in the SMMagazine every Sunday and get a lot of pleasure from it. As you like looking into programmes I would like to tell you about a program I have been using for quite a few years now. My wife and I run a very small printing business and have 2 PC’s so they are always both the same and also for backup. I use Synchromagic. You can find it on http://WWW.gelosoft.com.
For us it is great. I also have an external hard drive and through Sunchromagic do a backup every week.
Only problem with the programme is when one of us does a bit of housekeeping! When Synched it puts it all back again! to overcome this we do it together or delete everything in the “My Documents” folder on one PC, Synch, then it is fine.
This programme has a lot of vey good fetures that one can set up to their liking.
Have fun and keep up the great article
Regards
Peter Allen
Thanks Peter. I have edited this comment to reflect the changes in your second message. Sounds like an interesting program, I’ll definitely take a look.
Please don’t use the comment,”If your grany can read it”. What makes you think grannies are not intelligent. reminds me of the mother in law slur.
Jennifer, I wasn’t meaning to cast a slur. Quite the reverse in fact, because the inference is that, that grannies are usually omniscient and, if she can’t understand it, nobody else will be able to. However, I’ll keep your comment in mind. Sorry.
Hi Allan. With the advent of hi-fi’s having USB ports, how do I download my music from my laptop to a flash drive so that it will play in a hifi or tv. I know how to save to a flash drive but when I plugged it into a hifi it did not play.I was told it was because the music files were in “volumes”.
If I saved a playlist would that work?
Thanks for the great info in the paper.
Maybe its an age thing I am 65yrs old, my grandkids just shake their heads.
Oh well,
Arthur
Hi Arthur.
You don’t mention which Hi-Fi you have which would be important in finding out how to get music to play through it’s USB port. From a quick look round the Internet, it looks like there are units that can suck music off of hard drives and flash drives and play it, and other units that can accept a sound signal through the USB port from a computer or other music player. Having an older Hi-Fi, I have gone the route of connecting my netbbook to it with a cable running from the Line Out socket on the netbook to the Aux inputs on the Hi-Fi. Works for me and I use I-Tunes to browse and play my music.
Cheers, Allan.
Thanks Allan. I will investigate further.
Luv your info in the paper.
I recently upgraded to Windows 7 and also downloaded Power Point Viewer 2007 so I could read my pps incoming email attachment. Well no go, I could read them in XP but 7 not a hope in hell. Other friends are having the same problem and I see on the internet this is a general problem. How can I sort this problem out? I can open anything else. Including PDF and have Acrobat Reader (latest version installed)as well. Need help urgently. Why has PPV 2007 not upgraded since then it is now 2010!! Hope you can help me. Tks Jean.
Hi Jean. Sorry for the delay in reply. The ways of Microsoft are sometime hard to fathom. I’m not sure what’s wrong in your setup but you specifically mention that you have tried the PP 2007 viewer. Perhaps there’s some graphic thingy or other that broke under Windows 7. I see from its download page that it was published in 2007.
There is another version of the viewer which seems to be be the most current even though it it doesn’t have 2010 in its title. It was published in 2010, however, so it will almost certainly work with Windows 7. It says it does at any rate. Check it out at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=cb9bf144-1076-4615-9951-294eeb832823&displaylang=en.
Hi Allan,
Perhaps you or someone else can help. Where do I find instructions for Photoshop Elements 8. I need info on what the various small icons can do and how to do it.
Thanks,
Coba
Hi Coba, I’m not all that familiar with Elements resources on the web but you can find a lot by searching in Google for the words: “Photoshop Elements free tutorials”. One useful-looking site is http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/learningcenter/ which has a lot of free videos that you can view. Your other alternative is to buy a book like Scott Kelby & Matt Kloskowski’s The Photoshop Elements 8 Book for Digital Photographers. Hope this helps. Allan
Greetings,
I,m trying to get into Googles,Adword Editor, i run Windows XP and it downloads and installs the editor but will not boot up on my screen,it keeps asking whether i want to repair or remove the Editor download. This is driving me nuts, can you please help?
Thanks
Hi Paul
I heaven’t used Ad Word Editor but a quick look at Goggle’s site uncover a useful-looking help page. It’s at http://www.google.com/support/adwordseditor/bin/static.py?page=topicfaq.html&topic=14625 and you’ll see in Point 2, there is a troubleshooter which might help. If that doesn’t work, it might help to completely remove the program and reinstall it; Point 3 has instructions for proper removal.
Hope this helps
Allan
How can I create a customised DIARY using Microsoft Word, where I can have the day and date at the top of each page in a page-a-day diary.
I don’t know.
See, I’m not wasting time on pleasantries either
Hi,
I have been following your difficulties with broadband reception in the Waterfall area in the Sunday Tribune.
You might consider trying an outside antenna. These are reputed to give a great improvement. I would also be interested in reading a review.
You can find further info on the Neotel website.
If you cannot find it contact me on eamonb@dut.ac.za and I can send you a link. Am at home today so cannot look it up.
Regards, E R Bussy
Hi Eamon, Thanks for the reply. I did talk to the technical people at the launch and they said that there wasn’t an aerial suitable for use with their modem. I’ll keep in touch with them.