Computer Tips From A Computer Guy

The keyboard is among the most underappreciated and taken for granted component of the Personal Computer (PC) that we use everyday.

We are all creatures of habit. We generally use certain keys and not others in certain way.

What are the origins and history of the now current accepted PC computer keyboard?

Interestingly enough the standard keyboard layout did not originate in one fell swoop. It developed through three separate IBM keyboard projects and often involved mistakes and pitfalls along its evolutionary path.

Most keyboard setups have their direct origin in the original IBM keyboard The IBM Enhanced 101 Key Keyboard which IBM set as the standard in the year of 1987. The Enhanced Keyboard was not the first but rather IBMs third keyboard standard for PCs.

What were these previous frameworks of IBM keyboard models?

First the original IBM PC and XT keyboards had 83 keys. There were 10 function keys on the left side of the keyboard, a combined number pad and a cursor pad placed on the right hand side. The now called Control (Ctrl), Left Shift, and Alt keys were arranged in a line next to the function keys.

The Escape (Esc) as we know it was to the left of the numbers in the top row. To the right of the Right Shift Key, an unshifted asterisk key allowed the user to type the now common *.* without acrobatics. Between the tiny Left Shift key and the Zee key was a Backslash / Vertical key. The Enter key was narrow and vertically aligned and very easy to miss by most early PC users.

The design of this original IBM keyboard standard was a mixture of sensible and absurd keyboard layout decisions so much so that the admired components overshadowed the less thought out shortcomings and thus here we are today.

IBMs next design was the original AT keyboard. This was somehow made incompatible with the earlier PC/XT design but a calculating user could reprogram in essence the newer keyboard to work.

The AT keyboard again had the then accepted ten function keys on the left, but exiled the Esc and the unshifted asterisk to the number pad. The Enter key was L-shaped and the Backsplash key, which now occupied the spot which used to be the left half of the Backspace key. Was reduced in size to the width of a single alpha key.

At some point when market forces pushed IBM to upgrade the venerable AT computer, it introduced the Enhanced model keyboard which was compatible with the original AT model, but had a drastically different layout. The ESC key and the 12 function keys were now along the top, the number pad was moved to the right. And a new cursor pad was placed between the alpha keys a number pad. The cursor pad ( which was actually split into two sets of keys ) consisted of four arrow keys in an inverted T at the bottom and a separate bank of 6 keys at the top: Ins ( Insert) , Del (Delete) , Home and End, and PgUp (Page up and PgDn ( Page down) .

What happened is that the computer users of the time disastrously started to press the Delete key when they meant end. There was virtually little memory, by todays standards hence no advanced features of rescue that we take for granted today. A computer user who may have spent hours typing a major endeavor such as masters thesis may have seen his hard work disappear into never never land.

It did not take too long for the complaints to arrive at IBM head office to rectify the situation. Leave well enough alone was the refrain. And the Backspace key returned to its original double width. The backslash key now occupied a single row. Caps lock migrated to the old side of the Ctrl key, and twin Ctrl and Alt keys flanked the spacebar. The Del key though remained in its now current place although in some keyboards it is now double sized.

Like it or not this layout has become the standard by which we live with our computer enhanced lives.

The keyboard is among the most underappreciated and taken for granted component in our every day computer lives. We seldom stop to think why certain keys are laid out in the given way. Like it or not we owe a debt to thoughtfulness and thoroughness of the original IBM PC project engineers.

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Hi, I started offering my services as a computer tune-up guy in my home town in order to further promote my dialup services.

Every since I started doing this it has proven to be a very profitable avenue of marketing but something else has made itself known to me in the process. Nearly every customer’s computer that I work on has NO Virus Protector on it or the one they have is out of date by several months, NO spyware tools, and they have NO firewall of any kind and as a result the computers have so many viruses and spyware on them I can’t get the computer to work properly until they are removed.

I have removed as many as 2000 viruses & Trojans from one computer alone (a laptop). It took me several days of work to find them all and get them all off. Then when I got through with that I installed and ran a spyware tool and it found almost 500 pieces of spyware operating on the computer. WOW!

Most of the computers that I try to install internet access on are comparable to this. Although I haven’t had any more with as many viruses as this one had the average computer, I have found, has as many as nearly 500 viruses as well as nearly 500 spyware on them, & sometimes more.

This is not because the people who own these computers are stupid rather it’s because they are naive about how to maintain their computer in an appropriate manner.

The fact is no one is telling them in a manner that will convince them and thus compel them to learn this all important information.

Most people who have been on the internet for any length of time have been bombarded with scare ads telling them that their computer is infected and that they will fix it for them FOR A PRICE!

With this kind of fear sales tactics, people have become immune to them. They have seen so many of these fly by night companies try to scare them into buying their Fix-All software that they think that it’s all just a joke and nothing that they have to worry about.

The fact is that ALL of the software that you need to both clean the viruses & spyware off of your computer and keep them off are available on the internet for free! YES! FREE!

Below I have listed a selection of software that I use to protect my computer and recommend for you to get and use to protect your computer from those who want to do your computer harm. I am only listing the ones which I use, therefore, I know that they work. If they work for me then they will work for you too.

Take note to the fact that these are not your only choices, do a Google search for these tools and you can find a whole slew of providers of these type tools, both free and pay for versions.

My favorite anti virus,anti spyware & firewall defense software list and where to get them.

AVGFree
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1 (I believe it is the best virus scanner) Free and paid for versions avail.

Spybot S&D
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html (Awesome) Donations accepted if you like it

SpywareBlaster
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/index.html (Use with Spybot S&D) Donations accepted

Kerio Personal Firewall
http://www.kerio.com/kpfhome.html (Free 30 day trial and then it reverts to a basic firewall without all of the extras which you can have if you buy it.)

These tools have been in operation on my computer for years and when I bought my new XP I implemented them on it too.

They have saved my computers & files from damaging attacks more times than I can count. Just the other day AVGFree found 10 viruses trying to get on my computer and stopped them all in one day of working on the internet.

Today, it seems, more viruses than ever before are being unleashed on the users of the internet! Don’t let them get into your computer! Set up a good line of defense and by all means KEEP THEM UPDATED!

Note: If you decide to buy any of these products I do not reap any financial rewards for any of these pieces of software. The afore mentioned list is provided for you entirely because I believe that they are the best tools out there.

Now I will speak to the Internet Marketers among us.

It seems to me that every legitimate internet marketer on the internet should be telling every customer that they have about these tools and helping people keep their computers clean because if you think about it:

1) You use the internet to market your wares and services to the public, right?

2) You need people to be able to get on the internet to buy from you, right?

3) If people’s computers are full of viruses and spyware then they may be having trouble getting on the internet to buy from you,…..right?

Just think of how many more customers that you might have if all of the people in the world that have access to the internet, but can’t make the best use of it because they are spending all of their time just trying to get on the internet so that they can see your ads & come to your web site to buy your goods & services, could finally see what you have to offer after they clean their computers of viruses and spyware.

It’s only good business to try to help your potential customers fix this problem they have.

Think about it…If your potential customer is trying to open your web page so they can buy your goods and/or services and they have viruses and/or spyware bogging down their computers thus making your web pages download slow if they download at all… how many of them just give up on you and go somewhere else to buy what they want. You lose a sale and they leave your site, that won’t load up on their computers, blaming you because you can’t build a descent web site never thinking or knowing that it wasn’t your fault and that the problem was living in their computer all the while.

If you were so mind to you could just put this report on your web site and/or in your newsletter and just let them know how to deal with this virus & spyware plague once and for all.

G*d Bless Y’all from Texas,

Frank Shrum

You can use this report in your newsletter or website as long as the following sig lines are included!

Frank Shrum is an Internet Service Provider with Local Dialup numbers in most towns across the US & some in Southern Canada. Are you paying more than $9.99/mo. for internet access? Then you’re paying too much! Go to: http://999LocalDialup.com Affiliates needed! Does your ISP pay you money back for being their customer? Mine Does, EVERY Month! It’s free to sign up. You don’t have to live in the US to be an ISP in the US. Sign up HERE! Go To: http://999LocalDialup.com/affiliate1.html

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The companies that make anti-virus programs have bold statements trumpeting the accomplishments of their software in the battle against computer viruses and spyware. They speak of up-to-date definitions and thorough scanning of the computer, and they are correct in that the anti-virus programs of today are leaps and bounds ahead of what was available just a couple years ago. A word of warning though, don’t take a deep breath and rest easy because you have an anti-virus program running on your computer.

The general way that almost every anti-virus program works is that it must be updated regularly to download the definitions of the newest viruses and spyware. The problem in the system lies in that once a user has gotten the notice or reminded himself to update his anti-virus program, the virus writers have moved on towards, and in some cases already have been, releasing newer versions of their viruses that are not in the updated definitions log yet. This problem is compounded by the fact that many anti-virus software companies do not have the resources to release new patches and fixes as quickly as they are needed by their users, which results in users often already being infected by the time the new update is available.

Even when their computer has become infected, many users feel safe in that they have an anti-virus program that can now do a scan of their system and isolate and delete a virus related program it finds, restoring their computer to its pre-infection glory. The sad fact is that many times this is not the case. Many viruses today mutate themselves so completely once they have infected a computer that it is difficult for the bulk of anti-virus programs to remove them. Often times, the anti-virus software is unable to remove the hidden or mutated virus files without further damaging the computer itself.

Don’t think of this information as insinuating that anti-virus programs are ineffective in the battle against computer viruses and spyware. Be aware of the problems and limitations that anti-virus software has in protecting your computer. As of right now, the best defense against computer viruses may be the knowledge that there is no perfect defense. Attention to computer performance (both speed and error messages) will always rank high on the list of things one can do to protect their computer.

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The companies that make anti-virus programs have bold statements trumpeting the accomplishments of their software in the battle against computer viruses and spyware. They speak of up-to-date definitions and thorough scanning of the computer, and they are correct in that the anti-virus programs of today are leaps and bounds ahead of what was available just a couple years ago. A word of warning though, don’t take a deep breath and rest easy because you have an anti-virus program running on your computer.

The general way that almost every anti-virus program works is that it must be updated regularly to download the definitions of the newest viruses and spyware. The problem in the system lies in that once a user has gotten the notice or reminded himself to update his anti-virus program, the virus writers have moved on towards, and in some cases already have been, releasing newer versions of their viruses that are not in the updated definitions log yet. This problem is compounded by the fact that many anti-virus software companies do not have the resources to release new patches and fixes as quickly as they are needed by their users, which results in users often already being infected by the time the new update is available.

Even when their computer has become infected, many users feel safe in that they have an anti-virus program that can now do a scan of their system and isolate and delete a virus related program it finds, restoring their computer to its pre-infection glory. The sad fact is that many times this is not the case. Many viruses today mutate themselves so completely once they have infected a computer that it is difficult for the bulk of anti-virus programs to remove them. Often times, the anti-virus software is unable to remove the hidden or mutated virus files without further damaging the computer itself.

Don’t think of this information as insinuating that anti-virus programs are ineffective in the battle against computer viruses and spyware. Be aware of the problems and limitations that anti-virus software has in protecting your computer. As of right now, the best defense against computer viruses may be the knowledge that there is no perfect defense. Attention to computer performance (both speed and error messages) will always rank high on the list of things one can do to protect their computer.

More articles at articles on database

GOT VIRUS? Your Data is NOT lost forever!

In the wake of so many computer viruses running wild, Hope is not lost!

With the recent release of such viruses as: mydoom; netsky; mofei, lovegate and many more destructive viruses, there is an affordable solution to recover your lost files from your hard drive.

Selecting a Data Recovery Service Company can be a challenging and confusing undertaking to say the least.

ECO Data Recovery located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida has come to the rescue of many individuals, small business and large corporations around the world. When down time means lost revenue and it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel, you can always count on ECO Data Recovery to get you up and operating asap.

These days you never know when your computer system will go down due to viruses, sabotage or natural disaster. We suggest that everyone back-up their files regularly. Nobody ever wants to think about their hard drive crashing or a virus taking over their computer, so backing up your files is the last thing on your mind.

Often time is of the essence. We know that when your business is down, fast is never fast enough, therefore, ECO offers an expedited service for time sensitive situations.

As technology advances, so do the skills of what we refer to as Hackers. These Hackers are responsible for many of the damaged files we have recovered. As the Hackers skills evolve, so must our teams of engineers. We understand that there will always be some hacker out there with the goal of causing chaos. Eco Data Recovery will be there to undo the damage they may have done and get you up and running in the fastest time possible.

Viruses are not the only cause of lost files!

When a hard drive is making an awful noise, more often then not you have a hardware problem. ECO Chief Engineer, Sean Flanders, warns If you hear strange noises emanating from your computer, shut it off immediately before further damage is incurred.

When a drive is still grasping to life (barely spinning) many times people try the cheapest solution and attempt to run a data recovery software utility. This is a major mistake! Attempting to utilize recovery software can make your data hard to salvage if not impossible in some cases. These programs may write data on the drive which then overwrites your original data, making data recovery almost impossible, states Brian Cain, VP of sales at ECO.

Take heed in the words of Charles Roover, President of Eco Data Recovery, Be aware of the fate that could befall your computer and/or network and take precautions. Back-up your files often! Nobody likes to think about losing their data, however, when you have a disaster, were there to rescue you!

Over the past 10 years ECO Data Recovery has saved many individuals and companies by retrieving their lost data! Were only a phone call away!

http://www.ecodatarecovery.com

About The Author

Woody Bowers
Dir. Business Development
Eco Data Recovery
(800)339-3412

woody@ecodatarecovery.com

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The keyboard is among the most underappreciated and taken for granted component of the Personal Computer (PC) that we use everyday.

We are all creatures of habit. We generally use certain keys and not others in certain way.

What are the origins and history of the now current accepted PC computer keyboard?

Interestingly enough the standard keyboard layout did not originate in one fell swoop. It developed through three separate IBM keyboard projects and often involved mistakes and pitfalls along its evolutionary path.

Most keyboard setups have their direct origin in the original IBM keyboard The IBM Enhanced 101 Key Keyboard which IBM set as the standard in the year of 1987. The Enhanced Keyboard was not the first but rather IBMs third keyboard standard for PCs.

What were these previous frameworks of IBM keyboard models?

First the original IBM PC and XT keyboards had 83 keys. There were 10 function keys on the left side of the keyboard, a combined number pad and a cursor pad placed on the right hand side. The now called Control (Ctrl), Left Shift, and Alt keys were arranged in a line next to the function keys.

The Escape (Esc) as we know it was to the left of the numbers in the top row. To the right of the Right Shift Key, an unshifted asterisk key allowed the user to type the now common *.* without acrobatics. Between the tiny Left Shift key and the Zee key was a Backslash / Vertical key. The Enter key was narrow and vertically aligned and very easy to miss by most early PC users.

The design of this original IBM keyboard standard was a mixture of sensible and absurd keyboard layout decisions so much so that the admired components overshadowed the less thought out shortcomings and thus here we are today.

IBMs next design was the original AT keyboard. This was somehow made incompatible with the earlier PC/XT design but a calculating user could reprogram in essence the newer keyboard to work.

The AT keyboard again had the then accepted ten function keys on the left, but exiled the Esc and the unshifted asterisk to the number pad. The Enter key was L-shaped and the Backsplash key, which now occupied the spot which used to be the left half of the Backspace key. Was reduced in size to the width of a single alpha key.

At some point when market forces pushed IBM to upgrade the venerable AT computer, it introduced the Enhanced model keyboard which was compatible with the original AT model, but had a drastically different layout. The ESC key and the 12 function keys were now along the top, the number pad was moved to the right. And a new cursor pad was placed between the alpha keys a number pad. The cursor pad ( which was actually split into two sets of keys ) consisted of four arrow keys in an inverted T at the bottom and a separate bank of 6 keys at the top: Ins ( Insert) , Del (Delete) , Home and End, and PgUp (Page up and PgDn ( Page down) .

What happened is that the computer users of the time disastrously started to press the Delete key when they meant end. There was virtually little memory, by todays standards hence no advanced features of rescue that we take for granted today. A computer user who may have spent hours typing a major endeavor such as masters thesis may have seen his hard work disappear into never never land.

It did not take too long for the complaints to arrive at IBM head office to rectify the situation. Leave well enough alone was the refrain. And the Backspace key returned to its original double width. The backslash key now occupied a single row. Caps lock migrated to the old side of the Ctrl key, and twin Ctrl and Alt keys flanked the spacebar. The Del key though remained in its now current place although in some keyboards it is now double sized.

Like it or not this layout has become the standard by which we live with our computer enhanced lives.

The keyboard is among the most underappreciated and taken for granted component in our every day computer lives. We seldom stop to think why certain keys are laid out in the given way. Like it or not we owe a debt to thoughtfulness and thoroughness of the original IBM PC project engineers.

More articles at articles database

You no longer have to go to Starbucks to enjoy wireless Internet connections. That’s right, you can enjoy your coffee from the privacy of your home and access the Internet. Wireless Internet has come home as well, and Internet connections can now be shared among family members without stringing wires through the living room. On the negative side, however, setting this up can be quite a chore.

With a wireless network, not only can you share Internet connectivity, but you can share files. You can put a file on a shared drive, and then anyone on any computer in your house can access it.

Additionally, you can share a printer. You can literally press print while working on your laptop in the bedroom, and the printer in your office will start spewing out your latest reports.

To start out with, you need a gateway the Internet. Any computer can serve as your gateway. This system must be directly plugged into the Internet in order for other users to be truly wireless. Thus one computer is stationary, you cannot move it.

To connect your wireless systems to the Internet, set up your gateway. Click on the Start menu and scroll up to the Control Panel. Then double click the Network Connections icon. At this point you can run through the series of steps in the Network Set up Wizard. Make sure to select set up a home or small office network.

Continue moving through the wizard until you reach the select a connection method page. You will need to select the option that states that your computer is directly connected to the Internet. Keep moving through the steps until you arrive on the final page with your reward: the finish button.

At this point you only have one computer hooked up to the Internet, and you can’t move it around the house. To gain mobility, you will need to go through the same steps with each of your other computers, only this time, you should select the option that states you’re your computer is connected to the Internet through a network and not directly connected to the Internet.

Unfortunately this sort of network does have a downside: the wireless connection relies on the gateway. When you turn your gateway off, the rest of your systems drop their Internet connection too. You might also want to consider purchasing a wireless router. Check out our article configure a network that always stays on.

Overall a wireless connection offers the freedom that no other Internet service does. You can even sit outside your home within a reasonable distance and access the Internet. Imagine that: shopping online from your deck. You could work from the kitchen, the bedroom, and even the bathroom. And while no one wants to become a workaholic, some people need the variety of setting to stay productive. So take the necessary steps to get hooked up and go wireless today.

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Time is money. And when you constantly have to divide your time between your mouse and your keyboard, your workflow rate really slows down.

That’s particularly true when you’re working on a laptop, where the pointing device is even slower.

The answer - short of growing another arm - is to learn a few handy keyboard shortcuts. Here are 10 of the best:

1. Make a quick exit:

ALT - F4 will terminate any program immediately.

2. Flick - don’t click:

ALT - TAB to flick through open programs.

3. Make a quick selection:

CTRL - SHIFT and move cursor with left / right / up / down arrows to quickly select areas of text.

4. Cut, copy and paste to the chase:

CTRL - X / C / V to cut, copy and paste selected text.

5. Undo what you’ve done:

CTRL - Z will undo anything. (And to redo: CTRL - Y although this varies between programs.)

6. Page - don’t scroll:

In MSIE use Page Up & Page Down to save time fiddling with the scroll bar.

7. E for explorer:

WINDOWS KEY - E to open windows explorer. Use up and down arrows to quickly navigate through folders.

8. Rapidly rename:

F2 - rename a file or folder in Windows Explorer

9. Find it fast:

CTRL - F to find text on a page (And CTRL - H replace it).

10. Fly through forms:

Use TAB to move forward through forms and SHIFT-TAB to move backwards

After a little practice, your fingers will be flying across the keyboard like a shortcut pro.

And you’ll save a huge amount of time too.

About The Author

Steve Robson is a successful technical author and contributor to http://HowToBuyALaptop.com - For more computer tips and advice, visit the following web page: http://howtobuyalaptop.com/laptop-computer-tips.htm

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In many parts of the country we find that people with computer certifications are more plentiful than in other parts of the country. Recently when I was doing a study of this demographic and looking at the data from a computer magazine I noticed that many people who lived in Florida and along the Gulf Coast had more computer certifications per individual than in other parts of the country.

In many parts the country there are severe shortages of people with computer certifications, while in other parts the country this is not as big a problem for large corporations. When studying this issue I determined that one of the problems was that in big cities like Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, the Bay area, Maryland, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, and the D.C. area that shortages of people with computer certifications was a huge issue. While in Florida and along the Gulf Coast there were more people who had more certifications, than expected.

Perhaps this is because during hurricanes there is not a lot that people can do so they study for their computer certifications and this is a very good way to stack up computer certifications for someone wishing to have more of them. The more certifications you have the better chances you’ll have been getting the perfect job that you desire in the computer industry.

There is currently a shortage of IT people and a larger shortage is expected in the coming years. Please consider this in 2006 and study your butt off next time there is a hurricane that you are waiting to pass you.

Lance Winslow

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GOT VIRUS? Your Data is NOT lost forever!

In the wake of so many computer viruses running wild, Hope is not lost!

With the recent release of such viruses as: mydoom; netsky; mofei, lovegate and many more destructive viruses, there is an affordable solution to recover your lost files from your hard drive.

Selecting a Data Recovery Service Company can be a challenging and confusing undertaking to say the least.

ECO Data Recovery located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida has come to the rescue of many individuals, small business and large corporations around the world. When down time means lost revenue and it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel, you can always count on ECO Data Recovery to get you up and operating asap.

These days you never know when your computer system will go down due to viruses, sabotage or natural disaster. We suggest that everyone back-up their files regularly. Nobody ever wants to think about their hard drive crashing or a virus taking over their computer, so backing up your files is the last thing on your mind.

Often time is of the essence. We know that when your business is down, fast is never fast enough, therefore, ECO offers an expedited service for time sensitive situations.

As technology advances, so do the skills of what we refer to as Hackers. These Hackers are responsible for many of the damaged files we have recovered. As the Hackers skills evolve, so must our teams of engineers. We understand that there will always be some hacker out there with the goal of causing chaos. Eco Data Recovery will be there to undo the damage they may have done and get you up and running in the fastest time possible.

Viruses are not the only cause of lost files!

When a hard drive is making an awful noise, more often then not you have a hardware problem. ECO Chief Engineer, Sean Flanders, warns If you hear strange noises emanating from your computer, shut it off immediately before further damage is incurred.

When a drive is still grasping to life (barely spinning) many times people try the cheapest solution and attempt to run a data recovery software utility. This is a major mistake! Attempting to utilize recovery software can make your data hard to salvage if not impossible in some cases. These programs may write data on the drive which then overwrites your original data, making data recovery almost impossible, states Brian Cain, VP of sales at ECO.

Take heed in the words of Charles Roover, President of Eco Data Recovery, Be aware of the fate that could befall your computer and/or network and take precautions. Back-up your files often! Nobody likes to think about losing their data, however, when you have a disaster, were there to rescue you!

Over the past 10 years ECO Data Recovery has saved many individuals and companies by retrieving their lost data! Were only a phone call away!

http://www.ecodatarecovery.com

About The Author

Woody Bowers
Dir. Business Development
Eco Data Recovery
(800)339-3412

woody@ecodatarecovery.com

More articles at articles on database