TechTalk - Friday 24th November (Pirate Windows, Internet Oppression and more)

TechnoBabble

Well, after last week’s little rant about emails etc., I thought that I better do a catch-up this week on the techy side and, as a result, I have spent some time trawling around my usual news sources to find out what’s new, interesting, amusing etc. in the world of computers and the internet.

First up is some interesting news re Microsoft’s new Windows Vista Operating system and Office 2007.

Frankly, I never cease to be amazed by the speed at which software hackers manage to flood the internet with pirated software and they have not failed again as the software pirates appear to have already gotten their hands on Windows Vista and are circulating a "cracked" version of the operating system on the Internet.

Windows Vista and Office 2007 have just finished development and are now being released to business customers prior to their official January 30th public release date. However, if you know where to look online, you can find both products available now !!

In the case of Windows, the supposed "crack" isn't really a crack to get around the activation process. When mooching around it appeared that the general conclusion is that the Pirates have actually replaced pieces of code in the system with alternatives taken from the earlier beta versions of Vista.

This apparently allows the use of a product key that worked with the betas and two release candidates to basically bypass the normal Microsoft activation process. Astounding !!

As to Office 2007, the Enterprise (big company) version appears to have been spread onto the net. As this is a version used by big companies who buy volume licences with it, it doesn’t require individual end users to input a license key over the internet – Hey presto, free software !!

Notwithstanding the ingenuity of the pirates, I am positive this “free lunch” won’t be around for too long. Apparently Microsoft has confirmed that they are aware of the hacks, and how they were achieved. As such, they will likely soon be blocked. If not from full use, certainly from getting important security and functionality updates, which ends up making them unusable anyway.

Regardless, it is of course illegal to use pirated software and you can also bet your bottom dollar that a lot of this pirated stuff, as in the past, will continue to be flawed/corrupt in various ways and is also likely to carry Spyware and viruses that can really mess up your PC. So, do the wise thing and stay away from it!!

Moving on, I found an interesting article on CNN this week relating to one of my favourite Websites, WikiPedia.

News sources state that, barely a week after Chinese WikiPedia viewers were finally allowed to access the Web site after a year-long ban by the Chinese government, the site has been blocked again in several parts of China.

Although it wasn’t immediately clear whether it was a technical glitch or not, the general feeling is that the Chinese powers that be are up to their old tricks again.

This really makes me mad !!

Whilst we must take care to ensure that content on the internet is not damaging, offensive etc., to block a whole country from one of the finest sources of general information and knowledge because it might not be in the best interests of the governments overall brain washing program is truly ludicrous.

This is not the first time either. Google themselves agreed a deal with the Chinese government that allowed them publish in China with a “.cn” domain on the proviso that the Chinese could censor results etc.

As such, if you search for "tiananmen square" on google.com or .co.uk, articles relating to the awful events of 1989 are first up (WikiPedia entry first funnily enough !!). If you carry out the same search on google.cn, it’s a little different !!

I have to say this makes me realise, regardless of how much we moan, we really mustn’t forget the freedoms we take so much for granted in the west !!

And does anybody have money with the Nationwide in the UK ?

The Nationwide has only just informed customers that sensitive data they entrusted to the institution's care may have been stolen when an employee's laptop was taken in a domestic break-in a number of months ago.

They have stated they didn’t mention it earlier because they didn’t want to cause “undue anxiety amongst our customers” or further compromise security by making the theft public knowledge !!!

You’ve got to laugh haven’t you really? These institutions literally spend millions on computer and internet security systems that really do the job, only for some idiot to leave a laptop with customer’s details on it lying around, waiting to be pinched! Excellent !!

Lastly some good news for those of us who are fed up with having to inconveniently pull out and use cables when the battery runs out on our laptops. It appears wireless electricity is in the offing as, according to reports, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered it !!

Although it has been known for some time that a wire carrying an electric current will transfer that current across thin air to another wire that is in very close proximity, this hasn’t been exploited to-date as the current dissipated rapidly as soon as the distance between cables was more than a few inches.

Now, apparently, by using something called 'non-radiative' electromagnetic field rather than by electromagnetic waves, it is possible to transfer energy over longer distances, across a room for example, and ensure that only devices specially designed to “resonate” actually receive the current. Left over energy, instead of making your hair stand on end, would be reabsorbed by the “transmitter”.

The possibilities for this technology are fairly obvious. All household appliances could be moved around and used without having to worry if there is a power socket nearby (a common issue here in Spain !!) and communication and computing would finally be fully mobile.

Imagine hoovering, mowing the lawn, trimming the bushes, using the Garden Vac, all without having to worry about cables !! I’ll keep an eye on this one and update you on progress. Mind you, the scientist behind it will have to ensure that our neighbours can’t pinch our electricity out of the air won’t they !!

Well, that’s it for this week.

Next week, I am going to bow to the pressure of the many requests I have had over the months and write an article on a very interesting and sometimes contentious subject – Internet Dating !!! So, if you have had any real experience of this phenomenon or, indeed, run a dating site yourself and would like to contribute your thoughts/opinions on the subject, please email me with them at techtalk@inspirese.com. If appropriate, we can even a range a quick chat/interview. For those of you who would like to contribute but do not wish to be identified, I can assure you your anonymity will be fully protected !!!

Until next week then and don’t forget you can visit TechTalk on the web for the current and past articles at our Blog located at www.webtechtalk.org. Don’t forget to register for email updates etc. too !!

Peter Reed-Forrester
inspírese

Surfer’s Corner

A range of different sites this week, kicking off with something educational:-

The Encyclopaedia Romana (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/)

For me, studying the Roman Empire was one of the highlights of my schooldays. Gladiators, Emperors, beautiful architecture, Julius Ceasar, intrigue, hedonism, it had it all. This site is a great resource for finding out anything about Rome, the centre of the empire.

The Cloud Appreciation Society (http://www.cloudappreciationsociety.org)

Now don’t go thinking I’ve really lost it here !! This site is actually amazing. The photographs are mostly stunning and in some cases simply astonishing. Try the “lightening” section or check out the various “optical effects”. It doesn’t take long to realise just how beautiful nature can be !!

Animal Reviews (http://animalreviews.zelica.net/)

Some sites review films, some music, some gadgets and some sites review other sites. This one reviews animals. Well written and very humorous, you have to visit this place to understand. Really, don’t miss it (I like the Goose review).

BarcodeArt (http://www.barcodeart.com/art/yourself/yourself_frames.html)

This section of an interesting websote lets you create a Bar Code for yourself. Go on, give it a try. I’m going to have mine tattooed but I’m not telling you where J

FutureMe (www.futureme.org)

Brilliant !! You can use this site to send yourself or anyone else an email in the future. Reminders (Don’t forget the anniversary ever again !!), jokes, whatever. Why not ?!?

Cricinfo (www.cricinfo.com)

With the Ashes underway, this is the only place to be on the web for enthusiasts. Literally everything Cricket is here !! Come on England !!


Gadget of the Week

Stronghold Legends PC Game – c£UK17.99 + Delivery (available on www.amazon.co.uk)

With Xmas fast approaching, thinking of what to buy the kids can be a nightmare so here’s a suggestion. The excellent “Stroghold Legends” PC game. Rather than just blasting away at some nonsensical alien or trading punches with a raft of computer generated psychopaths, this, which is intensely challenging and highly involving, game requires thought and engagement to play it successfully.

The latest in the “Stronghold” series of castle and combat simulators, Legends offers a hugely entertaining and testing mix of city management and strategic combat. This time round, each of the three campaigns - King Arthur, Siegfried and Vlad the Impaler - has a strong fantasy element.

Maintaining (and defending) your own castle is tricky enough, but the goal is to overwhelm your enemy's. To this end, you must amass an army of archers, pikemen, knights and assorted siege equipment, but the fun really starts when you send the giants in to breach the castle walls and raze the castle to the ground with your dragon.

HelpDesk

Had enough of Explorer 7 ??

Q) Dear Peter,

I have recently tried both the new Internet Explorer 7 and Mozilla FireFox V2. I have to say it is Firefox for me and I would now like to uninstall IE7 from my computer but have no idea how to do this properly.

Can you enlighten me ?

Arthur C – Cabo Roig

A) Hola Arthur,

I had to search around a bit to find the proper answer to this one but finally found it on Tech Republic, one of the IT professionals Websites I subscribe to. I have to warn you (as they do below) that messing around in windows at the registry level can have some unwelcome effects, so I would really advise backing up everything (Ghost if you have it) before you start !! Here’s what they say:-

If your installation of IE7 was successful and uneventful, then uninstalling IE7 is a relatively simple process. The following steps will uninstall IE7 and restore IE 6.

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Add or Remove Programs.
3. Scroll down to Windows Internet Explorer 7, click it, and then click Change/Remove.
If for some reason Windows Internet Explorer 7 does not appear in the Add or Remove Programs, you should:

1. Open Windows Explorer
2. Click Tools Folder Options
3. Click the View tab
4. Make sure the radio button next to Show hidden files and folders is on
5. Click OK
6. Click Start, and then click Run
7. Type: %windir%\ie7\spuninst\spuninst.exe into the text box and click Enter
Specified user account

In some cases, you may get an error message when you try to uninstall IE7 that says you cannot uninstall from a specified user account. To get around this check you will have to edit the Windows Registry.

Warning: Editing the Windows Registry incorrectly can cause the Windows operating system to stop functioning completely. This is a advanced operation and you are encouraged to back up the Windows Registry before you attempt any editing of the file. You have been warned.
Bypass the user account check with this Windows Registry edit:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then press ENTER.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer.
3. Right-click the Internet Explorer key, click New, and then click DWORD value.
4. Type InstalledByUser as the name, and then press ENTER to finish creating the new registry value.
5. Try to uninstall Internet Explorer 7 again.

Bollards !!!

Hi All,

Check out this link - Superb !! -

http://www.biertijd.com/mediaplayer/flvplayer.swf?file=http://media.biertijd.com/movies/200610/onderen.flv&autostart=true&fs=true

I genuinely feel for these people as this actually happened to me in Ghandia on the Costa Blanca c7/8 yrs ago.

Driving happily behind another car into the main square and we suddenly experienced a massive "thump" underneath the car. This was, I found out later, caused by an auto-raising bollard. NO signs warning of this anywhere of course (don't be silly, it's Spain and that would be just to easy). Car in front was obviously permitted to enter the area and had bollards lowered.

Red light with glaring "STOP" lit up on dashboard after c150m and car started to fail. I Stopped and parked up and got the wife and kids out.

I looked under car and found the sump had been ripped out of our Hertz Hire Car and, after following the oil trail back to the main town square, I also found that the oil spill that had been left as a result, had caused the guy on the motorbike behind me to skid, smash into the side of a police car and break his leg.

As providence would have it, all this took place directly outside the Ghandia Town Hall and Police station in the main Town Square !!

In a state of shock and confusion, not knowing what to do, we all sat down at a café and watched for five minutes. The scene being played out in front of us was almost surreal.

The square was in total mayhem with ambulances and fire engines already there, sirens whooping.

The injured bike rider was sitting up with his back to a car smoking a fag and chatting to cops, whilst ambulance man splinted his leg.

Firemen were spreading sawdust over the oil slick and hordes of manic Spanish policemen were standing around smoking, talking very loudly and alternating between pointing animatedly at the motorbike imbedded in the side of one of their cars and throwing their hands up in the air. They had the look of a posse in the making.

Of course the obligatory huge crazy crowd was also there, adding to the ambience. This was not by chance but due to the fact that the main square was surrounded by café's/restaurants and it was slap bang in the middle of lunchtime.

I have to admit, the fear of being lynched was very real at this stage and knowing the guy on the bike was obviously OK and being very well looked after, the idea of scarpering and sorting things out later when calm had descended was now playing very strongly on my mind.

So, after catching breath, we quietly made our way back to the dead car to remove our property and call Hertz etc. Unfortunately, my luck was continuing in the direction it had chosen for that day and we turned the corner only to find several very fractious cops had also followed the oil slick and were there waiting for me.

I knew the game was up and told the wife and kids to return to the café whilst I gave myself in.

On identifying myself to the cops, a rapid and obviously unpleasant tirade was issued in my direction in a language I had no idea existed (I now know it was Valenciano) and I was actually forcibly restrained/cuffed and effectively thrown in a Guardia Van. The lynching idea was now, in my traumatised mind, rapidly moving towards reality. That is if they didn’t shoot me first of course.

Through stuttering Spanglish and frantic waving of my mobile phone, I persuaded them to let me make a call and I phoned American Express (car hire and travel insurance through them) desperately seeking help. Fortunately, and with the first piece of luck I had experienced that day, I was put through to a very lovely Spanish girl who, after getting the story from me, proceeded to talk with the ranking Guardia in the van.

Thankfully, she managed to persuade them it was an accident (I did this on purpose ??!!) and to, grudgingly, let me go on the basis that I was a foreigner and that Amex would vigorously contest any action against me and sue for damages if I was mistreated, as she told me afterwards !!

After providing all sorts of personal information and with assurance from Hertz that they would come and remove the defunct vehicle, we were allowed to go on our way.

The day was not over though......

All was capped off by a ride back to our rented Villa in Javea in a taxi driven by a raving French lunatic that came unbelievably close to killing us all.

I repeatedly tried to tell him (in awful French, terrible Spanish and very profane English) to slow down and stop overtaking every car in front like a crazed bolting horse, regardless of any danger factor involved. It didn't work.

Finally the stress of the day exploded the threat of destroying his cab when we stopped was issued. He seemed to understand this and, presumably, the crazed look now on my face convinced him it was a real possibility. The remaining five minutes of the journey was spent in relative peace.

Looking back it was all actually hysterically funny.

By the way, I never heard a word about it from Amex, Hertz or the police afterwards !!

TechTalk - Fri 10th November 2006 (Building or revamping a website)

Firstly, an apology for the absence of TechTalk last week - Unfortunately some technical problems caused us to miss the RTN print run !! However, we are back on track this week.

This week, TechnoBabble looks at the various aspects to take into consideration when building a Web Site or Blog. Surfer's Corner has a number of excellent and interesting sites listed geared towards helping all you budding Web Designers build a top quality site.

Gadget Of The Week reviews the fabulous Logitech® Wireless DJ™ Music System. A superb piece of equipment that brings the integration of all home entertainment systems a step closer.

Finally, HelpDesk has a seasonally topical question about Freezing PC's !!

Click here to read the full article

What's New at WebTechTalk

Hi there,

With things at WebTechTalk going through a number of exciting changes over the coming weeks, I thought it would be a good time to tell a little more about them.

New Posting Format

Until the new WebTechTalk site is on-line (see below) articles will now be published as a single, summary announcement on the BLOG each week, with a link to an easy to read, download and print Adobe PDF containing all your favourites - TechnoBabble, Surfer's Corner, Gadget of The Week and HelpDesk.

Just read the summary and click on the link on the bottom and, hey presto, there's TechTalk. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, it is FREE to download at www.adobe.com.

New Site under development

The most exciting thing happening at WebTechTalk at the moment is the build of our new Website.

Using the very latest in BLOG technology, the new WebTechTalk will offer readers an absolute plethora of new features including:-

• TechTalk articles - All TechTalk articles (as seen in the Round Town News) will continue to be published and there will be an archived of all articles (old & New) in downloadable Adobe PDF format.
• Open HelpDesk Forum - A central forum for all users to ask for help and advice and allowing all subscribers to contribute and offer tips, tricks and answers to fellow readers - Our answers will be there too of course!!
• Tutorials - We will regularly publish Tutorials/"How To's" on popular subjects - Send your requests in!!
• Special Topic/Interest Areas - We intend to develop a range of specific topic/interest areas, driven by the needs/requests of you the reader. Examples could be VOIP, Digital Photography, Web Design, ADSL/Broadband in Spain (a popular one!!), PC/Internet Gaming, Finance on the web, Entertainment etc. etc. Essentially, "you name it" as we intend for these sections to be for YOU and to contain regular articles/news and allow contributions, discussions etc. from readers.
• RSS Syndication - News Feeds from WebTechTalk will be available for you to download directly into your own RSS Reader.
• Central News Store - We will be ensuring that WebTechTalk becomes a convenient central point for you to surf to for Computer/Internet related News, Views and Reviews from all over the web. No need to jump from site to site!!
• Guest Contributors - We will be regularly publishing articles from guest contributors who have knowledge and experience in areas relevant to the interests of you the reader. Contributions from YOU will be welcome too!!
• WebTechTalk SWICKI - A SWICKI Search Engine specifically "tuned" to the needs of WebTechTalk readers.
• Business Directory - We will be hosting a highly useful, searchable Business Directory open to all. Basic entries will be completely free - Email TechTalk@inspirese.com now if you wish to register your interest - Please put "Business Directory" in the Subject Line.
• Classifieds Section - Buy and sell your second hand computer gear and anything else you can think of.
• Site/Section Sponsorship - We will NOT be flooding WebTechTalk with advertising all over the place but will allow certain, relevant and like minded organisations to Sponsor certain sections. Again, email us at TechTalk@inspirese.com with "sponsorship" in the subject line if you have an interest.
• Suggestion Section - An open section for you to tell us what you want to see on WTT - Suggestions for articles, tutorials and investigations etc. etc. will all be welcome.

We have a New Domain !!

To get you ready for the launch of the new WebTechTalk, we have set up the new Domain - www.webtechtalk.org.

Until we publish the new site - use this domain and it will simply re-direct you to the current site.

AND a New Member of the WTT Team !!

Last but by no means least, I want to welcome Richard Smith of GoldenSwitch in the UK to the WebTechTalk team.

Richard, or Rich as he likes to be called, is a young 25yr old IT professional who has packed a lot into his short life !! As I am on the wrong side of 40, I am hoping Rich will bring some youthful vigour to WTT!!

Seriously though folks, Rich is a great professional who runs his own IT business in the UK and someone, I believe, who will bring a lot of experience and knowledge to the WTT party.

Already, he has been beavering away in the background for a while now writing some excellent articles (i.e. "How to Build a Network for £50"), which will be published in WTT over the coming week. He is also very much the "hands on" man behind the development of the new site.

So, do join me in welcoming Rich on board!!

Well, that's it for now folks. If you have any questions on the above or suggestions for the new site PLEASE don't be shy - drop us a line at TechTalk@inspiree.com.

Oh, and just a short note to give my own business, inspírese, a plug.

inspírese is a rapidly growing company that offers a truly comprehensive range of Business and Technology Consulting and Support services. Areas covered include:-

• Traditional, Remote and Outsourced Technical Support Services for the Home & Business User
• Network Design, Implementation & Support
• General IT Consultancy (Hardware, Software etc.)
• Web Design, Development and Hosting (inc Domain Reg, Website re-design/overhaul, Search Engine Optimisation Services etc.)
• Telecommunications (from simple home connections to the most complex business systems inc. VOIP and other cost saving options).
• Business Consultancy (all levels of highly professional advice and practical assistance for new and established businesses - Start-ups a speciality!!)
• Marketing & PR (inc. Design & Production of Direct Marketing Material, Internet Marketing etc.)
• Branding/Identity (inc. Logo Design, interior design etc.)
• Creative Advertising (advertising Design and Placement in all media types)
• Business Finance
• Recruitment
• Mergers, Acquisitions, Company Sales

Essentially, If you are starting or running a business in Spain, inspírese is the only place you will need to go for honest, professional and cost effective advice and services for EVERY aspect of your business.

Pay us a visit at www.inspirese.com to find out more or call us on +34 960 450 180 for an informal chat.

Finally, don't forget that if you wish to unsubscribe from WebTechTalk emails at any time, just drop us a line at TechTalk@inspirese.com with "unsubscribe" in the Subject line and we will do the rest.

Regards,
Peter Reed-Forrester

TechTalk Fri 27th October 2006 (SWICKI's, IE7 and More)

This week's TechnoBabble gives an introduction to the SWICKI a new form of "Community Aware" search engine and takes a brief look at the newly released Micrsoft Internet Explorer V7. There's some great sites in Surfer's Corner including the excellent www.digg.com and we take a look at the new, updated Apple iPod Nano in Gadget of the Week. HelpDesk has a very interesting question about mobile internet connectivity ......

Click here to read the full article

TechTalk Fri 20th October 2006 (Buying aNew PC Part 3)

The final part of our Buying a New PC series gives a few pointers on how to choose your supplier and Surfer's Corner looks at the websites of the main vendors. Gadget of The Week reviews the excellent "Laptops for Dummies" and HelpDesk answers a question on finding WiFi Hotspots....

Click here to read the full article

TechTalk Fri 13th October 2006 (Buying aNew PC Part 2)

We're looking at Graphics, Audio, removable media and all sorts in Part 2 of our "Buying a New PC" series this week together with a range of websites in Surfer's Corner that will help you understand what we're on about !! Gadget of The Week looks at the superb LaCie Slim DVD±RW USB Drive and the old chestnut of Pirated software crops up again in HelpDesk ....

Click here to read the full article

TechTalk Fri 6th October 2006 (Buying a New PC Part 1)

We start our highly useful series "Buying a New PC" this week by taking a look at setting the parameters for your purchase in terms of PC specification and finances, going on from there to look at computer components and what you should seeking. Surfer’s Corner will help you understand it all with a few relevant sites, Gadget of The Week looks at the incredible Slingbox ™ and HelpDesk answers questions on Windows System Restore and WEP on WiFi networks….

Click here to read the full article

Surfer's Corner - 12th May 2006 (Building websites)

The list of websites below will give you a good starting point for planning and building your website.

Bravenet (www.bravenet.com)

A great site and one of the first that provides a real treasure trove of information, tools, tips and tricks for web Developers of ALL capabilities and levels of experience.

Sizzling HTML (http://freespace.virgin.net/sizzling.jalfrezi/iniframe.htm)

Another excellent site giving free tips and advice to budding web builders with lots of easy to understand examples etc.

Coffee Cup (www.coffeecup.com)

Coffee Cup are one of the best developers budget WYSIWYG Web Building and associated tools around, offering a hole range of programs for you to try (free to download and try) and buy from c€25.00.

Blaze Composer (http://baliganikhil.tripod.com/)

Not a bad little WYSIWYG Web developement package, especially as it’s FREE !!

On Line Groups (see below)

As mentioned in TechnoBabble, MSN groups (http://groups.msn.com) and Yahoo Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com) are amongst the best.

Microsoft Design Gallery (http://office.microsoft.com/clipart)

Microsofts Design Gallery is a great source of FREE Clipart and Photographs for you to use on your website.

Gadget of the Week - 12th May 2006 (Building a Web Site for Dummies)

Building a Web Site for Dummies by David A. Crowder – c€15.00 + IVA (ISBN: 0764571443) – try www.amazon.com

This week, to remain in tune with our website building theme, I have chosen to review a book and not a piece of equipment.

If you are just getting your feet wet in Web site construction, the first big hurdle is figuring out where to start. Building a Web Site for Dummies lightens things up with humour and makes the challenge of building a site far less daunting.

This book doesn't zoom you right into coding HTML, although it covers the markup language quite well. Instead, it offers a much easier to understand, higher level look at site design by examining the general questions of navigation principles, affiliates possibilities, building communications with your users, and other wide-ranging topics. For this reason, the book covers a lot of ground and offers a broad perspective on site design that transcends simple page coding.

A couple of the more useful sections on Web site tools and e-commerce cover useful utilities like NetMechanic, Statbot and Spinwave. The chapter on e-commerce helps you get to know the ropes of selling stuff online and points you to online malls, fulfilment services, and currency converters.

The companion CD-ROM contains evaluation versions of useful tools like Paint Shop Pro, HomeSite 4.5, Fireworks, Dreamweaver and Statbot. You won't find all the knowledge you seek to become a Web site guru in this book, but you will gain perspective and learn tons of useful tips and tricks. (review from amazon.com).

Book Description

The only book that walks the reader through designing, building, publishing, publicizing, and updating a Web site without focusing on a specific tool. It has now been updated to cover the latest Web-building tools and techniques, including building a site for eBay items, collecting money with PayPal, updating via a blog, and improving a site's search engine success. It guides readers through every aspect of creating and maintaining a site, from designing around a theme and adding content from other sources to keeping a site current and collecting comments from site users Also, the book Includes a CD-ROM filled with trial and demo versions of the software covered in the book so readers can dive right in and start building their site

TechnoBabble - 12th May 2006 (Building Websites)

I was asked the other day by one of Wi-Surf’s customers, how he could go about building a website for his fledgling Golf Society. A two hour conversation ensued which covered everything from the basics of Web Design to the tools and/or services available to anybody or anyone who wants to build a website.

“Why would I want to do that ? I don’t run a business” I hear you ask.

Well, the fact is that the Internet or World Wide Web is made up of millions of websites that are nothing to do with businesses or companies of any sort. Wherever you go on the web, you will find websites that have been built and published by individuals or clubs or groups etc. to give an insight into their personal or group activites and interests.

Whether you simply want to set up a site extolling the virtues of Stamp Collecting, to give a central “meeting point” for family or club members locally or worldwide or just feel that you have something to say and want to be heard, the web really is the place to do it.

So how do you get started ?

Well first off, let me say here and now that this is NOT going to be a training session on website design and development. What I want to do is point you in the right direction to get started. From there on in, it’s up to you.

Ok, now that I’ve got that out of the way, the first thing you need if you are going to build your own website is to take a little time out to read about it and look around at sites others have built to get a solid idea of what you want to achieve and what is involved achieving it.

Building a web site can be, in reality, pretty easy. However, it’s like anything else. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well so take the time to plan it properly. To help, I have given links to some very useful sites in this week’s Surfer’s corner.

However, before you even think of what your site is going to look like etc., you will need to either choose a name for your Domain (i.e www.inspirese.com or www.yourname.com) and register it. This can be done through our own service at Web Services at www.inspirese.com or through one of the many other organisations on the net offering Domain Registration services.

Your own domain will give you, your club/association or business a unique identity and web address. For example, my family has just registered “reed-forrester.com” and will be putting up a password protected site for all the world’s R-F’s to communicate with each other, post photo’s etc. Each family member is going to have their own “mini site” within the main domain and we hope it will encourage us all to communicate better !!! It will also enable the family’s kids to express their “creative” sides as they will be responsible for their own individual sections and we adults expect some keen “competition” there !! (as well as lessons in web design !!).

Also, you will need to choose a “host” for your domain. This is a company, again such as our Wi-Webs, that has a facility with high power computers that you can “store” your website on and where “surfers” can go to to see it. It is important that you pick a good host with high quality facilities as the “experience” of visitors to your site can be adversely affected by substandard hosting technology. There are also other advantages of using a professional host. One such is that many hosting companies will provide you with on-line tools to build and maintain your website and a range of other technologies for your to make it better and more popular (especially important if you intend to use it for business). Take a look at Web Services at www.inspirese.com to get a feel for what is available.

If you don’t want to own Domain, you could use one of the free “Community” website facilities offered by organisations such as MSN or Yahoo (links in Surfer’s Corner) that allow you to easily create some pretty good websites with facilities such us on-line photo albums, calendars, Chat Rooms etc. Many individuals and clubs use these and they are a good place to get started as all the tools and instructions you need to get your “Group” up and running are built into the service. Another option is to use a “Blog” (Web Log), which is like an on-line diary or “muse” you can use to tel the world what you want to without getting into any sort of “programming”. Try www.inspirese.com for a look at our Blog service..

If you are going to take the plunge and build your own site, you really do need to do some planning first and develop a firm idea of what you want it to contain and look like. One of the simplest ways to get started on this is to look at other’s websites by simply running a web search to find examples of the type of site you are looking to design/build (i.e. search for “golf society” and you will get a fair old list of sites to look at).

Once you have the idea/design firmly in mind, you will need a tool or software package to build your website.

Here I strongly advise you to go down the “WYSIWYG” or “What You See Is What You Get” route. This means using a program that doesn’t require you to know how to program, write HTML or many of the other complex tools/languages that are used in professional web building but simply allow you to type in what you want, how you want to see it and publish it to the web.

Essentially, most modern Word Processors (i.e. Microsoft Word) have the capability to build basic web pages built in, and Desktop Publishers (i.e.MS Publisher) are even better. However, I have to say my preferred tool is Microsoft Frontpage. Although it is a paid for program, it really is incredibly to learn and use to both build a very professional looking website and maintain it (have a look at www.inspirese.com for an example).

If you don’t want to pay for one of the more expensive packages such as FrontPage or Dreamweaver (one of the industry standards), there are a range of Freeware (i.e. Free Software) and Shareware packages available to download on the web. I have listed a few of the best sites to go to in Surfer’s Corner.

Essentially, if you are an individual or a club etc., the best thing to do is just get stuck in and not worry about it all too much. Believe me when I say that I personally have built some horrors in my time and know many professional developers who also have. The thing is, until you are brave enough to give it a go, you will never make any mistakes to learn or gain experience from will you !!??

However, if you are a business looking to promote a professional image, I really cannot recommend strongly enough the need for you to get REAL professional advice and assistance. A company website is often the first thing anybody sees of you and it therefore should be as good as possible. You also need to ensure it can be found so quality “Search Engine Optimisation” is a must. If you are in this bracket, take time to find a good company to help you and in my opinion (of course !!), you should start that search with our own Wi-Webs. Give us a call for an informal chat and we will see what we can do for you.

Finally, if you do already have a site or proceed to build one, do email me the address and a short description and I will publish I will publish the best in the “Readers Sites” section of Surfer’s Corner that begins next week.

Peter Reed-Forrester

inspírese (www.inspirese.com)

HelpDesk - 5th May 2006

This week a reader asks about his VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) set-up and another about sending Potos via email.

Q) I’ve recently purchased a Linksys PAP2 VOIP adapter and intend using it with my ADSL connection to get cheaper calls and so that I can have separate UK and Spanish telephone numbers for our villa rentals business. How do I choose the best provider ?

From Jenny K - Sax

A) Well Jenny, the simple answer to this question is to go to our own VOIP service Wi-Call (www.wi-call.com), but of course I would say that wouldn’t I !!!

In truth, there are a multitude of VOIP providers out there that will enable you to use your ADSL internet connection to not only make very low cost telephone calls but also to receive incoming calls on “virtual” telephone numbers for almost any location worldwide.

The trick in choosing your provider is not just down to the per minute cost of a call, but MUST also involve issues such as Quality of Service, range of options and services and, last but definitely NOT least support and contactability.

One of the major issues I have found with VOIP providers, including the “biggest” or supposed “market leaders” is the fact that they have no “human” face and are mostly impossible to contact or actually talk to when you have a problem. Believe me when I say that to set up your PAP2 properly, using the proper “Codecs” and other settings to ensure quality of call requires either detailed knowledge or help and no amount of “standard configuration” settings published on websites are going to enable you to really get the best out of you set up.

When it comes to “Virtual” telephone numbers (numbers that are re-routed to your VOIP device when dialled), you are also entering a bit of a minefield.

There are not only commercial issues, with many operators NOT licensed to give out numbers (especially in Spain !!), but also technical issue that can stop your number working. On many occasions lately I have heard of people who have, for example, obtained a “free” incoming number from a provider, only to find that it works only intermittently and that there is nobody they can actually speak to about the problems. Again, the rule of thumb here is that the cheapest is often a long way from actually being the best option, especially if you are going to use the lines for business purposes. Imagine paying to print out all of your company letterheads etc only to find out two weeks later that the number you were given is and will never work properly !!

Q) I’ve just bought our first Digital Camera (a Canon PowerShot as recommended in TechTalk by the way !!) and want to send some pictures of our kids to their Grandparents in the UK via email. As the pics seem to be of a reasonable size, what is the best way of attaching them to ensure there are no problems.

From Mark G – Finestrat

A) Well Mark, this is not an unknown issue and I have often received in the past hoards of pics from friends and relatives that take ages to download and take up a big chunk of disk space.

The first thing you should do with all of your pics is check their size in your Picture Editor and change it, if necessary, to something manageable. In most editors you can actually set the size in CM. I recommend a setting of say, 10cm wide by say 7 or 8cm high. This is a reasonable size for both viewing and printing and will meant the file size is also acceptable.
The next thing is to save them in a format that supports a reasonable level of compression such as JPEG. Again, this is pretty simple to do and an integral part of any reasonable picture editor.

Finally, try using a File Compression utility such as WinZip to combine all the photos you wish to send in a single “Compressed” file. Compressed files are files or folders that have been made smaller using compression algorithms and I won’t bother going into this techno stuff here. Suffice to say they work and make files smaller and easier to handle and email.

Windows XP has one built in and you can get instructions on how to do it from the Windows XP Help and Support function (just search for “zip”).

If you don’t have Windows XP, use the industry standard program WinZip, which is free to download from www.winzip.com.

Gadeget of The Week - 5th May 2006 (Garmin Nuvi GPS)

Garmin nüvi 350 GPS Satellite Navigation – c€500.00 –(http://www.garmin.com/uk/automotive/nuvi/)

Although not the cheapest gadget I’ve reviewed, this fantastic piece of equipment makes touring effortless and enjoyable. No more arguing over how to read a map or not being quick enough with the directions!! After all, you’re going on holiday here, not rally driving or “yomping” with the Royal Marines !!

The nüvi is a portable GPS navigator, traveller’s reference, and digital entertainment system, all in one. Combined with detailed maps, the nüvi provides automatic routing, turn-by-turn voice directions, and finger-touchscreen control—making it easy to find your way anywhere.

The European version contains full European mapping right off the shelf. The nüvi 350's unique "text-to-speech" feature calls out turns by street name. In addition, this text-to-speech interface, gives users the spoken pronunciation of each entry in the word bank—along with gender and part-of-speech information. It’s compatible with the GTM 10 FM TMC traffic receiver, which allows users to avoid traffic tie-ups by simply pushing a button that will calculate a new route.

The nüvi also offers a travel kit of useful travel tools to help keep any journey fun: MP3 player, audio book player from Audible.com, JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, and calculator. In addition, optional software packages such as the Language Guide and Travel Guide (sold separately on SD Data cards) can be added for language and content support.

Users can also access an optional Garmin Language Guide, with data provided by Oxford University Press. This software suite contains a multilingual word bank, phrase bank, and five bilingual dictionaries. The multilingual word bank and phrase bank supports nine languages and dialects, including American English, British English, French, German, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, European Spanish, and Latin American Spanish. The Language Guide lets travelers look up and translate more than 17,000 words or 20,000 phrases per language. Through the unit’s text-to-speech interface, users can get a spoken pronunciation of each entry in the word bank—along with gender and part of speech information (nüvi 350 only).

Features

* High-sensitivity integrated GPS receiver by SiRF
* WAAS enabled; flip-up antenna—includes MCX-type connector for optional external GPS antenna connection
* Travel Kit includes Language Guide, MP3 player, audible book player, picture viewer, world clock, currency and measurement converters, and calculator
* SD memory card expansion slot
* Powerful built-in speaker
* Traffic alerts with optional GTM 10 FM TMC traffic receiver*
* Audible and visual navigation instructions and warnings
* Offers a three dimensional mapping perspective, or 2-D overhead view
* Display: 2.8” W x 2.1” H (3.5” diag.), 320 x 240 pixels; bright, TFT display, 64K colors, with white backlight and touch screen
* Unit dimensions: 3.87" W x 2.91" H x 0.87" D (98.3 mm x 73.9 mm x 22.1 mm)—fits easily in a pocket or purse
* Weight: 5.1 ounces (144.6 grams)
* Built-in lithium ion battery
* Between 4-8 hours of battery life, depending on use
* Includes 12-volt power adapter cable for external power while in your vehicle
* Includes suction cup mount that allows for easy adjustment and quick release
* Simplified PC connectivity, similar to a digital camera, using USB Mass Storage with access to either the SD card slot or to the unit’s internal memory directly from your PC desktop.
* With the POI loader program (available for free from www.garmin.com), users can set up proximity alerts for school zones, safety cameras, and more.
*Traffic services available only in select cities where RDS-TMC coverage exists. Requires the GTM 10 FM TMC traffic receiver and subscription fee to enable traffic capability.

Surfer's Corner - 5th May 2006 (Travel on the Web)

The list of websites below will give you a good starting point for planning and building your next trip, whether it is a “holiday of a lifetime” or a weekend “city break”.

The World Travel Guide (www.worldtravelguide.net)

A superb starting point for any research into travel destinations. This site provides access to information on about ANY destination in the world, giving you all you need to know about every aspect of your holiday. You’ll be stuck here for ages !!

RealTravel (www.realtravel.com)

A real gem this site !! It is composed of “Travelogues” written by REAL travellers. Giving descriptions of their adventures, tips and tricks and much more. There is a range of forums where you can ask questions of fellow travellers and you can even set up your own Travel “Blog” (short for Web Log) about your own travel experiences.

Rough Guides (http://travel.roughguides.com/)

The website of the world famous Rough Guides. An absolute mine of travel information on pretty much any destination you can think of.

Fodors (www.fodors.com)

Fodors Travel guides are again amongst the best know. The website provides the level of information you would expect from one of the masters in travel guides.

ResponsibleTravel.com (www.responsibletravel.com)

This is the webste on which e found the holiday that involved looking after the elehants in Thailand. You can find advwenture and volunteer holidays here in almost any location.

UK Government Travel Advice

(www.direct.gov.uk/TravelAndTransport/TravellingAbroad/fs/en)

Sorry abouth the long link !! Travelling responsibly in this day and age is an absolute must. The UK Governments website is a must read and will give you all the info you need about dealing with emergencies, Consultate contacts, worldwide security alerts etc.

The RAC Route Planner (http://rp.rac.co.uk/rp/routeplanner)

For travelling by car, this is an excellent site to plan your route. Just put in the start and end destinations and any places you want to visit along the way and the “routeplanner” will provide you with detailed instructions and maps for you to print off and take with you.

Weather (www.bbc.co.uk/weather)

The BBC site will provide you with up to date weather info on any location.

Booking travel (see below)

In addition to the Airline websites listed last week, probably the best three starting points for booking holiday items (i.e. Flights, hotels, packages etc.) are LastMinute.com (www.lastminute.com), Expedia (www.expedia.com) and E-Bookers (www.ebookers.es – Click on the Union Jack in top left for English).

TechnoBabble - 5th May 2006 (Travel on The Web)

Last week’s article prompted a whole raft of conversation amongst colleagues and friends. However, in amongst the positives and negatives of on-line commerce, one question that was asked continuously was prompted by the fact that I had listed some of the Airline’s websites in Surfer’s corner - When was I going to write a about travel resources on the web ?

Well, always one to listen to the requests of my readers and realising that, like many of my fellow ex-pats living in Spain, I haven’t had a proper holiday since I came to live here !! Here we go.

My angle here is not geared towards where you can go to on the web to buy a holiday but where you can go to choose your destination in the first place !! So many of us who have come here to live seem to have forgotten that there are so many other places out there to visit. It’s a huge world and I believe it would be an equally huge shame for any of us to depart from it having not tried to see as much of it as possible.

The myriad of cultures, the opportunity to immerse ourselves in a world of experience seems to pass most of us by. We know that we should but, for many of us, we do not know where to start to choose a holiday destination that will excite, challenge and reward. Traditionally, we have just popped down the road to the local Travel Agent, stated “sun, sea and sand please” and that was about the limit of the adventure.

So, time to throw off the cobwebs and get out and experience what our wonderful world has to offer. Whether you want to walk, climb, cycle, travel by car boat or plane, lay on the beach all day or absail down a mountain, you have to start by making a choice of destination and type of holiday.

For example, one of the really interesting things I noticed whilst conducting my research this week was that there were many opportunities to visit a place and get involved in an activity that benefited either the local nature or the people. How many of you have thought of combining your holiday with an opportunity to bring benefit to others ?? I can assure you that this is next on the Reed-Forrester family list with a trip to Thailand to help look after the elephants high on the kids agenda at the moment !!

Another option is to actually get out and see Spain properly. Why is it that so many of us come here and end up seeing not much more than our little corner of Javea or Benidorm or Torrevieja ?? How awful is that !!??

A couple of years ago we drove back to the UK to pick up some bits and pieces we had left there and managed to take a wrong turn on the way to San Sebastian. What a stroke of luck !! We ended up driving through some of the most stunning scenery I have ever scene. Medieval castles, beautiful valleys, rivers, towns and all with the stunning Pyranees in the background. Max, my son, made what I believe was the definitive statement of the trip when he said “Dad, if we had to get lost, what a place to get lost in”. Out of the mouths of babes etc. eh ??

So how do you choose where to go and what to do ??

Yet again, the internet lends itself superbly to this task and offers you the opportunity to research your next holiday quickly and easily. You can find information about just about any location in the world on the net. What weather to expect, what clothes to wear, what food you will be tempted with, local customs, national or local holidays, the list just goes on and on.

Whether you are on a budget or are looking to splash out, there is something out there for all of us, you just have to look.

Apart from the obvious starting points of the major search engines such as Google and Yahoo etc., there are a huge number of travel related sites out there. From the big corporates, to individuals looking to share their travel experiences. The amount of information is staggering.

As usual, to help you start, this week’s Surfer’s Corner gives a list of relevant sites for you to get started with.

Bon Voyage !! (and don’t forget to send us your own “travelogue” of any adventures you have as a result of reading this !!).

Peter Reed-Forrester

inspírese (www.inpsirese.com)

Surfer's Corner - 28th April 2006 (Buying Safely on the Web)

Below you will find a range of websites where you can safely and securely purchase a wide variety of items on-line.

Amazon (www.amazon.com)

Amazon is probably one of the nets best known on-line stores. Here you can buy books, DVD’s Video Games, items for the home and garden. You name it, Amazon have got it and they will deliver it to Spain for you too !!

HMV (www.hmv.co.uk)

One of the oldest names in the book have an excellent on-line store for music, films, computer games etc.

Booking a Flight (see bleow)

I have bunched the main on-line airlines together here for flights to/from Alicante and Valencia. The best known are Easyjet (www.easyjet.com), British Airways (www.britishairways.com) and Ryanair (www.ryanair.com). In addition you can try Monarch (www.flymonarch.com), Flybe (www.flybe.com), BMI Baby (www.bmibaby.com) or Thompson (www.thomsonfly.com).

Dell (www.dell.co.uk or www.dell.es)

Dell offer an excellent range of low price Desktop and Laptop computers, all delivered to your door.

LineaDirecta/Direct Line Insurance (www.lineadirecta.com)

Extremely well known insurance company whose website allows you to get quotes, manage policies etc. etc.

TechnoBabble - 28th April 2006 (Buying Safely on the Web)

Without a doubt, the level of financial transactions on the internet is massively on the increase. However, whilst many people are interested in buying goods on the Internet, they are also suspicious of doing so. There's no denying that there have been numerous scare stories in the press that have certainly given online purchasing a bad name but, in reality, buying products online is no more risky than many other methods, as long as you follow a few simple guidelines. So, to make it easy for you all to enjoy the sales from the comfort of your own homes, here’s some basic advice.

Buy from a company that uses a secure server - Always check for this first if you are concerned about the security of your transaction. A box will appear on your screen telling you if that site is secure and a yellow/gold padlock symbol will appear in the bottom right hand corner of your browser. If you don't see either of these (you may not see dialog boxes if you have set up your browser not to display them) you are not on a secure site. A secure server is a piece of equipment that scrambles, or "encrypts", the purchase information you send over the Internet, ensuring that no-one can spy on your personal details. Nowadays, ALL banks and reputable on-line stores use them.

Check that the company you're dealing with can be contacted - It is very important, before you make a purchase, to make sure you have made a note of the telephone number and the address of the company you intend to buy from. Research has shown that being unable to contact the vendor is one of the biggest problems with Internet transactions. Simply put, if you cannot find these details on any web site (usually found by following the menu item “Contact” or “Customer Support”), do not buy from them.

Use well known manufacturers and vendors - It's generally a matter of common sense when buying on the net, so buy form sites which offer clear contact details, and preferably ones which are run by well known companies or those that have been recommended to you. If you are concerned about something don't be afraid to e-mail or call the vendor and see if they can help before making a purchase.

Don't send personal details by e-mail - E-mails are not secure so there is a risk that your personal information could be stolen.

Take care typing - Pay close attention to the information you are entering. A slip of the finger might mean buying 10 PCs instead of one !!!

Check delivery times - Make a note of the company's delivery times and check to make sure you are happy with any timescales and charges involved. If you are having goods delivered to a friend or relative in the UK, make sure they are aware of the proposed delivery date and that they may need to sign for the goods.

Check return and refund policies - Because you can't always judge the quality of a product on the Internet, it is best to check return and refund policies before you place an order. Quite often, terms of business pages appear to be longwinded and largely irrelevant, prompting many people to ignore them. However, you can bet your bottom dollar that, if you don’t read them thoroughly and something subsequently goes wrong, a company will quote you something from them that will make life very difficult in terms of getting a refund or replacement !!

Keep your password private - I know, common sense !! But please don't choose a password that someone else could easily guess. Be creative and never give your password to anyone else.

Keep personal information private - Be cautious of companies asking for too many personal details. All the retailer should need is your card number backed up with your address for delivery. Some normal and acceptable exceptions are requests for the address your credit card statement is sent to and for the security number found on the back of credit cards.

Pay by credit or charge card - If you pay by credit or charge card on the Internet, your transaction will be protected by the Credit Card Protection Act. Some companies offer an online shopping guarantee that ensures you will not be held responsible for any unauthorised charges made online.

Keep a record - Be sure to print a copy of your purchase order and confirmation number for your records.

So, now that you are all aware of the do’s and don’t of on-line shopping, where do you go to spend all your lolly !! As usual, this week’s “Surfer’s Corner” will give you some pointers on where to buy various items on-line.

Happy shopping !!

Peter Reed-Forrester

inspírese

HelpDesk - 28th April 2006

An interesting question about Hard Disk Drive Icons this week.

Q) I'd like to change the icon for a hard drive on my system. I know it's possible, because one of my disks already has a different icon. I must have done it somehow, but I can't find the tip on how to do that.

From Michael P - Javea

A) There are two ways to create a drive-specific icon. The first step for both is to determine the full pathname of the file containing the icon you want, as well as the index of the icon within that file. To view the icons contained in an EXE or DLL file, right-click any shortcut that links to a file (as opposed to a system shortcut like My Computer) and choose Properties. On the Shortcut tab of the resulting dialog, click the Change Icon button. Click Browse and select the file whose icons you want to peruse. When you find the one you want, count off the icons to determine the correct index. Start in the top left corner with zero and count down each column, then to the right. For example, icon 12 in C:\ Windows\System32\Shell32.dll is a picture of a memory chip. Make a note of the full pathname of the file and the icon index, then click Cancel, and Cancel again—you don't actually want to change that shortcut's icon. The Microsoft Windows files moricons.dll and progman.exe, both found in C:\Windows\System32, also contain numerous icons.

One technique for assigning a drive-specific icon uses a file named Autorun.inf in the root directory of that drive. Launch Notepad and enter [autorun] on the first line. Enter ICON= on the second line, followed by the full pathname of the icon-holding file, a comma, and the icon index. It might look like this:

[autorun]

ICON=C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHELL32.DLL,12

Save the file as "C:\autorun.inf" (you need the quotes to prevent Notepad from appending the .txt extension). Now restart the computer. When you open Windows Explorer, the drive should display its new icon.

The other technique involves editing the Registry. Launch RegEdit from the Start menu's Run dialog and navigate to

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer".

If a subkey named driveicons is present, open it; if not, right-click in the right-hand pane, select New Key and name the key driveicons. Under the driveicons key, find or create a subkey named C (or the letter of the drive whose icon you want to change). And under this C key find or create a subkey named DefaultIcon. Double-click the (Default) entry in the right-hand pane and set its value to the full pathname of the icon-holding file, a comma, and the icon index. Again you'll need to restart Windows.

If one of these techniques seems not to work for you, try the other. If you apply both to the same drive, the Autorun.inf file takes precedence.

Gadget of The Week - 28th April 2006 (Logitech x-230 Speaker System)

Logitech X-230 PC Speaker System – c€50.00 + IVA (www.logitech.co.uk)

Our Engineering Manager Andy proffered up this PC Audio set-up for Gadget of the week, stating that the sound quality is excellent, they look good and are real value for money.

Crank up the audio on your PC with this 2.1 speaker system and enjoy clean, crisp, consistent sound from your games, music, and more. The Logitech X-230's high-tech subwoofer adjusts itself dynamically to deliver distortion-free bass. And the two wall-mountable satellite speakers use Logitech´s patented FDD2™ technology to eliminate the uneven sound response created by conventional dual-driver designs. The result: a clear, uniform sound field without the "hot spots" and inconsistency of other dual-driver satellites.

Features

* Frequency Directed Dual Driver (FDD2) satellite technology produces a uniform sound field for full, rich sound
* Dynamic, real-time bass equalization maximizes bass response while minimizing distortion
* Ported subwoofer design displaces more air for deeper bass
* Headphone jack enables private listening
* Master volume and subwoofer level controls placed for quick, convenient access
* Satellite speaker stands rotate for easy wall-mounting

Help Desk - 21st April 2006

This week a very naughty reader tries to connect to a WiFi network and another asks about the very important issue of backing up your data.

Q) I have a WiFi enabled laptop and have noticed that there is a connection available near my house. However, it shows up as “security enabled” and I cannot connect to it. Can you tell why ?

From Terry N - Torrevieja

A) l Terry, the first thing I have to tell you is that you really shouldn’t be trying to connect to any WiFi network without the owners express permission.

One of the biggest problems in the WiFi Internet world is what we call “Freeloaders” or “War Drivers” who connect to unprotected wireless networks and use the bandwidth that others are paying for !! Not the nicest or most honest thing to do !!

If you need to connect to the internet then I suggest you either visit an internet café or get a connection in your own property via Telefonica (chance would be a fine thing for most !!) or through a provider like Wi-Surf. From the location you gave, I believe we can provide you with a high spedd broadband internet connection and phone all of your own !! Just visit our website at www.wi-surf.com for more information.

As to the “Security Enabled” issue, this means that the WiFi network you are trying to connect to is using either WEP (Wired Equivalency Privacy) or WPA (WiFi Protected Access) to restrict access to their network to users who have the appropriate “key” or Code”. Without this code you simply will not be able to connect.


Q) I know backing up my files is important but I'm not sure how important it really is ?

From Nigel M - Benidorm

A) A back-up is intended to prevent you from losing your business critical data. Sooner or later, you will loose the data on your computer. The computer's hard disk will crash, an accident will happen, or something such as a severe virus will come along. To assess how important your data is, make a list of all the information you use on your computer. Examples include: customer data, financial information, contact information, letters, company collateral or even recordings. When the list is complete use it to answer the following questions:

Ø Would your business be able to run without the data?
Ø Would your family be able to run without the data !!??
Ø Is the data replaceable and what effort would it take to replace it?
Ø Is it used for strategic planning?
Ø Are you under any customer obligation to retain information?
Ø Are you under any legal requirements to retain the information?

Backing up your data is the only way to protect yourself from all the possible ways you can loose your business data.

The easiest way to do it is to simply use Windows Explorer to select and copy the files you want to protect to a floppy disc, USB Memory stick, tape or CD/DVD.

If you want to get a little more organised (especially important in a business environment) you can use Window’s own integral backup application to schedule and create backups automatically or, alternatively, there are many packages on the market that do a great job. Depending on the importance of your data, you should be backing up either daily or weekly or whenever you change an important file.