INews Newsletter - Dec 07, 2001
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* * * I N e w s * * *
A publication of Internet Nebraska, composed and distributed by
* * * manager@inebraska.com * * *
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Volume 4, Number 9 December 7, 2001
Welcome to another issue of INews, Internet Nebraska's customer
newsletter. This monthly newsletter communicates service bulletins,
announcements and other useful information to our customers. Please let
us know what you think of it. Archives of INews are located at
http://www.inebraska.com/inews
In this issue: New DSL Locations
Notes from the Accounting Department
Looking at the Macintosh Operating System X
Creating an Online Christmas Wish List
Translating Foreign Language Based Websites
Getting Online Help with Microsoft Products
Mr. Internet
*** DSL Now in North Platte and Clay Center ***
We are now able to offer DSL service in both North Platte and Clay Center.
Take a look at http://www.inebraska.com/dsl/ for more details.
*** Notes from the Accounting Department ***
The accounting department would like to let all of our customers who plan
on heading south for the winter know that they can put their account on
hold until returning. Just send a note to accounts@inebraska.com to let
us know when to suspend the account. You can even give us a day to have
your account back on so there is no interruption in your service. We ask
that you let us know as soon as possible so that the proper steps can be
taken on your behalf.
Internet Nebraska gift certificates make a great holiday gift for
college students, grandparents, family and friends alike. Give someone
the key to the Internet with a gift certificate from Internet Nebraska.
*** Looking at the Macintosh Operating System X ***
Are you ready for OS X?
The new system software allows you to burn CDs, watch movies, surf the
web, download music, and make your own movies -- all without using third
party software. If you have a G4 tower with superdrive, you can even put
the movies you make onto DVD's that can be played in standard set top
boxes.
With the advent of 10.1 everything is faster than ever. There's also a
hidden bonus: You can now take advantage of features built into every
Windows PC. Along with sharing files via Appletalk, you can use the
windows SMB protocol. This lets you mount Windows shares as if they were
hard drives in your Mac.
One drawback to this new system is the need to use a classic environment
for older software. This can sometimes take a bit of time to load up your
classic applications. Classic software is any software not designed for
Mac OS X. Once the classic environment is running however, you can
continue to run all of your other classic software at a decent speed.
"Mac OS X is a super-modern operating system that combines the power and
stability of UNIX with the simplicity and elegance of the Macintosh," says
Steve Jobs.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/theater/ lets you see all of the wonder in
action.
Before you take the plunge you need to know if your current Macintosh will
run this next generation operating system.
Memory:
Apple suggests you have a G3 or G4 with at least 128MB of RAM. As with
any suggested minimum, more is better. You will notice major speed
improvements with 256MB or more.
Speed:
OS X will run on all G3's except the first generation G3 Powerbook. You
should be running at 350mhz or faster for smooth operation.
Disk Space:
At least 2GB of free space is required to install OS X. Remember that
this is just for the system software, not your files. 6GB will give
you room for movies, music, and documents.
To get the most out of the new Mac OS X, or to learn more about it, try
the following site
http://www.apple.com/macosx/
For help with software for Macintosh, try the following Web sites.
http://www.versiontracker.com
http://www.pure-mac.com
http://osx.hyperjeff.net/
*** Integrated Computer Systems - Advertisement ***
ICS, an A+ Authorized Service Center serving western
Nebraska for over 14 years, is ready with over 40 years
of combined experience to professionally and expertly meet
your computer needs. From large networks to stand alone
PC's, ICS proudly offers their knowledge and expertise to
work for you. Whether it be Windows (95, 98, 2000, NT, ME),
Novell or Unix, new installations, trouble shooting,
networking, print sharing or repair, ICS will be there to
assist you or your personnel on arriving at the best
possible solution to fulfill your needs.
Located in North Platte, Integrated Computer Systems serves
over a 100-mile radius reaching communities such as Kearney,
Valentine, Thedford, Mullen, Sidney, Ogallala, McCook, Grant,
Imperial, Gothenburg, Lexington, Chappell, Sutherland, and
Hershey, to just name a few. So give us a call at 534-1500,
toll free 800-400-1527, or stop in and see us at 101 South
Chestnut.
ICS is an authorized reseller for Acer, Microsoft, Okidata,
Intel, A-Open, Open Systems and Hewlett Packard.
*** Creating an Online Christmas Wish List ***
With the Christmas season upon us, it's once again time to start building
your Christmas list (unless you procrastinate less than we do and have had
your list done for some time, of course.) You could type up a list and
send it out, hoping that Aunt Sally doesn't accidentally buy you _Pete's
Dragon_ on DVD instead of the _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_ DVD you'd
asked for, or you can do what any red-blooded technophile would do, and
make an on-line wish list at any of several Internet vendors. The
wishlists are great because not only do they make list creation a snap,
but they make sure you get exactly what you want.
Here are some of the most popular places on the Internet with wish lists,
and some quick help for setting them up.
Amazon.com
Setting up a wish list with Amazon.com is extremely simple. First off, if
you haven't already, you will need to set up an Amazon.com account. After
that simple step's completed, to add things to your list you just have to
find the item you want on their website, and click the button that says
"Add to Wish List". It couldn't be simpler!
Amazon.com's wish list is also powerful and flexible. From the wish list
screen, you can also add some personal details to your account, add comments
to the items in your list, and even email your list to your friends and
relatives.
Buy.com
The wish list system at Buy.com is similar to Amazon,com's. First,
you locate the item you'd like on their website. The "Add to
Wishlist" button is located underneath the item description in the
middle of the page. Once again, you have to have an account with Buy.com
to set up a wish list. From the wish list screen, you can remove items
from your list and email the list to your friends and relatives.
Sears/Wishbook.com
Sears has an entire website devoted to wish lists. This site,
Wishbook.com, allows you to set up a wish list from Sears products. To
create a wish list here, simply click on the link labeled 'Create Wish
List' located on the left-hand side towards the bottom of the page. Once
you've created the list, simply locate the item you want to add to the list
and click on the nice button they have provided to add it to your list.
*** The Capital Soccer Association - Advertisement ***
Capital Soccer Association specializes in
teaching soccer. However we recognize that
soccer, or any other youth sport is merely
one tool in the development of a young
child. Teamwork and sportsmanship through
knowledge and proficiency of the game are
our main goals.
-- http://www.capitalsoccer.com/
*** Translating Foreign Language Based Websites to English ***
For those who may have had the unfortunate experience of looking
for something with a search engine, and getting only sites written
in a foreign language, this article is just what the doctor ordered.
At http://babelfish.altavista.com, you will find an application that
translate a website from one language into another for you. It will also
allows you to type text into a box, then translate that text into the
language you need. The following instructions will tell you how to use
this useful tool.
When you first access the Website it will have a section on the screen
that says "Translate with Babelfish," and then you can select Text or
Webpage by clicking the button next to those words. "Text" is selected by
default, and you can type up to 150 words into that box. Once you've put
in the words or phrase that you want to translate, you go down below to
where it says Translate From and then select from which language and into
which language you wish to translate. Then, click "Translate".
What will happen next is a new screen will appear that says Babelfish
translation, then a box with the translated text in the new language, then
the original text in a box below.
If you wish to translate a Website into another language, the process is
similar. First, click the button next to "Web Page". Next, type in the
Webpage address in to the box that has http:// already in it. Finally,
select the language from which you want to translate, and the language
into which you want to translate, then simply hit submit.
After this, you will see a new page appear. The top part of the page will
have the Altavista banner, then there will be a separating bar underneath
which you will see the page that you translated, with the text in a
different language. The next time you are looking for information on the
Net, you can use a source you may have never considered to find your
information -- a site in a language you don't even speak!
*** Schaefer's TV & Appliance Center - Advertisement ***
Schaefer's is an independently owned and
operated television, appliance, and home
theater retailer in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Born out of a small corner drugstore four
decades ago, Schaefer's TV & Appliance is a
22,000 square-foot "superstore" today,
specializing in commercial/professional-grade
appliances, whole house sound systems, home
theater and central vacuum systems. The
success of Schaefer's is key to repeat
business. If a customer happens to have a
problem with a product, Schaefer's will bend
over backwards to get it solved. Our service
center is the largest in the city, and has been
voted Lincoln's #1 servicer for 10 years in a
row! A knowledgeable sales staff, express
delivery, easy financing, and our customer
service representatives are just a few of the
ways in which we at Schaefer's distinguish
ourselves from the rest. Stop by our showroom
at 48th and R in Lincoln, or call us at
and see for yourself.
-- http://www.schaeferstv.com/index2.htm
*** Getting Online Help with Microsoft Products ***
Have you ever wanted support for one of Microsoft's many products but
didn't know where to find it? Finding a phone number to contact their
customer support can be difficult and when you finally do find the phone
number there is often a charge for using it. Fortunately, there's another
option to try, and it's usually even quicker than calling: on-line
support. Before you wonder, "Who wants to search through endless pages of
technical documents just to find the answer to one little question?" try
this other option out. Microsoft has made their on-line support quite
easy to use and very powerful, and you can find it at
http://support.microsoft.com . Here you can find answers to your
questions about almost every Microsoft product quickly and easily in four
steps:
Step One: Select the Microsoft product from a list.
Step Two: Select what you would like to search by.
*You can select:
-All Words (default)
-Any Words
-Exact Phrase
-Boolean Expression
Step Three: Type in your keywords just like you would in a search
engine. Or just type your question.
Step Four: Click on "GO"!
There you go! You'll get a list of the results according to your search
criteria. Many of these documents even have step by step instructions on
how to fix the problem!
Another good way to find help on your Microsoft product (or any other
computer product) is to write down the error message you receive. Then go
to your favorite search engine (I use Google at http://www.google.com )
and type in the error message. Click on search and you should have
several links that might help.
*** Mr. Internet ***
Q: Why is it that when I send mail in Outlook Express it disconnects me when
it is done?
A: The most likely cause is that your Outlook Express is set up to
disconnect after sending email. The fix to this is pretty straight
forward.
1. Open Outlook Express. You do not have to be on-line if you're only
making configuration changes.
2. Pull down "Tools" from the menu bar
3. Choose "Options" from the Tools menu
4. Click on the Connection Tab
5. Uncheck the option "Hang up after sending mail"
If you find that this is not checked and continue to get disconnected,
give the our helpdesk a call for more assistance.
Mr. Internet is a regular feature of the INews, and he welcomes questions
of any kind. Just mail them to mrinternet@inebraska.com, and he'll answer
one or two each issue. Those he doesn't use will not necessarily be
answered, and you should still use 'manager' and 'accounts' for regular
business.
*** Advertise on Our Home Pages ***
What better way to advertise your business than on a Web page that is seen
tens of thousands of time every month? None, if you're paying as little
as we charge for it!
We are now offering banner advertising that rotates on all our pages
which is priced based on the number of impressions (viewings) per month.
Your banner can reach thousands of Nebraska residents, and this is a
unique way to advertise your Nebraska business to residents in the area.
Prices for banner advertisement can be found at:
http://www.inebraska.com/ad.html
We will also be selling links from our main page. Please contact
manager@inebraska.com, or give us a give us a call at our office,
402-434-8680, and ask how you can reserve banner spots on some of the
hottest URL's in the state. The advertisers in this issue did, and we
recommend them highly.