Clock Change: 2AM Sunday Morning, November 6th

Just a reminder this weekend on Sunday morning, November 6TH at 2am, Daylight Savings Time will end and most states in the US will revert back to Standard Time. Before you go to bed Saturday evening, set all clocks, watches and other time pieces BACK 1 HOUR. Most computers, cell phones and cable boxes will make this change automatically without our help..

We will then move them ahead to begin Daylight Savings Time when we put the clocks ahead "1 hour" at 2am on the second Sunday in March, March 11th 2012..

Several states, including Arizona (except some Indian Reservations), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have chosen not to observe Daylight Saving Time so they do not change their clocks at anytime during the year.

Next year… Daylight Saving Time begins on Sun, Mar 11, 2012 and ends on Sun, Nov 4, 2012

How to Scan Photos Using Picasa

In our last blog posting, we described how to scan photos and documents to your computer using Picasa. Picasa is Google’s Free photo editing software – if you don’t have this on your computer, you can go to www.picasa.com and download it)..

Scanning allows us to save our photos and/or documents onto our computers in “digital format”. Most all-in-one printers today have built in scanners, but we often hear they are confusing to use. So, for an easy option, Picasa might be the right choice for you…

Once you get going, you'll find that you can easily scan 50-60 or more photos in an hour (and this is true whether you use Picasa, your scanner's software or your operating system software such as Windows Photo Gallery, so it’s a great winter or rainy day project… And it’s wonderful to know that those old family photos won’t be lost.. Here's how:

• Be sure your computer and printer/scanner are on
• Open your “Picasa” application software program
• Always scan just one “1” photo or one “1” document at a time
• Put the photo on the glass of the scanner – face down
• In Picasa, click ‘Import’
• Click the arrow for the drop down list of devices. You'll see your scanner listed, select it
• Each scanner shows a different screen, but I believe all have an option to "Preview"
• Click the "Preview" option and now you'll see your photo
• If you want to crop the photo you can do it now or save the entire photo & crop later
• Once you're happy with, Click the button to Scan
• When it’s done scanning, you’re back at the standard Picasa Import screen
• Click Import all
• Select or create a folder to put it in
• I usually name mine: "Scan & today's date - i.e. Scan 2011.11.2"
• Now my first and subsequent photos scanned today will go in that folder
• Tomorrow I would create a new folder & name it with the correct date
• This way I can either name each individual photo or number them 1, 2, 3 etc..
• Once the photos are in the folder you want, you can certainly export them to your 'My Picture/Picture drawer - in whatever folder you want them in"

Tip: Once you have completed your scanning for the day, some of the Picasa forums recommend that you use Picasa’s Batch Edit command, and choose “I’m Feeling Lucky” and “Sharpen” to all of the photos in the “Old Photos-Today’s Date” that you just created… you can always open this again later to do individual editing of each photo you’ve now saved on your computer..

Note: In our classrooms, the Scanner is hooked up to one specific computer, so that is where your photos will be saved. Once they are in your specific folder, and if you want to move them to another computer in the classroom or your home computer, simply copy the entire scan folder you just created to your flash/removable drive and then copy them to the computer of your choice...

How to Scan using Windows Photo Gallery

One way to SCAN a photo or document to a computer with Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 Operating Systems, is to use the free Windows Photo Gallery that is part of these operating systems. This will allow you to scan, edit, and organize pictures and the pictures you scan will automatically be saved Pictures folder, in a My Scan/Scan folder.

Scanning allows you to create and save a "digital" copy of your photo or document on your computer.

Most printers today are also scanners. Be sure to turn your scanner on and be sure to always scan one "1" photo or document at a time; otherwise you will have one "1" scan of multiple photos or multiple documents - Now:

• Open Windows Photo Gallery by clicking the Start button , clicking All Programs, and then clicking Windows Photo Gallery
• Click File, and then click Import from Camera or Scanner
• In the Import Pictures and Videos window, click the scanner that you want to use, and then click Import
• In the New Scan dialog box, click the Profile list, and then click Photo. The default settings for scanning a picture are automatically displayed
• If you're using a scanner with a document feeder, click the Paper size list, and then click the size of the picture that you've placed on the scanner or click the size that most closely matches the picture
• Click the Color format list, and then click the color format that you want the scanned file to display
• Click the File type list, and then click the file type that you want to use to save the scanned file – for pictures .jpg is the most popular, especially if you are going to be using 3rd party software for projects, such as Walgreens, Cvs, Snapfsh etc. to create gifts such as books or mugs..
• Adjust the brightness and contrast settings or type the values that you want to use
• To see how the picture will appear when it is scanned, click Preview. If needed, modify the scan settings, and then preview the picture again. Repeat these steps until you're satisfied with the preview results
• Click Scan. When the scan is complete, Windows Photo Gallery prompts you to tag/name the picture so that it's easier to organize or find later
• In the Tag These Pictures (optional) list, type a tag name, and then click Import. Windows Photo Gallery displays the picture so you can view, fix, or organize it.
• Once the photo is in your Picture/My Picture Library/folder-you can move it to whatever folder you want it in and you can now use your Photo Editing software to make changes to the original..

If you don't have Windows Photo Gallery on your computer - go the following link and download it for free:

http://windows-live-photo-gallery.en.softonic.com/download

Tomorrow's blog posting will explain how to Scan your Photo's using Picasa Photo Editing Software...

What do the Social Security Numbers (SSN's) mean in the United States?

SSN's are not assigned consecutively; the first was not the lowest number, and the most recent is not the highest. They are assigned regionally and in batches.

SSN's are nine-digits and has been issued in more than 400 million different sequences. SSN's are divided into three parts:

1. Area numbers
2. Group numbers
3. Serial numbers

Area numbers - The first three numbers originally represented the state in which a person first applied for a Social Security card. Numbers started in the northeast and moved westward - Since 1972, the SSA has assigned numbers and issued cards based on the ZIP code in the mailing address provided on the original application form. Because most people today receive SSNs as infants, the area number indicates the state we were born in.

Group numbers - These two middle digits, which range from 01 through 99, are simply used to break all the SSNs with the same area number into smaller blocks, which makes administration easier. (The SSA says that, for administrative reasons, group numbers issued first consist of the odd numbers from 01thru 09, and then even numbers from 10 through 98, within each area number assigned to a state. After all the numbers in group 98 of a specific area have been issued, the even groups 02 through 08 are used, followed by odd groups 11 through 99.)

Serial numbers - Within each group designation, serial numbers -- the last four digits in an SSN -- run consecutively from 0001 through 9999. Although SSNs are issued in some order, there is no simple way to tell a person's age based on his Social Security number.

Here is a listing of how the Area Numbers are assigned:
001-003 NH
004-007 ME
008-009 VT
010-034 MA
035-039 RI
040-049 CT
050-134 NY
135-158 NJ
159-211 PA
212-220 MD
221-222 DE
223-231 VA
691-699 VA
232-236 WV
232 NC
237-246 NC
681-690 NC
247-251 SC
654-658 SC
252-260 GA
667-675 GA
261-267 FL
589-595 FL
268-302 OH
303-317 IN
318-361 IL
362-386 MI
387-399 WI
400-407 KY
408-415 TN
756-753 TN
416-424 AL
425-428 MS
587-588 MS
752-755 MS
429-432 AR
676-679 AR
433-439 LA
659-665 LA
440-448 OK
449-467 TX
627-645 TX
486-477 MN
478-485 IA
486-500 MO
501-502 ND
503-504 SD
505-508 NE
509-515 KS
516-517 MT
518-519 ID
520 WY
521-524 CO
650-653 CO
525,585 NM
648-649 NM
526-527 AZ
600-601 AZ
528-529 UT
646,647 UT
530,680 NV
531-539 WA
540-544 OR
545-573 CA
602-626 CA
574 AK
575-576 HI
750-751 HI
577-579 DC
580 VI
580-584 PR
596-599 PR
586 GU
586 AS

For more information about Social Security Numbers - how and when they began and how the use of the numbers have changed over the years, check out this website...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_number

Registration for next Series is Tuesday, 9am-October 25th

Don't forget - Registration for the next series of computer classes at Southern Artery, Series #52, will be held this Tuesday morning, 9am - October 25th at the Southern Artery North Building in Classroom #1.

The series itself, begins the week of Monday, October 31st and continues thru January… For those of you heading to Florida after the holidays, don't miss this series - You will have time to attend most of it and then we will continue to send you the handouts via email when you are away to be sure you don't miss anything!!

Times & Topics for our Morning Beginner/Intermediate Classes:
Monday 9am – Beginner 1 - Basics (Hardware, Software & Intro to Internet)
Monday, 10:30am – Intermediate 1 - Internet Basics (All about the internet, web & using email)

Tuesday, 9am – Intermediate 2 - Word Basics (Word Processing basics – a great class for everyone)
Tuesday, 10:30am – Intermediate 3 - Excel Basics (basics of spreadsheet software to manage lists & numbers)

Wednesday, 9am – Intermediate 1 - Internet Basics (All about the internet, web & using email)
Wednesday, 10:30am - Beginner 1 - Basics (Hardware, Software & Intro to Internet)

Times & Topics for our Afternoon Advanced Classes:
Monday & Tuesday: 1pm-2:30pm
Wednesday & Thursday: 12:30pm-2pm and 2pm-3:30pm (these are our winter hours for both classes, so that anyone driving to/from class, can be home before it get’s dark)

Afternoon students will focus on a variety of subjects including Updates on Internet/Email, using our class and other blogs; Word Processing – review, creating labels and tables & more; using Flash Drives & organizing what’s on your computer; Social Networking including Facebook and in January, always a favorite topic: tips on using your new holiday toys..

Afternoon students, who have completed the morning Beginner & Internet classes, are welcome to sign up (and pay) for a 2nd class, in the morning such as Word and/or Excel, or to refresh their skills on computer and internet basics... Requests for the 2nd class will be granted/honored on a first come first serve basis and students coming up from the Morning Internet Class have priority on the Word Class openings..

As always, consider registering with a friend so that you have someone to motivate you to use your new skills and if you have ideas or suggestions for topics that you would like to see us teaching – be sure to let us know…

These are your classes and we want to be sure you are learning the skills important to you…

What is clip art & how do I use it?

Holidays are coming and you might want to use clip art or photos to enhance your documents - invitations, holiday letters and more.... First of all ~ always insert graphics into your documents vs. copying them, so they react the way you want or need them to...

Clip art is a picture or graphic that can be inserted into various documents, such as those you might create in word processing, power point, excel or publisher to name a few...
You don’t have to purchase clip art software (as we did years ago) - There are thousands and thousands of different CLIP ART options built into various documentation programs and you can continue to build your own clip art collection from a variety of sources such as Microsoft online or Google images…

When you are in your word document, put your cursor/insertion point to the specific location in your document where you want the clip art, picture or symbol to be “inserted”.

• In Office 2007-2010 Word, Excel, etc.. go to the Insert Tab
  
• In Office 2003 or older versions, go to Insert on the Menu Bar and then to Pictures, Clip Art, etc.

You will now choose what you want to Insert - Picture, ClipArt, Symbol, Text Box, Word Art etc..

For clip art you will now see the gallery and/or the gallery search bar, so that you can search for or choose the image you want – if it is a picture, then open the folder or sub-folder the picture is in and choose the picture – one it is highlighted choose insert.

The image will now be inserted into your document…

When the graphic is on your page, the Picture Formatting Toolbar appears (in older versions of Word 2003 and prior-you can right click on your toolbar and turn this on or off) in Word 2007 & 2010 it appears as a new/additional tab, after the View tab..

When you insert graphics into your document, always go to the Text Wrap Icon (looks like a little dog in a postage stamp) and when the list appears choose Through. This allows you to easily work with both your text and graphics. Later, you can then change your choice of text wrapping – tight, square, behind text, in front of text (choices vary depending on your version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc 2000-2003-2007-2010?)…

Use your sizing handles around your graphic to change the size of your graphic – personally I like to use the sizing handles in the corners so that I change the height and width of my graphic all at once to be sure I don’t distort the graphic making it too tall/short or too wide/narrow…
Use the four headed arrow on the graphic to move the graphic around on your page to where you want it…

If your sizing handles boxes aren’t there or you don’t see the picture formatting toolbar, simply click on your graphic again – you must have the sizing handles around your graphic in order to see the picture formatting toolbar…

Clip Art & other graphics are a great way to enhance your documents - remember: one picture can be worth a thousand words... have fun & enjoy

Which is faster – cable, telephone or wireless internet??

This is a question that comes up all the time. The following two links are to articles on ehow.com, that we thought might help you better understand this ever changing technology:

www.ehow.com/info_8260618_fios-vs-cable-internet.html#ixzz1ahQZA7JP

www.ehow.com/about_4587185_dsl-cable-wireless-faster.html

According to “ehow.com” FIOS might be the fastest, but FIOS (“fiber optic service”) a product from Verizon, is not available everywhere. Here are some of the differences according to “ehow.com” FiOS potentially offers a lot more bandwidth than cable modems do, and both FIOS and cable offer more download speed than a typical DSL connection.

All Internet providers rate their Internet speeds with two numbers -- download speed and upload speed, where the upload speed is lower – here are the major 3:

• Verizon advertises its top FIOS bandwidth as 20/5 -- 20 megabits per second (Mbps) download speed, and 5 Mbps upload speed
• Comcast digital broadband typically runs at 5 to 7 Mbps download speed and 2 Mbps (or less) upload speeds
• DSL (Digital Service Telephone Lines) are typically 1.5 Mbps download speed and 0.7 Mbps upload speeds

Each has advantages and disadvantages:

• Verizon’s FiOS service is offered in a limited set of areas and the fiber optic cable has to be run to your home once it is available in your area
• Cable Internet, such as Comcast’s digital broadband, typically has the widest general reach and is available anywhere there's a coaxial cable connection, over the same wires
• DSL (Digital Service Telephone Lines) have somewhat wider coverage, but your home has to be within a certain distance of the telephone switching station

So although Cable Internet may offer higher maximum speeds than DSL or wireless connections, remember that DSL lines belongs only to the person paying for it – whereas, cable connections are usually shared with others in our area, which is why cable users often have fluctuations in the download speeds. So again, according to some, DSL – although slower – might offer more consistent speed..

No matter what – you have to do your homework and be sure you are comparing apples & apples and with technology changing as rapidly as it is, it’s another reason it’s never a good idea to sign a long term contract for any type of service…

Your personal budget should also be a major consideration before making any choice – are the extra few seconds worth hundreds of $$$$ every year??