Sarah81

Sweet! Now that's what I mean when I say that we should all recycle more - put that otherwise-garbage CD spindle to good use, man.Love the pics of the hamster enjoying himself. Or herself. Or whatever *grins*

What I don't quite understand is why web providers bother with pop-up/popunder windows still. Most of us use pop-up blockers (and browsers come with that option built in). So is throwing up a bunch of windows that most people are never going to see thanks to their blocking software still effective advertising? Or has it gone to "just annoying" at this point?

Speaking of schools blocking access ... Del Mar College (here in Texas, where the weather is great - haha!) recently banned Myspace.com from school computers and Internet connections. Their IT pros estimated that about 40 percent of their traffic was going to this site. But that won't last very long. Kid figure out how to get around blocks all the time. And now Myspace will be even more popular because it's off limits.

I use Gimp. It took a little time to get used to the layout, but once I played around a little I was able to do the few, piddling little things I do with editing software (mostly touching up digital photos). I'm not a graphics designer/artist/etc., so I don't really get into advanced features and the like.

The great thing about high-speed connections is that many people can get them for just a little more than a dial-up account. The only big problem is that home for me is in the middle of nowhere. We have to have dial-up (on old-old school party-line phone systems - ugh) or get a satellite connection. Unfortunately the satellite connection *isn't* just a little bit more than dial-up. So, for anybody else in a situation like that: you have my sympathies *Grins* And yep - Firefox definitely makes a difference in surfing speed. I love this browser. As for Opera: I wouldn't know because I haven't tried it in years, but I've heard that it's really good too so I'll leave that up for actual users to judge *smiles*

Unless somebody else starts trouble with Iran, their leader would have to be possessed by Satan to even consider unleashing a nuclear weapon on any other country/population. I'm pretty sure that half the free world is going to keep an eye on Iran just to make sure the nuclear power doesn't become a nuclear weapon. I'd rather not see anybody using nuclear anything for any reason, but we all know that's not going to happen anytime soon.

My blog is friends-only. I only keep the thing because I love writing so much. It's easier for me to write to my friends, which is basically what I'm doing with my blog, than it is to call them or talk with them in person about certain things. And I'm not just talking about things that aren't fun or happy. Even the really funny stories - things that a lot of people love to talk about face-to-face - come out better (i.e. much funnier) when I write about them.But I don't let the entire known universe have access to anything that I write in said blog.And I certainly don't understand why some people sit and whine non-stop about how their lives are so pathetic and miserable. Why keep a blog about all that depressing stuff when one could be out DOING something to make things better? It just doesn't make sense to me.I also still keep my completely personal, non-Internet journal. It's kept on my computer, and I print out hard copies, but that's just for me. That's where I go for the whining, personal stuff, and even really cool things that I just don't feel like sharing with anybody. Everyone's got to have secrets, even if those secrets aren't necessarily bad or harmful, right? *Grins*

*gasp!* You mean somebody wants to organize all the information on the Internet so that we can find it quickly and easily? And for free? *feints*Seriously though ... there are much bigger, far worse threats in the world than an Internet service that is slowly spreading to cover pretty much every possible base.

Haha, I still don't even have a regular DVD player. Unless you count the fact that my computer can play DVDs. But I don't because that's not why I bought the thing - I've played maybe ONE DVD the whole time I've had it. But I'm actually going to get off my lazy butt and go DVD-player shopping over the summer, when I'm not busy with school. They're cheap now - the regular versions, I mean - but I'm willing to bet that the price will drop a little more now that the new players are coming out.

I don't know if 90 percent of people use Messenger. All I know is that I use Yahoo's software because it's tied in with my e-mail account ... and that's true for most of the people I care to chat with online. Save for one friend who stubbornly refuses to use anything but Messenger. I occasionally fire that program up to see if she's around. But if she switched to Yahoo Messenger, I would dump MSN's software so fast its little pointed head swam.

Pretty much. If I can't stretch out on the couch and watch a film on a decently-sized TV screen, I'm not going to bother. Although one *can* connect the computer to the TV, if one has that capability, to watch the movie. But that doesn't solve the problem of wanting to take a DVD on the road in the minivan, or to a friend's house for movie night, or whatever else. Yeah, I'll just go to Best Buy or Amazon and get the regular release version.

Dvorak's a nice alternative - one that I've tried once or twice but just couldn't catch onto.But really: QUERTY is a good layout because the most commonly-used letters are on the "home row." That's just easiest, for me anyway.That and I, like most people who learned to type on QWERTY setups, am just so used to this that I can't imagine changing to anything else.

I love the way that some people can justify piracy by crying poor. "Oh, we don't have enough money to buy Windows legally, and we can't afford this game or that finance software or the graphics program that all the riiiiiich people have."In case people haven't noticed, developers come up with low-cost, and even *FREE*, software all the time.My antivirus didn't cost me anything, and nobody's ever going to prosecute me for using it. My firewall software, graphics editing program, image viewing software, etc. are also free to anybody who would like to download and install them.Oh, and I have a PDF reader AND creator that didn't cost me anything.I could go on and on, but my point is that even I, a lowly student who literally rakes in a whopping fifty dollars a month for spending money, have access to just about any sort of program I could possibly want or need.So ... piracy isn't justified just because the big-name software companies charge arm, leg and one kidney for their products. There are alternatives out there if one is willing to look for them. And of course, we have to be okay with not having THE name-brand that everybody else is using/buying/stealing.Besides, when we use the "no-name" programs instead of coughing up blood for the real thing, we're sending a nice, legal message to Microsoft, Adobe, Norton and all the other makers of overpriced, crappy software. They're only going to prosecute people who steal their programs, but they can't touch you if you use other peoples' software legally.

I protect MS Word documents by adding a password. You can find that in the "Security" menu when you go to the options.For other files, I just use a zipping utility that offers password protection. WinZip works just fine. But there are free alternatives.The only problem is that, if you forget your password, you have to either re-create the file from scratch or buy a password-force utility to try and crack your password for you. (Either option stinks, of course.)The password option won't HIDE your files - anybody who uses the computer can obviously still see them - but it does make them more difficult to access. Unless another user has a password-force utility, or can guess your password, you've got a bit of security.

Hey, fire_lady - welcome to the forum. I hope you enjoy hanging out here.

I had to buy a six-foot CAT-5 when I lived in my dorm. (Back when I had access to a hard-wired LAN connection, that is.) Even at our student computer store, where they love to give us discounts, I ended up paying almost 20 bucks (US). Now the cable's at home in storage somewhere because I don't ever use it - just wireless LAN in my apartment - but I'm sure as heck not giving it to anybody. I'll probably need that CAT-5 again in the future and really don't want to spend money on another one.

In response to eating/drinking around the computer:It's called multi-tasking. *grins* I don't even have a dining table in my apartment, so where else am I going to sit down for meals? On my couch? Sure, I could do that, but I'd just end up watching TV while I eat instead of doing something productive (like my job).But, since I don't want to pay through the nose to have my notebook keyboard repaired/replaced, I take a few precautions.First is that the computer isn't right at the edge of the desk. It's close to the back. (I have a plug-in USB keyboard, otherwise I'd be stretching about three feet just to type.)And I keep my drink as far away from the computer/keyboard/printer/etc. as possible. I've spilled before, but I've only taken out a pack of cigarettes and one of my coasters. No big deal in either case *grins*So ... some of us will never learn, but hey, you can buy cheap replacement keyboards if you're a chronic spiller. *grins*

Of *course* it's about the money!Gates didn't found Microsoft out of the goodness of his kind and generous heart. He did it because he wanted to make money - and apparently he did something right along the way, seeing as he's still a multi-billionaire and the overwhelming majority of computer users use his programs.Honestly? If I were in Gates's position I would drop support for older operating systems too. Devote the resources to newer software, especially since Vista's release date is less than a year away, and hopefully have enough resources to work the bugs out as quickly as possible.

I'm sticking with XP as long as is reasonably possible. I know that I'll eventually *have* to upgrade, but by the time that happens Vista will have been out for a while. Long enough, in other words, for the majority of the nastier bugs to be worked out/patched/whatever.Then again, I'm just not excited about Vista. I'm 99.999 percent happy with XP, so I don't really see the point of running out to upgrade.

I used to play the PS/PSOne version of the original GTA. But then I got the Classics Collection (GTA, GTA2 and London expansion pack) for my PC. I still play those fairly often, though I typically become distracted by the carnage and forget all about the missions I'm supposed to complete *grins*My brother lent me his XBox for the next few weeks, so I'm playing GTA3. He has Vice City too, but the disc got scratched so it freezes early into the game *sighs* I'm not very far into the GTA3 missions. Again, I keep getting distracted by the other aspects of the game (like using the Create Tank cheat to grab a tank and run over everything in my path, hehe).I'd love to get a chance to play San Andreas. Maybe my lil' bro will pick that one up over the summer so I can give it a shot. Speaking of RockStar Games: anybody else looking forward to "Bully"? I'm not sure exactly when it's due to come out, but I'm looking forward to that title.

I have a Sarcastic Ball. It's dark purple with a giant, white "?" on the opposite side of the answer section. Same as the 8-ball in function and design, but gives sarcastic answers such as "Like I care" and the like.Insanely fun decoration to have on my desk.

Someday Microsoft will implant the computers into our skulls. We'll just have to blink a certain number of times to access Windows Cranium (or maybe they'll give it a catchier, less disturbing name). It'll be like playing the Virtual Boy, but without the external headset that you peer into. Just think and it'll type your e-mail for you. Blink three times and get music-on-demand. Blink eight times and the system crashes. Get debris in your eye and accidentally hack the White House's Cranium/Web site. And yes, I'm being mildly absurd. But if you check out Wired mag's Web site, you'll find that scientists have already put computers into a guy's head. He was blind, so they basically drilled into his skull and inserted the appropriate hardware/software so that he could see rudimentary renditions of things that were actually in front of him. If they could do that a few years ago, we could have skull-based operating systems in the future. God help us all.

This link works - or did just a few minutes ago when I took this test. 58 ms ... not too terribly bad for a 24-year-old. Heh. At the end they try to sell you a brain-speed improvement program, but it's not aggressive or anything. You don't have to give your name or e-mail address or anything like that. Pretty sweet test. Just make sure your sound is enabled.

If iKobo works for people, then I hope the service does well and offers great benefits to users. One question I have is: is it a free service for individual users, like PayPal? Since I use eBay a lot, I'm basically tied to PayPal. And my employer pays through PayPal. But if I could use an alternative like this one, I would gladly check it out. Maybe in the future, as more alternatives pop up, PayPal won't be the major monopoly.And have you tried eGold? I've heard that it's not bad, but never used it before. Same for StormPay.

Your adviser should be able to help you pick the right courses. There might be a degree in that specific field. Then again, you might have a general adviser (if you can't declare a major when you're a freshmen, which is the case here anyway). If that's so, talk to one of the advisers in the computer-sciences dept.