This isn't a computer tip, but this is my blog and one of the reasons it exists is for self-promotion. I think it was Kinky Friedman who said, "I'm not scared of dying. My biggest fear is that I'll have to go 5 minutes without talking about myself." So here's a shameless plug for next week's Armchair Traveler program at the library.

On Thursday, November 10, at 1:30 p.m., I'll share photos and anecdotes about our recent journey to Wales. Fans of the 60s television show "The Prisoner" will recognize scenes from the seaside resort of Portmeirion, an eclectic mix of cottages and gardens designed by architect Clough Williams-Ellis. Next, we'll travel to Hay-on-Wye, a charming village that is home to over 45 bookshops. Other highlights of the journey include a visit to Tintern Abbey, built in the 14th century, and Chepstow Castle, the oldest castle in Wales.

There's been a request for me to share my presentation materials for the "101 Ways to Google" program. I'd love to but.....er.....um.....all I have is a brief handout that lists some of the Google related sites I cover. (It's below.) I also have what I call a "lesson plan" which is quite lengthy. I've been doing presentations and classes for about 8 years but I still have those moments when I can't remember what I was going to do next. So the lesson plan lists each Google service and says things like, "Click on Blog Search. Type mountain biking in the search box. Look at # 3 on the list "Mountain Biking with Paul Andrews." It also contains things I want to talk about, but I don't read it. I make sure I know the subject well enough that I can speak without reading.

The program lasts an hour and a half. We cover a lot and I think that's the maximum time we can tolerate before our heads explode. Without going into a lot of detail, I first do one simple and one advanced Google search, so they'll see how to do a phrase search. (We also offer an Internet Searching course for more in-depth instruction.) Next, I work across the links above the search box: Images, Groups, News, Froogle, Local. I do one search in each. Then I click on More and we go through the list of services on that page. Some of these services overlap. For example, when I do a Local search for coffee shops, it also brings up the Maps feature so I don't need to do a separate Map search. I usually save Google Labs, Mobile, and SMS for the end. It's easier to explain these after I've shown the other types of searches. The only Google Tools I cover are Google Earth (people actually say "Wow!" when they see it) and the Toolbar. Under the Special Searches I only do an Uncle Sam search.

The fun starts when we get to the "web search features", which are done right from the main Google page. If you scroll down the features page, you can see examples of the types of things I do. I type in addresses so they can see the PhoneBook (I also show how to get yourself removed), we look for local movie times, we use the calculator (300 miles in kilometers), we track a UPS package number, look for stock quotes and more.

I worry that this program is a big promo for Google. But I see patrons in the library using Google all the time and I think it's a way for us to show its other capabilities. I mention that no search engine covers the whole Internet and if they're not finding what they looking for, to try another. I also explain that Google can't find everything on the Internet. For example, you can only get the full text of Consumer Reports by using our EBSCO database. Finally, I try to explain the latest in the Google Print controversy without taking sides.

As a backup, I have a PowerPoint of screen shots if the Internet is slow. I have this on my laptop, a flash drive and my Gmail account. If all of those fail, it just wasn't meant to be.

I hope this gives you an idea of what happens in the program. If anyone would like more info, please ask. Here's the list of sites from the handout.

Google Cheat Sheet
www.google.com/help/cheatsheet.html
Or click on “About Google”, then on “Help and How to Search”

Google’s Services
At Google’s home page, click “more” to see the list of services and tools.

Google’s Web Search Features
Explanations of special search features
At Google’s home page, click “About Google’, then “Google Web Search Features”.

Google Uncle Sam
Searches only government web sites.
www.google.com/unclesam

Google Labs
Technologies still in development
labs.google.com

Google Toolbar
Search with Google from any site. Runs on Windows computers with Internet Explorer. Firefox users can download the Googlebar from this site.
toolbar.google.com

Wired published an article today titled,"How to Fight Those Surging Splogs". It explains what splog is and how to deal with this nuisance. If you have a blog, check out this article to see if you're being splogged what you can do about it.

101 Ways to Google
Next Tuesday, November 1, Daveman will presenting "101 Ways to Google" at Liverpool Public Library. The program will be held in the Carman Community Room at 1:00 p.m.

Google is more than a great way to search the Internet. It’s a phonebook, a dictionary, a stock ticker and much more. This presentation will show you how to use it to set up news alerts, find local businesses, get travel information, shop and track packages. We’ll also show you where to find Google’s Cheat Sheet and see what’s coming next from Google. No registration necessary.

Is this for real?

I got an e-mail message the other day from a friend. It had been forwarded several times. It claimed to be a "science project" and asked that I forward it to ten other people. At times like this, I use the most powerful tool I have to protect my computer. It's shown below.


Exactly what kind of science project would require spamming my friends with e-mail they don't want? I was sure this was junk but, just to be sure, I checked two sites I often use: Urban Legends Reference Pages and Hoaxbusters. I typed the words "science project" in the search box and, sure enough, this message was jive.

If you get an e-mail message warning of a new virus, instructing you to delete a file from your computer or asking you to forward the message to all your friends, it may be a hoax. Do yourself a favor and check it out first.

I've had to make a change to the comments feature because I've been getting blog spam. These are comments like, "I saw your blog. Great job. Wouldn't you like to look at my blog?" and then there's a link to a web site or blog. Most of the time they're trying to sell something. These comments have not been sent by a person but by a software program that searches for blogs, then automatically posts the same comment in each blog it finds.

If you'd like to leave a comment you'll will be required to complete a word verification step. A word will appear on the screen and you just have to type it in. This verification prevents automated systems from adding comments to my blog, since it takes a human being to read the word and type it in.

All About Blogs program

On Thursday, 10/13, Daveman will be doing presentation on blogging. Titled "All About Blogs", it will be held at 1:00 in the Liverpool Public Library's Sargent Meeting Room.

Blogs are a great way to keep up on current events or any topics of interest. I'll demonstrate how to set up a free blog reader, find blogs and subscribe to them. I'll also show how to set up a blog for free. No registration necessary. Next stop, the Blogosphere!

Lexar Jump Drive Update

The situation with the Lexar Jump Drive security feature confused me, so I did a live chat with a Lexar rep. Turns out I was wrong about how it works. The drive can be used on any computer, but it must be configured first. This means that you have to tell it how much space on the drive should be password protected and how much should be "public". To do this, the JD Secure software must be installed on a computer. Then you can do the configuration. After that, the drive can be used on any computer anywhere.

Since we don't allow any software to be installed on the lab computers, any patron with a Lexar secure drive needs to configure it before they can use it in the lab. We will not put them on the admin side and let them install it. This may apply to other brands with security software as well. The Lexar is the only one we've seen so far. My SanDisk drive doesn't have this feature.

IMHO, all this could have been made much clearer in the documentation that comes with the drive. I trolled some newsgroups and got the idea that the JD Secure software had to be installed on every computer that you used the jump drive with. I think Lexar took something that was easy and made it hard. These drives are a convenient, reliable and inexpensive way to save and transport files. I understand the need for security but let's make it easy for the folks, OK? Sheesh.

Flash Drive Problem in the Lab

Recently we had a patron in the lab who was attempting to configure his JumpDrive with partitions and passwords. He received the following message:

"In order to run JumpDrive Secure, you need Adminstrator privileges on the computer that you are using."

JumpDrive Secure is a software program that comes on flash drives made by Lexar. It comes with the Lexar drive and must be installed on any computer that you'll be using the jump drive on. The software lets you put files in a secure, password protected section of the drive. You can also select how much of the drive's storage space you want to protect this way. So you have to install the software, then go through a configuration process before you can save files to the drive.

My wife has one of these JumpDrives by Lexar. Unfortunately, it came with no documentation that explained this. So she began transferring files to it and a message appeared stating that the drive was full. We had to go to the Lexar web site to find out about the security software.

IMHO, this security feature has avantages and disadvantages. One of the nice things about most jump drives is being able to use them on any computer. I can easily transfer files from my desktop computer to the Tablet PC, my home computer or any computer in the building. Having to install software on each computer can be troublesome, as our patron discovered. On the other hand, it's good to be able to protect your files in case you lose the drive. On the final hand, I never keep mission critical files on my flash drive. I mainly use it to back up PowerPoint presentations, course handouts and lesson plans.

Although this isn't a computer tip, it's something we should think of when dealing with our library patrons. As a legacy from my previous career, I still subscribe to some photography magazines. In the latest issue of Rangefinder is this advice from a wedding photographer: Every person wears an invisible sign on their head that says "Make me feel important."