Regional Library Computer Center

The Birmingham Public Library now has a Twitter account. Twitter is considered to be a microblogging website. In the most simpliest terms, it is a cross between instant messaging and blogging. As a “Twitter” user you post things that are going on in your world. These posts can not be more than 140 characters long. As a “Twitter” you can “follow” other Twitters by clicking on “Follow” below their name. One word of caution: in order to do this you must be a registered user of Twitter. So before doing anything else, become a registered user of Twitter. As you Twitter you may have people that like what you write and so they decide to “follow” you. When sending a “Tweet”, that is what a message is called, you can also include a URL. Tweeter converts the URL to a smaller version of it using TinyURL.

As a Twitter you can follow what the Birmingham Public Library is doing. Just do a search for “BPL” and you should get a listing with BPL included. Just click on “follow” and soon thereafter you will be receiving Tweets from BPL. The address for the BPL website is: http://www.twitter.com/bpl

April 2008

iGoogle:  April 1st

Basic PC:  April 5th, April 14th

PowerPoint Basics:  April 7th

Excel Basics:  April 8th, April 28th

Scouting out to Kill a Mockingbird:   April 12th

Basic Email Instruction:  April 15th

Microsoft Word Basics:  April 19th

Labels and Letterheads:  April 26th

Digital Photography:  April 29th

May  2008

Basic Internet: May 3rd

Basic PC:  May 5th, May 24th

Blogging with Blogger: May 6th

Publisher Basics: May 10th

Microsoft Word Basics Pt 1: May 12th

Microsoft Word Basics Pt 2: May 19th

Instant Messaging: May 13th

Excel Basics: May 17th

Travel on the Web: May 20th

Social Networking for Parents: May 27th

PowerPoint Basics: May 31st

In conjunction with the Birmingham Public Library, the RLCC will be closed on Friday, March 21st in observance of Good Friday. Also, the center will be closed on Sunday, March 23rd in observance of Easter. The library and computer center will be open on Saturday, March 22nd.

No longer do you have to do screen captures by pressing “CTRL + Print Screen”. Well, you can if you want and you just need a very basic screen capture but if you are needing something a little bit more sophisicated I can recommend a few to you which do more than take the normal screen capture. I admit, when I first started doing screen captures I pretty much used the method mentioned above but since that time I have discovered many useful ways to do screen captures with bonus added effects. Now I will be straight with you, some of them might cost you a pretty penny but if you do a lot of screen captures both professionally and personally I figured you might not mind spending a little money so your work can look professional and neat.

The first one that I will mention is called Faststone Screen Capture. This screen capturing tool is actually free for you to use personally but not commercially. If you plan on using it commericially a license will cost you about $20. But for the most part, many of you are doing screen captures for personal or educational purposes so its FREE. Faststone actually has the look and feel of a more expensive software program, which I will mention later on. My favorite thing about Faststone is the ability to place it on your flash drive and carry it wherever you want. Not many software programs allow this kind of service.

Here are some features of Faststone: 

• A small handy Capture Panel that offers quick access to its capture tools and output options
• Global hotkeys to activate screen capturing instantly
• Capture windows, objects, menus, full screen, rectangular/freehand regions and scrolling windows/web pages
• Capture multiple windows and objects including multi-level menus
• Options to specify output destination (internal editor, clipboard, file, printer …)
• Draw annotation objects such as texts, arrowed lines, highlights, watermarks, rectangles and circles
• Apply effects such as drop-shadow, frame, torn-edge and fade-edge 
• Add image caption
• Resize, crop, rotate, sharpen, brighten, adjust colors …
• Undo/Redo
• Support external editors
• Save in BMP, GIF, JPEG, PCX, PNG, TGA, TIFF and PDF formats
• Send captured images by email
• Send captured images to Word and PowerPoint documents
• Send captured images to a Web (FTP) server
• Screen Color Picker
• Screen Magnifier
• Screen Ruler
• Support multiple monitors
• Run when Windows starts (optional)
• Minimize to System Tray area
• Small footprint in memory
• And many more …

Another one much worthy to be mentioned is TechSmith’s SnagIt.  As I indicated above, this particular software program will cost you a pretty penny but in my opinion worth every cent (Yes, I purchased it). This screen capturing program is pretty awesome! Here are some details about what this particular program offers:

• You can capture anything on your screen…from one stationary area to a scrolling window.
• You can edit your screen capture by using the built in image editor.
• You can also share, save and print your screen captures

This particular software program will have to be downloaded to your PC. Once you download you can test drive it for 30 days. Once your 30 days has expired you will have to purchase a license in order to continue to use. For pricing information go to TechSmith.

There are other software programs…some you download and others you use from your flash drive or you can download it to your PC AND use it from your flash drive. To be perfectly honest with you, I am not as familiar with these other programs. I have currently downloaded a copy of one that I just recently heard of called, Evans’ AVI Screen Capture. I plan on trying it out in the near future and will report on it here when the time comes.

you and your children might be interested in attending one or both of the following classes, which are being held this month. The first class will be held on Saturday, March 8th. The title of this class is Child Friendly Web Sites. During this class you will be viewing the different websites which are “child friendly”. On March 22nd, Student Resources on the Web will be offered. This class will be going over the many resources which are available to todays student. To learn more about these classes as well as register for them please call the RLCC @ 205-226-3799 or 205-226-3798.

Here you will find a listing of PC Magazine’s Best Free Software.

An excerpt from PC Magazine Online.

Hall of Fame

Adobe Reader
www.adobe.com
This simplest of Adobe’s PDF programs lets you do just about anything PDF-related (besides create new ones).

AIM
www.aim.com
One of the most widely used pieces of free software ever, AOL Instant Messenger offers a ton of capabilities.
 

Audacity
audacity.sourceforge.net
Whether you’re recording or editing, Audacity is all about audio in practically any format.

Firefox
www.mozilla.com
 

GIMP
www.gimp.org
The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) does most of what Photoshop does.

iTunes

www.apple.com/itunes
When you’re attached to the top media player in the land (iPod), success is a given. iTunes continues to build sales and refine its organization of songs, video, games, podcasts, and more.

OpenOffice.org
www.openoffice.org
You can spend a lot for Microsoft Office or nothing for this suite with full-function word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentations, even an equations editor.

Skype
www.skype.com
You’ll pay to call regular phones, but if you sign up all your friends, Skype provides easy (and even international) calls and video-conferencing for nothing.

Thunderbird
www.mozilla.com/thunderbird
Mozilla’s no-cost e-mail alternative is extensible, fast, and easy to master. And a wealth of free add-ons means there’s not much this program won’t do, from calendars to encryption.

Ubuntu
www.ubuntu.com
 This Linux-based OS comes with many of these Hall of Fame products (Firefox, OpenOffice.org) preinstalled.

WinAmp
www.winamp.com
After a decade of playing music, the “skinnable” WinAmp has several versions, including one with full CD ripping and burning.

As I was reading through the blogs I came across this great article on .
10 PC Troubleshooting Tips Here is the first two paragraphs of the article. To read the rest of the article click on the link at the top of this post.

We’re a busy lot, here at the ExtremeTech laboratories, and we can’t always personally answer your email. We certainly do hear you, however, especially when you write in with PC and tech conundrums that have you stumped.

The emails keep coming. Your computer won’t boot. Your roommate’s PC ingloriously shuts off at random intervals. The game your sister is trying to play doesn’t look like it should. Your daughter spilled milk into your keyboard.The troubles don’t stop with PCs, either. Your Xbox 360 is flashing the dreaded Read Rings of Death. Your PlayStation Portable can’t read its Memory Stick anymore. What gives?There are times we swear that our technology is haunted. We’ve had problems that induced us to check every cable, every connection, and every slot and socket, and conclude that the problem must be gremlins. Even the harshest of stumpers, however, can almost always be explained—or at least worked around through brute force. Stroll with us through ten scenarios and what just might be the solutions you’re looking for. Even if we don’t figure out your particular dilemma, remember one thing: Gremlins are best killed with a big hammer.

Click here to continue.