ASC Newsletter


Must have downloads: Refer to my downloads page to get these critical applications!	In this issue: ►Which application do I use to open a file? ►Getting Windows Explorer to display the proper drive ►Print a Photo Proof Sheet ►Email Etiquette ►Someone very smart, who has way too much time on his hands.	When was the last time you had your computer cleaned? Call for an appointment! (805) 968-6366
Ad-Aware Personal SE (version 1.06)

Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta1	Which application do I use to open a file? Have you ever been emailed an attachment, and when you double-click on it, Windows presents you with a list of programs to choose from? How do you know which program to choose? Here are the basics... If windows already has an application associated with an extension (e.g.., files that end in .DOC are opened with Microsoft Word), Then the file will open automatically. But what if Windows does not know which application to use? There are two possibilities: first, an association isn't made, but *you do* own the program. Second, you *do not* own the program. The answer is the same, you need to know which program Windows is looking for. Well how the heck do you know? Shoot on over to this site which gives a fairly complete listing of every file extension known. http://whatis.techtarget.com/fileFormatA/0,289933,sid9,00.html Once you locate your extension, check to see if you own the program. If you do not, you can ask the sender to try and send you the file in a different format.	Is your computer getting slower? Pop-Ups driving you crazy? Is it just acting weird? You may be infected with spyware. Try one of the programs to the left, and if that does not work... Please call me!
McAfee's Stinger, downloadable virus removable tool	Getting Windows Explorer to display the proper drive OK, by a show of hands, how many of you use Windows Explorer to navigate through your files? Keep those hands up! Now hold up the other hand if you hate that Windows Explorer always opens to the my documents folder, instead of the drive you really want to get to? I thought so, hands down. Let's create a custom Windows Explorer desktop icon: In Windows ME/200/XP, first go to Start/Programs/Accessories/Windows Explorer. *Right-click* on top of the item and drag to the desktop. Choose *copy* in the resulting window. (For Windows 95/98 go to Start/Programs/Windows Explorer) Now right-click on the icon on your desktop and choose properties. You should see a little box labeled Target. Erase whatever is in that box and paste the following: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n,/e,/root,,/select,C:\ Click on OK when finished. (This should get Windows Explorer to open on the C: drive. You can put in another drive letter if you wish.)	Is your existing system showing its age? Don't forget, I build my own systems with the highest quality parts available. *If something does* go wrong, you won't be speaking to someone in a foreign country, you'll be speaking directly to me!**
Other Important Downloads: Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0	Print a Photo Proof Sheet This is perfect for the holidays! A proof sheet is a printout of picture thumbnails. Most photo organizing software allows you to print these out, but for XP users, it's built into the Window's Picture and Fax Viewer. Here's how to do it... Open the folder that your pictures are in and select "Thumbnail View". Hold down the Ctrl key and select the pictures you want on the proof sheet or Ctrl+A to select all. Right click one of the pictures and select "Preview". This will bring up the picture in the Window's Picture Viewer. Press Ctrl+P to bring up the Photo Printing Wizard. Click Next, Select All or check off the pictures you want then Next again. Choose your printer then Next. Select the "Contact Sheet" layout. You'll see a Print Preview of your contact sheet. One more "Next". You should end up with a neat printout of all selected photos. This item reprinted with permission from Computer Tips & Techniques, Weekly Edition (a free email newsletter available at www.worldstart.com), Copyright © 2005 WorldStart, Inc.	If you have a wireless router, remember to enable security! WEP is good, but WPA is way better. Feel free to call for assistance.
If your web pages are not loading properly, you may need this download	Email Etiquette This is also perfect for the holidays! Send this section to all your friends and family before they start sending to you! Sending e-mail that's looks good is a reflection of your professionalism. An e-mail that is properly written not only makes you look good, but is easier for your recipients to read which will win you lots of points with that individual. Finally, if you send an e-mail that looks good, you also look like you know your way around the computer and the Internet. Here are some tips to writing a winning e-mail: MANY READERS DON'T LIKE ALL CAPS. IT'S HARD TO READ AND SEEMS LIKE YOU'RE SHOUTING! use punctuation its hard to read stuff that doesn't have any commas capital letters periods or apostrophes Usee yur spall chacker. Its annyang to try to reede constent spalling misstakes. When forwarding an e-mail to someone, copy and paste what you want to send into a new e-mail then send it off. This is especially true if you had to dig through tons of "layers" to actually get to the message of the e-mail. ***Be courteous enough to use BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) when forwarding an email to everyone in your address book. You don't want to send your friends' addresses around the net. We sent a tip out on how to do this back on 5/27/2004. Avoid embedding sounds or using "stationary" in your messages. I know it's cute and we're guilty of showing you how to do it, but they take longer to download and can be annoying to your recipient. Additionally, when your recipient responds to your e-mail, they may have to re-format their text (especially color ) in order for it to be readable. Remember that attachments over 50k are annoyingly long to download, possibly causing your recipient's connection to "time-out", or the email could even be blocked. Try to keep those files manageable! Re-read your e-mail message before you send it out. I don't know how many times I thought I had everything just right then found something that was way out of place when I re-read the document. When replying to a message, don't quote back the entire message if you are just responding to one or two points. Just include what you are responding to. Finally, don't use short hand. Stuff like "r u going to stp by ltr" can be hard to read. Don't B lzy, typ the whole wrd. Well, I guess that's about it. I know that I occasionally commit an e-mail transgression (I think we all do), but maybe these guidelines will help everyone communicate a little better. Remember, these are just suggested guidelines. Most of our readers live in free countries, so email any way you want. This item reprinted with permission from Computer Tips & Techniques, Weekly Edition (a free email newsletter available at www.worldstart.com), Copyright © 2005 WorldStart, Inc.	Are you backing up? These days, a good backup is a must!
	Someone very smart, who has way too much time on his hands. This is an actual house with Christmas decorations synched to music. The gentleman lives in Ohio and actually did all the work by hand. I understand that he plays the music very low outside, but broadcasts it to an FM radio channel so that you can listen from your car. He plays this from 6-10PM nightly and yes, I bet his neighbors are steaming! Turn down your lights and turn up the volume on your computer, then click on this link. http://www.asconsulting.com/files/awesome_christmas_lights.wmv Whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year, please make it a safe and fun one! And Happy New Year to all!	Dell & Gateway have announced that their standard warrantees are now 90 days Parts & Labor, it is expected that the other large companies will follow suit. If you want a longer warrantee, you'll have to pay for it. AS Consulting's systems have always offered a standard 90 days labor and full one year on parts. Unlike the big boys, ASC has no plans to change our warrantee plans. (Did I forget to mention that ASC's tech support has always been based in Goleta, CA., not Bangalore, India?) Feel free to call for a free quote on an ASC computer system.

	AS Consulting is now offering email and website hosting. It is rather affordable and (best of all), I personally handle all of the problems associated with your site (i.e., email addresses, domain issues, etc.) click here for all the info: AS Consulting provided Webhosting

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	The AS Consulting newsletter is brought to you by: Andy Shapiro, Owner AS Consulting You can reach me at: P.O. Box 1728, Goleta, CA. 93116-1728, Voice: (805) 968-6366, email: asc2@asconsulting.com, Web: www.asconsulting.com See you next month!