Coos Bay Public Library - Comfort Computing Newsletter, Issue 20

COMFORT COMPUTING NEWSLETTER
September 2006 - Issue 20

For more information, call 269-1101 or visit the library at 525 W. Anderson Avenue in Coos Bay.

INTERNET CLASSES AT THE COOS BAY PUBLIC LIBRARY

Beginning Mouse Class - September 22nd (Friday), 9:30-11:00 a.m.
Introduction to the Internet - September 29th (Friday), 9:30-11:00 a.m.

Opportunities in the Area

Bay Area Seniors Computer Club (BASCC) - You must be 50 yrs of age or more to join. Dues are $12 for individuals and $18 for couples per year. Meetings are at the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church on Thompson Ave., on the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month at 9:30 a.m. for the Social Hour and 10:00 a.m. for the meeting. Interested parties may attend one meeting free before joining. See their Web site at http://www.geocities.com/bayareasrcompclub/

September 1st - No Meeting - Labor Day Weekend
September 15th - Klaus Radtke - Create-a-Card

Coquille Valley Senior's Computer Club (CVSCC) - Regular meetings are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month at the Coquille High School Library.

Membership is open to all seniors who are at least 50 years old. Visitors are welcome. Come visit us or call Bob Kimball (396-4971) for more information.

September 11th - Coos County Assessor's Office Walk-Thru with Bob Main
September 25th - Community-wide DSL Fiber System in Bandon

North Bend Public Library Computer Workshops
Each class is offered every few months. Please call Dianne at 756-0400 if you would like to be notified when a workshop is scheduled. The main offerings are; Dazzling Databases (that are provided by the Coos County Libraries), Surfing the Coastline and Useful Internet Websites Workshop.

Useful Internet Websites Workshop - September 20th class (Wednesday). 3:30-5:30.
This workshop focuses on a variety of websites that are useful for finding information, with extra emphasis on health and medical, consumer, and personal finance websites.

Southwestern Oregon Community College - Adult non-credit classes to introduce you to Windows, word processing, Internet Email and more. Classes are in room 204 of the Newmark Center.

Computer Basics 1: Beginning Windows
(36 hours of instruction, practice, & book)
Meets: Sept. 18-Oct 5, Monday thru Thursday, 5:30 - 8:20 p.m.
Covers introductory Windows, Internet, Email and basic word processing using MS Word.

Computer Basics I: Very Beginners
Mondays & Wednesdays, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
- Email - 9/25, 9/27, 10/2, & 10/4
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Point & Click - 9/26, 9/28, 10/3, & 10/5

Computer Basics II: Next Steps Beginners
Mondays & Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Add and Manage Photos - 9/25, 9/27, 10/2, & 10/4
Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
- Newsletter - 9/26, 9/28, 10/3 & 10/5

Open Computer Lab:

A quiet place for study or research. The Lab offers a broad range of software from MS Office to self-paced learning tools such as Mavis Beacon Typing and PLATO learning software. Register for lab just like a class. Room 206

Available: M-Th, 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

TIP OF THE MONTH

Computer Maintenance

You expect your computer to work, and work the same every day, but did you know your computer is a little different every day? So when is the last time you looked under the hood and cleaned the gunk off? Do you know what the computer equivalent of dirty oil is? Here are some basic things you should do on a monthly basis:

Save your files and remember to include your browser bookmarks. Make an emergency boot disc.
Empty the virtual "trash can" on your desktop.
Get rid of unnecessary "temporary" files.
Defrag your computer (If you have a lot of files you can let it run overnight)
Look for the bad spots and isolate them (scan disk).
Check how much empty space you have left on your hard drive and think about removing old programs you no longer use.
Keep your programs updated.
Delete old cookies (but write down and secure your Ids and passwords first)
Empty the cache in your Internet browser.
Run an anti-spyware program (some security software packages do this automatically now).

USEFUL WEB SITES

Sites that explain how you can clean up and maintain your PC. Keep in mind that steps vary among the operating systems.

Basic Computer Hard Drive and System Maintenance. Mostly good advice but please don't reformat your hard drive! Too many computers come without back up CDs to all the programs and settings. Newbies should avoid this one!
Clean Up Your Grungy PC (in this case literally - how to clean out the dirt inside and out).
Computer Maintenance Tips
Computer maintenance tips
Computer Maintenance Tips (some really good advice here).
DIY: Laptop Tune-up Tips
HelpWithPCs.com - includes a couple of illustrations
Instructions for defragging your HD from HP (Hewlett-Packard)

To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, or to change how you get it, please contact Dolores, 269-1101 ext. 222, dknight@cooslibraries.org

Coos Bay Public Library
525 Anderson Ave.
Coos Bay, OR 97420
541-269-1101
bay.cooslibraries.org

9/2006