Newsletter: 21

Second book about to be published:

I am pleased to announce that my second book, The Internet for the Older and Wiser, will be in the bookshops and on Amazon on Friday, 23rd October. This book follows on from the first which was aimed at the complete beginner and explores the many different uses of the Internet. It is aimed at the late beginner to the intermediate pupil.

The first book has now sold over 7500 copies throughout the world and continues to sell well. I have been very encouraged by the number of readers who have contacted me by email from across the globe with very complimentary remarks.

The latest book has now established the “Older and Wiser” range of books which is being sponsored by the University of the Third Age. Other titles in the range will include books on genealogy, laptop computers, digital photography and the new Windows operating system, Windows 7.

Find that elusive out-of-print book:

Did you ever read a book in your younger years, lend it to a friend who never returned it and now have the urge to read it again? One of my favourite websites is www.abebooks.com where second-hand booksellers across the world list their stock. Only once has the site been unable to find an obscure book that I have searched for. I was teaching my U3A class last week and searched for copies of Alice in Wonderland as an example. The site listed more than 18,000 copies ranging from 95p to – wait for it - £126,000!! It was a particularly rare first edition.

Bing vs Google:

I have been using the new Microsoft search engine, Bing, for a few months now and I find that it is a strong contender in the search engine market. In particular they use a different mapping company which gives slightly more accurate results for UK postcodes. Google tends to search only for the first 3 characters of the code whereas the Bing site narrows the search down to the full postcode.

It is also very useful in that it lists suggested alternative search results in case your original search does not bring up the kind of site you were looking for. It is worth while giving it a try at www.bing.com.

Windows 7 has arrived:

I have been using the new operating system from Microsoft for several months now and I am happy to report that it is a joy to work with. So much better than Vista and even better than the old XP system. I don’t want to go into the technical advantages such as improved ‘server’ functionality or better network connectivity – I leave those things to the geeks.

What attracts me is the improved media capabilities for sound and images but, most of all, for the new task bar which allows you to pin frequently used programs for easy access, open recently used program documents and clear the screen to access the desktop without losing your open programs.

The new system is far less power hungry than Vista so that any machine that has run Vista has more than enough power to run Windows7. There is no need to upgrade your machine. The computer also gets up and running faster with Windows7 and there are far fewer irritating security messages.

There are many different versions of the system but I would recommend the Home Premium edition to most home and small business users. One of the curious omissions is that of a computer based email program such the old Outlook Express or Mail. You now have to download a series of programs called Microsoft Live Essentials, which includes Live Mail, from http://download.live.com

My next book on the use of Windows7 will be published in the Spring of 2010.

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