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Abby Stokes

Page 39

by Technophobes;the Kicking;Screaming Is This Thing On?: A Computer Handbook for Late Bloomers


  Resource List

  Here are phone numbers you may find useful, whether or not your computer is acting up. Unfortunately, these numbers are subject to change, but not to worry… if you can’t find the customer service number you seek, simply visit: customerservicenumbers.com.

  Computer Manufacturers and Technical Support

  Acer 800-816-2237

  Apple 800-676-2775 (customer service)

  Apple 800-275-2273 (technical support)

  Dell 800-624-9897 (customer care)

  Dell 800-624-9896 (technical support)

  Hewlett Packard (HP) 800-474-6836

  IBM 800-426-7378

  Keytronics 800-262-6006 (ergonomic keyboards)

  Toshiba 800-457-7777

  Printer Manufacturers and Technical Support

  Brother International 800-276-7746

  Canon 800-848-4123

  Epson 562-276-7202

  Hewlett Packard (HP) 800-474-6836

  Online Services

  America Online (AOL) 800-227-6364

  AT&T 800-967-5363

  EarthLink 800-395-8425

  Gmail 650-253-0000

  Hotmail 650-964-7400

  Microsoft Network 800-426-9400

  Yahoo 408-349-3300

  Software Manufacturers and Technical Support

  Word-processing Suites

  Microsoft 800-426-9400

  Financial Management Software

  Microsoft Money 800-426-9400

  Peachtree 800-247-3224

  Quicken—Intuit 800-446-8848

  Virus Protection Software

  McAfee 972-963-8000

  Symantec—Norton Anti-Virus 800-441-7234

  Mail-Order Houses

  Dell 800-999-3355

  MacWarehouse 800-255-6227

  Mac Zone 800-248-0800

  PC and Mac Connection 800-800-0005

  Zones 800-258-8088

  APPENDICES

  Over 200 Recommended Websites

  * * *

  (If I have included www., it means that website still requires the prefix.)

  Antiques

  antiquesroadshow.com

  goantiques.com

  icollector.com

  Auction

  biddingforgood.com

  ebay.com

  ubid.com

  liveauctioneers.com

  Blogs

  blogger.com

  blogsearch.google.com

  boingboing.net

  drudgereport.com

  huffingtonpost.com

  livejournal.com

  pogue.blogs.nytimes.com

  technorati.com/blogs/top100

  Cars

  autobytel.com

  cars.com

  invoicedealers.com

  kbb.com

  nada.com

  nhtsa.gov

  Classifieds

  classifiedads.com

  craigslist.com

  skepter.com

  Community

  facebook.com

  foursquare.com

  linkedin.com

  twitter.com

  Dating

  gay.com

  jdate.com

  match.com

  nerve.com

  seniorfriendfinder.com

  E-mail (free)

  aol.com

  gmail.com

  hotmail.com

  yahoo.com

  Entertainment

  blockbuster.com

  fandango.com

  goodreads.com

  imdb.com

  metacritic.com

  moviefone.com

  netflix.com

  playbill.com

  Family

  ancestry.com

  brainpop.com

  family.com

  fastweb.com

  grandparents.com

  mamamedia.com

  parenting.ivillage.com

  yucky.com

  Finance

  ameritrade.com

  bankrate.com

  bloomberg.com

  irs.gov

  lowermybills.com

  mint.com

  morningstar.com

  worldbank.org

  Find Someone

  123people.com

  people.yahoo.com

  pipl.com

  reversephonedirectory.com

  switchboard.com

  whitepages.com

  Food

  americastestkitchen.com

  cooking.com

  cyberdiet.com

  epicurious.com

  foodnetwork.com

  gastronomer.com

  menupages.com

  stilltasty.com

  topsecretrecipes.com

  whfoods.com

  yelp.com

  Fun(ny)

  howstuffworks.com

  ajokeaday.com

  pogo.com

  secondlife.com

  stumbleupon.com

  theonion.com

  youtube.com

  Good Deeds

  globalvolunteers.org

  heifer.org

  thehungersite.com

  kiva.org

  literacyvolunteers.org

  makeitrightnola.org

  mowaa.org

  thegreatestsilence.org

  unitedplanet.org

  Greeting Cards (free)

  123greetings.com

  egreetings.com

  evite.com

  Grocery Shopping

  freshdirect.com

  netgrocer.com

  peapod.com

  shaws.com

  stewleonards.com

  Health

  clinicaltrials.gov

  healthfinder.gov

  mayoclinic.com

  medscape.com

  nlm.nih.gov

  quackwatch.com

  realage.com

  webmd.com

  History

  ellisislandrecords.org

  fold3.com

  historynet.com

  Household

  foodfunandfacts.com

  householdtips.org

  replacements.com

  setyourtable.com

  toiletology.com

  Magazines

  bhg.com

  ew.com

  life.com

  newyorker.com

  people.com

  tvguide.com

  wired.com

  News

  abcnews.com

  bbc.co.uk

  cbsnews.com

  cnn.com

  msnbc.com

  npr.org

  nytimes.com

  thepaperboy.com

  usatoday.com

  weather.com

  wsj.com

  Photo

  flickr.com

  kodakgallery.com

  shutterfly.com

  picasa.com

  Research

  annualcreditreport.com

  britannica.com

  eoearth.org

  legaldocs.com

  m-w.com

  oxforddictionaries.com

  refdesk.com

  rhymezone.com

  snopes.com

  usps.gov

  webopedia.com

  wikipedia.org

  Science

  exploratorium.edu

  nationalgeographic.com

  popsci.com

  sciam.com

  Search Engines

  ask.com

  bing.com

  dogpile.com

  duckduckgo.com

  google.com

  pandia.com

  webcrawler.com

  yahoo.com

  Seniors

  aarp.org

  roadscholar.org

  grandmabetty.com

  nsclc.org

  seniorplanet.org

  seniors.gov

  ssa.gov

  thirdage.com

  Shopping

  bargainshare.com

  bbbonline.org

  consumerreports.org

  couponcabin.com

  freecycle.org (free)
<
br />   groupon.com

  mysimon.com

  pricegrabber.com

  safeshopping.org

  shopzilla.com

  sothebys.com

  thecouponclippers.com

  ftc.gov

  Sports

  espn.com

  golf.com

  si.com

  sportingnews.com

  usfigureskating.org

  takemefishing.org

  Travel

  amtrak.com

  expedia.com

  flightarrivals.com

  flights.com

  fodors.com

  frommers.com

  kayak.com

  hotels.com

  lonelyplanet.com

  mapquest.com

  roadfood.com

  skyauction.com

  travelocity.com

  tripadvisor.com

  tripspot.com

  Glossary

  3G or 4G cellular network signals that allow data to be sent to smartphones, e-readers, tablets, and other devices

  Android an operating system for smartphones and tablets

  antivirus program software that helps detect and destroy viruses

  Apple the company that makes Mac, or Macintosh computers, which run on a different operating system than PCs. They also produce the iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

  application (application software, app) computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. The word app is most often used in reference to smartphones and tablets.

  arrow keys keys on the keyboard that allow you to move the cursor around the screen

  attachment a file sent along with an e-mail

  bits per second (bps) measurement of a modem’s data-transmission speed

  blog (web log) a regularly updated website where an author and/or contributors share ideas and opinions

  Bluetooth a short-range radio technology between communication devices and between devices and the Internet

  bookmark a website address saved to be revisited (also referred to as “favorite”)

  boot up to turn on the computer

  broadband high-speed communication network that allows for multiple transmissions simultaneously

  browser a software program (such as Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Internet Explorer) that allows your computer to communicate with the World Wide Web

  bug an error or defect in software or hardware that usually results in the computer not working properly

  byte a measurement of space. A byte equals a single alphabetic or numeric character.

  caps lock key a key on the keyboard that allows you to type in upper case without holding down the shift key. It is deactivated by depressing and releasing the key again.

  CD-R functions like a CD-ROM, but you can also copy information from your computer onto it

  CD-ROM (compact disc, read-only memory) a type of disk that holds files or software that can be transferred onto your computer

  CD-RW (compact disc re-writable) a blank CD that is used to copy information to/from your computer

  central processing unit (CPU) the part of the computer that serves as the pathway for all information

  chat room place on the Internet where people communicate live by sending typed messages back and forth

  click depressing and releasing the mouse button to initiate an action onscreen

  click and drag an action taken with the mouse to move items on the screen, such as a file or an icon

  close box the box in your title bar where you click to close a window

  cloud cloud computing refers to programs and services offered over the Internet, including online storage and backup services

  collapse box the box in a title bar where you click to shrink a window

  computer case the part of the computer that houses the CPU, hard drive, RAM, modem, and disk drives

  copy an editing tool that allows you to duplicate text and place it elsewhere in a document

  crashing when an error occurs and an application or the whole computer unintentionally shuts down

  cut an editing tool that allows you to remove text from a document

  cyberspace a figurative reference to the intangible world of the Internet, such as the World Wide Web and e-mail

  D: drive (or E: drive) a part of the computer where you insert a CD or DVD to read, listen to, view, or install its contents (see disk drive)

  desktop (1) a non-laptop computer; (2) the name for the main screen display on the computer (whether it is a laptop or a desktop)

  digital certificate an attachment to an electronic message used for security purposes

  disk drive a part of the computer that reads information or software from a disk

  domain name a person’s or organization’s chosen website name, including the suffix that identifies the type of website (for example: www.whitehouse.gov)

  double-click quickly depressing and releasing the mouse button twice on an icon or text to take an action, such as to open a document or a software program

  download transfer data or files from one location to another (for example, from a website to your computer)

  dpi (dots per inch) refers to the resolution of an image. The more dpi, the more detailed the image.

  drag see click and drag

  Droid a smartphone that uses the Android operating system

  DVD (digital versatile disc) a disk that holds 26 times the data of a CD; most commonly used to view movies

  e-mail (electronic mail) to send or receive typed messages via the Internet

  e-mail address a person’s or organization’s address where they receive e-mail (for example, abby@abbyandme.com)

  emoticon a playful use of keyboard characters and symbols to represent emotional responses (also referred to as smileys), usually used in e-mail or in chat rooms (for example, >: -(means angry)

  encryption a secret code added to data for data security

  Enter or Return key a keyboard feature that performs actions; also can be used like a return key on a typewriter when typing a document or e-mail

  e-reader a device used for reading electronic books

  error message a message from the software indicating that an error has occurred. Sometimes a code or number is given in the message so a technician can identify the problem.

  Ethernet port used to connect a computer to a DSL or cable modem as well as another computer or a local area network

  external modem a modem that is housed separately from the computer case and is connected by a cable

  Facebook a social networking website where you and your “friends” can view whatever ideas, photos, or links to websites you each choose to share

  favorite see bookmark

  file a collection of information stored in one named grouping. There are many different kinds of files (for example, data files, text files, image files).

  firewall a security measure that can be turned on to protect a computer from unauthorized users

  floppy disk a precursor to CD-ROMs and CD-RWs; a disk that either holds information to be installed on the computer or that you can use to copy and store information from your computer. Floppy disks are not commonly used anymore.

  font a style of type

  forum an online discussion site where people can read posts from others—often concerning a particular topic—and respond with their own posts

  freezing when the mouse and keyboard become temporarily inoperative

  function keys a set of keys on the keyboard, rarely used nowadays, that carry out special commands

  gigabyte (GB) a measurement of computer hard-drive space; roughly 1,000 megabytes

  hacker a highly skilled computer user who gains entry to information on computers not intended for them by “cracking” the programming codes

  hard boot to shut down the computer when it is frozen, either by switching it off or by cutting off the electrical supply

  hard drive (C: drive) a place in the computer where information is permane
ntly stored

  hardware the physical pieces of a computer (i.e., monitor, mouse, keyboard, computer case)

  hashtag (#) the symbol that is used directly before relevant keywords in a tweet. Hashtags help categorize tweets so they show up more easily in Twitter Searches.

  hertz a measurement of computer processor speed

  home page the first page of any website on the Internet

  hotspot a location providing public wireless connection to the Internet

  http (hypertext transfer protocol) a prefix to a website address (which no longer needs to be typed in) that helps direct your browser software to the website

  I-beam one of the many faces of the mouse; a cursor that fits between the characters of text to allow you to make changes

  icon a small picture or image seen on the screen that represents a software program, a document, or a command

  information superhighway a reference to the seemingly limitless information of the World Wide Web

  installing a process where the computer reads and stores software onto the hard drive

  instant messaging (IM) a real-time communication with an individual on the Internet that allows faster transmission than an e-mail and is often briefer in content

  internal modem a modem that is housed inside the computer case

  Internet a huge worldwide, evergrowing system of computers linked by telecommunications networks that share data

  ISP (Internet service provider) a company that provides access to the Internet

  keyboard used to type information into the computer

  Kindle a portable e-reader designed and sold by amazon.com that allows you to download and read digital books, newspapers, magazines, and other electronic publications

  laptop a portable non-desktop computer that combines the drives, keyboard, mouse, and monitor into one much smaller unit

  link a website feature that allows you to click on text and be transferred to another page with information on the subject indicated

  LinkedIn a social networking site for professionals. It is used to network and list or find jobs.

  login name a unique name chosen by a user to identify him- or herself while on the Internet

  login password private set of letters or numbers used to confirm the identity of the computer user

  log off disconnecting from the Internet (also referred to as signing off)

  log on connecting to the Internet (also referred to as signing on)

  Mac or Macintosh see Apple

  maximize box the box on a PC title bar that allows you to increase the size of a window

  megabyte (MB) a measurement of computer space

  megahertz (MHz) a measurement of computer processor speed

  menu bar the bar that appears below the title bar in a window and offers menus of different commands

  message board see forum

  minimize box the box on a PC title bar that allows you to shrink a window

 

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