This site is primarily for my Charlotte County, Florida, customers &
friends and compliments the training and repairing I do. I make house
calls in the Port Charlotte area and I try to help on the phone as much
as I can. My pricing is very
reasonable and I do not purposely try to undercut anybody. I just really
enjoy helping others have a better computing experience and do not see
the need to charge 'an arm and a leg' for my time. I also have very
little overhead costs and this business is not my sole 'bread and
butter'.
I thought this would be a good place to post my tips, hints, techniques,
suggestions, or whatever you wanna call 'em, because you probably
forgot all I told you during our visit together!!
There are many great websites with terrific
computing advice. I will not duplicate these, but will link to some from
time to time. While I may not be able to answer all your questions, I
hope to at least point you in the right direction.
Training
I conduct computer-related classes at
Faith Preparatory School.
There is a computer classroom with 10 Windows' PCs. Wi-fi is
available if you wish to bring your laptop, tablet or smartphone.
Classes are normally held Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, 2:30pm
to 3:30pm. $10.00 per person, per class. What a deal!!
Classes are often repeated throughout the year, so, if you miss a class,
there's a good chance you can catch it the next time around. You pick
and choose which classes to attend, as often as you wish! I do not
provide notes or handouts, as any of this information is freely
available on the Internet. Send me an e-mail to get on my e-mail
class schedule (published every other month).
Below is a sampling of the topics I can help you with (other topics are available
upon request!):
- Amazon.com
- What is Amazon.com?
- Is it safe?
- Creating an Amazon account.
- What services does Amazon offer?
(Prime, Music, Movies, TV shows, Books, Alexa, etc.)
- Applications (Apps)
- What are apps?
- Where to get apps?
(Mobile: Google Play; Amazon Appstore for Android; Apple iTunes)
(Desktop: Windows Store; Mac AppStore)
(Web: within browser)
- Free or paid?
- 3 main types: desktop, mobile, web.
(Adobe Photoshop - desktop; Adobe Photoshop Sketch - mobile; Adobe Photoshop Express Editor - web). (MS Word another example) (Gmail only mobile and web).
- Installing and uninstalling.
- Browser Basics
- Learn short history of the Internet
- Definition of "browser"
- Browser versions
(i.e., Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera, Microsoft Internet Explorer & Edge)
- Differences and similarities between web addresses and email addresses
- Search engine versions
(Google, Yahoo, Ask, Dogpile, etc.)
- Search basics
- Buying A New PC/Phone/Tablet
- Desktop vs. Laptop vs. Notebook vs. Netbook
- Android vs. Apple vs. Windows
- How much should I spend?
- Does it matter which brand name I buy?
- What do all those giga and mega numbers mean?
- What basically do I look for when shopping for a new device, without being overwhelmed with the geeky terminology?
- "Cloud" Services
- "The Cloud" explained
- Cloud computing
- Cloud storage
- Pros and cons
- Is the Cloud necessary?
- How to use the Cloud?
- How much does it cost?
- Comparing Different Computing Devices
- PC vs. Laptop vs. Netbook vs. Tablet vs. Smartphone
- Download Speeds
- What is "download speed" and "upload speed"?
- Why do these speeds matter?
- What is "bandwidth" and why does it matter?
- How to check my Internet speed to see if I'm getting the speed I'm paying for?
- How do the ISPs differ in their technology? i.e., cable vs. DSL vs. satellite vs. dial-up
- Who are the main/popular ISPs in this area?
- Getting the best deal from my ISP (Internet Service Provider)
- eBay - Buying and Selling
- What is eBay used for?
- How to create an eBay account?
- Is it safe?
- Can sellers be trusted?
- Checking seller ratings and reviews.
- Buying on eBay.
- Selling on eBay.
- Email Basics
- Desktop/software email vs. webmail
- Review popular software email programs
(i.e., Outlook Express, Outlook, Windows Live Mail, Thunderbird, AOL)
- Revview popular webmail
(i.e., Gmail, Outlook (including Hotmail, Live and MSN), Yahoo, CenturyLink, Comcast)
- Common features of all email programs
- Setting up email
- Explain format of email addresses
- How to add and download email attachments?
- Where are contacts/addresses?
- Facebook Basics
- What is Facebook?
- How to create a Facebook account?
- Define: Comment, Like, Share, Upload, Post, Tag, News Feed, Notification, Status Update
- What are Friends for?
- Adjusting privacy settings
- Review the Homepage and Timeline
- Following people and groups
- Creating events
- How To Search On The Internet
- "Search engine" defined
- Different Search websites
(Google, Bing, Yahoo, Dogpile, Ask, etc.)
- How to search for information on the Internet?
- How To Setup A Home Network
- Cat5/6 cable
- Ethernet
- Modem
- Router
- Switch
- Hub
- DSL vs. Cable
- Wired vs. Wireless
- How To Setup A Website
- What is a "domain name" and how to obtain one?
(Registrar, "WhoIs.com")
- What is a "web host" and how to obtain
one?
- Costs involved
- Importance of maintaining ownership of
your domain name and web site if hiring web developer
- Creating customized e-mail addresses
to "brand" your website
- Programs used to create web sites
- On-line 'web editors'
- What is HTML?
- Uploading edited web files and on-line
editing
- Using keywords to place higher in
search engines
- How To Tell If I'm Getting Best Deal From My ISP (Internet Service Provider)
- Comcast vs. Centurylink vs. Verizon vs. Satellite vs. Net-Zero, etc.
- How To Use OpenOffice
- What is OpenOffice?
- How does OpenOffice compare to
Microsoft Office?
- What is LibreOffice?
- Advantages of using free open-source
software
- What to be aware of when sharing
OpenOffice files with others
- Organizing Photos Tips
- Photo files & types explained
- Where are photos filed?
- How are photos "organized" in a computer, phone or tablet?
- Renaming photo files
- Photo editing apps & programs
- Photo organizing apps & programs
- How to move/copy photos between devices?
- Passwords
- What makes a "good" password?
- Dangers of using one password for all your accounts
- How to create a strong password?
- How often should you change passwords?
- How to keep track of multiple passwords?
- How to change your password in various accounts
(email, bank, Facebook, etc.)?
- "Printer Offline"
- Why does this happen to my printer?
- Steps to get printer back 'online'
- Clearing print queue
- Removing printer
- Adding printer again
- Test prints
- Uninstalling printer software and
drivers and reinstalling
- Scams and ID Theft
- Identity theft defined
- "Scam" defined
- Ways your identity can be stolen
- Some common schemes and scams
- Beware phone calls from "Microsoft" or other "techs"
- What is "keylogging"?
- Warning signs of scams
- How to protect self from identity theft and scams?
- Senior citizens more vulnerable
- Shortcuts and File Management
- Short history of Windows Operating Systems
- OS (Operating Systems) Versions
- Desktop defined
- Shortcuts defind and how to create
- Folder & file management
- Smartphone Basics
- "Smartphone" defined
- Android vs. Apple vs. Windows Operating Systems
- Manufacturers of different smartphones
- Difference between "smartphone" and "dumbphone"
- Discuss different models
- Spreadsheet Basics
- Spreadsheet versions (MS Excel, OpenOffice Calc, Lotus123)
- Parts of a basic spreadsheet.
(Cells, row numbers, column letters)
- Entering data into cells.
(Text, numbers, graphics, formulas)
- Sorting data
- Adding/deleting rows and columns
- Worksheets vs. workbooks
- Preparing a budget in a spreadsheet
- Tablet Basics
- iPad tablet, Android tablet and Windows tablet explained
- Buttons and ports
- Sleep mode vs. powering off
- Charging your tablet
- Apple ID & Google ID
- Screen protection
- What is iOS? Android?
- Latest iOS and Android versions and how to upgrade
- How to navigate your tablet?
- How to setup Wi-Fi?
- What is a "data connection"?
- Accessing the Internet (hint: browser); email; contacts
- Adding or deleting "apps"
- Taking and emailing pictures
- What Are All Those Pieces and Parts In My Computer
- CPU (Central Processing Unit)
- RAM (Random Access Memory)
- HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
- Moboard (Motherboard)
- PSU (Power Supply Unit)
- CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor)battery
- Fans
- SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment or Serial ATA)
- IDE (Integrated Device Electronics)
- CD/DVD Drive (Compact Disc/Digital Versatile (or Video) Disc)
- What Are File Extensions and How Do They Know What Program To Open
- How do they relate to email attachments?
- pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .txt, .dat, .jpg, .bmp, .gif, etc.
- What Programs To Use For Typing Letters
- MS (Microsoft) Word
- OpenOffice Writer
- MS Notepad
- MS Wordpad
- MS Works
- Corel Wordperfect
- Why Is My Computer Running Slow and How To Speed It Up
- Cleaning Files
- Avoiding and Scanning for Infections
- MSCONFIG (Microsoft System Configuration utility)
- Startup Items
- Adding RAM (Random Access Memory)
- Windows 10
- How does Win10 differ from other Windows versions?
- How is it similar to other Windows versions?