Issue #6 May 7, 2002

1. Opening E-mail attachments

Sometimes we receive e-mail attachments that we are expecting and we can’t open the document by double- clicking on it in the e-mail (you should always immediately delete any e-mail with an attachment that you did not ask for, it can be a virus). This happens when our e-mail program does not know which application should be used to open the file. One easy way around this is to save the attachment to your hard drive by right clicking on the attachment icon and selecting Save As… Then start one of your usual applications and you can then open the saved file. This works because your applications automatically recognize different file formats and convert them. I have two people who use WordPerfect and who regularly send me files and I use this technique in order to open them in MS Word.

2. Moving a projector away from a laptop

When you are using a data projector and laptop to make a presentation, sometimes the laptop needs to be moved quite a way from the data projector due to the room setup. Most projector to laptop cables are about six feet in length, which doesn’t give you that much distance if you need it. I have now started carrying a VGA extension cable that is six feet long. This allows me to add an additional six feet of distance between my projector and laptop. The cable is available at most computer stores for usually under $10 and may just help you present your best in an important situation.

3. Useful Resource – www.whatis.com

In today’s high tech world, we hear so many technology terms that we feel we are supposed to know, but have no clue what they mean. I recently ran across a good web site for when this happens to me. The http://www.whatis.com web site lists definitions to over 3,000 terms and even has a “Word of the Day” feature where you can learn one new technology word each day. The next time one of these high tech words gets thrown at you, check out this site and you will know what is being said.