Car Computers

You may have heard people say that “computers are all around us.”  Hopefully you’re not too paranoid about that, especially since it is true to a certain extent.  For example, you probably drove to work today with the assistance of a little “computer” inside your engine.  Today’s Technology Tip is about the little computer in your car that keeps it running.  More importantly it's about how to handle those annoying “Check Engine Soon” lights on your dash board.
Depending on the age, make and model of your vehicle you probably have more than one computer in it
Controlling the engine is the ECU, which stands for Engine Control Unit.  This one is usually the most expensive one to replace and it is designed to control the engine so you can get optimum performance and efficiency out of it.  Generally speaking, the newer your car the more complex the ECU is.  Compared to your desktop computer however it’s pretty primitive.  For example, your car’s ECU probably has less than 1 MB of memory compared to the several Gigabytes most new desktop computers come with.  But that’s enough to run your engine efficiently since the software is so much simpler.  For more information about your car’s computer check out this site: http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-computer1.htm
For most of us, the most annoying thing your car’s computer ever does is light up that “Check Engine Soon” light on the dashboard.  The ECU in your car includes software called OBD which stands for On Board Diagnostics.  This software constantly monitors your engine for trouble signs or inefficiencies. When sensors detect problems the “Check Engine Light” appears on your dashboard.   Because engines that run inefficiently pollute more, OBD software was mandated on all cars built from 1987 on.  Just for reference the original OBD software was upgraded in 1996 and is now calledOBD II.  For more information about OBD software check out this link: http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/may2004/mech.cfm
Now for the really important question, how do you get the “Check Engine Light” off?  The light might turn on for any or a number of reasons.  Even though the technology is there for your new car to verbally tell you what’s bothering it, you still probably have to take it to a dealership or mechanic so they can plug it into a special OBD reader and check what “error code” is causing the light to come on.  This “diagnostic test” usually costs $50-$100 and is about as complicated a task as making toast.  But since you don’t have the equipment at home, and your car won’t just tell you what’s wrong with it, you’re stuck paying for the diagnostic.
Well actually here’s another option.  Many autoparts stores have the OBD readers on site and they will do the diagnostic test for you for free (AutoZone is one such store for example).  They can’t clear the code (get the light to turn off) but they can tell you what the problem is (in hopes you’ll buy a replacement part from them).

Outlining in Word

Making an outline is one of those skills everyone learns in school.  Even though the outline to the right is in Italian the layout probably looks familiar: Topic, Item, Item Descriptions then a new Item or new Topic and on and one it goes. But how do you make an outline like this in Microsoft Word?  Here is some advice to help you make the outline of your dreams. 

In this example we'll be using the 2003 version of Microsoft Word.  Other versions may behave differently. For example, you will find this process is much easier in Word 2010 using the Outline View.

1)  Open up Word and start by typing your main topic with a capitol "I." in front of it.  In this example we'll be using roman numerals for the main topic, capital letters for the subtopic, numbers for the details, and lower case letters for the sub-details.

2)  When you press the Enter button at the end of your main topic Word will recognize that you are making an outline and automatically give you a roman number "II." at the start of the next line, like this:

To turn the lower case "a." into an upper case "A." go to "Format" on the menu bar and look for "Bullets and Numbering"

Look in the window that appears for the capitol letters you want for your subtopic and click on them.  By using the tab key and this "Bullets and Numbering" window you should be able to get every line of your outline to look exactly the way you want it to.

You might want to consider checking out the other outline numbering formats that are available in Word.  To do that click on the "Outline Numbering" tab and look for the format you want:

Closing multiple windows

Here is how to close multiple windows at once:

Hold the CTRL key down and click on each of the tabs in the Task Bar (at the bottom of the screen) that you want to close.  Then right click on one of the selected tabs and select "Minimize Group" from the menu that appears:

You might want to try the other options on this menu just to see what they do also (Cascade, Tile Horizontally, Tile Vertically).  Selecting "Close Group" will close all the windows you have selected.  As you get used to using the computer you inevitably get used to having more and more windows open at once.  This little trick can help you manage them more efficiently.

Symbols

When making a word document your sometimes have to use a symbol that isn't included in the keyboard such as these.

You'll never find these symbols on your keyboard.  So how do you get them into your next Microsoft Word document? 1)  Go to the spot on your page where you want the symbol to appear 2)      Go to “Insert” on the menu bar and select “Symbol” from the menu 3)      Select the symbol you want from the list and click on it and then click “Insert”  You can insert symbols into Outlook emails, PowerPoints and Publisher files the same way.

Editing

When working on a word document on any school or work related assignment, everyone is bound to make a mistake sooner or later. Nobody's perfect. This is why it is important to know how to edit a document properly. Here's how:

OPTION #1:  On the menu bar select “Edit” and then “Undo.”  This willeliminate the last action you took in the program.  For example, if you just typed the wrong word “Edit” & “Undo” will make the word go away.
OPTION #2:  On the tool bar you can use this button to undo something you just did:   
If you decide that you want the mistake back you can use this button to bring it back:  
OPTION #3:  There's also a keyboard shortcut to undo something you just did.  Try using CTRL + Z to undo and CTRL + Y to bring something back that you undid.
If you just made lots of mistakes and want to go back and eliminate a lot of them try clicking the triangle next to the undo button to see a list of the most recent actions you have taken.

Adding links

Here are some steps to help you when dealing with links and hyperlinks:

How to email hyperlink:

1)      All web pages have an address.  You can find the address in the “address bar” of Internet Explorer.  For example, here is the address for WWOZ which is a Jazz radio station in New Orleans:

2)      To get the address for this radio station into an email all I have to do is copy and paste it.  RIGHT click on the address you want to copy and select "copy" from the list that appears:

3)      Open up a new email, type your message and then paste the web address where ever you want to place it.  You can paste it by either RIGHT clicking and then choosing “paste” from the list that appears or you could go to the edit menu and select “paste” from the menu or you could press the CTRL key and the letter “v” to paste.  When you paste the address in, your cursor will appear at the end of the web address.  Either press the “Space Bar” or press “Enter” and the address will automatically turn blue and become underlined.  Congratulations, you have made a hyperlink.  See sample below:

How to change the wording of the hyperlink:
If you want to get fancy here’s how you can change the wording of a hyperlink
1)      First copy and paste the hyperlink into your email and press the “Space Bar” or “Return” so it turns into a hyperlink (blue and underlined).
2)      Next, RIGHT click on the hyperlink and choose “Edit Hyperlink” from the menu that appears:

3)      In the next window that appears change the “Text to be displayed” to what ever you’d like to have displayed as a hyperlink:

Change to:  
4)      Click “OK” and the text of your hyperlink should now have changed

Online Ads

It used to be in the old days that people checked their new classified ads in the newspaper in order to find the stuff they needed. Be it a car, furniture, or a part-time summer job, the classified ads were a convenient place to go. Now, however, with the rise of technology, the internet has provided a few key alternatives to this age.

Craigslist.org - This site was founded by Craig Newmark and is based out of San Francisco but has sites all around the world.  Jim Buckmaster is the current CEO of Craigslist and helped develop the sites peculiar philosophy.  Along with thousands of classified ads it has several discussion groups.  Check out their factsheet for more information.  You might even have something you'd like to post.  All postings are completely free, you just have to log on with an email address and follow their rules.

Realtor.com - There are lots of real estate listing sources out there and this is currently the most popular one in the U.S., but there are several others.  Need a house? Just want to check out the local market?  Search for Multiple Listing Service properties online.

Zillow.com - Here's another real estate source.  If you're wondering how much your house is worth, Zillow just might have the answer for you.  This site combines all kinds of publically available resources including satellite maps to give you a pretty good overview of a neighborhood.

Cars.com - Looking for a new or used car,  there are several sites out there that can help you.  This particular site has lots more to offer than just a list of cars for sale.  Don't stop here though, there are lots of other car sites to check out too.

Monster.com - One of many jobs websites that are on the internet.  This new way to look for employment was initially only popular among techies but jobs in all fields are being listed online now.

Patch.com - Created by Tim Armstrong, Warren Webster and John Brod in 2007 this website, which is currently owned by AOL, is a popular local news platform. As of September 2013 they had over 1000 local and hyperlocal news websites. It's a handy resource for finding local events and activities as well as local news.

Your Local Paper - Yes, they can be a good online resource for your classified needs.  Don't forget to check out the online versions of your local newspapers to see what they have to offer too.