Tuesday, January 21, 2014
How to Connect a Wireless Mouse and Keyboard
A wireless keyboard and mouse set give you more freedom of motion without the binding of wires on your two primary computer input devices. Eliminating the wired connections of your keyboard and mouse gets rid of desktop clutter by reducing the number of wires used to connect your input devices to your computer and gives you more flexibility with how you set up your workspace. The initial setup of your wireless peripherals takes a few minutes, but after you have the keyboard and mouse installed, the wireless devices can be used just as any other
Things You'll Need
- Installation CD
- Screwdriver
- AA batteries
Instructions
- 1Insert the installation CD that came with your wireless keyboard and mouse set into your computer's CD-ROM drive. Use the CD to install the drivers for the wireless peripherals.
- 2Insert batteries into the keyboard and mouse. Use a screwdriver to remove any screws that hold the battery bay covers closed.
- 3Connect the wireless signal receiver to your computer. Receivers for wireless keyboard and mouse sets usually use a USB connector. Your computer will automatically detect the receiver.
- 4Turn on your keyboard and mouse if the devices have power buttons. Press the “Sync,” “Connect” or “Pair” buttons on the keyboard and mouse, depending on your model. If present, press the “Connect” button on the wireless signal receiver as well. Your wireless keyboard and mouse set is now connected.
- 1
Tips & Warnings
- Always keep a spare set of batteries ready to use in case the batteries in your devices wear out. This prevents you from losing your keyboard or mouse connectivity.
- In rare cases, other devices that use a wireless signal, such as a cellular phone, can interfere with your wireless keyboard and mouse. Keep other electronic devices away from your keyboard and mouse set's wireless signal receiver.
Let the Computer Teach Your Kid to Read
Reading is a fundamental skill that most children develop early in life, but some children experience difficulties when trying to learn to read. Although books and learning techniques are designed to help children learn to read, not all of them capture a child's imagination and make him want to learn. Because of this, computer games, educational software and other entertaining computerized options may succeed where other reading tutors fail.
Reading Games
- Reading games are available as both online activities and standalone software. Websites such as PBSKids.org and the Nick Jr. Boost subscription area at NickJr.com provide preschoolers with reading and language-skills games based on popular characters from their respective networks. Software games such as those the "Reader Rabbit" series and "Bookworm" series found at the Software for Kids website teach reading and spelling to children from preschool age and up. Both types of games present reading activities in a manner that is fun for children, helping them to read while creating positive associations with the act of reading itself. Some of these games are designed for parents to play along with their children, while other games are self-guided so that children can play them alone. Many of the games have received official recognition from parents' and teachers' groups, such as the 150 awards won by the "Reader Rabbit" series and the WiredKids Safety "Best of the Web" award that PBSKids.org has won twice.
Educational Software
- Not all reading-related software comes in the form of games. Some reading software such as Starfall Education's "Learn to Read" series and Learning Today's Education Software Review Awards-winning "Smart Tutor" software provide reading practice and instruction for preschool and elementary-aged children. The lessons taught by educational software titles such as these are typically more focused than those found in games because the primary purpose of educational software is to teach rather than entertain. Depending on the format of the specific program, quizzes and other reading tests may be included in the software to help monitor the development of your child's reading skills.
Online Tutoring
- Some websites offer educational materials designed to help both children and adults with their reading. Preschool-focused websites such as Montessori Home's LearnToReadFree.com offer reading lessons and activities aimed at younger children, while all-ages websites such as K12Reader.com offer lessons, activities and worksheets designed by actual teachers to help elementary-aged and older students strengthen their existing reading skills. These online tutoring websites are often free, although the amount of content that they contain and the quality of that content varies greatly from one site to the next. The interactivity of games and other educational software is often missing from these websites. Those aimed at younger children tend to feature animations and basic interactive features to hold a child's attention.
Reading Videos
- Online reading videos range from read-along animated shorts to story time videos in which someone reads a book for the camera. Reading videos can be found on a number of streaming video websites such as the "Rock n' Learn" video series on YouTube.com, while commercially released reading videos can be found on subscription-based services such as the "Netflix for Kids" portion on Netflix and Amazon.com's Amazon Prime. Streaming episodes of long-time favorite shows such as the Daytime Emmy Award-winning "Reading Rainbow" can be watched online. As with some online tutoring websites, online video content offers no interaction to children, so it may not always be as effective as other educational software titles.
Away From Home: Control Your Computer Anywhere
In 1940, Bell Telephone Laboratories researcher George Stibitz demonstrated the Complex Number Calculator at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. The calculator, however, was in New York City. According to the Computer History Museum website, “Stibitz stunned the group” by remotely operating the calculator via telephone lines. Today, remotely accessing your devices isn't nearly so novel. With the built-in Remote Assistance application on your Windows machine, you can control who can access your computer and for how long.
Instructions
Remote Assistance Host
- 1Create an invitation from the host -- the computer you want to control remotely. Click “Start” and “Control Panel.” Type “Remote Settings” in the search bar and press “Enter.” Click “Allow Remote Access to Your Computer.” Ensure that there is a check in the box, and then click “Advanced.”
- 2Choose the length of time for the invitation to stay open, up to 30 days. Click “OK,” and then click “OK” again.
- 3Click “Start” and type “Remote Assistance,” and then press “Enter.”
- 4Click “Invite Someone You Trust to Help You.” Save the invitation as a file and attach it to an email if you use a Web-based client, or use Outlook to automatically attach it.
- 5Email the invitation to an account that you can access from your remote location. The attachment automates the connection process; if you don’t receive the email, you can't control the host computer.
- 6Change your host computer's hibernation and sleep settings, if applicable, via the Control Panel, in Hardware and Sound, under Power Options. If the host computer is hibernating or sleeping when the Remote Assistance request comes from the remote computer, you won’t be able to connect.
Remote Assistance Connection
- 7Launch your email program or website on the remote computer. Open the email you sent to yourself and the attachment with the invitation. Windows then will automatically launch its Remote Desktop Connection software.
- 8Connect to the host computer and perform your desired tasks. Enter your administrator password to allow changes to your system and to gain access through your computer’s firewall, if needed.
- 9Close the connection only when you've completed all desired tasks, as you won’t be able to reconnect without a new invitation from the host computer. Reconnect using the same process if you accidentally lose the connection on your end; if the connection is lost on the host end, you can't re-establish it.
- 1
Tips & Warnings
- Before you create a Remote Assistance invitation, you have the option to instead choose "Easy Connect," which allows you to bypass the email/attachment step and generate a unique password for remote access.
- Remote Assistance is already configured to pass through the Windows firewall. If you use a third-party firewall, you need to open TCP/IP port 3389 access to the computer you want to control. Consult the firewall manufacturer for specific instructions.
- If you have Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate running on your host computer, you can use another tool, Remote Desktop Connection, to control it remotely. However, this tool requires configuring your router.
- The Remote Assistance tool is designed to facilitate technical support help, and its functionality is limited. To transfer files remotely, for example, you need to connect with Remote Desktop Connection or a third-party connection tool, such as PC Anywhere from Symantec, GoToMyPC, Anyplace Control or RealVNC, which also allow you to log in and out of your home computer without an invitation.
- Having an open connection to your computer brings an increased risk of unauthorized access to your system. Minimize the risk by setting the smallest invitation window possible when creating the Remote Assistance invitation, and use Network Level Authentication, if possible.
- To check if you have the option, click “Start” on the remote computer and type “Remote Desktop.” Click “Remote Desktop Connection” and the icon in the upper left corner of the window, and then select “About.” If it says, “Network Level Authentication Supported,” it means that the remote computer must authenticate the identity of the user before the host computer will permit a login attempt.
Manage Your Music: Software to Make It Happen
Today’s music scene revolves around personal computers and mobile devices. Digital recording, software and the Internet have yielded new tools and opportunities for listeners and musicians alike. Though musical interests and needs vary, and the evolving nature of technology keeps changing the landscape, a few standout software titles satisfy the most demanding music fans.
Players and Playlists
- Software programs that serve as music jukeboxes have changed how we listen to music. With desktop music players, you create playlists -- groups of song titles organized according to your own tastes. Microsoft’s Windows Media Player, which comes standard with Windows 7, performs the basic tasks of playing music and building playlists. In addition, you can browse Internet radio stations with Windows Media Player and purchase music through online stores. Apple’s iTunes is a comprehensive player and music store rolled into a single program. Macintosh computers include iTunes software as part of the OSX operating system and Windows users can download iTunes free. ITunes accesses the iTunes Store, an Internet resource through which you can browse a vast library of songs for purchase. Windows Media Player and iTunes have the advantage of long-term development from their respective vendors. Although dozens of other music-player programs have similar features, they don't provide a comparable level of support.
Transcoding
- Digital music files come in an alphabet soup of formats including MP3, OGG and AAC. Each format stores the music data bits in a different way; this causes problems when your music player program encounters a format it does not recognize. Audio transcoding software translates between formats, allowing you to enjoy music files regardless of technical details. You can use a professional sound-editing program to transcode music, but special-purpose software is simpler to use and costs far less. Digital Music Software’s Audio Transcoder program converts dozens of music file types. Download a free 14-day trial of the program or purchase it for about $20. Audio Transcoder received a CNET rating of 4 1/2 stars out of 5 and carries a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Editing Tools
- Musicians use software-editing tools to create music from recorded sounds, remove noise and add effects. Avid offers several versions of Pro Tools, from the basic SE package suitable for casual users to the full-blown and comprehensive HD 10. Pro Tools' modular approach uses plugins to perform tasks that include sound synthesis, effects and noise reduction. Pro Tools supports Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OSX operating systems. The SE software comes as part of Avid’s Vocal Studio, KeyStudio and Recording Studio packages, which all start at about $100. The Pro Tools 10 program is $700; the high-end HD 10 software is an upgrade costing between $1,000 and $2,500.Audacity is open-source software offered as a free download. A cooperative of private software developers distribute it under the GNU public license. Audacity provides recording in up to 16 simultaneous tracks, has effects including echo, filtering and noise reduction and runs in Windows, Mac OSX and Linux environments. Though more limited than Pro Tools, Audacity is a solid program perfect for beginners.
Going Mobile
- You can take most desktop music software mobile by running it on your laptop, but don't overlook smartphones and tablet computers -- their capabilities improve every year. Built-in applications such as Google’s Music app for Android phones and Apple’s Music app for iPhone have basic features such as playing music and working with playlists.Pandora Media’s Pandora app, available free for iPhone, Android and Blackberry smartphones, tunes into Pandora’s Internet radio network. As you listen to music and provide feedback to the software, it determines your tastes in areas of musical keys, vocal styles and rhythmic patterns. The program surprises you by playing music by artists with whom you are unfamiliar.Other mobile music apps offer editing capabilities. NCH Software’s Pocket WavePad for Apple iOS devices records, mixes and edits digital music files. NCH Software offers Pocket WavePad as a free app. Pocket WavePad brings professional editing features to mobile devices; App Store customers rate it 3 1/2 stars out of 5.
As a busy traveler, you confront challenges daily. Flight schedules change. Traffic backs up, and you want to reassure your client you’ll be at the meeting. About that No. 5 on the foreign restaurant menu -- is that shellfish? Software programs developed for your PC can help in these situations. Not surprisingly, your brainy smartphone can do many of the same tricks.
Orbitz
- Find the best prices for airline flights, hotels and car rentals with Orbitz Worldwide Inc.’s Orbitz website. The site automatically updates for price changes as they become available. Orbitz supports both standard-sized Web browsers for PC and notebook computers and custom-formatted mobile sites for any Web-enabled phone, making Orbitz accessible for Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry users. In addition to the website, Orbitz produces apps for mobile devices running Android and iOS operating systems; these mobile apps are available as free downloads.
Microsoft Streets and Trips
- Microsoft’s Streets and Trips is an interactive PC-based trip-planning program. Streets and Trips includes a built-in map database, so an Internet connection is not necessary for trip planning, although the software occasionally downloads updates for construction and other route changes. The software includes estimated travel times, scenery and road types, so you can customize your experience for efficiency or pleasure. Streets and Trips costs $40; download a free 60-day trial from Microsoft’s website. An optional $70 version includes a GPS locater that plugs into your computer’s USB port. Streets and Trips runs only on Windows 7 and other recent Windows editions.
FlightTrack
- Mobiata’s FlightTrack mobile app displays flight information, updating in real time. The main display shows a map of the flight’s departure and destination points, its current location and estimated time of arrival. The software tracks international as well as domestic flights and sports a database of over 5,000 airports and 1,400 airlines. The app costs about $5 and is available for Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone 7 and iOS devices.
Babylon 9
- Babylon Ltd.’s Babylon 9 software translates text in 33 languages, including Russian, Chinese, Italian and Spanish. The translation screen has two text boxes, one for the user's native language and one for the resulting translation. Babylon 9 includes a dictionary for defining words and their grammatical uses. The software supports Windows 7 and Mac OSX. Babylon Ltd. sells the service as a subscription for $10 per month or $110 for a lifetime license. Babylon has free support via email, live chat and telephone. Access Babylon's Live Translation Community for more help with language issues. Babylon also offers free mobile apps for iPhone, Blackberry and Android smartphones.
Glympse
- The free Glympse mobile app by Glympse Inc. lets you notify others of your current location. You do this by sending your friend or colleague an email or text message containing a Web link. When your friend clicks on the link, she sees a real-time animated map showing where you are and your current speed. Your smartphone continually updates the main Glympse computer of your location. You can set a time limit on each Glympse message, after which it expires, so your location remains private at other times. Glympse is available for iOS devices, Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone 7.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)