DR. MAC'S COMPUTER CLINIC
IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE
For those concerned about animals and the ethics of clinical trials :
All medications prescribed by Dr. Mac HAVE been tested on live computers !
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Forums
Welcome
DR. MAC'S COMPUTER CLINIC NO.1
Hallo and greetings! I'm your new PC Doctor! My name is Ian Mac Donald. I'm a
Registered Naturopathic Physician qualified in Osteopathy, Naturopathy, and
Homeopathic Medicine. During office hours, I look after humans. But after-hours
I enjoy looking after computers .... and the humans who use them!
I will be holding regular Computer Clinics on "I Don't Feel 50" (IDF50)
These Clinics will assist you to get more value and enjoyment from your computer, your
internet surfing, and from your e-mails.
The HEALTH WARNING announcement in the last issue, gave you a good idea of the range of
help and information we will be looking at. If you missed the announcement, you can
read it by clicking HERE
Compatibility with Windows
The internet and e-mail clinics should work with ALL versions of Windows using Internet
Explorer and Outlook Express 5 and 6. All of the PC tips, tricks and programs should work with
Windows 95, 98, 98SE, NT. Most should also work with Windows ME and XP. Any differences for Windows XP will be covered separately.
Since 90% of internet surfers use Internet Explorer as their web-browser,
and Outlook Express as their e-mail program, the Clinics and "medication"
will be geared towards these programs.
More Clinic Plans
We plan to have links to previous Clinics in every new issue, so when we refer to a
technique or program that you may have missed, you will be able to find that information
or that program easily.
If you are an experienced computer boffin, some of the content will be "old hat" to you.
But please remember, at one time you also had to learn the basics! (And it's never a bad
idea to revisit the basics in any case!)
SO .... LET'S GET STARTED !
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UPDATE YOUR BROWSER
AND E-MAIL PROGRAM |
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In order to get the most out of your internet surfing and e-mail, you need to have an
up-to-date Internet Explorer browser. When you update Internet Explorer, you will
automatically update your Outlook Express e-mail program as well.
Apart from the actual browser being updated, I.E. also updates some Windows files
as well - so updating your browser ALSO helps to update your computer.
What we want to do is to update Internet Explorer to Version 5.x or 6.x (The "x" stands
for a number - so 5.x could stand for 5.01, 5.5. etc)
What version do you have right now ?
To find out, open up Internet Explorer.
Now, at the very top you will see the tool-bar commands "File" "Edit" etc.
Click on the last command "Help" and then click on "About Internet Explorer"
This is what it looks like :
Another box will now pop up. Take a close look at the version number :
As you can see, this is Version 5.50. Great! No update necessary unless you prefer to upgrade to version 6.0.
But if you see Version 4.x (or .... from Noah's Ark ... Version 3 !) then you really
should update.
Where can I get the updates ?
One way to do this is to go to your local newsagent and take a look at all
the computer magazines. Many of them will have a CD disk on the cover
(that is why they are called "Cover Disks") Please make quite sure
that the cover disk does include Internet Explorer. All computer magazines
have a "Your Cover Disk" page which lists all the programs they have on their CD.
No need to buy an expensive magazine ... many of the "Home Computer" magazines cost
no more than £2.99 and they are the ones that are more likely to include an up-to-date
Internet Explorer.
Download Internet Explorer
You can also download Internet Explorer from the Microsoft Web site. But, be warned - the download is large and can take a long time if you are not connected via broadband!
If you still want to go ahead, connect to the internet and then click this link :
www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/
When you get to the Internet Explorer web page, click on the  button
Installing Internet Explorer
IMPORTANT - anti-virus software can interfere with installation. Before installing
Internet Explorer (and this rule goes for virtually every other program you install)
please temporarily DISABLE any anti-virus program that may be running.
The CD (or downloaded file) will guide you through the installation process. When
asked what sort of installation you want (the choices are Typical, Minimum or Custom)
it's usually best to select "TYPICAL"
Please note : You will NOT loose any of your previous settings nor your e-mails.
All will still be there after the upgrade. Also, there is no need to UN-install your
"old" Internet Explorer first. Simply install the new program OVER the old one.
Great ! Now you have an updated browser and e-mail client, with all their improvements and enhancements. In future Clinics, we will be looking at many ways to enjoy these programs and
get the most mileage out of them.
Dr. Mac's Computer Clinic
LIBRARY
All the
Computer Clinics that have appeared on the idf50 web-site
are HERE
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HEALTH WARNING
Outdated programmes and lack of "know-how" can seriously affect the health of your PC including your internet and e-mail enjoyment
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