Upload Any File to Google Docs

Google Docs lets users freely store MSWord/Excel/PowerPoint-compatible files online. Well, mostly.

If you have, say, an Excel file, you can save it online as a Google Spreadsheet - if it's a relatively simple worksheet. If it's a complex file, it may or may not be understood by Google Docs. Furthermore, I've discovered that Google doesn't seem to care for MSWorks spreadsheets at all.

Now, however, you can upload an Excel file (or just about any other kind of file) to Google Docs directly. This is totally free online backing up of your important files.
    I should mention that you've been able to save Excel files (and others) online with Google all along by attaching them to a Gmail message. But being able to upload files directly represents a significant savings in time and effort.

    To establish a Google Docs account go to: docs.google.com.
Blocking Unwanted Mail in Outlook Express

Donna Davenport asked how to block an individual who sends mail to her Outlook Express account. Click on Tools>Message Rules>Mail to see a menu of options for controlling incoming mail.

Microsoft Wants to Make Outlook Express Redundant

OE users need to be aware that the program does not come with Windows 7, nor is it any longer available from Microsoft. Nonetheless, individual .EML messages can be copied onto a Win7 machine, where they will be recognized by Windows Live Mail, should you decide to download and install WLM. However, Outlook Express' compressed .DBX files will not be recognized by any program other than OE.

To copy OE's .EML messages, drag them from your Inbox into a Desktop folder, and then onto a USB drive, which can later be plugged into the Win7 computer for subsequent copying.

Hopscotching Cursor on a Laptop

Regarding my recent mention of an erratic cursor on a laptop, Harriet Egertson wrote about a program that disables the touch pad when typing begins. "TouchpadPal" can be freely downloaded at Soft32.com, and it works quite well.

Some readers wrote that their laptops have a small button above the touch pad which activates and deactivates it.

Acrobat Reader Problems + Uninstalling a Program

Stan Plog wrote that he can't open a PDF file with Acrobat Reader 6, and that he had problems downloading version 9. Well, downloading a program's latest version is often easier if the older version is first uninstalled.

Most programs have an "Uninstall" icon in their main folder under "Program Files." (Sometimes the icon will be labeled "Unwise" in a cute attempt to convince you that uninstalling the program is unwise.)

If you don't see either of these icons icon, WinXP users go to Start>Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs (or Start>Control Panel>Programs & Features in Vista & Win7) and right-click the app's name to uninstall it. Also, be sure the application is closed - it cannot be removed while in use.

AOL & Windows 7

A reader asked if AOL would still work if he upgraded his Vista computer to Windows 7. Yes, AOL works with all versions of Windows.

AOL is Free (to Most Users)

Speaking of AOL, I'm amazed at how many members are still paying for the service after having gotten a broadband Internet connection. Back in the 1990s, when we all used dial-up telephones to get online, AOL gave its members features that were quite unique at the time; a browser, email service, instant messaging, and some specialized forums that were the forerunners of today's social networking sites.

However, when folks started getting high-speed Internet connections, along with Windows' built-in Web-browsing and email capabilities, AOL's dial-up service began to rapidly lose its appeal. Nonetheless, many who had become comfortable with AOL continued to pay for services that were now available elsewhere, and often at a lower cost.

Members who noticed these changing conditions, however, began unsubscribing in droves, thus causing AOL to search for a new business model. AOL decided to make its service free to cable-users, along with displaying many more ads. Advertisers would, hopefully, replace the lost subscription fees.

AOL and AIM

AOL's popular free IM service became a separate entity called AIM (AOL Instant Messaging) and it now includes free Web-based email via AIM.com. Ex-AOL members can use their old AOL screen name (such as JohnDoe@aol.com and become JohnDoe@aim.com) along with using their old AOL passwords, if desired.

AIM takes up less disk space than AOL, and offers many of the features to which older users had become accustomed. Mary and I use both AIM Mail and the AIM Instant Messaging service.

ID-Theft Scam   Speaking of AOL, here's a fraudulent email I found in my Inbox.

Fraudulent AOL email

ID-theft scams like this are not unique to AOL, of course. You may receive emails that appear to be from your bank, or from Amazon.com or from eBay, or countless others. Any email addressed to "Dear Member" (rather than to your actual name) and which asks you to "update" your personal ID info is out to steal your identity and empty your bank account, no matter how "legitimate" the letter may look.
    Someone Sending Email with Porn Links under PCDon Google Group   Speaking of spam emails, someone is using the name of a Google Group we once created, but which we have never used, to send out emails containing links to porn sites. If you receive an email with a brief message such as "Check out this funny video - lol" and a blue link - just delete it. The message may say you're receiving this email because you subscribed to a PCDon Google Group. Baloney - there is no active group under the name of PCDon! This is pure fraudulent spam. Just delete it.
© Donald Ray Edrington – All Rights Reserved

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Don Edrington - Computer Columnist for The Californian and San Diego's North County Times

Senior Computer Tutor
Don Edrington

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