Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Google – Exact Phrase Searching

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You have moved to a new area and want to find a computer user group nearby. You go to Google.com and search for: computer user group,(results: about 366,000,000).

To search for the exact phrase in Google just enclose the same phrase in double quotation marks like this: “computer user group”, (results: about 123,000).

It should be a lot easier to narrow down when you use an exact phrase search. As you can see by the very broad example above, you would have to dig through over 300 million results of sites without the exact phrase, but only a little over 100 thousand with the exact phrase.

If I search within the 100 thousand for CT (Connecticut) it is narrowed down to 587, for MD (Maryland) 810, etc.

Coming up with a good search phrase and searching for that exact phrase, should keep you from getting frustrated.

Linux – Easiest Linux Guide Ever

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With the recent end of Windows 98 support, there are likely to be a lot of computers that, though old, can still be of use when converted to Linux and the many applications that come with Linux distributions.

With this in mind, I thought I would pass on some information I ran across in my lunch time internet wanderings.

Scott Morris – SUSE LINUX Rants posted a book “The Easiest Linux Guide You’ll Ever Read – an introduction to Linux for Windows users”.

This guide is geared towards SUSE Linux 10.1, but is a good overall guide to installing and using Linux distributions in general. The guide is a 162 page PDF file and explains in a well thought out manner the similarities and differences between Windows and Linux. It contains information on both full Linux only installation and dual-boot installation with Windows, as well as touching on the “live” CD option of trying out Linux.

I suggest that if you have not tried Linux and you have an old Windows 98 machine, you at least download this guide and read it through, before getting rid of a perfectly useful piece of equipment.

I have been experimenting with Linux for over a year now, using the dual-boot option, on one of my home PCs and plan to convert an old Windows 98 machine to a Linux only machine in the near future, when I can find the time to get everything set up.

If you do end up setting up a Linux system, or even a dual-boot system, please let me know what you think and if Scott’s guide influenced you in any way. I am sure that Scott would also like to know, so let him know also.

Finally, if you really get into Linux and you are in the South Florida area check out The Florida Linux User Xchange.

XP – Wireless Mouse Glitch

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For the last two days, a couple of co-workers and I have been having intermittent problems of all of a sudden selecting multiple files when we only want to select one in Windows Explorer and even though the Caps Lock key and Num Lock key are not showing it everything we typed kept coming up as if the Shift key was pressed.

We ran virus scans, spyware scans and everything else we could think of with no luck.

Finally I thought to change the batteries in the wireless mice. That was it, problem solved, at least there were no re-occurrences since that time yesterday nor so far today.

This just reminds me that the solution to a computer problem is not always that involved, I just have to figure out the cause and then the solution is usually rather simple.

If you are having similar problems, try changing the batteries in you wireless mouse first, it just might save you some hassles. By the way, the wireless mice we had still had the original batteries and were about six months old.