Computers & the Internet - the junction Online

Positive things on the Internet

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 23:49:39 GMT

There are a lot of things on the Internet - are there any you know of that are interesting and try to have a positive influence on the world, a community, science or religion?

Here are a couple I know of:

Modest Needs - Small change, a world of difference.

An interesting charity that I've already talked about.

Heroic Stories - Restoring faith in humanity... one story at a time.

A free mailing list that publishes submitted stories about everyday people to remind us that people are good, that individuals and individual action matter. See the web site for sample stories and to subscribe.

What sites do you know out on "the net" that are trying to make a difference?

Re: problem with pc

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 08:35:24 GMT

Hi Aladavlis, and welcome to the junction online.

First think you might want to do is a look at the general overall health of your computer. Are you using anti-virus software and keeping it current with updates? There are some anti-virus software that is freely available for computers that are only for personal use.

I also recommend doing a scan of your computer with a couple of anti-spyware scanners (also freely available for personal use) such as Ad-Aware Personal Edition, Spybot Search & Destroy, and AVG Anti-Spyware. To be honest, I would use them all as they may pick up different things.

Lastly, there is a very handy little program called CCleaner which will clean up left over temporary files, cache files and such, as well as bad registry entries. Make sure to run both the file cleaner and registry cleaner, which are separate operations in the same program.

This set of basic housekeeping operations can clean up a lot of problems that could be slowing down your computer or tying up traffic on your Internet connection.

You may also want to consider some firewall software, and try another browser such as Firefox to see if it runs any faster than MSIE.

Good luck!

E.

problem with pc

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 06:23:39 GMT

Hello,
I am having trouble with my Internet explorer.It is doing some very odd things.Sometimes it will completely close the page i am visiting for no reason or it will be very slow loading pages and when i say slow i mean very very very slow for eg i tried to google something and after 10 minutes of the page trying to load i gave up.I thought that it was perhaps the topic i was searching so i tried putting in random things to see if that made any difference but it didn't.Another problem i had was when i was on a forum and clicked on a link and nothing happened i tried to open a new tab and that wouldn't work either and it would let me access any options that are in my tools menu.i had to restart my computer.Just to let you know i have high speed Internet connection.Thanks in advance to anyone that helps me with this problem.

The camel's broken back

Sun, 12 Nov 2006 07:29:26 GMT

How many times have you received an email that says something like "THIS REALLY HAPPENED!!!!", "THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE!!!" and "SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!"

Aside from the jarring use of all capitals and gratuitous use of exclamation marks, the chances are overwhelmingly are that:

a) It didn't.
b) It isn't.
c) You shouldn't.

I am so sick of getting these, all of which I have been able to debunk with just a few minutes of research.

Case in point - last week I received an email chain-forwarded to me detailing an incident that allegedly occurred at the Narre Warren Shell service station on the highway (opposite the KFC). The unusual thing about this one is that the chain of email headers lead right back to the originator of the email, the not unusual thing was it detailed a common urban legend about a stalker being in the back seat of someone's car with a knife - a story I've seen circulated before, just the location had changed.

Also, nobody seems to know how to use BCC when sending emails to disparate groups of people to protect their privacy, so I decided to do a little research and share the results with the recipients.

Here was my reply, with a few edits to remove names, protect privacy and not embarrass people further than necessary:


Hi,

You are receiving this email because, like me, you received the original message
below from [name removed] or someone who forwarded the message on.

Given that I live in the area and was driving by the location in
question today, I dropped in to the Narre Warren police station which is
next to the KFC opposite the Shell service station where the incident
allegedly took place.  There I talked with Senior Constable [name removed]
and showed him a copy of the email.  According to him the
incident never took place.  The only incidents that have occurred there
recently have been people stealing fuel (driving off without paying). 
He assured me that if an incident of such a sensational nature had
occurred just across the road, the whole station would no about it, and
so would the paper and television news services.  None do.

If [name removed] wishes to assert that the incident she described is not a
fabrication, I would encourage her to publish the actual date the it
allegedly took place, and the police case number, or reference to an
article from a reputable newspaper from which we can _independently_
verify the truthfulness of her story.  I have searched and not been able
to find one mention of it.

While I agree that personal safety and improved alertness is a good
thing, I believe that fabricating and spreading misinformation or
unsubstantiated "urban myths" as truth is detrimental to these goals and
only results in spreading fear, anxiety and ignorance.  I do not know
what motivations or needs are fulfilled in people by doing this, but I
wish they would stop trying to do it at our expense.

FYI: I have removed all email addresses from the original email, and
used the Blind Carbon Copy feature in sending this email to protect your
privacy, and do not plan on issuing any follow-up group emails except in
the exceedingly unlikely event that I need to make a retraction.  I will
respond to individual emails if there are any questions or
clarifications you would like to ask.

Best regards,

Evan McLean

Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of people who are easily fooled into believing things like this with no additional proof. Remember the Internet is a public place where (perceived) anonymity makes people do some strange things. Don't allow these people into your head.

E.

P.S. Please don't forget to forward this to everyone you know.

Welcome to the computers & the Internet forum

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 01:31:03 GMT

Hi all, in continuing efforts to improve the usefulness of the junction Online community, we've set up this new forum for all things computer and Internet related.

Discussions can include items of a perfectly pragmatic nature such as:

Asking for help on a technical issue.
Some really cool piece of software or latest gadget you've found.
How/Where to find stuff on the Internet.
What the heck does this acronym mean?

However topics of a more human scope are also encouraged:

The impact of the Internet on society.
Children and the Internet
Social networks

Enjoy!