I had a good conversation recently with someone and we were talking about a variety of things, but one of the general thoughts was that it’s interesting what we don’t think about in our areas of strengths. For instance, many people look at me as a the “computer geek” because of what I know about computers.

I on the other hand think about my computer skills and see all the other things I wish I knew how to do or just knew more about. More than general networking stuff? I think I’m clueless. Hard-core programming, LOADS of information to still digest and learn.

However, in my “real” job, I’m regularly reminded how much general computer knowledge isn’t out there. In helping support the applications and websites I develop during the day, I come into contact with a number of computer users that it’s far from second nature on what to do.

It’s for that reason that I think I’m going to do some short and quick, general knowledge posts about computers right here. If you’re like me and serve as the tech-support guy for people (particularly friends and family) then hopefully you’ll be able to direct some people to these posts for a quick tip on how to use their computer more efficiently, or just at a little bit higher level than they have in the past.

If you’re not the “computer geek” and have questions on how to do stuff and you’d like me to tackle them and give you a quick post on what to do, feel free to leave me a comment and let me know what you’d like me to try and help you with here in the future.

I look forward to hopefully hearing from a variety of people on this one.

Image Source: www.sxc.hu

We are all aware of the terrible Australian bushfire. Today I came to know about another recent fire accident.

My fellow b5media blogger Cheril Vernon lost her home and her pets about ten days ago when a fire broke out at her home in Palestine, Texas. Cheril writes three blogs for b5media: NewToTV.com (twitter), MischaNews.com and GossipGirlReport.com. She is also Community Editor for The Palestine Herald.

Read more about the fire and what you can do to help Cheril. Thank you for reading this. Kindly spread the information to everyone.

A friend told me that he plans to teach his parents how to use computers during this vacation. A worthy gift. I taught a few laypersons how to use computers over the last couple of years and it was tougher than expected. While I’m proud that my mom is my best pupil — she can use the word processor, browse the Internet, and is about to start her own blog — the complexity of the new gadgets and technologies coupled with my own impatience and inexperience with teaching made her teary-eyed more than once.

So here are my thoughts about “teaching computers” .

Know What They Want
They may not want to write programs, tweak with the internals to improve PC performance, or even try out new applications. They might not even be interested in what the operating system and the hardware parts are capable of and they don’t need to know more than their names about them. My guess is that they would want to play media, browse the web, and connect with you through mail or chat as a start. It is good to ask and find out exactly what it is that they want.

Windows Games
The input devices are what one needs to learn well to move any further. The older generations are usually more adept in using the keyboard; they know typewriters better than you. But the mouse is an entirely novel idea unless they played arcade games in their childhood. I think the Windows Games like Solitaire or Minesweeper will come in handy in mastering the clicks. See if they might like one of these games and let them play awhile. Forget the middle-click and concentrate on the double-click because it can be especially troublesome and is essential.

Basic Operations
How to start and shutdown a computer; how to maximize, minimize, resize and close windows; how to create a new document or folder; how to open documents or media files or applications; how to navigate through the Windows Start and open various applications. Let your pupil perform these repetitively in various sequences. It helps if you can organize your program files beforehand to avoid any unintended uninstallations and use a separate folder for all the exercises while learning the copy, cut, paste, move, save operations. Discourage using cut and delete operations for the time being.

Explore One Application
Pick one application of their choice: word processor, paint brush, or media player, e.g. Help them explore all the features in it while making use of the tool tips more than your direct assistance. The basic menu structure and menu items within them largely overalp among most applications and this familiarity will make them more prepared when they ever encounter another application. Try moving to a second application to see how quickly they can correlate between the two.

Getting Help
Get them into the habit of trying various options in the Help menu, trying F1, browsing through the contents, index and searching for a string. That will help them with the next big thing as well.

The Internet
The first thing you might want them to learn about the Internet is Google, through which most of what they want can be gotten to. After learning to open the browser, that is. It is also a good idea to have shortcuts to various frequently visited websites, in case bookmarks seem tedious and the address bar is definitely more complicated. Create any account that they might need for the time being and show them how to use them: how to sign in, check mail, compose and send mail, sign out. Beginners might find it easier to sign into a chat client and open mail through the notifications. Let them search their own beginner websites through Google (or any other search engine) apart from using it for general browsing purposes.

Make sure you have a good anti-virus and firewall in place. And back up all your important files. Just in case.

Despite all your initial assurances, they are going to panic after every tiny mistake, afraid that accidentally dragging and dropping an icon into another might have caused something irrevocably faulty. Oftentimes, this clams them up bringing the course to a screeching halt or even a retrograde. I can’t advise you how, but you must make sure they understand that Windows is already goofy enough and no goof-up is big enough to screw it any further. They don’t know “format c:” yet, do they?

Have you taught anybody before? What have I missed? What would you do?

With the new section of the blog being formed, the “IT Confessional” and the contest where you’re going to win a free, awesome keyboard, I figured I’d open it up to you guys and gals as to what to call the confessional. Please choose an answer from the poll below, add your own or comment and let me know what you’d like to see it called. We’ll be calling on graphic designers next to help us brand this section of the blog.

Image via WikipediaIt’s a fact of life that information overload is not easy to escape. Whether you enjoy playing the license plate game or reading the New York Times on your way to work (Do they sill print a paper?), there is a lot to read, take in and retain out there in this cruel world. Luckily, with the help of many great Web 2.0 tools out there, it’s becoming a bit simpler. I’d like to point you in the direction of a few that I have used to simplify my life.

Google Reader (or any other web feed reader) -
GR is an excellent tool to help process the everyday information that shows up on most of your favorite sites. This can be used to find both the latest nuddy magazine photos and the greatest updates on the Apple/i phone information saga. Convenient? I think so.

PageOnce -
PageOnce has been a big help for me and now that it’s out of strict beta (closed to some), it’s even better. I use it to pull in bank account balances, bill due dates and the latest in my Facebook statuses. You can use it to do the same and keep your life organized on just a few pages.

Mint.com -
Mint has been a lifesaver or me (no pun intended) when it comes to keeping track of my finances. I am able to pull in all my financial services — stock portfolios (like I trade, hah), bank accounts (already know they’re near zero) and credit cards (those just keep rising) — and then get information about each of my accounts. It’s secure, easy and fun to use. In addition to getting account info, Mint also gives suggestions on ways to save money or cut down on debt — always a helpful feature.

Whether you’re an information whore or a drive-by reader, services like these can help you stay organized. Being organized can not only save you time but introduce you to new information. How do you think I found out about LOLcatz? Oh yeah, my feed reader!