Ah yes, Spring is coming to my hemisphere. Happy Spring Equinox! Here comes the sun... Time to stock up on suntan lotion... well, maybe not quite yet... how about time for some spring cleaning?
 
 

Y2K MILESTONE

There still could be minor problems when the first quarter ends in March or when the year ends Dec. 31. Especially in computers that have not been programmed for a 366-day year.

Our Y2K ALERT site offers help.
FIX YOUR GLITCH:
http://www.kahl.net/y2k
 
 

WORD OF THE MONTH

BIT, BANDWIDTH, BYTE
BANDWIDTH is the speed at which information are transferred.
A BIT is the smallest unit of digital information, i.e. ones & zeros.
A BYTE is a set of bits.

Bandwidth is measured in:

Bps= bits per second
Kbps= kilobits per second =1000 bps
Mbps = Million bits per second =1,000,000 bps
Gbps = Gigabits per second = 1,000,000,000 (one billion) bps
Tbps = Terabits per second = 1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) bps

Todays Modems range from 28.8 Kbps to 56 Kbps (but 56K modems never quite reach 56K).
ISDN transfers data at 128 Kbps and a T-1 can do 1.5 Mbps.
Standard ADSL reaches 6.144 Mbps downstream.
T-3 offers 44.736 Mbps and a fast Ethernet connection screams at 100 Mbps.
 
 

TECHNOTIP

GIGAHERTZ CHIPS ARE HERE
A bit ahead of schedule, Hewlett-Packard AND IBM will start shipping consumer PCs containing Intel's Pentium III running at 1 GHz (1,000 megahertz) this month. They will be a hot item for folks who can afford them. The big question is - who needs a 1-GHz processor? Our BEST BUY suggestion: The Celeron 500.

Take a look at our FAQs & Tips:
http://www.kahl.net/tools/tips.html
 
 

CALIFORNIANS GO GREEN!

This really is the best deal, and everybody wins! Get clean electricity online:
http://www.kahl.net/energy

Or just CALL toll-free 1-877-GO-CLEEN (462-5336) or 1-888-425-3361
Mention Alex Kahl as your agent and I get a referral buck.
Come clean, Go green! 
 
 

SITES FOR SORE EYES

AltaVista Translations
http://babelfish.altavista.com/

GO Translator
http://translator.go.com/

And just for fun....

The Dialectizer
http://www.rinkworks.com/dialect/
 
 

ONLINE SHOPPING!

Use this link:
ttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/kahlconsultants

We offer you discounted books and music in association with amazon.com.

Shopping for Different Hardware?
Always remember - if you shop for computer hardware or software, find the best deals here:
http://www.kahl.net/shopping
\

KC TIPS

So what have you got files away in YOUR computer?

* letters and documents (practically everything I've ever entered into a machine)
* schedules and task lists (I love lists, I have dozens of them)
* reports and plans
* accounting and banking data
* client data (I have hundreds of MB of files from website customers)
* contact info (I have over 800 personal/business contacts in my Organizer)
* email (I have about 5 years worth, over 400 MB)
* websites and bookmarks (i've given up counting how many i have - a lot!)
* photographs and graphics (anyone with a digital camera knows what i mean!)

This list is looooong!  So you better ask yourself:

IF I SUDDENLY LOST ALL THIS INFORMATION (due to hard drive crash, theft, fire, tornado, earthquake, alien invasion, etc., what would happen to my business, to me, and my family?  ARE YOU PREPARED FOR THIS?

Answer this question honestly. If YES, then you can skip this article and sleep soundly. Congrats!

If NO, read on!!

Murphy's Law - whatever can go wrong, will. I'm sure Murphy was thinking of computers when he came up with this! And Murphy hits everyone sometime! So it only makes sense to back up all my DATA on my computers. When was the last time YOU backed up your data?

Do you have a backup drive? An Iomega Zip or Jaz or Ditto, or a CD burner or a tape drive or a second hard drive? You should back up ALL your data files. I mean, you can always reinstall software programs, but without all YOUR PERSONAL DATA, where will you be? Up a creek!

NOW LISTEN CAREFULLY!
In your C drive, create a file folder (directory) for your DATA. Call it whatever you like. MY DOCUMENTS or MY FILES or MY DATA or DATA ONLY or STUFF BY ME. In this directory create subdirectories (folders in folders) for all the important programs you use. Within these subfolders, place all the data files you use.  So when you use a program, ALWAYS save your work to the appropriate folder if you can!

EXAMPLE:

C:
MY DATA (folder name)

    Microsoft Word (subfolder)
         word file1.doc
         word file2.doc
         word files.doc

    Graphics (subfolder)
         vacation photo.gif
         office party shot.jpg
         other pictures.bmp

    Microsoft Excel (subfolder)
         excel file1.xls
         excel file2.xls
         excel files.xls
 

Each day, back up the DATA folder and all it's contents. Store back up disks in a safe place, and make redundant copies at least monthly. Store these at a different location (in case of fire). Now, WHEN (NOT IF) Murphy's Law applies to you, YOU ARE PREPARED.

Don't worry about backing up software programs. As long as you have the installation files on disk you can always reinstall them. Focus on backing up YOUR DATA.

Don't delay. Do this soon. Set aside one hour. Ask someone for help if you need to. Buy extra hardware if you need to. When Murphy hits you will thank me.
 

WinTips

It doesn't matter where you get your lesson. Take a class at a community college. Buy a book. Or surf over to the kahl.net website and read the FAQ Tips section. In the WinTips section you'll quickly learn the RIGHT windows shortcuts!

Bookmark our FAQ Tips site! WinTips, WebTips, ImageTips, Shopping Tips and more:
http://www.kahl.net/tools/tips.html
 
 

Keyboard Shortcut Du Jour

NETSCAPE SHORTCUTS

Email and Browser
----------------------
Find a piece of text: CTRL - F
(if you have a long email or site and you're looking for a certain word/words)
Select all text: CTRL - A
(if you want to highlight the entire page/section/frame and then CUT and PASTE it somewhere)

Email
------
Open Messenger Folder: CTRL - 2
Create a new Email message: CTRL - M
(works throughout Communicator)
Sending a new Email message: CTRL - Enter

Browser
---------
Open Browser Window: CTRL - 1
History: CTRL - H
(shows you links to EVERY SITE you visited recently!)
Go BACK: ALT - <-
(hold down ALT key and press left arrow on the right side of you keyboard)
Go FORWARD: ALT - ->
(hold down ALT key and press RIGHT arrow on the right side of you keyboard)

Bookmark the entire list of shortcuts at:
http://www.kahl.net/tools/wintips.html
 
 

AOTM (Acronym of the Month)

GUI
Graphical User Interface.  A program that uses a visual interface instead of a command line interface.  DOS uses commands, Windows uses a GUI.
 
 
 

Handy Acronym Links (or HAL):
BABEL : A Glossary of Computer Oriented Abbreviations and Acronyms
http://www.access.digex.net:80/~ikind/babel.html

Acronym Finder: Look up 119,400+ acronyms/abbreviations & their meanings
http://www.AcronymFinder.com

!!Hoax & Virus Alert!!

Damn it if i didn't get this ridiculous email. Can you say necrotizing fasciitis? The flesh-eating disease is real. But rare. And the disease has NOT "been able to graft itself to the skin of fruits". Not!! The scoop's here:

http://urbanlegends.about.com/culture/urbanlegends/library/blbananas.htm

Another good laugh. But if you receive a message or warning, remember: PLAY SAFE on the net kids! SCAN for virii and VERIFY your emails here:
http://www.kahl.net/hoax

Now should I tell you about the Fix2001 internet worm that I just got? Nah!
 

The Gift of Gab

We find the BEST DEALS for you. SAY BYE TO EXPENSIVE CALLS! Check out this great offer AND MANY MORE!Give the gift of gab:

NetTips

Have you seens offers like this? Stop!! Save your 20 bucks! Learn how to effectively promote your website. FOR FREE! Did you know that the top 6 search tools get 95 % of the hits? 

Did you know Yahoo is NOT a search engine? It is a directory (humans do all the listing, not robots or spiders, so it takes convincing to get listed. And expect delays of several months. Learn ALL ABOUT SEARCH ENGINES.

Visit NetTools Site Registration & Submission
http://www.kahl.net/tools/siteregister.htm
 

And that's about it. Now turn off your computer and go plant a tree.

Cheers,

Alex
Kahl Consultants
http://www.kahl.net
 
 

THE PLUG

---

How has your small business or organization been performing lately? Do you have enough clients? Do you want enhance your presence on the net? Our latest clients include:
 

Marble Bridge Funding Group, Inc.
http://www.marblebridge.com

Technology. Use it appropriately. Put it in our hands. Kahl Consultants are always at your service at http://www.kahl.net

If you got this far you obviously enjoyed KC News. Pass it on!
Please forward it to a handful of your friends. Remember, the best things in life are free.
 

THE PUNCH LINE

An American man is spending the year 2000 living through the internet.

To prove how much of the world operates online. Like it really needs proving.

Mitch Maddox, a 26-year-old computer systems manager, moved into a house in Dallas, Texas on New Year's Day. He plans to stay there until 2001. 

He wants to live exclusively online, ordering anything he needs online.
Communicate by e-mails, chat and his 24-hour live video feed cameras.

He legally changed his name to DotComGuy. And runs DotComGuy Inc.

DotComGuy's first online purchases included shampoo, toilet paper, cleaning supplies and a meal. Oh, and can receive visitors in person, but cannot leave the premises himself. Nuts!

http://www.dotcomguy.com
 

EXPERT QUOTE
---------------------
An expert or a consultant is someone who is more than 50 miles from home, has no responsibility for implementing the advice he gives and carries slides.
[Edwin Meese, White house counsel to Reagan]
 
 

The Fine Print

* CTRL: Control Key (there are 2 of these on your pretty little keyboard)
* ESC: Escape key (top left of your keyboard)
* Home & End Keys: found next to the Page Up and Page Down keys, to the
right of the alphanumeric portion of your keyboard (even on laptops)
* Keyboard combinations: hold down the first key, then press second key shortly

MORE TIPS????
NetTools has the entire collection:
http://www.kahl.net/tools/tips.html