| Hello and welcome to the first of our regular bulletins on the ever changing world of Computers.  In these Ion Updates we aim to help make your computer experience a positive one and to deal with some of the real issues, niggles and downright calamities that punctuate the average computer user's life in as simple and straightforward a way as possible.
We also promise to try not to lapse into Geek-Speak too much. Whilst we obviously can't deal with every gremlin which arises through this newsletter, if there are particular problems which regularly bug you, or even a discovery you've made with your favourite program that you think the world should know about, please pass it on. We will also be keeping you abreast of develepments within Ion Ltd, so to sart the ball rolling here's some useful information about contacting us... We now have a single number which covers both of our locations. Whilst we can still be reached for specific queries on our old numbers, the shiny new one is a much better bet all round as it will forward your call if individual lines are busy, or take a message when all is frantic. So, open your Outlook's now, cut, paste and save! 0845 680 1109  ...at the moment, no.
For those of you who haven't heard of Vista yet, its Microsoft's latest version of Windows. Although its been around since the beginning of the year, it has yet to see widespread acceptance in businesses, and our advice would be to wait a while before buying PC's with Vista on them - go for XP pro instead. Now don't get us wrong, Vista is a good operating system and will undoubtedly be as universal as XP is now, but at the moment we think there are just not enough good reasons to use it. The time to start thinking seriously about it will be after the first 'service pack' is released (a major update which fixes bugs and often adds or refines features). This should be released by early 2008, so watch this space...  Q: What happens when you use really long files names?
A: Major Headaches! Saving files with easily understood names is a great idea. I'm sure we've all searched long and hard for that vital file which in retrospect we really should have called something a bit more sensible than Vry_*mprtnt7.doc. However, beware the flipside: If your file name grows too long it can cause big problems with copying files to CD or DVD and with synchronising 'Offline Files' on laptops. With CD's this can result in backups failing, or being unable to copy files to a disk. With laptop 'offline' files, long names can cause complete synchronisation failure and loss of those precious files you've been working on all weekend at home! So how to avoid these horrors? - Keep your file and folder names short and succinct. If the total length approaches 200 characters (letters, numbers, punctuation and spaces) you're heading into the danger zone. The important thing to remember here is that the 'file name' includes the full 'path' of all the folders and subfolders where your file is stored. This path can be seen in the 'Address Bar' at the top of your folder window and will look something like this: C:\Documents and Settings\MyName\My Documents\Myfolder\MyFile.doc ...as you can see, even a fairly simple example has started to look a little lengthy! And finally, a polite request: If you know of anyone who you think might benefit from some common sense computer advice, please forward this email to them. |
