Notice to Users of This Computer

It was placed in service on 4 September 2006. It contains an Intel Pentium 4 processor running at 2.5 gigahertz, 256 megabytes of memory and an 80 gigabyte hard drive. This computer runs the Windows XP operating system from Microsoft, home edition.

In order to maintain automatic updates to operating system, general and antivirus software, I ask that you do not power down this machine. It will naturally turn off the monitor and minimize other power drain after non-use and come alive again at the touch of the keyboard or mouse.

This notice is casual information that may be useful to you in using this computer.

Please read this notice through once and use it to refer to when you have problems.

Your computer identity is your first name or nickname. Your password is the one you set. If you forget your password, it can be reset, but I cannot remind you of it. You will have to ask me to come over to do this.

Please don’t give out your password. If you have a visitor that wants to use the computer, please encourage him or her to use the guest account.

Carefully administrated, Windows XP can create a separate experience for each user on the computer. This is how I have set it up. This means that no one on this computer, except for the administrator (me), can see your files including what you put on the desktop. No one can create files in your My Documents area, read, modify or delete them, but you and the administrator. (I assure you that I will not be viewing your files either.)

I have not elected to go to the trouble to be able to administrate this computer from anywhere except at its console. Therefore, if I need to fix a problem for you, I will still have to come over.

None but the administrator has rights to install software on this computer. This is for your protection and will help to reduce the threat of viruses. If there is software you wish to have installed, contact me. I will only install legal or freeware software that is known to be safe and of good quality.

No Microsoft Office (aaaaargh!)...

Microsoft Office (Microsoft Word, Excel, Draw, Paint, PowerPoint, etc.) is very expensive and is not installed on this computer. However, there is equivalent software that works very much like the Microsoft Office Suite and is able to...

• Read all Microsoft file formats (.doc etc.).
• Save any document you create, import and/or edit in all the popular Microsoft formats.
• Generate valid Adobe Acrobat Reader files (.pdf).
• Generate valid, browable HTML files (.html and .htm).

Open Office...

This software is entitled Open Office and is in popular use all over the world and on all other computers beside Windows PCs including Macintosh, Linux and Unix systems. It has become standard in many European government and private sector corporate offices including Novell, Inc. and Sun Microsystems to name only two. This software is dynamite for word processing, vector drawing (boxes, circles, stars, arrows, etc.), maintaining a financial spreadsheet, and creating presentations. You can get some help in using this software through a page I maintain at http://www.windofkeltia.com/opensoftware/

Open Office is localizable to French-Canada, French-France, British, etc. and could be used that way on this computer. If you think you would really benefit from this localization, contact me and I will load those versions on for you.

Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers...

Also on this computer you will find the Firefox browser, another open software community product that runs on all other computers and is arguably better than the Microsoft product. This is set up to be your default browser. Rarely, however, you will encounter the need to use Microsoft Internet Explorer because of incompatibilities in third-party or Microsoft software. For this, you need only go to the Start menu and choose this browser (whose icon is a big, blue e).

Firefox is localizable in French and other languages if you like, but I have not loaded those on this computer.

E-mail...

For e-mail, I assume you will use Hotmail or Yahoo. If you use or want to use something else, I will set up a Thunderbird e-mail client for you. Please contact me to do this.

Antivirus software...

Against viruses I have installed AntiVir®, antivirus software from a German corporation. This is what I use at home and I have never had a virus. However, you will probably stop getting updates to this software if my user isn’t logged on. This is why I ask that you not power this machine down: the software automatically runs virus scans early in the morning and updates itself too.

Our contract with residents states vaguely that we will furnish a broadband Internet connection to you. In addition, we’ve been providing a competent workstation (the Dell computer mentioned here) and, usually, a printer. Because printers are fragile, we cannot guarantee it nor can we afford to keep fresh print cartridges in it.

Your broadband Internet connection is provided by Comcast and is just about as high-speed as can be had. The service enters the house at a modem downstairs overhead just inside the basement under the kitchen. To that modem is connected a dual-mode router that provides a number of separate ports that normally link through a little concentrator with short patch cables to wall connectors in a) the front bedroom, b) the small den just off the larger bathroom and c) the northeast corner of the family room. It also provided wireless connections at one time, but this no longer works.

Unless all residents are in agreement about putting it elsewhere, the Dell computer and printer are expected to be in the northeast corner of the family room, also, the other two Internet connection points as noted above, except that, as long as the Dell is connected, the other connections matter little to us.

Wireless

From time to time, wireless access points have been used in the house usually supplied by a resident. As noted, the present router has a wireless capability, however, this no longer seems to work, but it meets the expectations of providing connections over category-5 cables to computers. It is possible for a resident to add a simple, inexpensive wireless access point simply by connecting it in either the den or the front bedroom. In fact, this was our exact wireless topology when we lived in the house with our family.

Except for resetting the modem when Comcast’s service get befuddled as happens a couple of times per year, we would appreciate you not intervening in the present network cabling including the modem, the router and the little concentrator that connects the various room points to the router. We think the existence of what are normally two unused connections in the den and front room are sufficient for expansion of the network to add wired or wireless connections to the rest of the house.

I prefer to be contacted via e-mail and am very attentive to it from 8 in the morning, all day at work and until late at night, though sometimes I will blow it off during an evening that is too busy.

For emergencies, please call my cellular telephone at 801 368-1716. If I don’t answer, try again; it usually means that I cannot feel it vibrate. To leave a less-urgent message, call 801 371-0431. E-mail is generally faster than the latter, only slightly slower than the former method.

To contact Julene, please call her cellular telephone at 801 368-1717.

If clicking the icon below doesn’t work, e-mail me at russ@windofkeltia.com.