In this newsletter
Article #1 discusses how to backup all your data using Windows XP backup and an external hard drive.
Article #2 is about photos sent to you in email and how to view them in Picasa.
Article #3 is specifically aimed at Satellite Internet users who need to understand their bandwidth limitations.
Last, there are 2 quick tips on keyboard shortcuts, one to make your browser window bigger, and one to quickly get to your desktop.

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External Hard Drives for your Backup
Watch the video on this topic

At the rally last week, Jim did a few service calls to help folks get their computers running better. The first thing he checks is, "How do you do your backups." Increasingly, the answer is, "To an external, USB, Hard Drive." You can buy a 500 Gigabyte hard drive now for around $150! One person showed us a 160Gb drive they just bought for $39.

They're small and they're portable. Perfect for travelers! Most of them take no installation setup. You just plug in the USB connection and voila! you have another drive letter showing up in My Computer.

With that kind of easily accessible mass storage space, you can use the Backup utility that comes with Windows XP to make backups of all your documents and settings in one process. To open the Backup utility use All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup. Then just follow the wizard to backup all Documents and Settings to the drive letter that represents the external hard drive. There are some detailed instructions at Windows XP Backup Made Easy. The video will show you the basics of backing up to the external hard drive using Windows XP backup. Once you've mastered that, you can go into the advanced settings and schedule the backup to happen daily, or weekly without you having to do a thing. As long as the computer is on and the hard drive is attached, it will happen automatically.

Note: if you have Windows XP Home, you will need to manually install the Backup utility from your original disks. See Microsoft's instructions.

Picasa and Photos you receive via Email
Watch the video on this topic.

Several people have asked us the same question lately:

"I received an email with a photo attached. How do I get that photo into Picasa?"

First of all, even though I might even say the same words, you're not really 'putting a photo *into* Picasa.' Picasa doesn't have any photos *in* it. Your photos are all on your computer's hard drive, probably in the folder called My Pictures. Picasa is your 'viewer.' It sees the photos on your computer, in the My Pictures folder, and it shows them to you in a friendly way.

So, when you receive an email with a photo attached, the question is, "How do I save that photo to the My Pictures folder?" Once it is in the My Pictures folder, it will show up when you open Picasa.

The answer is different depending on what you use for email. For Outlook and Outlook Express, you right-click on the attachment and choose 'Save As ...' Then, you browse to the My Pictures folder, and whatever sub-folder you want it in, and click OK. Next time you open Picasa, you will see that photo. In gmail, you will see a link to 'download' the attached photo. Click that and you'll get the choice to open or save. Click Save, and it will soon open up a dialog box to choose the folder for saving. Find My Pictures and whatever subfolder you want and click Save. I'll show you how to do this in the Picasa video: Viewing a photo received as an email attachment.

Other email systems will use similar techniques - either 'Save' or 'download.' If you need to look it up in help, just ask for 'How to Save an attached file'.

For Satellite Internet Users: Understanding your Bandwidth Limitations.
View the video on this topic.

It's called FAP. That stands for 'Fair Access Policy.' If you use a Hughes satellite service for your Internet connection, there are some rules that you may not know. Even though your contract gives you 'unlimited Internet access', it is NOT unlimited *high-speed* access!

Here's how it works ... an average Hughes plan may provide for 300 megabytes of download/upload per 24 hour period (most RVers' plans range from 200 - 375). If you exceed that usage, your account is marked as being subject to 'FAP'. An account that is 'FAPped' will still be able to get online, but your speed will be no better than dial-up, maybe worse. This is the way that Hughes slaps your hand for using more than your fair share of bandwidth. After 24 hours of being FAPped, your account will be unmarked, and your download and upload speeds will be back to normal.

I tried downloading a full-length feature movie from Movielink.com and got FAPped part way thru. Downloading this movie at high-speed should take about an hour. After less than a half-hour, I was FAPped. My Internet access was throttled down to just a trickle, but I kept downloading the movie. It took over a day to complete the download, and I couldn't use my Internet connection for anything but small emails during that time.

It's quite an effective way for Hughes to keep their customers in line. If you've ever been FAPped, you know it's painful. It only takes one time before you start watching your usage very carefully. That slap on the hand really works!

So, how do you watch your usage? Hughes provides a customer service web page where you can see the numbers. You will need to know your 'Site ID.' If you don't know it, you can find it at your modem's control center web page. Click on System Info and the first item listed should be the Site ID. Once you enter your Site Id and click on Submit, you will see a screen that documents your uploads and downloads for every hour.

If you ever experience an abrupt drop in your web-browsing speed, you should always look here first to see if there is a 'Yes' in the 'Subject to FAP' column. I'll show you how in the video: Bandwidth Limitations (FAP) on Satellite Connections. If so, there is nothing you can do except to wait it out. In 24 hours you'll be back to normal.

If you happen to be a night owl, you're in luck! All FAP rules disappear between the hours of 3am and 6am *Eastern* time.

Quick Tips

F11 to increase your browser window size: Ever wish you had just a little more screen space to see everything on a web page? A great little tool is the F11 key. Press it once and all the menus, toolbars and status lines disappear, giving you the complete screen for the web page. Want your menus back? Just press F11 again.

+D to quickly get to your Desktop: Ever wondered what that key on your keyboard is for? One thing is to give you a shortcut to your desktop. If you're like me, you may have several programs open. When you want to get to your computer's desktop to launch yet another program, you need to minimize, minimize, minimize, minimize before you can get there.

Or ...
You can hold down on that key and press D. That's the shortcut for 'minimize everything and show me the starting desktop screen.'

That's all for now. Thanks for reading. Your next issue will be in a couple weeks. Any questions, please email us. If you like this newsletter, please forward it on to your friends! If you received this issue forwarded by a friend you can subscribe to get your own copy delivered to your inbox. To see the archives of past newsletters, go to www.geeksontour.com/newsletters.

Chris Guld
www.GeeksOnTour.com