Since April of 2000 the volunteers at SeniorNet have been performing a labor of love. Over 2500 students have passed through the doors of the Southwest Michigan SeniorNet Computer Learning Center. The interesting thing about this group is that many of the volunteers began in 2000. They stay because they enjoy what they do and because they see people benefiting from their efforts.

The volunteers don’t need any prodding. They are pretty much self-directed. There is a Volunteer Coordinator, but all he has to do is send out an email saying an instructor is sick or “we need a coach on Tuesday afternoon from 2:00 to 4:00” or “we are having a mailing party to get these 1400 newsletters out”. Once the need is known someone volunteers right away.

A group of seven or eight of the SeniorNet volunteers comprises the SeniorNet roundtable, which meets once every three months to determine which courses will be offered the next quarter. They consider student requests, evaluate the equipment in the lab, and determine which of the volunteers has the appropriate expertise. There is usually a discussion of national trends for home computing. Then the schedule is set.

Many of our courses have been written in their entirety by the instructors. Putting a course together, along with the many handouts is not something that is accomplished overnight. Many hours of writing, reviewing, and practicing the presentation are needed for a successful course. Then the volunteer coaches get in the act. They have to practice all the lessons so they can answer questions based on their knowledge of the subject.

Many of our volunteer coaches were former students. The coaches, by the way, are folks who stand behind the students watching to see if they are following what the instructor is saying. If they notice a student who appears to be falling behind, they point out what the instructor wanted them to do. As a last resort the coach might offer to drive (handle the keyboard and mouse) just long enough to catch the student up to everyone else. If the coach sees a student who is hopelessly lost they have the authority to stop the class until they can bring them up to speed. That way everyone has an enjoyable lesson.

The instructors are usually retired folks who worked in information technology or who learned computers on their own. They have a certain area they know well and want to share that knowledge.

Our volunteers seem to like each other’s company. They enjoy good camaraderie and some close friendships have been formed.

If you think you might be interested in being a volunteer give us a call. You can call 269-983-4232 to talk to Dennis at the St. Joseph classroom or call 269-757-0218 to talk to Mary Ellen at the Benton Harbor classroom. We also have laptops and a projector. If you want to volunteer to teach one of our mobile classes contact me at 269-982-7742.

The renewed interest in public transportation brought on by high fuel prices, begs the question, what will everyone do with their new found free time as they travel. You could nap, read the paper or a favorite book, or talk to your fellow travelers. If you use a laptop computer you could catch up on work or, if you are retired, catch up on your correspondence (email) or download a book to read.

These activities on the computer may require an Internet connection. How do you achieve a connection while traveling?

You could use an air card. An air card is a device shaped like a fat credit card that slides into a slot on the side of a laptop. The air card receives a signal from a cell phone company that connects you to the Internet. The card may be provided free of charge, like a cell phone, but you do have to pay a monthly fee to use it. Air cards work anywhere you can receive a cell phone transmission. A seasoned traveler knows to look for seats on a train or in an airport that have electrical outlets because the laptop needs to remain charged for the device to work.

Major cell phone companies also offer a tethering service where a small cable connects selected cell phones to a laptop computer. The cell phone acts as a modem, giving you a pathway to the Internet. Verizon charges fifteen dollars per month for the tethering service.

At the Area Agency on Aging we use smart phones which offer an Internet connection and will synchronize with your email. You can be continually updated with your email, calendar, and list of contacts, allowing you to maintain a mobile office anywhere you can receive cell phone service. This can be a tricky proposition if your travels take you through areas where you don’t have good cell phone service.

If using an air card, smart phone, or a tether results in times where you experience a bad connection, you can still work on documents off-line, save them to your device and then send them when you do have a good connection.

If you are traveling in a carpool and you stop for coffee at Starbucks or Panera, try their wireless hotspots. If you just need a quick connection to send or receive a file you can probably connect to their network from out in the parking lot. If you are traveling by yourself and stop for lunch, many of the major chains (MacDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, etc.) offer wireless hotspots.

American Airlines recently announced they have selected flights that offer wireless Internet connections for travelers. The cost is $10 to $13 depending on the length of the flight.

However you travel, if you are uploading or downloading documents, you need the security of having a backup copy of the document. A USB device known as a thumb drive, jump drive, or travel drive (I refer to mine as a USB key) will offer that extra bit of security. If you don’t happen to have a travel drive and you want to create a backup copy of a document, try emailing the document to yourself. When you arrive at your destination the document will be waiting for you.

What map program do you use to find your way around? I’m talking about computer programs, not GPS systems.

http://maps.google.com/ Has a route planner that prompts you to enter the address of where you are traveling to and from. It the gives you turn by turn directions as well as a map of your trip. If you click on a link named “Satellite” you get pictures from way above. Zooming out allows you to move quickly from one area to another by dragging the map. Zooming in lets you focus on landmarks to pinpoint an area.

Once you have found the area you are looking for, changing to “Street View” offers 360O views as seen by a vehicle with multiple cameras. This view is only available in select cities, denoted by a picture of a camera superimposed on the original map. Street view is pretty neat. Where the satellite view lets you zoom in on the tops of building, street view lets you look at a building from the side as if you were in a car right outside the building. Arrows on the street allow you to advance your position a couple of car lengths to get a different view of the building.

www.mapquest.com will show you maps, let you zoom in to see satellite photos, help you plan a route (directions from one location to another), and, if you click on the “Gas Prices” link and then enter a zip code, will show gas prices at participating gas stations. Why drive all over town looking for the lowest pump prices when you can find it on the map.

http://maps.yahoo.com has satellite photos at a high resolution so it is easier to pick out shapes but it doesn’t zoom as close. If you enter the name of a business, Yahoo maps will show you where it is. I searched for Schus and the Boulevard Inn Bistro and it found both of them.

http://maps.live.com also known as Microsoft Virtual Earth can be reached by clicking on “Maps & Directions” from the MSN portal. You can receive directions from one location to another using the fastest time or the shortest distance. It has clearer satellite photos but doesn’t zoom as close until you click on Bird’s eye View. Then you can see detail with amazing clarity. With most mapping programs it is difficult to see our house because of the shadows from the surrounding trees, but using Microsoft Virtual Earth I can see the windows on our house. I can see things as small as the roof vents on my neighbor’s house. Rotating the view let me see the sides of our house from all four directions.

Each of these programs has their good and bad points as far as coverage (they seem to pay more attention to larger urban areas), resolution, and special features. If you are having trouble viewing things as well as I said I could it might be because your video card or your monitor needs upgrading.

You will be reading this a couple of weeks later, but this column is being written on Earth Day. In recognition, the topic will be recycling of electronic equipment.

Computers and monitors contain lead and other potentially hazardous materials that are toxic to the environment and to humans so you don’t want to just put your old equipment in the trash. Listed below are a number of options you have for recycling:

The Berrien County Electronics Recycling Collections accept computers, monitors, TVs, cell phones, and many more electronic devices. The only cost is $3.00 for each monitor or TV. TVs larger than 27 inches cost $8.00. Drop-off locations and dates are Saturday, June 7 (9am – 1pm) at the Lincoln Township Fire Department at 2130 West John Beers Road and Saturday, October 4 (9am – 1pm) at the Bertrand Township Fire Department on US12 near Bakertown Road. This recycling opportunity is open to any Berrien County resident. Call 983-7111 ext. 8234 for more information.

Office Depot in Benton Harbor (269) 934-7142, has various sizes of boxes they will use to ship old computers or monitors to a recycling center. The cost to you is $5.00, $10.00, or $15.00 depending on the size of the box. Office Depot also accepts old cell phones for recycling.

Bridges to Digital Excellence in Benton Harbor, (269) 757-0218, will refurbish computers and monitors and donate them to families in Berrien County who complete a training program. Please call first to see if your equipment is new enough to be refurbished.

Goodwill stores will accept working and non-working computers for recycling. Contact the Benton Harbor store (269) 926-8161, the Dowagiac store (269) 782-3460, or the Paw Paw store (269) 657-3534.

Best Buy in Benton Harbor, (269) 926-0052, has a collection bin for cell phones.
Staples web site, www.staples.com, tells us they offer free in-store recycling of cell phones and small hand held electronics. They also offer recycling of computers, monitors, printers, and fax machines for $10.00 per item.

Contact with your local Senior Center or place of worship to see if they will pass on a working computer to a needy individual.

The Environmental Protection Agency has a web site, www.epa.gov/rcc/plugin, that lists manufacturers who have committed to collecting, reusing, or recycling old electronics.

Before sending your computer to any recycling center you will want to wipe clean or remove and destroy the internal hard disk which may contain your personal information. Remain ever vigilant against identity theft. Blannco Data Cleaner, www.blannco.com, and CyberCide Data Destruction, www.cyberscrub.com, sell software packages that permanently remove information from hard drives, making them compliant with government regulations and industry standards.

My wife, Cheri, and I are going to Texas. We plan to soak up the warmth in San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas. In the past I’ve written about how useful the Internet is when planning a trip. While preparing for this excursion I began to realize the Internet is becoming ever more sophisticated.

On the trip down we will be listening to music using CDs that I burned from mp3 files downloaded from the Internet. mp3 is an electronic format for music files. There are numerous web sites where you can listen to samples of songs before purchasing them via downloads. We will also be listening to other CDs that were purchased on-line through the Amazon web site.

While doing research for hotel rooms we were able to see 360 degree views of sample guest rooms, the hotel lobby, swimming pool and workout room as well as the views from the hotel.

When I googled “San Antonio” I was able to view pictures of the River Walk so we knew what to expect when we arrived. The Riverwalk is a three mile stretch of the San Antonio River that winds through the downtown area, lined on both sides by restaurants and bars with outdoor tables and beautiful landscaping. Many of the restaurants have web sites where you can view the menu before you go. The viewer can know what is being served for lunch and dinner and can have an idea of the prices you will be paying. I also found the Witte Museum is hosting Our Body: The Universe Within, which is an exhibit of actual human bodies with the skin removed, revealing all of the organs and major systems.

As this column is being written, a major rain storm just passed through the areas of Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas through which we will be traveling. I was able to log on to www.weather.com and choose a state to see which counties had current flood alerts. The alerts describe which rivers are affected by the rising waters, how high the rivers were, and when they are expected to begin receding. We might have to change our route, but that sure beats sitting and waiting for the waters to recede.

Using Microsoft streets and trips to plan the route (fastest, shortest, or most scenic trip) I can log on just before we leave and learn where highway construction might slow us down.

Our plan in Austin is to see/hear as much live music as possible. I googled “Austin, Texas” and found www.unlockaustin.com. After entering the date I was interested in, I received a listing of live performances on that date and the clubs where they were playing. I selecting one of the listings and was told when the band would be playing, whether they usually began on time, what kind of cover charge to expect, the kinds of food and drinks served at this club. Then when I clicked on the band I was whisked to their myspace account so I could listen to samples of the band’s music.

Going back to the results on google I chose to go to www.austintexas.org where I was able to have a visitors package (maps, coupons, advertising, etc.) sent to my home. This site also explained the different entertainment districts in Austin. It offered a pdf map of Sixth street. If you clicked on one of the blocks of sixth street it showed the location of every club on that block (as well as Fifth street and Seventh street) This helped me understand a little more about the clubs that I read about on the previous site.

www.usa.gov has a link, “seniors”, which takes you to a list of topics relating to senior issues. Each topic is itself a link to issues which may help you find the answer to a need. The topics in the list are caregivers’ resources; consumer protection for seniors; education, jobs, and volunteerism for seniors; end-of-life issues; federal and state agencies for seniors; grandparents raising grandchildren; health for seniors; housing for seniors; laws and regulations concerning seniors; money and taxes for seniors; retirement; and travel and recreation for seniors.

www.areaagencyonaging.org is the web site for the Area Agency on Aging serving Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties. It contains links to all the sites in this column and more. Service providers in the area are listed under Community Services. SeniorNet, the local all-volunteer computer classroom for seniors has a link on our front page. This web site is undergoing a complete makeover which is expected to be complete in about a month.

www.medicare.gov. This site gives you access to a directory of all Medicare plans with drug coverage in your state. You can also use this site to compare nursing homes or home health companies in your area.

At www.benefitscheckup.org you can fill out a simple questionnaire with no personal identifying information except your zip code. Based on the answers you provide, you will receive a listing of federal, state, and local programs for which you are eligible. These programs help with prescription drugs, utility bills, meals, health care and other needs. Use the site to enroll in some of the programs.

www.eldercare.gov. Enter your zip code and the Eldercare Locator finds the nearest Area Agency on Aging. This can be especially helpful if you are trying to care for a loved one in another area of the country. Calling 800-677-1116 on weekdays will let you talk with someone who will provide you with the same information.

www.aarp.org This site provides benefits, advocacy and information on aging for people age 50 and over. Health tips and recent legislation are updated on this site.

www.ssa.gov. The Social Security Administration’s site lets you apply for benefits online, calculate your retirement benefits, and find answers for your retirement questions. You can also use this site to have the Social Security Administration send you a current statement.

www.michigan.gov. The official State of Michigan web site will give you information about important legislation as it moves through the House and Senate. Information on anything dealing with Michigan government is available here, including up-to-date road construction, license plate renewal, a nursing home lookup and an adult foster care home lookup, etc. This site will also help you find your state legislators.

www.miseniors.net This site, sponsored by the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging, helps you search for services and agencies dealing with the elderly. If you suspect someone is a victim of elder abuse, this site provides information about programs and services that are available to help victims and those at risk for abuse.

The Department of Veterans Affairs at www.va.gov, will inform you about federal veteran’s benefits for which you may qualify, a listing of VA facilities, and a place to contact the VA.

If you don’t know the address of the web site you are looking for log on to www.google.com and type the topic in the search box and press Enter. You will be presented with links to more sites than you can imagine that address the topic you searched. Click on the first link and if you don't like that site, press the Backspace key and click on the next.

Congratulations, I heard you finally retired. What will you do now with all your free time? Do you plan to travel, catch up on your reading,
garden, or spend more time with the grandchildren? Many people in your situation haven’t decided how they will occupy their time, while
some have found a lot of satisfaction in volunteering.

If you decide to volunteer, how can you find out where volunteers are needed? The Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan has a new
web site that matches those wanting to volunteer with agencies offering volunteer opportunities.

The address of the Volunteer Center’s web site is www.volunteerswmi.org. There you will find a link to 1-800-volunteer.org.
Click on the link and you will come to a page where you can find volunteer opportunities for southwest Michigan
(Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties).

At this point you may conduct a general search by entering a keyword, your zip code and the distance you are willing to travel.
The results of this search list the volunteer opportunities and the organizations offering those opportunities. Results include
location of the organization needing assistance, contact info, the number of volunteers needed, and any special requirements
for being a volunteer. Find the organization and then you contact them if you are interested.

At 1-800volunteer.org you are also given the option to create an account. This account requires certain basic information like
name, zip code, email address, special skills you may have, and your availability. Creating an account is the preferred method
of entry because it allows the Volunteer Center to collect volunteerism statistics in southwest Michigan so they can analyze
their marketing efforts. I have been assured by the Director of the Volunteer Center that creating an account and recording
volunteer preferences will not result in your being contacted by organizations looking for your services. You will only be
contacted by the Volunteer Center via email if you select that option.

Benefits of creating an account for an individual or a group include keeping a record of your service hours, viewing a schedule
of volunteer opportunities, and entering your skills and availability for volunteering in times of disaster. If you register on
behalf of a group you can send emails to the group members through this site.

If you represent an organization that needs volunteers, you can register the organization. You will be asked to enter you
organization’s mission statement, contact information, populations served, and social issues addressed. Also requested
are the specific volunteer opportunities offered, number of volunteers needed, and the duration and times of the opportunity.

The Volunteer Center reviews volunteer opportunities for organizations before accepting them and posting them on the
web site. Types of organizations that may apply are governmental units, schools, civic organizations, 501(c)3 not-for-profits,
and faith based organizations if they are promoting community outreach programs.

This web site is only two months old so you may not find all the opportunities you are looking for, but as the word is spread
you will find more organizations participating and more individuals browsing the site. There are currently 77 agencies signed
up with 102 different volunteer opportunities.

If you aren’t on-line or have questions please call 983-0912 in St. Joseph or 683-5464 in Niles.

On February 17, 2009 federal law requires that all television transmissions be broadcast as a digital signal, ending the era of analog transmissions. TV stations today broadcast using a digital signal. Many of them also continue to broadcast using analog signals. They will be forced to discontinue using the analog transmissions to free up frequencies that will be used for police, fire, and emergency rescue.

After February 17, 2009 you will be able to receive and view free over-the-air digital programming with an analog TV only by purchasing a digital-to-analog set-top converter box. Between January 1, 2008 and March 31, 2009, all U.S. households will be able to request up to two coupons, worth $40 each, to be used toward the future purchase of eligible digital-to-analog converter boxes. Eligible converter boxes are for the conversion of over-the-air digital TV signals, and therefore are not intended for analog TVs connected to a paid provider such as cable or satellite TV service.

The National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) is administering the coupon program. For more information, visit the NTIA website at http://www.ntia.doc.gov. On the right side of this website is a link titled “Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program”. Click on this link then look for the link titled “Associated Press (AP) video about the digital TV converter boxes.” This is a plain English video telling you about what the converter box does and where to get the converter and the coupons. The Commission’s DTV website www.dtv.gov, also provides information on the upcoming digital-to-analog converter box coupon program as well as information about the analog to digital transition.

How do you know what kind of TV to buy if you want to be prepared for the transition to digital TV?

Retailers who sell televisions are now required to inform the consumer if a set is not equipped for a digital signal. There must be a sign prominently displayed that says ”This television receiver has only an analog broadcast tuner and will require a converter box after February 17, 2009, to receive over-the-air broadcasts with an antenna because of the Nation’s transition to digital broadcasting. Analog-only TVs should continue to work as before with cable and satellite TV services…call the Federal Communications Commission at 1-888-225-5322 or visit the FCC’s digital TV website at www.dtv.gov.”

How do you know if the TV you now own is a digital TV (DTV)? Labels on TVs that indicate they are digital will include the words “Integrated Digital Tuner” or “Digital Tuner Built-in”. “Receiver” may be substituted for “Tuner” and “DTV”, “ATSC”, or “HDTV” (high definition television) may be substituted for “Digital”. If your TV equipment contains any of these labels or markings you should be able to view digital over-the-air programming without a digital-to-analog converter. You do not need an HDTV to view digital over-the-air programming. HDTV is only necessary if you want to view in “high definition.”

If your TV is labeled as a “Digital Monitor” or “HDTV Monitor” or as “Digital Ready” or “HDTV Ready”, this does not mean it actually contains a digital tuner. You will probably still need a separate set-top box which contains a digital tuner to view programs in the new digital TV transmission standard.

If your TV is labeled as “analog” or “NTSC”, but is NOT labeled as containing a digital tuner, it contains an analog tuner only.

If you can’t determine, through labeling, whether your TV is analog or digital, find and record the make and model and contact the manufacturer to find out if it is digital.

The information in this column was gleaned from the website www.dtv.com. This is a lot to digest. As February 19, 2008 approaches I will address this issue again with any new information I have learned.

The Area Agency on Aging opened the Southwest Michigan SeniorNet Computer Learning Center in April 2000 in the old Zenith building at 211 Hilltop in St. Joseph. This all volunteer classroom is for students 50 years and older. The instructors and coaches must also be 50-plus.

The SeniorNet concept includes volunteer instructors and coaches helping seniors learn to use computers. The image from the instructor's computer is displayed using a projector so the students can see what the instructor is talking about.

Coaches stand behind the students to gently steer them in the direction the instructor is going. If a student gets too far behind, the coaches pause the class while they explain what the instructor wants them to do or see.

Courses offered in the St. Joseph classroom began at the beginner and intermediate level. As the original group of 14 volunteers grew to approximately 40, including instructors with different expertise, the list of courses offered was expanded to include Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Cards and Labels, Genealogy, Advanced, Managing Your Computer, Protecting Your Computer, Internet and e-mail, Quilt Design and Photo Editing. Today's course offering is driven by students' request.

This sounds impressive, but an analysis of students' home addresses found that most were from the St. Joseph/Stevensville area. We believe there are a lot more potential students in the three-county area (Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren) served by the Area Agency on Aging. The analysis also indicated that very few of the students came from Benton Harbor.

This disparity may be attributed to economic conditions, lack of transportation or other factors.

If the Area Agency on Aging is to expand the reach of the SeniorNet program, something has to change.

The Bridges to Digital Excellence (BDE) program at 175 W. Main St. in Benton Harbor has been teaching computer classes to school-age children and their families for a number of years. BDE contacted the Area Agency on Aging to discuss expanding its program to include seniors. After some dialogue, BDE offered to house a SeniorNet classroom in its building. This partnership will become a reality in January when beginning and intermediate computer classes will be offered.

To become a volunteer in the Benton Harbor SeniorNet classroom, call 757-0218 and ask to be put in contact with Mary Ellen, the volunteer coordinator.

A special thank-you goes out to the Bridges to Digital Excellence program for its generous offer of a classroom.

To further expand the reach of SeniorNet, AT&T announced recently that is is donating $25,000 toward the implementation of a mobile classroom. SeniorNet will be using this money to purchase 13 laptop computers, a wireless router and a projector allowing us to take the classroom to students.

When the Area Agency on Aging opened the SeniorNet classroom in 2000, it was Ameritech that paid the franchise fee. Now it's done it again, this time as AT&T. Thank you, AT&T, for being a great community partner.

You finally did it. Even though you were nervous about something bad happening, you bought your first computer. You were right to be afraid (maybe cautious is a better word). There are lots of ways that your computer, or you, can be harmed while on-line, but it isn’t so bad that you should stay away from computers. You do need to use the software designed to protect your computer and you need to use a little common sense.

The first thing is protect your computer against viruses. Programs called anti-virus software are a necessity. When you purchase a computer it probably comes bundled with anti-virus software. What you usually get is a 90 day free trial. It is important to activate the free trial software and download virus updates immediately. Know as virus signatures, these updates contain programs that detect and combat known viruses.

If the virus signatures are not updated, new viruses that you are not yet protected from, may gain access to your computer. Viruses are programs that slow your computer, use your computer to launch attacks on other computers, delete files on your computer, or make you vulnerable to people trying to hack into your computer. If your computer doesn’t have an anti-virus program you can purchase one at Best Buy or Staples.

A firewall keeps unscrupulous people out of your computer by keeping track of Internet programs that attempt to access your computer. It detects whether you were the one who initiated the contact with another computer by requesting a download or an exchange of information. If you were not the initiator it blocks the other computer’s access to your computer. Activating your firewall and keeping it turned on are very important. A basic firewall program comes as part of the Windows operating system.

If you have a wireless connection to the Internet that is not encrypted then other people near your wireless network can gain access to your computer. Wireless encryption programs are readily available to protect your computer. There is also a basic program offering wireless encryption that comes with Windows.

Now comes the common sense part. Phishing is the act of sending an e-mail to an Internet user, falsely claiming to be a legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The phisher tells you that you must update information about your bank account or credit card account by typing in your account number and password. Rest assured that no company worth its salt is going to request that information from you in an email, so don’t give that information without at least calling the company first to find out if it is a legitimate request. If you call, use a phone number that came from somewhere other than the e-mail.

Hoaxes are warnings that arrive via e-mail, telling you that you may have already been infected by a virus with a fictitious name. Quite often an unsuspecting friend who is trying to be helpful will forward the e-mail to you. In one variation of a hoax you are instructed to search for a particular file that was installed on your computer by the virus. You are then instructed to delete the file to get rid of the virus. This is a lie as you will soon discover because the file you just deleted was an integral part of the Windows operating system. Now your computer will not function properly.

Another part of using common sense is knowing that computer storage is not perfect. If you have important financial files, pictures, or genealogy records stored on your computer’s hard drive, you should make electronic copies in case the hard drive fails. There are many devices on which you can make and store copies. You can burn files onto a CD or DVD. A memory key (a device the size of your finger that will connect to any computer) is great for temporary storage. You can also purchase external hard drives that connect to your computer and automatically copy anything you save on your computer.

Using a computer should not be a bad experience. If you take a few steps to protect your computer and the information contained therein you will be able to enjoy the journey toward becoming a seasoned user.

You can now purchaseMP3 players inexpensively. In some cases, they come free as part of a promotion. MP3 players are credit card-sized electronic devices that hold large numbers of songs. They come with ear buds, which are like headphones only they fit inside the ear. MP3 players also include a cable that connects to your computer so you can transfer songs from the computer to the MP3 player.

How do you get the songs into your computer? One method is copying them from CDs you have purchased. Windows Media Player is a program found on almost every computer that runs the Windows operating system. To copy the songs from a CD to your computer, you insert the CD into the CD drive and wait a few seconds. The Audio CD dialog box opens, and you can choose to listen to a CD or copy the songs to your computer. If the Audio CD dialog box doesn't open, you can open Windows Media Player and select "Copy from CD."

Another method of getting songs on your computer is downloading them from a Web site. Rhapsody (www.rhapsody.com) is a popular Web site where you can listen to songs or entire CDs before you download them. Rhapsody is not an illegal file-sharing site. It is a legal download site where you purchase the songs. For varying fees, you can download the songs or CDs to your computer or directly to an MP3 player for your own use or to share with others.

Other legal music download sites include iTunes (www.itunes.com), Napster (www.napster.com), Yahoo (music.yahoo.com) and Wal-Mart (musicdownloads.walmart.com). Songs downloaded from these sites can be burned or copied to your computer, to CDs and to MP3 players.

How many times have you purchased a CD because you really enjoyed a particular song, only to discover that is the only song you like? When burning songs to CDs, you can choose one song from a particular artist, two from another artist and so on, and put them all on one CD. Likewise, after songs are copied to your computer or to an MP3 player, you can created play lists by dragging songs into a folder that will then contain all your favorites.

Many songs that are downloaded are in a format known as WMA. This format often has digital rights management (DRM) software that restricts these songs from being uploaded to file-sharing sites. A few of the major labels, EMI and Universal, recently have begun selling restriction-free music downloads.

This fall, the SeniorNet Learning Center in St. Joseph will be offering a class that will provide information about legal music downloads and CD burning. If interested, call 983-4232 for more information.

It just kind of crept up on me. I didn't realize how, over the years, I had become so dependent on my computer.

I'm writing this on the plane as we return from my son's wedding in Maui, where 34 people ranging in are from 2 to 80 traveled to see him marry my new daughter-in-law, Jen.

In the spirit of being on vacation, we had decided not to bring my wife's laptop, buy my son-in-law, Jeff, asked if he could take it so he could attend his online classes for college. He would get up early each morning to log on to do his lessons. I tried not to use it, but, since it was available, I asked to borrow it one evening in the middle of the week so I could transfer money from one bank account to another. Then I thought, why not see what was happening in the world of sports? After also reading the news on msn.com, I figured, "What the heck, if I check on some of my e-mails now, it won't be so hard to catch up when I get back to work." It became a routine: He would bring it to our condo each afternoon, and then he would come get it again the next morning.

Friends and family all brought digital cameras to record their adventures. After they discovered we had a laptop, some wanted to download pictures to it so they had back-up copies in case something happened to their cameras; others wanted to download their pictures so they could clear their memory cards to take more pictures. We ended up with more than 2,000 photos on the computer. Quite a few of us used it to look at slide shows each night so we could see the beautiful places others had been.

Looking around the plane on the trip home, I saw at least four people who were using their laptops to watch movies. A number of others appeared to be doing some kind of work, and one fellow in front of me must have been a physician or a medical student. He was looking at ZX-rays and cross sections of various parts of the human body while listening to descriptions on his headphones. It must have been a program he loaded from a DVD.

It still hadn't dawned on me how ingrained in society computers have become until I began writing this column on the plane using only a pen and a pad of paper. I found you actually have to plan before you write because editing is so difficulty - trying to scratch out one phrase and substituting it with another.

When I received my fi8rst company-owned cell phone(also my first cell phone), I felt like no matter what happened, I could call for help. The next week, I signed a two-year contract for cell phones for my wife and daughter. It didn't seem fair that I was protected in case of emergency but they weren't. After my daughter graduated from college and assumed responsibility for her own phone, we purchased a phone for each of our two sons.

Now if I leave home without my cell phone, I'm almost in a panic. What happens if I get a flat tire and miss my morning meeting? How will I notify the person I was to meet with to let them know I'll be late? I know if they were detained they would let me know. My daughter called one wintry day to say she had just slid off an exit ramp and was stuck in a snow drift. I was getting ready to go rescue her when I received another call saying a Good Samaritan in a jeep had stopped to pull her out.

Some of the employees at the Area Agency on Aging carry smart phones, which can also be used to find information on the Internet or send and receive e-mail. It used to be that if someone went to Lansing for a meeting they would have to spend the first part of the next day catching up on e-mail. I mentioned to a colleague the other day that I sent him an e-mail late Friday afternoon that was critical to how he would spend his day on Monday. He nodded and said "Yeah I saw it on my phone." Many phones also have built-in digital cameras. Smart phones also allow you to listen to your favorite MP3 music and /or work on an Excel spreadsheet or a word processing document.

Cell phones have changed the way we look at things. I almost expect everyone to have one. A common part of a conversation is "What is your cell number?"

What if you don't have a cell phone because the calling plan costs too much? You might ask a family member to let you in on their plan. Family plans or companion phones will get your monthly bill down to about $20. Many of the carriers offer prepaid minutes to keep your bill down to a minimum.

Cell phones can be used to dial 911. It doesn't matter if the cell phone has service with one of the carriers. 011 is supposed to work if the cell phone is charged. The call will cost you nothing, but you have to be able to tell the dispatcher where you are. I have been told that older analog phones still work for this service. So how can you get an old cell phone? Try family and friends first. If they don't have one, try one of the many cell phone dealers in the tri-county area. They probably have phones that customers return when they get a new calling plan.

I recently learned about Jitterbug phones that come with large backlit buttons that can be easily seen by seniors. There is a cost for the phone, but 911 service is free and they have pay-as-you-go plans or you can prepay and then you have 90 days to use the minutes. Jitterbug will also program many of your frequently called numbers prior to shipping the phone. You can find out more at www.jitterbug.com.

Cell phones do offer peace of mind if you know a loved one can call for help at any time.

The Internet was developed in the very early 1970s. Originally known ar ARPANET, computers or networks of computers at remote locations were connected so that no single computer was in complete control. The idea was that this open-architecture network could be used by the military and enemy forces would not be able to disrupt their ability to communicate.

Today's version of the Internet and e-mail is so widespread that college students couldn't imagine life without it. They grew up with the Internet just as they grew up with television, radio, computers and cell phones. Requesting someone's e-mail address or a company's Web address is now as common as asking for a telephone numb er. Everyone's eyes and ears seem to be connected by the Internet. You can truly get breaking news as it is breaking.

What did your family use for communication when you were a youngster? I was born in the lat "40s, and I remember radio being a big part of our lines. It was pretty amazing how descriptions of crime scenes or people;'s faces on a radio mystery show named "The Whistler" could conjure up images of danger in a child's mind. And I can still recall on another show how Little Beaver used to signal that all was right on the Western front when he would say "You betchum, Red Rider."

Our first television was a big wood box with legs that never seemed to have the antenna turned in the right direction. We kids didn't get to watch much during the day because no matter that he couldn't see the ball, my dad had his beloved Cubs on the tube whenever they played. I do have memories of the acts on "the Ed Sullivan Show," and I really enjoyed trying to beat the regulars as they attempted to figure out who the imposters were on "What's My Line."

Our telephone was a rotary dial device, and we shared a party line with the Thompsons around the corner. When you picked up the phone, you could hear all the neighborhood gossip. We knew a lot about those Thompson kids, even though they weren't the ones we played with. If we needed to place a call, we often had to ask them to hang up so we could use the line. They would hang up long enough for us to connect a call and then they would pick up the phone and listen to our conversations.

It's difficult to appreciate how much the telephone, radio and television have impacted our lives, since they were always a part of it. How did your grandparents every survive without a TV or radio to hear the news? How could they get any family news without the telephone? The U.S. Postal Service has been around a long time, but what did people do for communications before the pony express?

Familiarity with a device or service does make it hard to imagine life without it. I wonder what hardships our grandchildren will have to tell about when they are talking about good old days.

This is National Volunteer month so I want to take this opportunity to tell you about the many volunteers at the Southwest Michigan SeniorNet Computer Learning Center which is sponsored by the Area Agency on Aging.

SeniorNet, at 211 Hilltop Road in St. Joseph, known by some as the old Zenith building, is an all-volunteer classroom of seniors (50 years or older) teaching seniors to use computers. The classroom is small enough (twelve computers) that all the students can have interaction with the instructor. Each of the classes has an instructor whose computer monitor is projected on a screen at the front and at least one coach who stands behind the students gently helping those who need a little extra assistance. Depending on the size of the class there may be two coaches. If a coach sees that a student is having problems catching up to the instructor they have the authority to stop the class until things begin to make sense to the student. If a student is having a particularly difficult time a coach may be assigned to that student so the class can proceed at a faster pace.

Our volunteers answer phones, schedule classes, register students for classes, create advertising copy and send it to the Herald Palladium, write the newsletter, prepare the newsletter for mailing and take it to the post office, make coffee for the students, and greet the students as they come to class. They also maintain the computers in the classroom, installing software and setting up virus protection so we don’t have problems when the students are exploring the Internet.

The volunteers come from all walks of life, most of them retired. SeniorNet started in April of 2000 with just 14 volunteers. Today the group numbers almost 40 and the volunteer coordinator is always looking for more. Many of the current volunteers are former SeniorNet students who saw how people helped them learn and would like to return the favor. Instructors must have a firm grasp of the subject they are teaching and the talent to convey their message to their students. Coaches need to have an understanding of the basics of Windows and an ability to follow what the instructor is saying while also watching the students. New volunteers are required to attend a few classes so they see how it operates.

The volunteers only need to be in class two to four hours per week but most spend extra time studying their subject so they can provide a quality experience for the students. Our basic curriculum is provided by the national SeniorNet organization, but many of our more advanced courses have been designed and written by our instructors. This requires many hours researching the topics they will cover as well as writing, rewriting, and practicing their presentation.

Six or seven of the volunteers comprise the SeniorNet roundtable, who look at classes for possible modification as the technology changes, consider requests from students for new courses, iron out problems encountered by the volunteers, and determine how many times each of the courses should be offered.

Our volunteers are paid in smiles, gratitude, handshakes, camaraderie, and now and then when they hear a student proclaim “so that’s how it’s done.” The experience can be very rewarding.

If you would like to be a SeniorNet volunteer please call (269) 983-4232 and leave your name and number. Dennis will return your call.

Seniors can find a lot of help on the Internet. Here are some of the many Web sites with good information:

To learn about Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage try www.medicare.gov . This site gives you access to a directory of all Medicare plans with drug coverage in your state.

At www.benefitscheckup.org you can fill out a simple questionnaire (with no personal identifying information except your zip code) and based on the answers you provide, receive a listing of federal, state, and local programs for which you are eligible that help pay for prescription drugs, utility bills, meals, health care and other needs.

www.eldercare.gov. Enter your zip code and the Eldercare Locator finds the nearest Area Agency on Aging. This can be especially helpful for a loved one in another area of the country.

www.aarp.org This site provides benefits, advocacy and information on aging for people age 50 and over.

www.ssa.gov. The Social Security Administration’s site lets you apply for benefits online, calculate your retirement benefits, and find answers for your retirement questions.

Interested in what's going on in Washington , D.C. ? Want to contact your legislators? Try these three sites: www.whitehouse.gov, www.house.gov, or www.senate.gov.

www.aoa.gov. The home page for the Administration on Aging informs you about pending federal legislation and aging issues in the news.

The Department of Veterans Affairs at www.va.gov, will inform you about federal veteran’s benefits for which you may qualify, a listing of VA facilities, and a place to contact the VA.

www.apsnetwork.org is the Website of the National Adult Protective Services Association to provide help for America’s vulnerable adults. You can use this site to learn about and report domestic or institutional elder abuse.

You can reach the Michigan Great Lakes Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association by logging on to www.alzmigreatlakes.org. Here you will find educational materials, the opportunity to attend training, and you can purchase a bracelet ID or iron on labels to identify someone with Alzheimer’s in case they wander.

The Area Agency on Aging is responsible for administering the Older American Community Service Employment Program (OACSEP) in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties. OACSEP, also known as the Title V program, is a training program that matches enrollees with a not-for-profit host agency that is willing to spend the time and effort to train an individual. This is a win-win situation. Participants are paid a stipend equal to Michigan’s minimum wage through a grant by the Department of Labor and the Office of Services to the Aging so there is no cost to the host agency. The enrollee is able to gain experience in a business setting they might not otherwise be able to break into while receiving compensation for their time.

Training is not limited to on-the-job. Many enrollees in the program have also been approved for outside computer training. Computer skills can only enhance a resume.

To get into the program an applicant must meet certain eligibility requirements including age (55 years or older) and income (less than 125% of the Federal poverty limit). The Federal poverty limit is based on family or household size. The 2006 Federal poverty limit for a household with one person is $9,800. 125% of that is $12,250. You can find information about different sized households on the Internet at http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/06poverty.shtml. The limits for 2007 will be posted some time in February.

The goal is for the person to gain unsubsidized employment and the program has shown some success. To be successful the applicant must contact prospective employers. If an interview is arranged the host agency will allow you to attend the interview during business hours. If unsubsidized employment is not obtained within a period of one year the enrollee will be placed with another host agency where they will learn a new set of skills.

If you would like to explore the Title V program, call Edna at (269) 982-7754 for an appointment. She will help determine your eligibility and may be able to place you with an appropriate host agency. There may be a waiting list because placement is dependent on the availability of a host agency, current numbers of enrollees, and current funding. After eligibility is verified applicants must present a resume and must have a resume on file with Michigan Works.

Host agencies interested in placements for applicants should contact Edna. Please remember, this is not just free employment. Time must be spent training the enrollee to prepare them for employment. Prospective employers looking for an employee with office skills and a good work ethic should also contact Edna.

If you are not eligible for the Title V program because of your income or age but you need assistance finding employment you should consider visiting the Michigan Works office. Michigan Works assists job seekers with a wide range of employment, training, and career education services. Their main office is in Benton Harbor and they also have service centers in Buchanan, Dowagiac, and Paw Paw.

On another note, congratulations to all who have signed up for classes at the SeniorNet Computer Learning Center. It isn’t too late for those who haven’t signed up. Classes are still available. Call (269) 983-4232 to find out more.

Christmas is over and many of you now have a new computer, some for the first time. What will you do with it? Just because your children gave you a computer so you could keep in touch…does that mean you will know how to use it? My advice is to turn it on every day. Even if all you do with it is play solitaire, at least you will be learning. You will be learning to launch a program, use the mouse, understand how a menu works, how to close a program and how to turn the computer off.

A second bit of advice, get connected with the Internet. What was once a costly proposition has followed the cost of computers on a downward spiral. Ten or fifteen dollars per month for a dial up connection through your existing phone line is now common. High speed connections through a DSL phone line or a cable connection are also becoming more affordable. It doesn’t cost anything to call your phone company, cable company, or an Internet service provider to ask about it.

Once connected with the Internet don’t be afraid to log on. There are wonders out there you can’t even imagine. You can read newspapers or magazines from every country in the world, search for old friends or distant relatives, order your medications, see pictures of a loved one’s wedding, pay bills, do your banking, print pictures of your grandchildren, buy and sell things, research any topic, listen to music, get legal advice, watch TV shows, or find the nearest Area Agency on Aging…all without leaving your home. All you have to do is try.

If this seems overwhelming you can learn all this and more at the SeniorNet Computer Learning Center in St. Joseph. The Learning Center is a computer classroom for seniors (fifty years or older) sponsored by the Area Agency on Aging. The instructors are all volunteers who are also seniors. While the instructor is demonstrating what you should be doing coaches stand behind the students to gently help them along.

SeniorNet offers a course named Computers 101 for those who have never used a computer. This four week course is designed to take the mystery out of computers. It is a hands-on course where you will learn about using a mouse, and how to use a word processing program to create a document like this column.

Computers 201 is for the person who uses their computer but knows they are missing a lot. It provides an introduction to word processing, spreadsheets, databases, email and the Internet, and basic file handling.

Computers 301 covers advanced features of Microsoft Word and Excel (the spreadsheet program). Slide shows and presentations are covered using Microsoft PowerPoint.

Digital 101 is a lecture presented at the Area Agency on Aging on Lakeview Avenue. This one session lecture (not a hands-on class) is designed for people who are thinking about buying a digital camera or have just acquired one and want to learn the basics of using it.

Photo Editing is a six session course that teaches you to organize, enhance, restore, retouch, or just improve your photographs.

Coping with Your Pictures is a two session course for those who have trouble opening or don’t know how to do anything with pictures they received in an email.

Managing Your Computer teaches you to utilize features of the Windows Operating System to personalize your PC, so that it looks and performs the way you prefer. Learn to install or uninstall software and to back up your system.

If this piques your interest call 983-4232 and leave your name, address, and phone number. Dennis will call you to register you for classes. There is a slight charge for courses but it all goes back into equipment, Internet connectivity, and the classroom.

Do you receive a lot of spam? Spam is unwanted, unsolicited e-mail from various sources, mostly from people trying to sell you things you don't need. We used to get a ton of spam at the office until we contracted with a service that filters our e-mail for us.

Why do we receive spam any way? Are there people out there who guess what our e-mail addresses might be or do they receive lists of e-mail addresses sold to them by enterprising business people? And if so. how do they receive the lists? I don't think our Internet service providers would sell our addressess. If they did, they probably wouldn't be in business very long.

So how do spammers get your e-mail addresses? It may be you. Yes, you may be guilty of providing the spammers with your address and the address of many of your acquaintances.

Here's how it works. If you receive a joke that you think is pretty funny or an inspirational message you would like to send to someone else or a chain letter that you feel you have to forward to 10 people, you are probably sending more address with that e-mail that you realize.

When you receive an e-mail that has been sent to more than one person, their addresses are embedded in the e-mail just as yours is. When you open the e-mail you can often see the addresses as part of the e-mail. If intead of the address you just see a person's name, try right clicking on the name and then select "Properties." In the properties you will probably be able to find the person's address.

If you foward the e-mail to more people, all of thier addresses are embedded in the e-mail as well as the addressess that were already there. If tyhey each forward to all theri friends, then sooner or later there will be hundreds of e-mail addresses contained in that one e-mail that sooner or later ends up in the hands of someone who might sell the list to a spammer.

You can copy text from an e-mail you have receiced, then paste it into a new email message you are composing. Copy and Paste is pretty easy to do, once you understand how.

Text can be copied from an existing document to an area of temorary memory inside your computer. The memory is cleared out each time you turn your computer off. While that itest is in the temporary storage ares - also know as the clip board - it can be pasted into a document that you are currently working on.

You might have received an e-mail that had directions to a class reunion and you want to send these directions to a classmate, but you don't want to forward the. While you have the e-mail open, select the text you want to send to your classmate, by clicking oand dragging across it. While the text is selected, click on the Edit menu at the top of your e-mail window and then select "Copy" from that menu. This puts the text in the temporary storage area. You can now close the e-mail and begin to compose a new one. When you get to the area where the text should go, click on the Edit munu and then click on Paste. The text will magically appear. Your e-mail is ready to send.

If you have troble pasting from the clopboard, try copying to it again. Remamber, before you can copy text to the clipboard you have to select the test by clicking-and -dragging acress it. Otherwise, the computer doesn't know what you want to copy.

The holiday season is coming, sooner than you think. And many of you will be purchasing a computer as a gift for a family member. You might be giving a computer to a child or a grandchild. A new trend is emerging as the prices of computers continue on their downward spiral; more people are purchasing computers for their parents or grandparents.

When browsing ads for computers it is often very difficult to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. The imminent release of the next Windows operating system, “Vista”, will also cause some of you to have palpitations because you don’t want to buy a gift that can’t be upgraded when the new release comes out. I’ll attempt to explain some of the points you may want to consider before your next purchase.

There are certain areas of a computer that you shouldn’t skimp on because they can lead to problems later on. These items are, in no particular order: processor, memory, hard drive, display, optical drives, and the warranty.

The processor is the brains of your computer. All commands for a game, text and pictures going to the printer or to a CD drive, or pretty much anything you do on a computer passes through the processor. This should tell you that a faster processor is better than a slower one. Minimum for Windows Vista is 800MHz (megahertz) but don’t settle for that. Common speeds of processors in tower computers are now at 3GHz (gigahertz) or better. Dual processors are better yet. Processors also have high speed memory, known as cache that is used for repetitive processes. I would not recommend a processor that doesn’t contain cache memory.

Memory (aka RAM) is the area of the computer where documents and programs are stored while you are using them. If you don’t save a document and you turn off the computer it may be gone when you turn it back on. Windows Vista requires 512Megabytes (MB) of memory but I don’t purchase a computer with less than 1GB of memory.

The hard drive or hard disk is the area of the computer where everything is stored. If something is saved on the hard drive and you turn the computer off it will still be there when you turn it back on. This is the area where the word processing program and all the documents you create are stored. How big should the hard drive be? The bigger, the better, but the minimum requirement for Windows Vista is 20Gigabytes (GB) with 15GB unused. I would probably not buy anything less than 60GB.

Flat Panel displays are great. They come in digital or analog models with the digital having a sharper picture and more options. Don’t buy a CRT monitor with a flat screen unless you want one of the old heavy, clunky models that takes a lot of space on your desktop.

Optical drives are for reading CDs and DVDs. A DVD +/- RW drive will let you watch DVDs, Burn DVDs, Listen to CDs, and burn CDs. With dual drives, you can save time and effort by running both drives at once. Watch DVDs and burn CDs at the same time, or even install software while burning a DVD.

The warranty is usually from one to four years. I look for a warranty statement that says “on-site parts and labor” or “at-home service”. This means you call a manufacturer’s help desk and they try to talk you through resetting this or reinstalling that to determine what the problem is. If it is determined to be a hardware problem they will send a repair person to your home to replace parts on the computer.

Another warranty issue is the level of support. Some of you may have experienced being told you are the eighth person in line and a technician will answer your call in approximately 25 minutes. If you purchased the upper level of support you’ll get to talk to a technician sooner and they probably won’t be from Panama or India. You will also want to read the warranty wording carefully to determine if the warranty call will be a toll free call.

Happy shopping!

Have you ever been to Beaver Island? It is an island about 14 miles long by 6 miles wide, located in Lake Michigan, about 30 miles west of Charlevoix.

My wife and I are planning our first trip there next month to enjoy the fall colors. How are we doing our planning? On the Internet, of course!

We started by going to Google’s web site and entered Beaver Island as a search item. This brought us to a map of the island which we were able to print so we had an idea of the location of the features we were going to read about.

Then we clicked on a link to the Beaver Island Boat Company which provides ferry service between Charlevoix and the Island. On this site we were able to find the rates for passengers and our bicycles, the schedule for the ferry, and contact information for making reservations. This is important because we didn’t want to drive three hundred miles to find out we just missed the last trip. Included was information concerning what we could not take on the ferry (kerosene, propane, etc.). We also found a link to some virtual tours where we could see a 360 degree view of some of the beaches and other places on the island.

Since the ferry only runs once per day (arrival on the island and unloading would get us there about dinner time, then we would have to leave at 8:30 am) relaxation time for a four day trip on the island would be limited to two full days. So we looked for flight information and found there are hourly flights to and from during the day. This would leave more time for exploration. In case we do fly, we were able to find places that offered car and bicycle rentals.

The Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce web site describes a wide array of accommodations (bed & breakfast, lodge, motels, houses, etc.), each of them listing occupancy, rates, and dates when the season ends. At some of the web sites we could even see the menu for the dining rooms.

We were able to find information about a health clinic on the island which might come in handy for those with chronic conditions or small emergency needs. For more acute needs we found the hospital in Charlevoix.

The local merchants seem to be operating in the 21st century. We found web sites for clothing stores, spas, jewelers, artisans, grocery stores, hardware stores, technology companies, and home furnishings. We also found a charter boat service that would take us to some of the smaller outlying islands.

Looking for camping information… no problem. The Chamber of Commerce site listed two campgrounds (both rustic) and a local merchant who lets you take a shower (soap and towel included) for ten dollars.

Using the Internet to plan our little getaway was a very easy experience. We know where we are going, how we are going to get there, what we can do while we are there, and the approximate cost of the trip. Now if we could find a web site that told us how we can pay for all this. Oh by the way, we did find applications on the Internet for seasonal employment on the island.

By the time this is published my daughter Katie will be on her honeymoon in Jamaica. I have been somewhat involved in the planning of her wedding to Jeff. Katie would say, “Dad, will you make sure I get this person’s address?” or “will you call to see why so and so hasn’t responded with their RSVP?” or “will you write a check for my dress?”

While feeling quite often like an innocent bystander, I was afforded an insider’s view, and I must say the Internet was an integral part of the whole planning process.
While browsing through the caterer’s Web site, Katie clicked on a link for venues and found the Blue Dress Barn in Benton Harbor where she is to be married.

She could see pictures inside and outside the blue Dress Barn and was able to contact the owners and arrange for a walk through before reserving the site.

Katie was able to send links to the bridesmaids that took them to the venue and to the page where they could pick out their color coordinated dresses. One of the bridesmaids lives in Germany. No problem on the Internet.

The couple created a gift registry at two stores. Not only could all the guests look online at their registry, they could purchase their gifts and have them shipped, all on the Internet.

Katie was able to find ideas for wedding invitations on the Internet and found sample speeches for the best man and maid of honor, as well as songs which were appropriate for the father daughter dance and the mother son dance, and she even found a reading for the ceremony.

The couple created their own page on www.theknot.com where friends and family could post messages to the bride and groom. They were also able to find a bridal budget calculator to help with the planning.

A Sandals resort for the honeymoon was located on the Internet. Now that the resort is picked they are watching the tropical storms in the area.

Ideas for crafts like the place card holder and the gift card holder were form on Martha Stewart’s Web site.

E-mail was an integral part of keeping everyone informed during the planning of the bridal showers and the bachelorette party.

When the preparations were just about complete, Katie said, “without the Internet, I don’t know how anyone would plan a wedding.”

I’m sure that there are many more sites I haven’t mentioned and there will be many more sites created as the Internet ages. I have two more children to marry off, so I’ll probably lean more as time goes on.

In 1979 while living in Wyoming, I worked with a man named Dick Cerise, who heated his home with wood, as did most people in that remote, timber rich area. He had a bad habit of using a diesel mix to start the fires in his wood stove. One day his daughter, about twelve years old, accidentally used gasoline instead of the diesel mix. She wasn’t badly injured, but the house burned to the ground.

I saw Dick the next day and he cried non stop while telling me about the fire. He wasn’t concerned about rebuilding, that’s why you buy insurance…it was the thought of never being able to replace all the family pictures that were lost.

Yesterday my wife, Cheri, called with a computer problem at home. Her computer shut down and gave her some cryptic message about a serious error. After she was able to restart the computer I asked her if she had made backup copies of her client files. I then asked if she had made backup copies of all the pictures she had taken with her digital camera. I’ll let you figure out the answer.

Yesterday she did make copies of her client files on a CD. We also searched through the computer and found hundreds of family pictures. We will be making copies this weekend.

Too many people today use a digital camera and then store the pictures on their computer without thinking about what would happen if the computer died. There are companies that specialize in retrieving information from hard drives that no longer work correctly. They charge a pretty hefty fee for their services. This could all be prevented if you make backup copies right after storing pictures or documents on your computer.

Most computers purchased today have a CD RW drive. This is a drive that lets you “burn” CDs. All the pictures we found on my wife’s computer will fit on one or two CDs. You can also buy a computer with a DVD burner. DVDs have a capacity 6 to 8 times that of a CD. If you make copies, why not make two copies and store one at the house of a friend or relative.

A device that is a little easier to use is a memory key, also know as a jump drive. Memory keys are small devices that fit on a keychain (mine is about 3 inches by ¾ inch) that connect to the USB port of your computer. When you plug it in to your computer it becomes an extra drive for copying files (pictures). The capacity of memory keys is increasing all the time and the price is dropping.

If you have an older computer that only has a floppy drive you can still put data files or maybe a few smaller pictures on a floppy disk.

If you are moving or switching computers you might consider protecting your files by emailing them as attachments. Simply send yourself an email with the pictures or important documents attached to the email. When you are relocated or have your new computer set up, retrieve your email and copy the files to their new location.

However you decide to do it…make copies and store them somewhere other than right next to your computer. I sometimes feel like Bill Gates puts a program in all the new computers that detects whether or not you made backups and reacts accordingly.

You may recall reading a similar column last year but this is a very important topic that is often forgotten.

Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.

J.F.K.

I think they took this to heart at the Southwest Michigan SeniorNet Computer Learning Center. The volunteers at the Learning Center are giving of their time and knowledge so other seniors can learn to use computers.

A partial list of what the volunteers do at the Learning Center includes answering phones and returning calls so prospective students can register for classes, preparing newsletters for mailing, teaching courses, coaching students (they stand behind the students and help them when needed), scheduling classes, analyzing what new courses are needed (based on requests and volunteer expertise), creating new course material (writing lesson plans is a big job), and putting advertisements together and sending them to the newspaper.

And then there’s loading new software on classroom computers, updating existing software, performing maintenance to keep the computers running, learning new subject matter, presenting the SeniorNet program to service clubs to get the word out, and maintaining lists of students and volunteers. Then there is rescheduling classes when an instructor is ill (lots of phone calls involved) or finding a second coach at the last minute. Did I forget to mention putting manuals together and ordering supplies so we have fresh coffee, CDs for the student files, and screen cleaners so everyone can see what they are working on?

The pay for all the hours invested can’t be measured in monetary terms. It is, as the advertisement says “priceless”. When you hear a student exclaim “I’ve been trying to do that for months”, or “”Now it is beginning to make sense”, the warm fuzzies travel all over your body.

I have been involved in teaching computers at many different levels and have had students who were playing computer games, instant messaging with friends, or even sleeping during class. Come to think of it, that might say something about my teaching style. But at SeniorNet it’s not that way. All the students follow every word the instructor says. They are hungry for the knowledge and new skills each instructor is able to offer them. They ask questions and help each other figure things out. The coaches are actively involved, helping the students who are having problems, so everyone has a good learning experience.

The gratitude shown by the students is overwhelming. They thank the volunteers after classes and shake their hands. Some students even bring in treats for the class.

The SeniorNet volunteers are, if not the best, on a level playing field with any volunteer organization with which I’ve ever been associated. They are willing to put in long hours and they appear to enjoy working together, forging lasting friendships with people they otherwise might not have met.

If this sounds like an organization you might be interested in and would like to find out more, please call (269) 983-4232. You may get an answering machine because we are a volunteer organization. Please leave your name and number so Dennis can get back to you. He is the volunteer coordinator, responsible for all the tasks mentioned above and then some.

Have you ever received an email, forwarded by a friend, that warns you about some nasty computer virus programmed to destroy everyone’s computer at some future date, probably sooner instead of later? “You may have already been infected!” They tell you exactly what to look for (open the Windows registry and look for these entries) and what to do about it (delete this file and everything will be OK). The e-mail advises you to send this to all your acquaintances. The problem, you find out later, is that after deleting the file your computer doesn’t function properly.

Your friend may have meant well. They were just passing on a warning they received from an official looking e-mail so you didn’t suffer the ravages brought on by the virus. They were probably sorry after they rebooted and found that they too had deleted a necessary file.
You and your friend have been victimized by a hoax.

How can you know what to believe? The first thing you should know is there are companies whose mission it is to protect you from viruses, hoaxes, etc. CIAC is the Computer Incident Advisory Capability of the U.S. Department of Energy. Using the Internet, log on to www.ciac.org and you’ll find a link near the top named Hoax Busters. Click on Hoax Busters and in the Search area you will be able to type in a string of text from the e-mail you received. CIAC will let you know if the email is a known hoax.

Another site you can log on to is www.cert.org.CERT is a federally funded research and development center operated by Carnegie Mellon University (www.cmu.edu) that studies Internet security vulnerabilities. Still another site for analyzing hoaxes is www.symantec.com.This will take you to the Web site for the parent corporation of Norton, the popular antivirus software.

The second thing is that major software corporations do not send e-mail notifications to people about security problems. There are so many computer users who change their e-mail addresses or give their old computers away. How would the computer companies know who to contact? The way they do protect you is by posting notifications on their Web sites, telling you what the problem is, and then making downloads available so you can prevent an infection or fix it if you are already infected.

If you are using a Windows computer, you can turn on Automatic Updates (click on Start and then Control Panel). With Updates turned on, any time you log on to the Internet, Microsoft will look at all the updates you have installed. If you are missing an update, it will be downloaded and installed so your protection is up to date.

If you use the Internet and email often and you are not certain what steps to take to protect your computer, you might want to consider taking a course from our Senior Net Learning Center. Call (269) 983-4232 or log on to www.areaagencyonaging.org and click on the Senior Net link for more information.

Oh, by the way, please be sure to send this to everyone you know.

I received a phone call this past weekend from a friend in another part of the state. His elderly mother had fallen, and he knew I worked for the Area Agency on Aging. He wanted to know how to find the services that were available to his mother in that part of the state. I gave him the phone number for the Area Agency on Aging in his location so he could call the experts in his area.

How can you locate the local Area Agency on Aging for a remote friend? You can log on to www.eldercare.gov, where you will be asked to answer three questions:
Are you seeking services as yourself, as a caregiver or as a professional?
Do you want to search by ZIP code, city or county?
Are you searching for general information or specific info on Medicare, elder abuse, etc.?

After entering your responses, a page appears, providing you with the address, phone number and an e-mail address to contact the local Area Agency on Aging.

You also can call (800) 677 1116 to talk with an individual (I tried it and actually talked with someone) who will ask the same questions and then give you the address, phone number and other information about the Area Agency on Aging in the locale you specified.

On another note, I read on the Internet today an article lamenting the imminent onslaught of elderly drivers as the baby boomer generation comes of age. The author of the article cited poor vision, slow reflexes, decreasing ability to judge speed of other vehicles and a lack of mobility as dangers posed by senior drivers. The article also stated that only two states had laws requiring driving tests each time a person 65 or older renews a license.

I just renewed my license in December, and I did it via the U.S. Postal Service. It was very easy and convenient. Mandatory testing based on age might be thought of as discriminating against seniors. On the other hand, I know that my reaction times, eyesight and mobility/flexibility are declining as I age. How can I determine when my decline has made me an unsafe driver?

The American Automobile Association has developed a computer program, Roadwise Review, that tests leg strength, flexibility, vision and reaction times. I wrote about this last year, but it seems appropriate again in light if the article on the Web. Roadwise Review is designed to inform you of potential problems.

Roadwise Review is packaged on a DVD and is interactive, so you will need to run it on a computer with a DVD player.You also need to have a partner, because some of the testing requires that you are 10 feet away from the computer while someone else is doing the clicking.
If you are concerned that your test scores will be transmitted to the state of Michigan and you will lose your license, don’t worry. This test can be taken in a private area, and the computer need not be connected to the Internet. You don’t even have to give your real name when taking the test, and nothing is saved on the computer. If the test points out an impairment in one area or another, you might want to have your doctor check it out.

The DVDs can be purchased from the American Automobile Association at any full-service branch offices statewide. It costs $ 3 for members and $ 5 for nonmembers. Or you cay call any of the senior centers in Berrien, Cass or Van Buren counties to inquire about using the program we sent to them. You also can call the Senior Info-Line at (800) 654 2810 to inquire about checking out the program.

Phishing is the act of sending an e-mail to an Internet user, falsely claiming to be a legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The email directs the user to visit a Web site, where he or she is asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit cards, Social Security and bank account numbers that the legitimate organization already has. The Web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information. This lengthy definition came from the Webopedia dictionary.

I’ve noticed an increase lately in the number of e-mail requests I receive for personal information concerning how I access financial services via the computer. And the requests are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with respect to looking like they are legitimate. I received an e-mail the other day that told me some of my information needed to be verified, and a link to a Web site was offered. I clicked on the link and it opened a very official-looking Web site that had an area in the center where I was to enter my account number and password to my accounts. The Web site looked very real until I tried clicking on some of the links for “Help,” “Tools,” “Contact us,” etc. All they wanted me to do was enter information that would allow them to clean out my accounts.

I think this is an important topic for many seniors. Not that seniors are more easily fooled, but they haven’t always had access to computers and consequently don’t know how to recognize some of the red flags that others find very apparent. When the younger members of your family are telling you “banking on the Internet is so easy and safe” or “you should be paying your bills online,” you might feel pressured to move forward on the Internet with a false sense of security.

So how do you protect yourself from falling prey to a phishing scam? First, you should realize that no respectable financial institution will send you an e-mail requesting information they should already have in their possession. Many financial institutions, as a pre-emptive measure, are now notifying all their customers that they will never ask for personal information over the Internet.

Second, if you are in doubt about an e-mail or Web site that asks for your personal information, stop. Do Not Proceed Past Go. Call your financial institution to ask them about the request you received. When you call, don’t use a phone number supplied on the e-mail or Web site because that is probably bogus as well. If you don’t know how to contact your financial institution, get out the phone book or drive there and talk to them in person.You may want to print a copy of the e-mail or the bogus Web site to show them.

Third, to protect yourself and others, report phishing attempts by sending an e-mail to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a volunteer agency committed to wiping out Internet scams and fraud. Instructions for emailing them are as follows: Create a new mail to reportphishing@antiphishing.org. Drag and drop the phishing email from your in box onto this new e-mail message. If you are using Netscape, drop it on the “attachment” area Do not use “forward” if you can help it, as this approach loses information and requires more manual processing. The exception is when you use the Web interface to Outlook. In that case, “forward” is the only solution.

Richard Martin's Prior Columns