MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MEETING ON 24th November
Future Themes
After Christmas, sessions will continue, but I do not propose to repeat the current course for the third time. I am looking to you, the audience, for suggestions as to what YOU would like to see discussed in these sessions. Please e-mail me you ideas, to questions@billnot.com
There are a lot of URLs (web addresses) to be posted in these "Matters Arising", and I'll group them all together at the bottom.
Saturday's Meeting
We did not spend the session discussing Newsgroups - we'll do this on 8th December. Instead, we looked at the various forms of software licencing, and how to get Freeware and Shareware from the Internet. The various forms of licencing are explained in my December column for The Grapevine, advance copies of which were distributed, but in case you missed them, I'm posting a copy on this site.
By far the commonest way to obtain Freeware and Shareware is by downloading from the Internet. There are many sites dedicated to providing lists of, and access to, software, and I've given the URLs of the biggest and best known below.
The software will come in the form of an archive. This is a single file containing, in a compressed form, all the files necessary to install the program on your computer. Archives are usually self-extracting executables, with the extension .EXE or ZIP files, with the extension .ZIP. Whichever they are, the first thing to do is to provide somewhere on your hard disk for the archives to be stored. I suggest you create a directory (folder) called "Downloads" or similar on your C drive, and store them in that. Then you will never have any trouble finding them at a future date.
If you use one of the larger "warehouses", your download should start automatically. If not, all you need to do is to click on the name of the file you want. A dialog box will pop up, asking you whether you want to open the file from its current location or save to disk. Choose "Save to Disk". You will then be asked where you want it to be saved. Select your downloads directory (or somewhere else, provided you can remember where it is!). The archive will now download which, depending on its size, could take anything from a minute to an hour or more. Once the download is complete, you can disconnect from the Internet and close your browser.
How you unpack the archive and use the software will vary from package to package. If it is a ZIP file, you will need to use an unzipper, such as WinZip or FreeZip to extract the software. Both these programs are available for download (as self-extractors!). The usual situation with a ZIP file is that you copy the archive into a directory you have created especially for it, and then unzip it there, into its component parts. You will need to add the program to your Start Menu manually, if you want it to appear there.
More and more, software, especially for the more sophisticated applications, will come as a self-extracting archive. All you need to do is to run it, either by using the Run option from the Start button, or by opening "My Computer" and plohging through directories and subdirectories until you find it, then double clicking. The extraction program will (usually) invite you to choose an installation directory, which will be created if necessary, and may ask one or two other questions. The software will then be installed and (usually) added to the start menu
As often happens, the topic of viruses cropped up. Several people have non-registered copies of McAfee Anti-Virus, and wanted to update. This can be done manually without needing to pay a fee. The URL is given below. Although free, manually updating requires more work on the part of the user, but I don't think it's particularly difficult.
For those wishing to use an alternative, free anti-virus program, the URL for E-Safe desktop, the software I use myself, is given below, and also the URL for ZoneAlarm, a firewall.
Other URLs given, as requested, are for the Ignite graphics manipulation program and Becky, my personal e-mail softeware.
URLs.
The December "Grapevine" column, used as our notes
CNet Download, a major source of software
Where to get manual updates for McAfee Anti-Virus.
Home site of E-Safe Desktop anti-virus software
Home site of Becky E-Mail application
Home site of Ignite Graphics Manipulation software