Epsoft Newsletter - July 2002

There are three basic types of printer on the market today, dot matrix, inkjet and laser. Dot matrix printers are rarely used except for printing on continous paper such as batch invoicing. The more common inkjet (or bubblejet) printers are popular because they are cheap to buy, the print quality is reasonable and they can print in colour. Laser printers are generally print faster and in better quality but cost more to buy and only print in black.

Most people tend to opt for the inkjet (or bubblejet) printers because of their low initial purchase price and the fact that they can print colour. The main problem with inkjet printers is that the ink cartridge replacements are expensive, anyone whose owned an inkjet printer will no doubt agree. Prices vary anywhere from $30 to $70 per cartridge and most inkjets have at least two (1 black & 1 colour). Laser printers on the other hand use toner instead of ink and although the replacement cartridges can cost between $120 and $140 each they generally last much longer than the equivalent ink cartridge.

Ink cartridge replacements are expensive because most of them contain the print head which does most of the work. On some models, many Canon printers for example, the ink cartridge and head are seperate so you can replace the ink without replacing the head. Replacement ink for these models is generally alot cheaper but if and when the head finally needs replacing you're probably better off just buying a new printer. The more expensive head/ink combination seen in most other models generally has less problems because you are replacing the head every time you replace the cartridge.

If you don't use the cartridges frequently they can dry out and become blocked. Sometimes these can be cleaned but they usually require replacing. If you're printing mostly black from your colour inkjet it's a good idea to occasionally print something with a bit of colour in it to "exercise" the colour cartridge and stop it from drying out.

If you're looking to purchase a printer for office work, ie mostly black and no colour printing then a laser printer is the most economical choice. A laser printer will set you back at least $500 initially compared to $200 or less for an inkjet but the money you save in ink/toner will more than make up for it.

It's not always obvious but many of these all-in-one devices use inkjet cartridges and not laser toner. They look like laser printers or photo-copiers but they are really just a scanner and inkjet printer combined. If you're only printing/copying/faxing in black then make sure it's a laser, not an inkjet.

Other printing tips
These tips are mainly for inkjet printers but can also apply to lasers.

Hoax virus messages are becoming almost as big a problem as actual virsues. A hoax message will often warn you about a new virus that has just been released and all the major anti-virus programs can't detect it. The message might then tell you how you can locate a particular file on your system and delete it. This file is usually located in the Windows system folder and you'll pat yourself on the back for locating and deleting it. The problem is, the file you just deleted is probably a Windows system file!

Fortunately, most of the virus hoaxes I've seen so far tell you to delete a file that's not critical to Windows. However, the potetial is there for you to make you system unusable by deleting a required file.

The best thing to do when you see a message like this is do a quick web search and see what you can find out about the so called virus. The following sites have some good information:

Most people know how to communicate using email but there are other ways to send instant messages and chat live with people anywhere in the world. You will need some additional software and sign up for a free account to begin. Once you're online, you can chat in real time with anyone who's online at the same time. If you have someone in particular that you want to chat with, find out what software they are using as you both need to be using the same type.

Microsoft MSN Messenger is a popular instant messaging program. You need to sign up for an account to use it but it's free. Once connected you can see who's online and start chatting. If you have a microphone, or preferrably a headset, you can actually talk to people rather than typing.

ICQ (Pronounce I Seek You) has been around for a while and provided similar features to MSN Messenger but has more features and is more customisable.

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is one of the oldest forms of online chat. Conversations take place in chat rooms where many other users can come and go. IRC chats are generally more sociable as users tend to sign in, see who's around and chat to whoever is there. ICQ and MSN Messenger are more direct although other users can join in it is by invitation only. IRC is a more public form of online chat.

IRC is a generic term, MIRC is a program that you use to get into the chat rooms. You can download MIRC from http://www.mirc.com/

Microsoft NetMeeting is not so much an instant messaging program but is used more for business meetings with voice communication, video communication, electronic whiteboard and application sharing. Using Netmeeting it's possible to see another users screen, you can even take control to demonstrate an application or fix a problem. I once used Netmeeting to fix a problem on a computer in the UK from my computer here in Brisbane.

Spyware is software that runs in the background and collects information about you and/or your computer/internet usage. This information is sent back to the software developers usually for marketing purposes. Some forms of Spyware are legitimate marketing tools and inform you of their presense, their methods and reasons. Some allow you to opt out of their market research, others require your participation in order to get "free" access to some other program or feature. The less scupulous ones just install themselves without your knowledge or consent.

Even if you don't mind this information being sent from the computer, the software running in the background can affect your PC's performance so most people prefer to remove it.

Ad-Aware is a free program from LavaSoft which scans your system for known Spyware, similar to the way anti-virus programs scan for viruses. Ad-Aware scans your memory, registry and hard drives for Spyware and gives you the option to remove any it finds.

You can download a free copy from the developers web site at the following address:

Ever wondered what these terms mean or how you can use them? Basically they are different methods of sending emails.

Normally, when you send an email, you put the recipients email address in the To. field. The CC field means Carbon Copy and this means that any email addresses you put in here will receive a carbon copy of the same message. All recipients will see all email addresses in the To and CC fields. The BCC field is the same as the CC field except that the recipients will not see the other addresses. This is usually used when either the list of recipients is very long, or you don't want all recipients to see all the email addresses. Companies that send out bulk newsletters via email generally use the BCC field so that each recipient does not get a copy of the companies subscriber list. It also means that each message does not contain a huge list of email addresses at the top of the message.

If your email program does not have a BCC field you may have to enable it. In Outlook Express you can do this by opening a new email message and clicking on the View menu, then All Headers.

Multiple email address can be entered in each of the To, CC and BCC fields by seperating addresses with a comma. The following screen shows a simple example. Try it out by sending an email to yourself using the To, CC or BCC fields.

If you're entering alot of repetetive or sequenced values in an Excel spreadsheet you can simplify your work yb using the Quick Fill feature.

Select the cell that you want to copy

Drag the small square in the bottom right hand corner down through the cells you want to fill.

When you let go, Excel will fill the cells with the selected value.

Select enough cells to establish a sequence. Usually two is enough, more may be required for a complex sequence.

Drag the small square down as in the previous example.

When you let go, Excel will fill the cells with values following the sequence you selected.

Sequences work best with numeric values, alpha-numeric values will simply repeat the existing sequence. Ie a,b,c will simply repeat a,b,c down the column instead of producing d,e,f.

Buying a printer	Virus Hoaxes
Internet Chat Software	Ad-Aware (Spyware Removal Tool)
Tech Tip: Email, CC & BCC	Tech Tip: Excel Quick Fill