Ask DACS
December 2007

Jim Scheef, Moderator
Lisa Leifels, Reporter

We welcome questions from the floor at the start of our General Meetings. In addition, members who are not able to attend the General Meeting may submit questions to askdacs@dacs.org. We will ask the question for you and post the reply in DACS.ORG. Please provide as much information as possible since we can’t probe during the session.

Q. I am using AOL with a DSL connection and I keep receiving the message that the host computer server is too busy to reply on almost any website?

A. There may be a compatibility problem with your AOL browser. Once you are connected to the internet try using another web browser such as Firefox or Internet Explorer. Changing your browser will reveal if the problem is caused by a setting in your browser.

You should also check your computer for spyware, which could be disrupting your computer from maintaining a consistent IP address.

Q. Does anybody know of a third party provider of drivers for a twelve year old Lexmark printer for Vista?

A. You can check the Lexmark.com website to see if they provide a Vista driver for your printer. If they don’t, you can send an email to their technical support department and ask them if they will be providing a driver for Vista for your printer in the future or if there is a driver for another one of their printers that they can recommend for you to use.

Another idea would be to go to Control Panel, Printers and Faxes, Select Add a Printer and select Lexmark as the Manufacturer and try selecting one of their other printers that is similar to the one you have.

Q. I am thinking of getting one of the new digital picture frames, what features should I look for?

A. The size and resolution determine the quality of the display and the price. The image quality decreases as the screen gets larger since the available pixels are spread over a larger area. If you are displaying photos of 6 megapixels or less, any size frame will do; to display photos of 7 megapixels or greater, you’ll need a larger frame.

Ease of use is an important feature. With the simplest frames, you insert your camera’s memory card; other frames have software that allows more choices. There are some frames that shut off automatically and others that need to be turned off daily.

You may be interested in a frame that can be mounted on the wall, but since an electrical connection is need you will have the power cord to contend with.

The ability to change the orientation of the frame from portrait or landscape will give you more versatility. When the frame is in portrait mode, the landscape photos will appear smaller. When the frame is in landscape mode, the portrait photos will appear smaller.

An important feature is how you update the images to the frame. One of the popular ways is with a memory card. If you’re interested in transferring photos with a USB thumb drive, you may want one with a USB port. Some frames also offer built-in flash memory so you can still view photos without the memory card.

Other special features include the ability to play music or short videos.

Q. What is the one laptop per child project?

A. The MIT Media Lab created the One Laptop per Child association (OLPC) in January 2005 with the goal of developing a $100 laptop as a way to educate the world’s children. The mission of OLPC is to provide learning, self-expression and exploration to children in the developing world with little access to education.

The XO laptop was created by both academia and the industry collaborating and runs on the Linux open-source operating system with Sugar as the interface. It is the size of a textbook and weighs just about three pounds. It can withstand harsh weather, is resilient to water, dust and dirt and was specifically designed for the hands of a child.

There is a give-one get-one program being offered until December 31, 2007, under which you can give a XO laptop to a child in a developing country and receive a XO laptop in recognition for your donation of $399. For more information about this project, you can go to their official website at Laptop.org.

Submit any question to: askdacs@dacs.org.