"Lost" The Real Life Episode

There's "Lost" the TV series, then there's "Lost" as in losing data files. There are a plethora of utilities that exist, all claiming to recover lost files.

This review focuses upon a utility that's free, and which locates and restores accidentally deleted files.

The name of the utility is Recuva. It's available from http://tinyurl.com/quswbp. It's easy to learn. It works. I tried it and can attest to it's ability to perform as described.

From the website, the following summary:

"Chances are that if you've accidentally erased a file, or something malicious like a worm of virus has done it for you, Recuva will find it. And if it hasn't been overwritten, this program will recover it for you.

We did say delete. Despite the name, and the company's description of it as a "file recovery" utility, Recuva's not a recovery program in the accepted sense because it works only with an intact file system. If you've reformatted your drive, or there are physical errors, you'll need something else.

But if you just want a good un-delete program with a small disk footprint (and no financial cost), then Recuva is what you're looking for. It works on both FAT and NTFS file systems so you can undelete files on virtually any Windows PC ever made, and the interface is the very model of restrained style and efficiency.

--Jon L. Jacobi"

Enjoy!

"Manual" Labor

To the best of my knowledge, manuals for computers don’t exist (at least for us "consumers").

Usually a “quick setup guide” ships with computers, but I've yet to see full-blown "manual" as in the case of printers, cell phones, MP3 players, etc. Manuals for most consumer electronics (such as printers) exist, and may be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website.

Many computer manufacturers have a user’s Forum that provides a means of support.

• HP has one located at http://www.hp.com/#Connect. Click on the “HP Consumer Support Forum”.

• Dell's user community is located at http://tinyurl.com/9ep493

• Acer online support: http://tinyurl.com/q2vscl

• Toshiba's laptop user's Forum: http://laptopforums.toshiba.com/tshb

Time to Clean Your Filters!

With the changing of the seasons, it's always a good idea to clean your filters, whether they're furnace or air conditioners, and yes - digital projector filters!

Eventually your digital projector will prompt you that it's time to clean the filter. If you're left wondering what to do, check out the owner's manual. Can't find it? You might locate it online at the manufacturer's website.

Don't seek to just reset the warning - doing so will shorten the life of the components! Clean the filter (it's easy to do), THEN reset the warning (equally easy to do).

Another source for manuals is at http://www.scribd.com. It's here that I located a manual for a bluetooth headset I own, as well as for a Viewsonic digital projector manual that specifically addresses the cleaning of the unit's filter.

Locate the manual/tutorial for cleaning the Viewsonic's filter at http://tinyurl.com/qvuuu5

PDF Power! (free- naturally)

PDF forms are great. They are cross-platform documents that take up little space. Cross-platform? That means they run on both PCs and Macs. A Word document converted to a PDF document is smaller in size than a PDF file, and keeps others from making changes to the original. The PDF format does quite well at preserving the original layout of the document in which it was created. Get your Word documents converted to PDF format at http://www.zamzar.com.

Ever received a PDF file that required you to "fill in the blanks", then print and mail the form?

Why not fill in the blanks, save the form,then email it? Wouldn't that be easier? Sure! The software exists, but it costs BIG BUCKS! There is a free alternative. Read below from http://www.pdfill.com

"Many of you are aware that Adobe Reader is a software program that has been installed in almost every computer and is used to view and fill PDF forms. With Adobe Reader, if the file is an interactive form, you may enter data on the form and print the form with the data, but the PDF file can not be saved locally. If the PDF file is a non fill-in form, Adobe Reader has no way of entering data on the form. The only solution to this up until now was to dish out more than $500 to purchase the complete Adobe Acrobat program in order to perform those tasks. But now with PDFill PDF Editor you can do all these tasks at a fraction of the cost. Furthermore, you can open PDF file, add commenting annotations or draw shapes. The edited documents can then be saved directly back to the original PDF file."

Center For Interactive Learning & Collaboration (CILC)

What a resource! CILC's newsletter alone is worth the time it takes to subscribe. You'll receive in your email inbox regularly updated opportunities to connect with others on a global scale, and on a variety of issues and topics.

Be sure to delve deeper into the website! There you'll find a variety of videoconferencing resources for teachers and students, all related to collaboration and free professional development.

The collaboration index features something for everyone from primary grades to secondary levels and all curricular areas. There's something for everyone!

http://www.cilc.org/collaboration_all.aspx

Couple the videoconferencing resources at CILC with Videoconferencing for K–12 Classrooms, Second Edition and Interactive Videoconferencing from ISTE. You'll pave the way for a winning experience for your students!