23.00 23 More things for all

I have really enjoyed pretty much all of the 23 things. The new technologies and the collaboration and openness they promise are great new tools in the evolving mission of libraries. So, i humbly present 23 More Things: for your desktop, your Web 2.0 jones, and for (in the words of the gurus of 2.0) the future of libraries. Because the future of libraries, like the past, is one of putting information in people's hands, before people's eyes, and into people's minds.

I begin with 11 Desktop things for all you PC users out there in television land...

PS Please don't try to get thru these posts in one sitting -- save your eyes!

23.01 Click=Select, Double click=open

As Windows versions advance, Windows is becoming more Mac-like, so this may be out of date soon. When in the Windows operating system (which is your desktop, folders, and many other areas such as Accessories and Control Panel), it’s good to know that: When you bring your mouse over an icon, one (left) click selects that icon. A (left) double-click opens that icon. So double-clicking over your Word icon will open Word. Try clicking once, then double-clicking, on various icons to see the difference.

In general, double-clicks are rarely needed once in programs – MS office and Internet Explorer.

23.02 The Right Mouse Button

The Right Mouse Button is magic on PC’s. It does many things, and, of course, different things in different programs. But I like to think of the right mouse button as “that thing I use to pop up additional choices.” It does that in Windows operating system, in web browsers, and GroupWise. And lots of other programs too.

23.03 The Taskbar

The taskbar is the small bar that goes across the bottom of the screen. It features, left to right, the Start button, the Quick Start icons, the program panes, and the system tray (including the clock). Select (one click of left mouse) on a Quick Start icon to start a program. Left mouse on a program pane and you can jump from program to program in windows. Boring you say? Because the start button, and the clock, you already know? Well, wait till we see the system tray…

23.04 The System Tray

The System Tray is in the far right bottom of your screen. It shares space with the clock (and let’s face it we all love the clock, it’s how we see when it’s time to go home). In the System Tray are icons for processes that are running on your computer, and tools that will let you change some computer settings. When you mouse over a System Tray icon, a little popup will tell you what that icon is for. ‘Round here you will usually see Netware Services (big red N), Volume (to adjust your speaker volume), Remote Management (so DIT can fix your computer without driving all over everywhere), icons for your graphics card, for Novell Desktop tools, and for McAfee Anti-Virus, and a couple more. The System Tray is where wireless users go to pop up the “View Available Wireless Networks” feature. The System Tray is the quickest way to get to Print Manager (when there’s a print job in process). The System Tray is one part of your Windows desktop you will be glad you got to know.

One thing to remember – different computers will show different icons in the system tray. Use your left mouse, and right mouse, to explore the processes and tools in the System Tray. Especially…

23.05 NetWare Services (the Big Red N)

Right mouse on the Big Red N in the System Tray. Any of that sound interesting? Well, probably not. But if you are in a branch, and so perhaps sharing a computer, there is one important skill here. Right Mouse on the Big Red N and choose NetWare Login. Up pops a new login window. It’ll have, in the Username field, the username of the last person to log in to Novell on that computer. If it isn’t you, this is the way to relogon to Novell using your username. Unlike Horizon, doing this won’t close open windows – it’ll just work. And it’s handy because it lets you get to your personal Novell space. Your what, you say?

23.06 Your Personal Novell Space

Each Novell user has a personal folder on the F: Drive. Yours can only be accessed from a machine that you are logged into (and by DIT administrators, of course). It is backed up, and therefore a great place to put documents you don’t want to lose. Once logged into a machine, click the “My Computer” icon on the desktop. Under the Network Drives heading, you should see a folder with your user name. You can save files there, drag and drop files there, or just enjoy the emptiness. But don’t share files there – Novell has another place for that.