Getting  Along With Your Computer Column Archive

Zoom and Zip
By Cate Eales
Appeared August 28, 2008 on castanet.net

Firefox 3 is available, stable, and pretty doggone cool. Also, you don't need to pay for a program to "unzip" your files in XP or Vista.


Firefox 3 Zooms
If you use Firefox 2, get ready to switch to Firefox 3. There will be no more updates for Version 2 after the end of the year. If you haven't even tried Firefox yet, I encourage you to try Firefox 3.

Firefox is an internet browser, an alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. An internet browser is the program you use to look at web pages. You can download Firefox 3 here. The current version is 3.0.1. If you have version 2 installed, Firefox will prompt you to upgrade. You can do it right then, or you can elect to wait. You might want to take a look at this brief overview of the upgrade process.

Whether you are comfortable with Firefox 2 or new to Firefox, I suggest checking out the Tips & Tricks page of the Firefox website, here. I'm still discovering interesting features, but a couple of things jumped right out at me. First, the "Smart Location Bar." Here's how the Firefox people describe the new Location Bar:

"A quick way to get to the sites you love—even the ones with addresses you only vaguely remember. The new Firefox 3 location bar learns as you use it—it’s so highly evolved that we like to call it the “Awesome Bar”. Over time, it adapts to your preferences and offers better fitting matches. Type in a term and the autocomplete function includes possible matching sites from your browsing history, as well as sites you’ve bookmarked and tagged in a drop down. For example, you could enter the tag: “investments” to find “www.fool.com”. Matched terms are highlighted, making the list of results easy to scan."

click to enlarge picture

The ability to zoom in on a page or a portion of a page will come in handy for many. To zoom in, increasing the page size, press and hold Ctrl while pressing +. To zoom out, decreasing the page size, press and hold Ctrl while pressing -. To reset page size back to normal, press and hold Ctrl while pressing 0. If your mouse has a scroll wheel, press and hold Ctrl while scrolling up to zoom in and down to zoom out.

I am also very excited about the things you can do with Bookmarks in Firefox 3. I'm still learning; you'll certainly see some Bookmarks tips and tricks right here in future columns!


Zip and Unzip files
Last week's column mentioned a free version of SyncBack and provided a link to download it. A reader emailed me to say that he downloaded the program, but needed to buy WinZip, so the program isn't free.

To be clear, the free version of SyncBack is, in fact, free. The confusion was that a trial version of a program called WinZip had previously been installed on the computer, and when the trial period ends, WinZip puts up a nag screen, encouraging people to pay for the program. I often see this nag screen when I help people with their computers. Here's the thing: You don't need WinZip or any other program to unzip files and folders in Windows XP or Windows Vista. Both XP and Vista come with that ability already built in. The steps in XP and Vista are the same to unzip files:

If you need more features, or you would like that to be a little easier, that's what WinZip offers. But there are plenty of good, free alternatives to WinZip. I use IZarc, available here. Another popular program is 7-Zip available here. (PS: You can even keep using WinZip without paying for it, but you have to wait for the nag screen every time.)


Do you need help with your computer? Do you have a Firefox 3 tip? Something else interesting to ask or tell? I'm here to help you and your computer get along! To ask a question, make a comment or suggestion, or schedule a visit, email cate@rlis.com. You can read previous columns here.  If you'd like to subscribe to this column by email, please visit this link.  It's easy, and free. If you'd prefer the RSS Feed, click here.

Have a safe, enjoyable long weekend, and please drive carefully!


Links
Download Firefox 3 http://en-us.www.mozilla.com/en-US/products/firefox/
Firefox Upgrade Guide: http://developer.mozilla.org/devnews/index.php/2008/08/25/firefox-2-about-to-get-a-major-update/
Firefox 3 Tips & Tricks http://en-us.www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/tips/
Backups 101 http://rlis.com/columns/column160.htm
WinZip http://www.winzip.com/index.htm
IZarc http://www.izarc.org/
7-Zip http://www.7-zip.org/
Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archives http://rlis.com/column.htm
Get Cate's column by email http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?Sub=20618
RSS Feed: http://rlis.com/rlis.xml

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Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric, and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware and malware eradication; personal computer training and management; digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and management. Email Cate at cate@rlis.com with your comments, suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet Solutions website at www.rlis.com.

© Cate Eales 2008 – All Rights Reserved
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