THE

LACKLUSTER

EXPERIENCE

OK, FOR THOSE THAT DON'T KNOW, THIS IS WHAT I LOOK LIKE

Do I look geeky enough?  

Where IS my pocket protector?

The purpose, my goal, with this web-site is to share as much of the limited knowledge, that I have acquired thru much trial and error, as I can to anyone wanting it.  The main focus of my internet experience has been Music and Chat and now Web-Site building, but my experience in the latter is very limited, so lets just focus on chat and music and the blending of the two.  When I first started chatting, I had no clue and made many errors the first one was trying to be a wise guy and in the process I offended some folks.  To these people I must say, I'm very sorry, it was not my intention, I just got started in the wrong direction.  Thanks to a chatter then known to me as Gladys, I was able to recover and go on to a much better relationship with the other people at the chat site.  It really is true, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.  So if you want to make lots of friends, be very nice to everyone you meet, even if they are jerks.  And try to remember, we all have our own styles, some folks just enjoy being abrasive, don't let it get to you, just embrace it and keep on keeping on.

My chatting started in, what I still consider the best chat site ever, MYWAY.  It used to be Planet Direct, but was sold out and many of the chatters remained.   I tried several of the rooms on the site but soon settled in the one called 50's.  Some folks took that to mean folks 50 and over, but I soon discovered that it was more attitude rather than age which separated the various rooms.  Anyway, I liked the folks and the general attitude of the 50's room, so it became my "home".  I was fascinated by the abilities of one chatter in particular.  He seemed to be magic, typing backward as fast as foreword, it was just amazing.  Well after much poking and prodding and pleading, I got him to reveal his secret.  CHEETACHAT.  The BEST standalone chat client there is.  You too can use this amazing software and best of all, IT'S FREE.  It can be downloaded from  WWW.CHEETACHAT.COM Just one catch, it only works at the Cheetachat (seemingly populated by children) and at YAHOO (yuck, what a bunch of perves) sites.  But on the up side, it also works at nearly all the ICHAT sites.  Now some will disagree, but I think ICHAT is the very best type of chat site there is.  I have been to lots of sites and used lots of different types of software, and ICHAT is by far the very best. Below you will find a link to a page where I have listed several ICHAT sites that are still in operation, including the place I now call "home".  Don't bother to look for the MYWAY chat site, it was abandoned when the sponsoring company was sold.  However, there is a new site, just opened, that is trying to recapture the magic that was myway.  I have listed it at the top of the list because it shows great potential.  Please visit and give it a try.   Well enough flag waving, lets get down to the real nitty gritty. 

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One thing I like to stress is about passwords.  It is important that you keep your password to yourself.  It is also perfectly normal and much to your advantage to use the same password for everything you need one for.  Be sure to pick a word that you are not likely to forget and at the same time be something that someone would not be able to assume.  Your birthday is not a good one.  However, your mothers maiden name might be a good one.  Just depends on who you are keeping the password secret from.

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The MOST important thing the computer newbie should learn is Windows Explorer.   With this built in function of windows, you can explore your file structure.  All of windows functions are built on this base.  Every time you save a file, this technology is employed by windows to locate the folder you want to save in.  Many folks use "My computer" to get around within their machines, and while this works, it doesn't give you the full picture. To access Windows Explorer, simply click on the START button, then select programs and look for the icon that looks like a folder with a magnifying glass on top of it.

 For a file that I think explains, in first crayola, windows explorer, Click here to download  This file requires Microsoft Word to properly view.  If you don't have Word, e-mail me using the link below, and I will mail the file to you in text form which can be viewed using word pad.

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The second thing everyone needs to know is that you need some form of virus protection.  Many times computers are sold with one of the many virus software packages in place.  If yours isn't either McAfee www.mcafee.com or Norton, www.norton.com I highly recommend that you upgrade to one of these two.  My personal favorite is Norton, I think its a lot more "user friendly" (easy to use and understand) than McAfee.  Also make sure to keep these updated with the latest virus definitions.  This is usually something you can automate within the software, poke around, clicking on stuff to see if this option is available on the package you have.  You can either download the software or have it sent to you on cd-rom, I prefer to have the cd on site myself, but it isn't necessary.  One other thing you need to be aware of is the fact that both of these vendors will bend over backwards in an effort to help you if your having trouble with the software.  If you can't afford the software, or just don't want to spend the money,  here is a link to a really good on-line virus checker, it not only checks, but cleans your computer of any viruses, it also works when some viruses have disabled your current anti-virus program.  A big THANK YOU to lalegs for this little tidbit.  www.pandasoftware.com\activescan  You can meet lalegs in the third age chat room on thursday night where she hosts a computer help chat.  Please go see her if your having any problems, she is very helpful.

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And finally you need to know about the importance of backing up your data.  Remember this is data, not software.  You can backup the software, but why?  You can just re-install it in the event of a disaster.  Your data is what needs protection.  Try to learn the difference.  An example would be this page.  I have this data backed up to a cd-rom but the software it took to create it I don't.  I can always reload the software either form the cd-rom it came on or on-line over the net once I get the computer up and running again after a disaster.

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Music and chat - What a combination.  You can use the music several ways, I like to play songs that come to me from watching the thread of the chat.  For instance, someone will say something like, "how's your granny?"  I might then play "grandmas hands" by Bill Withers or perhaps "grandma got run over by a reindeer".  You get the idea, oh, by the way, did I mention that I have over 5000 songs in my file?  You can have them all by sending me your address, or if your leery of sending your home address, you can use your work address if that's possible, I will, in turn, send you 5 cd's with all my music on them.  You can then copy them all or any part thereof to your hard drive.  The music is in compressed format and is mono rather than stereo so it will all fit on about 3.15 gigs of space.  I do this free of charge, but would really appreciate some form of payment, you decide what its worth.

Another method of acquiring music is by downloading it from one of the p2p sites, I, myself, prefer KAZAA.  It is reasonably fast and relatively safe.  But a word of caution, you need some form of virus protection, and its a good idea to check each file you download just to be on the safe side.  KAZAA is found at  WWW.KAZAA.COM  the software is free and works very well.  Just download it and start using it.  You won't be sorry.  Files downloaded are in MP3 format and must be converted to wav in order to be used in chat.  I also highly recommend compressing them as much as possible.  The best conversion and compression software I have found is:  

 MPTOWAV for conversion Click here to download  If you need help using this software, e-mail me and I will send you instructions.  Note:  This software converts from  mp3 to wav.

MP3compressor for compression Click here to download  If help is needed with this, same as above, E-mail me. Note: the name of this software is mp3 Compressor, but the only thing it will compress is a wav file.

The reason for compressing can best be shown with these size comparisons.  The song "Dancing Queen" by ABBA is 3,535KB in MP3 format,  39,911KB in full wav format and 549KB in compressed format.  So you can plainly see the advantages to compression.  Some of the quality is lost by compressing, but then it's only chat.  I, myself, maintain the music in both compressed and MP3 formats, this way I can always convert to wav, just in case I need to make a back-up copy on a cd.

And finally, you can convert music that you have purchased on cd's into digital format by performing a process known as ripping.  This is very easily accomplished using  software known as Freerip MP3.  Once again, FREE STUFF.  This is used for ripping cd's that you already own.  With this software, it is possible to convert the cd's to either wav, mp3, or vorbis format.  lets not even discuss the vorbis format, it will just confuse most folks, I know, it gave me a headache.

Freerip MP3 for ripping Click here to download  E-mail me if you need help using this software.

It is also possible to convert all your old records and tapes to digital format using the sound recorder which is a built in function of Windows.  In addition to the software, you need a simple cable which can be purchased at Radio Shack (costs less then 10.00).  Just tell the clerk what you want to do and he/she will be sure you get the correct cable.  The only other thing you need is a turntable and/or tape deck with RCA output jacks.  This is a rather complicated process, but can be figured out by the bold and curious.  If you need help doing it, you can e-mail me or contact me in chat, I love to help people. If your old records have lots of scratches, as most do, the noise made by them can be filtered out using special software.  You can find this software by searching for it on the net.  Two excellent places to look are www.zdnet.com and www.tucows.com  ZDNET has lots of free stuff but tucows charges for most everything.  Remember some of the best things in life cost the most money.

Click here if your having trouble with sounds, where to save them, how to play etc.

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Ladies, are you getting unwanted and nasty pm's from men in the chat room?  How would you like to stop them really quick?  It's easy and you don't have to use the dreaded ignore feature.  Simply put them on front street by cutting and pasting their messages back to the room.  This accomplishes two things, firstly it embarrasses the sender to no end and second it warns all the others that this person is prone to this kind of harassment.  

HOW TO CUT AND PASTE - its easy, simply place your pointer at the end of the message,  left click and hold, then drag the mouse back to the beginning of the message, be sure to get the nickname also,  This action will highlight the text.  Next right click on the highlighted text and select copy or cut (cut deletes from the original location and copy doesn't). Then place your pointer on the chat entry line (where you normally type) and right click again, then select paste.  Now press the enter key.  TA DA   Now the entire room can see what the jerk said and who said it.  How's that for getting even?  POWER TO THE PEOPLE.

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Is your computer running slow?  Does it seem slower than it did just a short while ago?

DEFRAG IT

 ok, ok, ok, what is defragging?  well every time       you delete a file you create a "hole"       in your total hard drive usage, that is you eliminate a        section and it becomes a hole.        To eliminate these holes           all the data must be re-organized so that the holes go away and the data is            moved to be all in one string                          rather than this holy mess you now have.

I ran into a chatter last night having trouble with defragging his hard drive.  In order to do this properly, you need to be in safe mode when you do it.  The reason for this is, in safe mode, there are no background jobs running.  These jobs, invisible to you, are constantly accessing and updating files on your hard drive.  Whenever defrag encounters a change in the contents of the hard drive, it must start over.  Usually after it has restarted 10 times it will quit altogether.  The result of this is no defragging is accomplished.  In order to get into safe mode, you need to re-boot your computer, and while its in the process, continually press the f8 key located on the top row of your keyboard.  This will result in your getting a menu asking what kind of  re-boot you want to perform.  Select "safe mode".  The result will be very large icons on the desktop and limited colors, so the screen will look really strange to you, do not worry, this is normal.  Next, click on start/programs/accessories/system tools/disk defragmenter.  Then just start the defrag program on the drive you desire and go to bed.  With today's very large capacity drives, it takes a long time.  Generally when you wake up in the morning it will be done.  Simply reboot the normal way and everything will return to normal.

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Are you having trouble finding files or folders?  So you downloaded a file and now you can't find it?  Well cheer up, help is just a few clicks away.  To start, click  on the start button on your task bar (usually found on the bottom of your screen although it could be at the top or on either side).  after clicking click on find, or search, (depending on the version of windows you have) then files or folders.  A new screen will appear, on the top line, enter the name of the file or folder, if you cant remember the exact name, enter any part of it you can remember.  Or if you know something that is inside it, enter this on the second line, then on the third line, click on the down arrow and select the "C" drive.  Then click on the Find Now button.  The location will appear in the bottom part of the window.  In case it displays more than one location, pick the one that looks the most like what you are looking for and simple double click on it to access the file or folder. Continue with this clicking until you find what you are looking for.  Simple ehhh?  Never be afraid to try stuff.  You are nearly always able to back-up from what you are doing  and its very hard to ruin stuff beyond recovery.  If you need more instruction, e-mail me.

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Are Pop-Ups driving you nuts?  Do they get in your way constantly?  Would you like to get rid of them?  Is it worth $20.00 to you to eliminate them forever?  Well if so simply go to www.zdnet.com\downloads  do a search for Adsgone.  Download this program, install it and they will stop.  This program is free for the first 21 days and then just a one time charge of approx $20.00 for a lifetime license.  I have it and have not seen a popup in a very long time, in fact, as of this writing mine has blocked 6386 ads with 579 Ad Servers blocked so I don't expect to see any for a long time to come.

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So you want to un-install some software ehhh?  Well just click here

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As this site is just starting, I am not sure what folks need in the way of help.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, just click on the e-mail link below and tell me what you need to learn and I will do my best to help you.

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Please feel free to e-mail me if you have ANY questions.

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Click here to access a list of ICHAT sites known to me.

Click here to link to the Cheetachat site, where you can download the software.

Since I am a streamer at Chatter2chatter.com, I offer these two next links, the first one automatically starts the download of the Free version of Real One Player and the second takes you to a list of the songs that I play from in c2c.  Should you like to request a song for me to play, this list is what I have available.

Click here to link to the Real Player

click here to link to my playlist