Advanced Tech Skills

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OBJECTIVE

The objective of this lesson is for each student to demonstrate advanced technology skills, including compressing, converting, importing, and backing up files.

Sample(s) of Behavior (SOBs): Transfer data between applications Demonstrate digital file transfer

HARNESS E-MAIL

E-mail at a GlanceE-mail is by far the most popular service on the Internet. Learn how to communicate like a pro in just ten minutes.

E-mail EtiquetteWhen we converse, we expect other people to observe certain rules of behavior. The same is true for e-mail. Here are some pointers to help you communicate more effectively.

How E-mail WorksIt can take a day to send a letter across the city and weeks to go around the world. To save time and money, you can't beat electronic mail. It's fast, easy and cheaper than the the postal service.

Anatomy of an E-mail MessageE-mail messages are similar to letters, with two main parts: The header contains the name and e-mail address of the recipient, the name and e-mail address of anyone who is being copied, and the subject of the message. The body contains the message itself.

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Anatomy of an E-mail Message

E-mail messages are similar to letters, with two main parts: The header contains the name and e-mail address of the recipient, the name and e-mail address of anyone who is being copied, and the subject of the message. The body contains the message itself.

Understanding E-mail Addresses

E-mail addresses typically have two main parts: the user name and the domain name. Knowing the correct address is crucial if you want your message to arrive at its destination.

Finding E-mail Addresses

Here's a challenge for you: how do you find someone's e-mail address? As you might suspect, there are a number of ways to go about this. Learn how best to track them down.

STEP BY STEP: Sending an E-mail Message

E-mail is by far the most popular service on the Internet. Sending messages is a snap. Just follow these simple steps.

Add a Signature to Your Message

Most people sign their letters in written correspondence. With electronic messages, you can add a signature too, although it can be anything from a clever quote to some additional information about you.

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Smileys

When you talk to someone face-to-face, your body language, the tone of your voice, your inflections and facial expressions impart great meaning to what you say. Personalize your written communication by using a smiley or emoticon.

Attaching Files

With the advent of an Internet protocol called MIME, Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension, and other types of encoding schemes, you can send formatted documents, photos, sound and video files as attachments to your e-mail messages.

Opening E-mail Attachments

Once you receive an attachment, how do you open it? The answer depends on the type of file and how your computer is configured.

STEP BY STEP: Cleaning Up An E-mail Message

Suppose you've received an e-mail that you want to forward, but you only want to send some of the text. Here's how to do it.

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Web-Based E-mailOnce e-mail becomes an essential part of your life, you'll want to check it often. With a Web-based e-mail account, you can do it from any computer connected to the Net (and many mobile devices) from anywhere on earth.

Managing Your E-mailEach day billions of e-mail messages zap across the Internet. If it seems that most of them make their way to your Inbox, you're not alone. "Overwhelming" is how many people feel about this electronic communication.

Stop SpamWhat most annoys Internet users? The answer is a four letter word: spam. Unfortunately, spam is here to stay. That doesn't mean you have to be an innocent victim. Here's how to fight back.

Mailing ListsOnce you start using the Internet, you'll notice people talking about joining e-mail discussion lists. Subscribing to these lists deliver timely messages right to your Inbox.

How Private Is Your E-mail?Every day, tens of millions of people use electronic mail to conduct business and to communicate with friends and family. But if you think your e-mail is private, guess again.

SENDING E-MAIL ATTACHMENTS

Here's how to e-mail documents, spreadsheets, photos or any other type of file. We're using Microsoft Outlook, but most e-mail programs, even Web-based e-mail like Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail, work the same way.

1. Open your e-mail program

Launch a new message window and compose your message.

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2. Click the attachment icon (the paper clip) or insert the file by selecting from the drop-down menu.

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3. Browse your hard drive or removable disks to locate the file you want to attach. Click it to highlight the name, then click the Insert button.

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4. An icon or message should now appear indicating that the file has been attached.

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5. Finally, click the Send button and off it goes!

DOWNLOAD DATA How To Do ItAlmost everything you do on the Web is some form of downloading. For instance, when you access a web page, you are actually downloading a text document and all its associated graphics from a web server. Here's how to save the files to your hard drive.

STEP BY STEP: Downloading SoftwareFollow these simple steps for downloading software, plug-ins, games or any other files from the Internet.

File Formats and ExtensionsWhen downloading content from the Web, you will undoubtedly encounter many different types of electronic file formats. Why should you care? You need to identify the file type to know whether it will work on your computer.

File Compression

Media files, especially full length movies, can be very large, so downloading may take hours, depending on the speed of your connection. To speed hings up, many large files are compressed.

To learn more, follow hyperlink.

http://www.learnthenet.com/learn-to-download/

BACKUP YOUR DATA

How often do you backup the data on your computer? If you're like most people, it's not very often, if at all. Yet the information stored on your hard drive can be incredibly valuable. Think of your financial records, business contacts, e-mail addresses, letters and so on. Then there's your music and video collection.

Vanishing Act What would happen if it all disappeared? How long would it take and how much would it cost to place the missing data? Can't happen? It does every day for a variety of reasons:

The disk drive you use for backups fails for mechanical reasons. Your computer is stolen--laptops are particularly vulnerable. Your computer is destroyed by fire, floods or other disasters. A power surge fries your machine (Make sure you have a surge protector on your computer equipment.) An employee accidentally or intentionally erases data. A virus infects your system, wiping out your files Your hard drive crashes. Sooner or later it will fail; the only question is when.

Computer files can be restored in the event of a crash, but it can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. In the meantime, you will be without essential data. If you diligently backup your system and store the backups off-site, you're in good shape. But most of us never do--until it's too late.

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What to Backup

The good news is that you don't need to copy everything on your hard drive. These data-intensive days, that would entail many gigabytes. You only have to backup your own data files, such as word processing documents, spreadsheets, e-mail, digital photos, graphics, video, music, etc.

Basically, any files you've created, downloaded or that were sent to you. You probably already have copies on CDs or DVDs of your programs--Microsoft Office applications, games and such. In the event that your computer crashes, you can use those discs to restore the programs, or in many cases, you can download replacement programs.

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Backup files in one of two ways.

BACKUP YOUR DATA ContinuedThe first is by using removable media like CDs, DVDs, data tapes or external hard drives. Recordable media cost little and also provide a convenient way to share data with friends and colleagues. CD-ROMs hold 650 Mb and DVDs store 4.7 gigabytes. You can now buy external drives that store terabytes of data--an excellent way to safeguard your burgeoning music and video collection.

To backup your files, first insert the storage medium in the drive. (If you use an external hard drive, then it should appear with a letter designation in Windows Explorer.) If you

Use Windows, launch Windows Explorer. You'll find it in the Programs folder under the Start menu.

Now locate the files you want to copy. Place your mouse pointer on the folder or file, hold down the left mouse button, then drag it to the appropriate drive. Copying files can take a while depending on how many you have and the speed of your system.

After you've backed up all the files, open a few to make sure they copied correctly. Now remove the disk, label and date it. Finally, store your backups in a secure place, preferably off-site.

BACKUP YOUR DATA ContinuedOnline Storage You can also backup your files by uploading them to a remote server. While there are a number of services out there, one that we like is Skydrive. The free service from Microsoft gives you 25 gigabytes of storage, which should be plenty for your data files.

After you register, select the files you want to backup from your hard drive, then upload them. Windows users can download Skydrive Desktop, a handy software program that schedules your backups automatically. What could be easier?

On advantage of storing your files online is that you can access them from any computer by logging onto Skydrive. You can also share files with other folks that have Skydrive accounts.If you follow this procedure regularly, you should sleep better at nightTo learn more, follow hyperlink.

http://www.learnthenet.com/learn-about/data-backup/index.php

IMPORTING AND EXPORTING FILES Importing files

Files can be imported into the Workbench either by : Dragging and dropping from the file system, or Copying and pasting from the file system, or Using the Import Wizard. 

Using drag and drop or copy/paste to import files relies on operating system support that is not necessarily available on all platforms. If the platform you are using does not have this support, you can always use the Import wizard.

Exporting files

 Files can be exported from the Workbench either by: Dragging and dropping to the file system (Windows and Linux GTK only), or Copying and pasting to the file system, or Using the Export wizard.

 

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Drag and drop or copy and paste

The operating system's file system explorer can be used to export a copy of a folder or file from the Workbench to the file system.

Open the operating system's file system explorer. Drag the file JanesFile.txt from one of the navigation view to the file system explorer. Depending on where you are dragging to, you may need to hold down the Ctrl or Shift key while

dragging to ensure the file is copied. Look for a small plus sign on the drag cursor to know whether the file is being copied or moved.

The export can also be achieved by selecting the file in the Navigator and choosing Edit > Copy, then pasting it in the file system explorer.

Summary

HARNESS E-MAIL SENDING E-MAIL ATTACHMENTS DOWNLOAD DATA BACKUP YOUR DATA IMPORTING AND EXPORTING FILES

Sources

Learn the Net (1996 - 2010)

http://www.learnthenet.com

http://www.learnthenet.com/learn-to-download/

http://www.learnthenet.com/learn-about/data-backup/index.php

QUESTIONS????