By Dan Law
□□RHER
I am a retired person who
writes for Jhe Shoreline just
for fun, as a volunteer. I write mostly about software and technology, using infor
mation from national magazines and online technology news articles. My favorite
magazine and online news resources and advisors are PC World, Smart Computing,
Maximum PC, Wired, CNET.com, How-to Geek and a few close friends who are in
the computer building and repair business. I am happy to help neighbors with trou
blesome software and some hardware issues by phone and e-mail, but I am not in
the business of computer repair. If your PC problems cannot be resolved by phone
or e-mail, I would be happy to refer you to local commercial professionals whom I
trust from experience to deliver reliable repairs at a fair price and to guarantee the
quality of their work.
Yesterday, I drove to Sneads Ferry to conduct an interview to prepare for anoth
er article. When I returned home, I had a message on my answering machine that
sounded like a simple issue to resolve. The question concerned difficulty installing
a newer version of Adobe software. The caller and I haven’t connected yet but I’d be
happy to try to help resolve this issue, which could have several causes. Normally,
it is simple to fix, and most likely is caused by an older version of Adobe which was
not completely uninstalled prior to applying a newer version. Most software does
not require you to manually uninstall older versions and will automatically perform
this task for you as part of the instalfation of the newer version. In ray experience,
Adobe software products are troublesome to work with and routinely fail to have
good security patches to protect our computers, and unfortunately, too many Web
sites require Adobe in order for their pages to perform properly.
This month, I am writing about the joys of using Facebook. Last year, it was
reported that people over 50 like me are the fastest growing segment of our popu
lation joining Facebook. I joined a couple of years ago and truly enjoy my free
membership. I am now better able to communicate routinely and share in the daily
lives of many new and old friends, but my greatest enjoyment comes from being in-,
eluded with friends of my grandchildren (who are old enough to join). I can moni
tor their interactions online, watch over them and’keep them safe from bullies and
predators. Whenever one of their online friends starts to lose it and get aggressive
or threatening, I will either add a comment in the chat session, click on the “Like”
button to remind them that I am there or will send a private e-mail to the kid who
has made inappropriate or aggressive comments! I have done this many times, and
my input has been openly accepted ,and respected. Many of my grandkids’ friends
have asked me to be their friends on Facebook and occasionally ask me for advice
or to be a soft shoulder to cry on. It is a true joy when I read them commenting
about how smart or cool g-pa is!
Most young people these days don’t want to sit and carry on a conversation by
telephone or write letters or cards. They are heavily into texting, using bizarre secret
acronyms, misspelling or butchering partial sentences and using cute symbols cre
ated from numbers and other keys-found on the phone keyboard, for example ;-)
3 OMG BFF LMAO, etc. In the^eginning I needed help reading their messages to
each other, but my 13-year-old,granddaughter was sweet enough to teach me. Since
then, many of their friends help me too. I now know what they are talking about,
who their friends are,'what they are doing each day, if they are depressed or happy,
if they are seeing someon^, using drugs or hanging out with undesirable people,
and I am enjoying a more complete connection in their lives. My grandchildren live
in northwest Florida, and I used to wonder if they were happy, safe and well, but
now I know. If they are not sharing with their parents or me the troubles they are
facing, one of their friends will privately share with me, their personal online g-pa.
Any neighbors here in Pine Knoll Shores who decide they want to join Face
book and build a more complete connection with friends and family can feel free to
e-mail me at dlaw2@ec.rr.com. I can return e-mail advice from Smart Computing’s
recent articles about how to set up an account and privacy settings to safeguard
against oiiline predators, scammers, thieves and unwanted online junk mail. I can
also send some online links to this information..
Until next month, I can be found in the yard working on my garden, flower
beds, house, cars, etc. I am looking forward to the coming of spring, biking, boat
ing, fishing, traveling and sailing. Let’s all get outside, exercise and enjoy the fresh /
air. We should enjoy the beauty of our town and participate in the activities of our
many clubs and committees, making the most of living in our beach paradise home.
Eascter
There will be an Easter egg hunt on
Saturday April 23 at 10 a.m. at Gar
ner Park. Children 12 and under.
(All Welcome)
If you would like to donate candy
. for the plastic eggs please drop off at
town hall or call Jill Cross at 631-905-
p 6788 or Missy Klor at 727-5567.
Jane Gordon,
Attorney at Law
Kirkman, Whitford, Brady & Berryman, PA
General Practice Attorneys
jgordon@kirkmanwhitford.coni
710 Arendell Street • Morehead City, NC 28557
252-726-8411
lawyers@kirkmanwhitford.com • www.kirkmanvvhitford.com
HOME REPAIRS
& REMODELING
Serving l^omeowners in Emerald Isle for 22years
• Replacement
• Roofs
Windows
• Interior/Exterior
• Vinyl Windows
Remodeling
• Vinyl Siding
• New Construction
• Decks
• Electrical &
• Porches
Plumbing
• Painting ,
Services
NC Licensed General Contractor
Darryl Marshall
1186 Salter Path Road
252.354.2883
HomeRepairsl@eastnc. twcbc.com
April 2011 i The Shoreline 27