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Click Here
By Lee C. Sonko, Computer Consultant

First, a little announcement: If you have e-mail, you should get on the PVPOA Announcements e-mail mailing list. Just go to the PVPOA.com web site (username: pvpoa, password: pvpoa) and you’ll see a link to sign up. We won’t give your e-mail address to any of those awful, terrible nasty people that send junk ‘spam’ email. I hate those guys too! Continue reading ‘Click Here August 2004: Buying a Computer Part 2’ »

“Click Here” column for the July 2004 Panther

Click Here by Lee C. Sonko, Computer Consultant

Before I get to this month’s topic, Buying a Computer, there are some announcements.

Get on the List
If you have a computer and live in The Valley, you should sign up for the Announcements e-mail mailing list. Just go to the PVPOA.com web site (username: pvpoa, password: pvpoa) and you’ll see a link to sign up. Continue reading ‘Click Here July 2004: Buying a Computer’ »

Click Here
Column in The Panther for April, 2004
By Lee C. Sonko

Our announcement email mailing list is still in the works. By the time you read this, it might be ready. Check out our web site, www.pvpoa.com to see!

You can now view The Panther on the internet. Just go to www.pvpoa.com/thepanther. We’re hoping to have several years of back issues online eventually. This will be a great historical site for The Valley. Continue reading ‘Click Here April 2004’ »

This is a continuation of a republishing of a series of articles I wrote titled “Click Here”. You can find them all under the Click Here Articles category in this blog.

Click Here
By Lee C. SonkoLast month I talked about some free internet services including Google.com. Today I want to warn you that not all “free” services are good for you and your computer. There are all sorts of programs that literally push themselves upon you while you’re surfing the internet. For example, if you are trying to go to Google.com but mistype it, writing “googl.com” instead, you are taken to a web site that tries to sell you all sorts of things; it even tries to change your homepage! How rude! Continue reading ‘Click Here February 2004: “Free” Services”’ »

Click Here
By Lee C. Sonko

Last month, I told you about some websites you can visit to get off of junk postal mail and telemarketing lists. A few people have asked me how they can use those services without a computer. To get on the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call List, call 888-382-1222. Continue reading ‘Click Here January 2004: Junk Mail’ »

Click Here originally published December 2003 in The Panther

By Lee C. Sonko

“Spam, spam, spam, egg and spam.” The comedy troupe Monty Python’s Flying Circus performed a skit some 25 years ago where an unfortunate restaurant goer had no choice but to order a meal that had spam in it because that was pretty much all that was on the menu. If you haven’t seen the skit, I highly recommend it. It’s pretty darn funny. The name of that ham-inspired product has been co-opted by the computer world. Here is a definition of “spam” from the American Heritage Dictionary, “Unsolicited e-mail, often of a commercial nature, sent indiscriminately to multiple mailing lists, individuals, or newsgroups; junk e-mail.” Continue reading ‘Click Here December 2003: Spam Spam Spam Egg and Spam’ »

My second article for The Panther originally published November 2003
Click Here
by Lee C Sonko

I’m so happy to have this new column in The Panther. It’s called “Click Here” in reference to that ubiquitous call to action that you see everywhere when surfing on the internet. Each month, I’ll be telling you about some of the most important things everyone should know about when using computers. Some of the topics will include: keeping bad people out of your computer, having fun on the computer, stopping annoying advertising, and lots more. For my first article, I’ll address a problem that many of my friends have had. Messenger Spam. And here we go! Continue reading ‘Click Here November 2003: Messenger Spam’ »

This was my first article for The Panther, published October 2003. It’s pretty boring stuff, but a start to my writing. This didn’t have the “Click Here” title yet.

Protect Your Computer
By Lee C. Sonko

Every few months there is another front-page news article about a computer virus that has cost untold damages to people, companies, and the machines they work on. The truth is, the internet is a dangerous place. People are always trying to break into other people’s computers. Some of these break-ins are disgruntled employees bent on sabotage, some are kids seeing how much of a ruckus they can raise, and some are modern cat burglars trying to steal people’s credit cards. In any case, everyone here in the Valley wants to distance ourselves as much as possible from these shenanigans. Continue reading ‘Click Here October 2003: Protect Your Computer’ »

In the coming weeks, I will republish articles I wrote under the title “Click Here”. You can find them all under the Click Here Articles category in this blog.

From 2002 to 2005, I worked with two publications, The Panther and Around The Greens. Actually, I helped quite a bit with them in addition to writing articles.

The Panther is the official publication of The Panther Valley Property Owners Association. I was a member of the Communications Committee, helping to get the newsletter out and helping with various initiatives in the Valley.

Around The Greens is the official publication of the Forsgate Community Association. My aunt Ernestine McCarren ran the publication from 2003 to 2004. I wore many hats, technical advisor, graphic design and writer. I was instrumental in helping to put together the proof. We used Microsoft Publisher 2003. I did most of the ads. I’d get a laugh every time an advertiser would give us an old crinkled newspaper ad with their logo on it and say, “Here you go. Use this logo but make it a half-page ad instead of side-bar. Oh and our hours and location have changed.” They had no idea that in order to make that work, I’d usually have to rebuild the entire ad from scratch. But with the crinkled sheet, the best I could do for them was… not as good as they should care about their business!

During this time I was promoting my business, “The Computer Guy”. My tagline was “I go to people’s homes and small businesses, fix their computers and show them how they work.” To promote myself as an expert in the field, I wrote a series of articles with the title of “Click Here”. Over the next few weeks, I will republish those articles here. Computers being what they are, some of the content is out of date but much of it is still useful. In any case, it’s interesting reading (at least I think so).

It was an enjoyable challenge to write for print. You are always watching your word-count; I would write the first draft of my 450 word article, do a word-count and find out that I was over by 600 words. Taking an axe to my own articles showed me that I could write very concisely when I had to and not lose the intention of the work.