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Ask the Tech Guy |
| In this weekly column, our resident "tech guy" answers reader's tech questions. View "Ask the Tech Guy" archives. |
"Thumb" drives? |
Dear Tech Guy, Teachers are talking about thumb drives. Are they handy? How much information can you store on one? Should I suggest that my students get their own? |
| Submitted by: Kate Hudson |
| Answer: A USB thumb drive (USB flash drive) is a very handy device for storing and transporting data. Some are designed for other uses as well, such as running U3 applications (portable applications installed on the thumb drive). They are far more convenient and efficient than using the old floppy diskettes, or having to burn data onto CDs, and they are compact enough to fit into your pocket. These devices are “plug and play” so you can plug them directly into any USB port and your computer will detect them.
They currently come in different storage capacities, ranging from approximately 128MB to 16GB. If your students are allowed to plug a storage device into their school computers, then these devices could be a great way to carry digital data with them. If not, the drives are still extremely practical for personal use. One cautionary note: Once plugged into a computer, they are recognized as another drive, and are therefore vulnerable to receiving and transmitting viruses and other security risks. |
| Shortcut Clutter |
Dear Tech Guy, I have accumulated a lot of shortcuts on my desktop from programs that I have installed. Unfortunately, I don’t use most of them, and they are just cluttering up my desktop. Is there a way to delete the shortcuts without deleting my programs too? |
| Submitted by: Anonymous |
| Answer: Go ahead and delete the shortcuts from your desktop. Deleting the shortcuts will not delete the programs they are associated with, only the shortcuts themselves which activate them. Right-click the shortcut and select Delete from the context menu. Or, just select the shortcut you want to delete, and press the delete key on the keyboard. You can select multiple shortcuts to delete at one time by holding down the Control key as you select them. If you hold down the Shift key while deleting, you will bypass the Recycle Bin. |
Quick Shortcut to the Address Bar? |
Dear Tech Guy, Sometimes I get tired of having to repeatedly move my cursor back up to the address bar when I’m surfing the web, especially while I’m using my laptop. Is there an easier way to do this? |
| Submitted by: Olivia Luttrell |
| Answer: Yes, there is a keyboard shortcut to quickly move the curser into the address bar. Just press the F6 key. This also highlights the text, so the first key you press will delete whatever it contains. |
Do you have a question about computers or other types of technology? the tech guy with your question. |
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