September is here. The kids are back in school. And the fall equinox is right around the corner. With summer virtually over, new interests present themselves and the perpetual technology learning curve continues to challenge us all.
Question: I’ve been following all the news about Hurricane Gustav on TV and online at weather.com and am now very interested in learning more about how I can keep track of weather locally and in other regions. Is there an online resource where I can really dig in and do some hands-on weather tracking?
Answer: While this isn’t the usual mainstream technology query, we aim to please — so here you go. The Weather Underground is exactly what you have been looking for. It provides free access to most of its site, which has a lot of content. However, becoming a member is only $10 per year. This is where you should make some time in your schedule. With membership comes literally too many resources to list, including access to the Community Chat page where you can discuss weather at any time of the day or night, listen to NOAA Weather Radio and stay up-to-date on the phases of the moon. The Web site address is www.wunderground.com, where you’re sure to become a weather wizard in no time. You can also become part of the Weather Underground’s weather-reporting team by purchasing your own weather equipment and setting up a home weather station. Once you have set up your equipment, simply follow the instructions on the Web site to connect and feed your weather data to that site. Welcome to your new hobby.
Question: I’ve been using the OpenOffice programs for a little while and now need to send a Writer document to someone in Microsoft Word format. How do I do this?
Answer: While OpenOffice opens Word documents, there is a little work to be done when converting a Writer document to a Word document. Thankfully, OpenOffice provides the ability to save a Writer document in Word format. The key is to save the document that you are working on with the “Save As” command in the File menu. This will present several options, including the option to save the current document as a Word document. This is when you will need some additional and specific information: Which version of Word is the recipient of the document running on his or her computer? Also, if there are multiple recipients, you will need to determine what version each of them is using. Access the “Save As” command from the File menu and save the document, as necessary, in the proper version(s), based on the number of different versions of Word. This is a fast and efficient process and provides seamless versatility. For a helpful online tutorial, go to: www.winona.edu/library/ig/help/openoffice_writer_save.htm.
Wayne Nelson and Jeremy Self own and operate Wired Northwest, LLC, in Redmond. Submit your questions to: techtalk@wired-nw.com, www.wired-nw.com, or call (206) 788-7975 or 788-7898.
