Sierra Corporation, IT Services and Support

August 2006

Displaying or Clearing “My Recent Documents

There are time that you may want to display or clear "My Recent Documents." Here is how:

To display the My Recent Documents folder on the Start menu:

1.	Right-click Start, and then click Properties. Or, if the Start menu is already displayed, right-click an empty area of the Start menu, and then click Properties.

2.	Click Customize.
3.	Click the Advanced tab.
4.	Under Recent documents, click to select the List my most recently opened documents check box, click OK, and then click OK.

The next time you click Start, the My Recent Documents command is displayed on the Start menu.

To Clear the Contents of the My Recent Documents Folder To clear the My Recent Documents list, follow these steps:

1.	Right-click Start, and then click Properties. Or, if the Start menu is already displayed, right-click an empty area of the Start menu, and then click Properties.
2.	Click Customize.
3.	Click the Advanced tab.
4.	Under Recent documents, click Clear List, click OK, and then click OK.

Your most recently used documents are removed from the My Recent Documents folder.
*Note that this action does not delete the documents from your hard disk.

TomTom GO 910

The TomTom GO 910 is the latest in GPS technology to help you navigate your way while driving from place to place. The TomTom GO 910 has a four inch wide LCD screen that is packed with several features including a navigation system, multiple voices and a built-in MP3 player. Go is a Pocket PC Platform running a version of the Linux operating system. The company that makes the TomTom was founded in 1991 in Amsterdam and markets its product throughout Europe and North and Central America.

TomTom’s navigation capabilities have greatly improved with route calculation faster than average. It speaks 36 different languages in over 50 different voices and gives clear, spoken instructions including street and place names. TomTom includes intuitive maps for the whole of Europe, USA and Canada.

TomTom allows you to perform hands free calling because it doubles as a hands free car kit using Bluetooth technology. Its built-in MP3 player has 12GB free of hard disk so that you can place over 1,000 songs and pictures on it. One of the latest features for those in the UK is to warn drivers about speed cameras. The TomTom currently costs around $799.

Recycling Computers

Every year, tens of millions of computers become obsolete because of the incredible speed at which modern technology progresses. Many users simply throw them out with their trash as it is the easiest method of disposal. The problem with this method is that computers are classified as E-waste, electronic devices that contain toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic, and lead. If thrown into a landfill, these hazardous materials inevitably leak into the earth, and thus into the water we drink and the food that we eat.

Recycling computers is a far better option, but most of us are not educated on how to go about doing this, that is, if we are informed of the necessity at all. Some countries have instituted programs for the convenient recycling of E-waste. Others have altogether banned the disposal of E-waste through the trash system, only to find that enforcement is difficult. Most countries, including the United States, have not put together any program for the recycling of these materials at all, so the responsibility must lie either with computer manufacturers or consumers.

The good news is that there is a plethora of services available to the end user who wishes to donate or recycle computers and other types of E-waste. Earth 911 is a good resource to learn where you can take your old computers.

The better news is that starting in September, Dell Computers will begin to offer free recycling services for all their products, by allowing consumers to obtain prepaid shipping labels to return the products to Dell for recycling. This virtually eliminates the inconvenience and cost for the consumer to recycle Dell hardware, hopefully paving the way for other manufacturers to begin to take full responsibility for the waste they generate in the future.

Emergency Alert System to become Digital Emergency Alert System

“This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System.” Those words went out of style at the end of the twentieth century, when the Emergency Broadcast System, created in 1963 to enable the President of the United States to broadcast a message to the entire country at once, was replaced by the Emergency Alert System in 1997. Last month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced plans to move the Emergency Alert System into the new millennium with technology that will allow public alert messages to be broadcast as text messages to cell phones and other wireless hand-held devices by the end of next year.

These messages will be transmitted in the event of emergencies such as natural disasters or acts of war. This system upgrade is expected to cost $5.5 million, with an additional $1 million per year in maintenance costs. The federal government has already spent over $360 million helping public television stations with the necessary upgrades to digital systems.

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