Have your computer questions answered here! Search the PC Doctor archive or submit a question of your own at info@athollibrary.org
Dear PC Doctor,
I don't know if you know anything about Mac computers since you write about Windows computers. I can't figure out how to fix the mouse on my Mac computer. It moves a lot slower than my other laptop's mouse, so it's really frustrating because it feels like my screen is made of honey. Can I change it so I can move my mouse as fast as on my PC?
Carol
Dear Carol,
Although I am foremost a PC user, I've used Mac computers quite a bit. I still feel like I don't know the system as much as Windows, so that's why I try to keep it within my realm of knowledge! I feel that it's even easier to change the mouse speed on a Mac versus a PC.
To get started, click on the Apple menu button in the top left corner of your screen. Select “System Preferences” from the list. There you'll see an icon for “Keyboard & Mouse”. Click on that to view the settings for your mouse. You'll find a little timeline adjuster for the mouse. Click and drag the little pin icon to the right on the timeline to increase the speed of your mouse. It's vice versa to slow down the speed of the mouse. Close out the Preference windows and you're mouse should be up to speed!
I haven't forgotten you PC users! Each version of Windows is a bit different, but the procedure is basically the same on XP, Vista and Windows 7. Click the “Start” orb or button to get started. In your immediate menu, select “Control Panel”. Last week we visited the “Control Panel” to change the power settings. This time, look through your list of icons to find the “Mouse” one. Double-click on it, and then click on the “Pointer Options” tab at the top of the window. There you'll find an adjustable timeline for your pointer speed. Click and drag the little pin left and right on the timeline to slow down and speed up respectively. Make sure you click on “Apply” in the bottom right of the window to save your settings!
PC Doctor
Great website of the week: I just wanted to share a very cool website. Have you ever come across text in an email or on a website that's written in another language? Most of the time, I'm just curious about what they're saying, but sometimes it can be important or necessary to understand what is trying to be conveyed. There are a few sites that can help you with translating from another language to English, but www.translate.google.com is my go-to for linguistic help.
There are a few options when translating foreign text. You can simply paste the text into the box or you can even paste the web address of a site to translate the text on an entire website! If you have a document written in another language, there's even an option to upload and translate that as well. With the ability to translate over fifty languages, Google Translate is a very handy and cool web tool!
PC Doctor
Until next time… happy computing!
Posted: to Athol Library News on Thu, Dec 30, 2010
Updated: Thu, Dec 30, 2010