Touched by a Hoaxter
Beware of Passionate E-Mail
By RICHARD A. SHERMAN
Q. I received an e-mail regarding a petition
filed with the FCC that, if granted, would force CBS to discontinue Touched By an Angel and to stop all Sunday worship services being
broadcast on radio and television. Is this true?
A. In a word,
"No." This is just another one of the thousands of e-mail borne hoaxes
that are designed to stir the passions of community-spirited Internet users like
yourself. Cyber hoaxes generally share four common characteristics that make
them easy to spot:
1.
A prediction of dire consequences if you do not act.
2.
A call to action, usually in the form of a request to "Forward this
to everybody you know.
3.
A great sense of urgency typically manifested by multiple exclamation
marks!!!
4.
Some form of authentication or corroboration by a high-falootin' sounding
muckety-muck such as "a Pentagon official," or "the Chairman of
Intel" or "The U.S. Postmaster General." It's all a bunch of
high-tech hooey.
Before
passing along any message of this type, visit a site such as www.kumite.com/myths
or www.snopes.com and verify for
yourself that it's a hoax. Even easier, e-mail me c/o the e-mail address noted
below and I'll be happy to check it out and report back to you promptly.
Q. Bits
and bytes confuse me. Can you explain which is which--in English?
A. A "bit" is
the smallest unit of data recognized by a computer, with the possible exception
of keyboard lint. There are eight bits to one byte, and a byte is a character,
such as the letter A or B. When driving, we measure our speed in terms of miles
per hour or mph; when computers move data, the speed is quantified in bits per
second or bps. So a 56,000 bps (or 56Kbps) modem can transmit about 7,000
characters per second, which is approximately four pages of text. (56,000
divided by 8 equals 7,000.)
Q. I hope this doesn't
sound too "dumb," but I'm brand new to all this technology and I
cannot find an answer to relate to when I ask people, "What’s the
difference between a mouse and a browser ?" Are they both the same? I do
appreciate your column and thank you for your help.
A. Your question isn't
"dumb" at all! I'm glad you asked. A mouse and a browser are two
separate and distinct items. A mouse is a little critter (device) that attaches
to your computer and is used to move a pointer (called a cursor) around your
computer screen. It's a way of pointing to things on your monitor screen other
than by using your finger.
The mouse
itself usually sits next to your computer keyboard resting comfortably on a
little cushion called a mouse pad. All things considered, not a bad life. As you
slide the mouse around on the mouse pad those movements are reflected on your
computer monitor by the cursor zipping around the screen. A mouse referred to as
hardware, as opposed to software, and is something you can actually touch and
hold in your hand.
A browser,
on the other hand, is a piece of software--meaning it's a computer program that
resides inside of your computer's hard drive, where data and information are
stored. The two most popular browsers are Microsoft's Internet Explorer,
abbreviated as IE, and Netscape. Think of a browser as your window to the
Internet. With your browser software running on your computer, you can visit Web
pages and "see" or navigate to (using your mouse) thousands of
different areas on the Internet.
Richard Sherman
is a syndicated columnist, speaker and author. His book Mr. Modem's Internet Guide for Seniors (www.MrModem.net) is available in bookstores. Read "Online with
Mr. Modem" each month in Reader's Digest's New Choices magazine. Please email your questions to MrModem@home.com
