The benefits of sharing an Internet connection, printer and files between multiple computers can easily be enjoyed with a wireless or wired home network. If sharing information from one computer to another or having ready access to a printer is important to you, networking your home computers is the best solution. The two main routes that one could follow are setting up a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network). It could further be equipped with a LAN-enabled printer, a dedicated file or print server or router/firewall.

Wired Networks

A wired network refers to a LAN that connects more than one computer via network cables, Category 5 cabling being the most common. In its most basic form, a LAN can exist between two computers by using a special cable, called a crossover. When designing a larger network (i.e. more than two computers) the need for a switch becomes necessary. A switch is a piece of hardware that directs traffic across the LAN. Wired networks are usually preferred over wireless for their reliability and cheaper setup cost. Setting up the computer itself to communicate over the network is relatively simple depending on the operating system. Usually this is taken care of automatically when the computer is connected to the switch.

Wireless Networks

A wireless network card is needed to create or connect to a wireless LAN. While most laptops have these as standard options, these can be added to desktop machines. Again, a minimum number of two computers are needed to create a LAN. When the number of machines increases, a wireless switch is required to control network flow. The disadvantages of wireless networks are that their components are more expensive and that they suffer from signal interference. Thick walls and interference from household appliances degrade the signal strength and affects its stability adversely. That said, wireless networks are much easier to set up, both from a hardware perspective as well as a software one.

Home networks can be used to share either a standalone LAN printer, or one connected to another computer. They are the easiest way of sharing an Internet connection, such as a DSL (Dedicated Subscriber Line) or dedicated cable connection. File sharing and central backups are other benefits to be had from a home LAN.

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A recent national survey across the US revealed that children’s use of online media is increasing rapidly each year. On average children between the ages of 8 and 18 are believed to devote seven hours a day to some sort of media entertainment, be it sat at the computer playing video games or watching TV. This should be alarming news to parents and can have long standing effects on a child’s health and concentration levels, often causing a negative effect on their school work. There are important steps that should be taken with regards to just how much time a child should spend on a computer each day.

Time

Children who spend too much time online or playing games often miss out on other fundamental childhood activities, which can affect their intellectual, social and emotional development. As a general rule a child should not be allowed to spend more than two hours a day at the computer. Spending more than this on a regular basis is normally when the negative aspects can start to take an effect.

Take Regular Breaks

Whilst up to two hours a day is acceptable for a child, it should be emphasized that this should not be taken in one long haul. Children should be encouraged to take regular breaks every 20 to 30 minutes. These breaks should last a minimum of 10 minutes and help ensure that both the child’s eyes and brain have a sufficient and necessary break from the screen. Alongside this it is advisable that children should spend at least one or two days a week with no use whatsoever. Although not a necessity this is highly advisable and prevents children from developing a negative routine where their lives are based around the computer.

Get Outside

Time that is spent in front of the computer is precious time taken away from playing with friends, playing outside or even reading a book. Parents should ensure that whatever amount of time is allocated each day to being spent on the computer is matched by the amount of time a child spends playing outside or with their friends. Kids often spend their time on the computer alone and too much time spent alone can often cause social isolation. Having a child that is keen to spend time on the computer is not a bad thing, as it often promotes learning and can fuel kids’ curiosities, just as long as there are firm guidelines ensuring that there is not too much time spent at the screen.

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Without the most effective software and enough knowhow, your computer is about as useful as a guitar without strings. Computers, as well as their software, have advanced massively since the days of feeding ticker tape into a two storey computer in order to add a couple of numbers. Today computers enable their users to write books, browse the Internet, videoconference with people around the world, create 3D movies and even control your whole home.

Productivity with the Microsoft Office Suite

Microsoft Office is by far the most popular productivity suite in use today, offering users the chance to type documents, build spreadsheets or create presentations. The suite’s three most important computer applications include Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Word is a rich and easy to use word processor, Excel is Office’s rugged spreadsheet program and PowerPoint is used to create digital presentations. A version of Office is available for Mac users and with a little bit of tinkering, can even be run on Linux via Wine. A free alternative to Office, which runs on all the above platforms, is OpenOffice.

Free Voice and Video Calling with Skype

Provided that you and the party you intend on communicating with each have a computer and an Internet connection, text messaging, voice and video calling can be done free of charge. Additionally at a reduced cost, Skype-enabled devices are also able to make calls to landline and cellular phones. Skype is not only available on the three most popular computer operating systems mentioned earlier, but also on mobile platforms such as Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and iPhone.

Power Browsing with Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome

Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox have surpassed their competition in the last few years with regard to adherence to web standards, stability and features. For the ordinary web surfer, this means that websites are displayed and act as the designer intended and that your web experience is smoother and more stable. Generally, Chrome is the faster of the two, especially when viewing multiple tabs. Firefox, on the other hand, is preferred by web developers for its ability to delve into websites’ innards.

Hassle-free Video Viewing with VLC

When it comes to viewing your favorite music video or movie, Windows Media Player, Winamp and RealPlayer do get the job done. For a video player that plays virtually any video regardless of its format and encoding as well as DVDs and streaming video, look no further than VLC Media Player. VLC is available for all three of the above-mentioned operating systems.

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ML Series

The ML series are monochrome printers, therefore black is the only choice and a good choice for text only applications. The toner comes in a single cartridge format with yields ranging from 1500 to 15000 standard pages.

SCX Series

Once again this is a cartridge system of monochrome toner for this wide range of multi-function machines of varying capacities. The cartridges in this range run from 1500 to 8000 standard pages depending upon the printer model.

CLP Series

This where the ink and toner for Samsung printers becomes a little more complicated. This is a range of full colour printers which require four separate colours of ink to produce full colour images. The four colours are black, cyan, yellow and magenta. The smaller printers in the range use the compact bottles of toner whereas the larger machines use four more traditional cartridges.

CLX Series

The CLX series is the multi-function version of the CLP series and therefore the ink and toner options for these Samsung printers follows the same pattern, compact bottles for the lower capacity printers and cartridges for the high capacity.

SF Series

The SF is Samsung’s range of fax machines which all require the appropriate monochrome cartridge.

The ink and toner required will obviously depend upon the machine in question. However, the running costs incurred need to be a major consideration when choosing a printer. The yield cost of the ink and toner for Samsung printers must be investigated before making a final decision on a machine. Thankfully, if the main usage is monochrome but colour is sometimes needed, the four individual cartridge systems will allow you to replace individually as required.

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Educational games for children can provide a creative way to help kids learn and develop basic skills, whilst still having fun. Every parent knows that in our modern society, kids love to play computer games. It can be hard to tear a child away from the computer, and this can be extremely frustrating for parents. Educational games can be a great way for your children to have fun on the computer, whilst learning at the same time.

Itzabitza

Itzabitza is a revolutionary learning game, which helps children improve their reading skills by asking them to draw something via a written request. It is a creative and innovative computer game where the object the child draws becomes part of the animated scene. The characters in the game then interact with the drawn object, no matter what it looks like. It is a fun and artistic game, which helps to encourage a range if useful skills.

Dora the Explorer

Dora the Explorer comes in a series of educational games. The games are aimed at younger children and they teach a variety of skills and lessons. Some of the main skills that this game teaches are problem solving, understanding numbers, colors and shapes, creativity through art and music, and even some basic Spanish words! It is a fun filled game that will truly motivate children to learn.

Braintastic Maths and Word Skills

Braintastic Maths and Word Skills is the perfect way for children aged 4 to 7 to improve their basic English and maths skills without even realizing it. The game targets the individual child’s needs, provides engaging and motivating formats, and guarantees fun. With more than 3,000 questions that are all curriculum related, educational games such as Braintastic Maths and Word Skills help you child’s long term education.

Nancy Drew

Educational games such as Nancy Drew are devised to help promote logic and puzzle solving skills. Nancy Drew is a thriller style computer game that is all about solving a mind bending mystery. Storyline support and hints are provided along the way to help the player complete the puzzle. There are a range of different difficulty settings, which makes the game appealing to all age groups and experience levels.

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Given the proliferation of the Internet into so much of daily life, it’s inevitable that children with access to a computer will be exposed to the web and all that comes with it. To keep children safe on the Internet, there are a number of basic and technical measures that parents can take to protect their children.

Use Internet Blockers

Most Internet browsers, anti-virus programs, and firewall software packages come with basic tools with which parents can designate certain websites or categories of websites off-limits. The process essentially involves flagging the particular no-go category or HTML web address. When a child later tries to go to that particular address or type of website, the browser or firewall software blocks the access, not allowing any viewing whatsoever and keeping the computer, and the child, safe from the content.

These tools generally work, but they have some vulnerabilities. A common method in side stepping such preventative measures is to use a search engine. This allows a limited viewing of content on a questionable website without actually going to the website address. To stop this sort of non-safe activity, parents also need to regularly monitor their kids’ behavior.

Install in Monitoring Software

Similar to what is used in the office, parents can place software on their computers to track Internet use. While browsers provide a history tracking feature, it can be easily deleted by a child smart enough to do so. Running independent software with specific permission to make changes makes circumvention harder. It also allows a parent to see what’s going on with their child’s Internet use while not necessarily being confrontational. However, this method is less safe than outright blocking since it doesn’t actually stop access to questionable web content.

Make Access Visible

One of the most effective ways to prevent intentional visiting of bad content is to place the computer children will use in a common family area. This approach allows parents to easily see their children and keep them safe. Combined with a blocking feature, most children will behave themselves rather than get caught red-handed looking at something they shouldn’t. It also allows an observant parent to react quickly to a problem as it appears. The one limitation is that this approach is only as good as the parent’s ability to pay attention.

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