Microsoft Security web pages - opens in a new window
updates and current incidents 
How to Tell If a Microsoft Security-Related Message Is Genuine
Security Bulletin FAQ

Security Update main page use for January 2006 updates

Technical Documents for IT staff and Lab Facilitators will be posted to this page. The documents are of use in solving many common workstation and internet technical problems, such as checking the network connections, software tips, printing problems.

For advanced IT technical service, contact your Central District IT Technician.

ZD Net Tech info base
http://cma.zdnet.com/texis/techinfobase/techinfobase

ZD Net Product Reviews -   uuuuu
a complete listing of current products and US pricing. For those 'buyers who are wise', this site is very useful before shopping locally.  Expect reliable reviews on hardware, software and the top 5 in the categories: desktops, cameras, notebooks, PDA's, MP3, and scanners.  Try the search feature to get information.  These are special links:

1. Scanner Super Center
2. Dell Home Systems
3. News

Browser Updates

If your Operating System is Windows 98 or newer: 
and you use Internet Explorer as your browser, you can upgrade here.
or, if you use Netscape as your browser, you can upgrade here.

Other users: 
Windows 95: Netscape    Internet Explorer.
Macintosh:     Netscape    Internet Explorer.

Server shut down and start up order

If you have no network service, check out the following before #5 

1. log on as SYSOP and "check school network" with correct button, read the results
2. shut down servers, following the correct order and restart in the correct order.
3. call Information Systems and ask them to ping the servers and network for your location
4. check the ADSL Modem and Bay Box for functions
5. call your technician and explain the problem and when you noticed it, and what you have done re 1, 2, 3 and 4 above

Server Shut Down and restarting

Be Prepared!  
It is better to get training before the emergency happens.  Ask your technician to give you adequate training and practice when the network is not in use.

Shut down all these Servers in order. Then start each one in order and log in.
Do the following steps, in order of:

1. On the Primary Domain Control (PDC) Server - shut down, 
2. On the Backup Domain Control (BDC) Server - shut down, 
3. On any App Server - shut down

If you have tried this ahead of time, this will give them needed information. If you are not sure which server is which, or need an 'hands on - step by step walk through ', please contact your technician. 

Otherwise, please call Information Systems, they can try to 'ping' your servers to establish service connections on the ADSL line from the Proxy Server of the division to your servers.

History of Broadband - Globe and Mail, March, 2002

Inventing the Internet Age CBC report.

CBC in depth report on Computer Security

Safe Keeper
http://www.safekeeper.ca/

Technology Sites

http://Boingboing.net
Billing itself as "a directory of wonderful things," this truly wonderful and oddball blog is a daily delight of links to gadgets, art, pop culture and general kitsch.

http://Slashdot.org
News for nerds! A blog about the digital world and tech culture, with gossip, features and sometimes snarky asides.

http://Engadget.comand and http://Gizmodo.com
These two sites are strictly for gearheads. Both feature upcoming product releases and new trends in technology.

http://Whatis.com
A reference site for technology terms. Everything you wanted to know about Linux and Circuit Switched Services Equipment, but were afraid to ask.

RSS & News Feeds

You’ve probably seen the the acronyms RSS or XML or an orange box on some of your favourite websites. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, Rich Site Summary or RDF Site Summary. It is a simple system that allows webmasters to put their content into a standardized format. Most importantly, it allows you to keep track of all your favourite websites and blogs without having to constantly click through and check for updates. You can subscribe to a service which collects and manages lots of information from many different websites within one page. It’s like setting up your own, personalized, online newspaper. A program known as a feed reader or aggregator can check a list of feeds on your behalf and display any updated articles that it finds. You can find a list of feed readers or aggregators at
http://www.newsonfeeds.com/faq/aggregators 
Some are available for sale, but they come with dozens of feeds pre-loaded. Free readers are available as well and there are some web-based feed readers and news aggregators that require no software installation and make the user's "feeds" available on any computer with Web access.

Bloglines at
http://www.bloglines.com 
which is very easy to use, and it’s free! At Bloglines, you begin by registering and the site will walk you through setting up your account. A typical interface for a feed reader will display your feeds and the number of new (unread) entries within each of those feeds. You can also organize your feeds into categories and even save your favorite entries (with certain applications).

For more background on RSS and news feeds and feed readers, there’s a very useful article from the New York Times explaining news feeds at
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/technology/circuits/03basi.html

There’s also a brief summary of CBC.ca RSSs along with a really useful list of RSS feed readers at
http://www.cbc.ca/rss/ 

More Resource, Reference, and Research

http://Ehow.com
As the site bills itself, "clear instructions on how to do (just about) anything," from home repairs to health care to hair styles.

http://Howstuffworks.com
The site that proves that there’s no such thing as a dumb question. Answers to queries as varied as "How do blogs work?" and "How does sweat work?" to "How do police chases work?".

http://Mapquest.com
A terrifically helpful site for the directionally-challenged. Look up maps and directions all around the world.

http://Refdesk.com
An exhaustive, all-in-one-reference site, featuring the usual stuff (dictionaries, encyclopaedias, news) and the unexpected (people finders, quotations, weather, currency exchange). Not an attractive site, but extremely useful.

Resource, Reference, and Research

http://www.wikipedia.org
This communally-written and edited online encyclopaedia contains more than one million listings. Its detractors say there isn't enough oversight to enough proper fact-checking, but its fans love the site for its diverse and eccentric entries and its community-minded spirit.

http://m-w.com
A smart, easily navigated dictionary and thesaurus that also offers an audio pronunciation guide.

http://answers.com
Similar to Wikipedia, this site is very simple to use: type in a word and get a dictionary and encyclopaedia listing, plus links to other listings and articles.

http://www.bbc.co.uk
A great resource for global news, background information on various regions and even a site to help non-English speakers improve their language skills.

Wed.June.21.06 - First Day of Summer
June 21 is the first day of summer and the kick off to a variety of summer festivals, events and activities.
http://www.turtleisland.org
June 21 also marks National Aboriginal Day. This great, quirky, site is a virtual town hall and community centre for First Nations across North America. It's packed with information, including Native news updates throughout the day, forums, discussions, FAQs, events calendars, as well as details about National Aboriginal Day celebrations across the country.

WSD Spam Information - October 2006

 TUTORIALS on Line 

Microsoft Software 

1. Microsoft Tech Net Main Page 
2. Microsoft Office Downloads 
3. Microsoft Download Center 
4. Office Power Point Teacher Presentations
5. Microsoft In and Out of the Classroom Tutorial main page 

Technology Tutorials found on the Web from internet4classrooms 

1. Internet-4-Classrooms main page
2. MS Office
   Access   Excel   Word   PowerPoint   Office 2000   
3. Internet & Web Page Development
   Dreamweaver, Fireworks  Flash   FrontPage   Netscape   Publisher 
4. Classroom Task Oriented Tutorials - How to use a task-specific project with PowerPoint in your classroom along with specific tutorial topics that are step-by-step. Can be used by students and teachers alike.

Power Point in the Classroom by Actden

Flash tutorials from Training Tools
Flash 5   Flash 4 Scripting   Flash 4 

Flash Tutorials from Webmonkey written by Michael Kay
Flash 5   Intro to Flash 4

Macromedia Flash Support Center Tutorial 

FrontPage 2000 from Training Tools

FrontPage 2000 in the Classroom from Microsoft's Tutorial pages

Using HyperStudio to Create a Multimedia Presentation by Joanne Goodwin - Step by step instruction on how to add borders, text, and buttons.

Building Learning with Technology - a PowerPoint 2000 Tutorial

TechTutorials offers an index of PowerPoint tutorials

Hyperstudio Tutorial - Learn to use buttons, text objects, graphics, and clip art.

HyperStudio Tutorial by Cathy Buscher - This is great site and includes a quiz.

Hyperstudio Tutorial - How to create a new stack.

Five topics in HyperStudio from the Acadia Institute for Teaching and Technology in Canada.

HyperStudio Tutorials from the University of Alberta

HyperStudio & Tessellations in Color - If you are new to HyperStudio, check out the tips before trying this. Tessellations are oddly shaped objects which can form a tile pattern.

Rona's Teacher Tools 

Microsoft XP and WordPad saving problem as a 'Doc' file type (December 9, 2003)
Refer to the Microsoft Web Page on "Cannot Save Files as Word for Windows 6.0" from the series of Microsoft help pages "Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles".