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Discovering the Golden Years |
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This is the first sunrise of the New Millennium.
Hug You Computer IIUntil I started on this subject, I really didn’t realize how
much there is to say on the relationship between retirees and computers.
Which reminds me to make the point that there are many sources of computer
information – online, in magazines and in the newspaper. Briefly here are
some examples of computer applications in no particular order. I keep my calendar on the computer. Over the years I’ve used
many different systems. I have settled on the Yahoo Calendar system. It
allows me to enter activities, appointments, birthdays and anniversaries.
It handles repetitions so if something occurs on a week or once a month or
every third Tuesday it can schedule that out either to the end of time or
until some specific date such as April 14, 2027. It is also very easy to
make adjustments or changes, which of course always occur. Perhaps the most
useful feature is that the Yahoo calendar will send email reminders of
events a day or an hour before the event. I usually send myself a reminder
a day before and six hours before. This gives me two entries in my email and
so far it has worked perfectly.
About once a week I print out a paper copy of the next months
calendar. When I need to make changes I can just make note of the changes
on the paper and then incorporate into the computer later. Taxes also can be handled very easily on computers. Turbo tax
has evolved over the years into a system that can lead anyone through the
Tax forms. It also has an option for allowing you to fill out the forms on
the computer. The tax software has all the rules built into it so it rings
an alarm if you try to do something that is inconsistent with the tax code. The software also calculates all the implications of any given
entries. If you enter a number it puts the right number in all the other
forms that are related. Needless to say the computer does all the
arithmetic without making errors. The software can also search your
computer for past tax submissions and allow you to make comparisons to
verify that you understand year to year changes. And if you use the
computer to keep track of your checkbook the tax programs can find
important data in your checkbook and suggest its entry into your tax
return. The software will also test your final tax return for errors and
make suggestions. The software also can print out your return or email it
to the IRS if you prefer. Computers have also been widely applied to word processing.
Edits and changes are easy to make, I guess whiteout must have gone out of
business. Your computer can also correct your spelling and grammar. It is
also possible to make Greeting Cards, invitations, programs, brochures, and
pamphlets. And when you are ready it is easy for your computer to covert
your word-processing into web pages that you can share with the universe. Photography is another area that has adapted to computers. If
you have a digital camera you can download you photos to your computer and
arrange them into albums and archives. Anything that is on a computer is
searchable, so you can find old files that may have been misfiled.
Photographs can be emailed to friends or included on the web pages that you
might eventually want to create. There are also many images that are
available online via Google. Finally the computer and the Internet has become a vehicle for
buying and selling. Ebay has become the flea market of the planet. Almost
everything can be bought and sold fairly seamlessly. I believe that money
transfers are safe and easy. And even if you decide not to involve your
self in Internet commerce, you can still find much valuable information on
products you want to buy in a store. |
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