Q:
Can you give me some statistics on how much room CDs and DVDs generally have? I've always been curious about that, but I've never been able to find the answer. Thanks for your help!
A:
Excellent question! It comes as no surprise to me that you're curious about how much space CDs and DVDs contain. I mean, if you do a lot of CD or DVD burning, you need to know how much room you have to work with, right? It's pretty much the most important piece of information you need to know before you start any burning projects. And lucky for you, I'm here today to give you the full scoop. So, listen up!
I'm going to start with CDs, because I'm guessing more of you use CDs on a regular basis over DVDs. There are several different sizes of blank CDs that you can buy, including 21, 74, 80, 90 and 99 minutes long. The most popular though, as far as I know, is the 80 minute CD. That translates to approximately 700 MB of open space. If you were making a music CD (you know, throwing a bunch of your favorite songs all onto one CD), you could fit around 20 songs (give or take a few) on one 80 minute CD, depending on how long the songs are. Cool, huh?!
Now, on to DVDs. Most blank DVDs can hold up to 4.4 GB of data. Most of the package labels will say 4.7 GB, but that's pretty much just a marketing ploy. If you're burning a movie, pictures, etc. onto a DVD, by the time everything is actually said and done, you can only fit 4.4 GB of material on one single DVD. That's nothing to be upset about though! That sure adds up to a lot of information on one little disk. So, now that you know how much space you have when you're working with CDs and DVDs, you can plan ahead to get the most out of your work!
~ Erin
Have a question for the newsletter? Submit it at the link below:
http://www.worldstart.com/submitquestion.htm
Change Case Saves the Day!
Here's another tip regarding the Change Case trick I told you about a few days ago!
A reader wrote in asking what you can do when you've accidentally hit the Caps Lock key and you don't realize it until it's too late. You know, after you've already typed out a significant amount of text.
Understandably, you probably don't want to retype all of that text, do you? So, now what?
Well, the Change Case feature is your solution yet again!
-
First, highlight the text to be changed.
-
Next, locate and start the Change Case feature.
-
In the list of Change Case options, you'll find one that says "Sentence case." That's the one you need to use when converting your text.
That's it! Your text is switched to the formatting you meant to use in the first place.
Since there are several ways to use this feature, I will add that the Sentence case option can be used via the Shift + F3 trick or through the Change Case options found in either your Format menu or on the Home ribbon (depending on the version of MS Word you're using).
Voila. Your Caps Lock disaster is fixed!
~ April
Arranging Your Files and Folders
If you're one who likes to organize your computer files, I have the perfect tip for you today! I will show you a very easy way to arrange your files and folders in Windows XP. By following the steps below, you can change the way your individual files and folders are sorted by using the Arrange Icons option under your My Documents folder. With that, you can sort your files by name, size, file type or date. Then after you sort them, you can arrange them by groups, according to the sorted view. We have a lot to cover, so let's get started!
1.) First, go to Start, My Documents.
2.) Once you're there, single click on the folder you want to arrange.
3.) Next, go to the toolbar at the top of the page and click View.
4.) Point to Arrange Icons By.
5.) You will then see two groups of options come up, but let's focus on the first one for now. Go ahead and choose the option of your liking: Name, Size, Type or Date Modified.
6.) Now, repeat the process by clicking on the View menu again and pointing to Arrange Icons By. Then choose an arrangement option from the second group of choices you see: Show in Groups, Auto Arrange or Align to Grid.
If you're confused about which option you should pick, here's a quick rundown of each one:
Name - Alphabetically.
Size - By size, with the largest folder or file listed first.
Type - By type, such as all documents created using Microsoft Word.
Modified - Chronologically in order by the last modification date, with the latest modification date listed last.
Show in Groups - In letter groups by alphabetical order.
Auto Arrange - Automatically in orderly rows and columns.
Align to Grid - Automatically in orderly rows and columns by invisible grid points.
7.) Once you choose your two options, your files and folders will be arranged automatically.
That's all there is to it. Your files and folders are now as organized as can be!
~ Mike Pettinato
