RESOURCE CENTRE MANUAL
HEALTHLINK WORLDWIDE
emerge it is important to update the software as soon as updates are available. It
is important to include anti-virus software in the budget. It would be a false
economy to omit it if everything were lost.
Internet users often try to warn each other about new viruses that are circulating.
You may receive e-mail messages warning about a new virus. While these are
sometimes useful, they are more often than not hoaxes – pranks to create panic
and concern. See http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html to check whether
a particular warning is a hoax or a real cause for concern. Never open
unsolicited email attachments from people you don’t know.
Communications software E-mail software is needed to send and receive e-mail
messages. It also allows messages to be stored, e-mail address lists to be set up,
selected mail addresses to be recorded, and documents such as word-processed
files or spreadsheet files to be attached to e-mail messages. Internet browser
software such as Internet Explorer, Netscape or Opera is required for full
Internet connection (see Section 6.5). It enables information on the World Wide
Web to be viewed, downloaded onto the computer and printed.
For an older computer, Opera browser software might be more suitable. It works
well with 386 and 486 computers and requires as little as 12mb of RAM
(random access memory) and 1.7mb of free disk space. It costs about US$40
(US$20 for educational institutions; a version that includes advertisements and
doesn’t include e-mail support is free). More information is available on
http://www.opera.com.
Netscape Navigator is available free of charge from
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers, and requires 64mb RAM and 52mb of
space on your hard drive. Internet Explorer is also free of charge, at
http://www.microsoft.com (requires 16–32mb RAM, depending on your
operating system, and about 12mb disk space). Check that your operating system
is compatible with the browser you download.
Word-processing software Software such as Microsoft Word or Wordperfect is
essential for day-to-day work such as correspondence, and for ‘repackaging’
information from e-mail, the Internet or a database. Word-processing software
often comes with the computer (‘bundled’). However, bundled software is not
necessarily the most suitable. It is well worth finding out what software is most
commonly used in your area, or by members of a network, and purchasing it
separately if necessary.
Portable Document Format (PDF) A software programme called Adobe Acrobat
enables you to create and read Portable Document Format (PDF) files, a
worldwide standard for secure and reliable document distribution. PDF
documents display and print with the formatting that the author created,
including tables, illustrations and graphics, and are protected from unauthorized
access and alterations. The Acrobat Writer (which can create these files) is
8 SECTION 6: COMPUTERS, ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION AND DATABASES