Team Coaches, Managers and Webmasters (not to mention Players, Parents, Grandparents, etc.) are confronted with a challenging array of issues when it comes to handling information using the computer and the Internet.
Most of us are not Information Technology (IT) types ... techies ... when it comes to using our computers and the Internet. Most of us are thrilled when the durn machine actually works when we turn it on ... and clueless when nothing works ... or, something doesn't work (and, something is always not working, eh?)
It doesn't make our lives any easier that this technology we have to use is non-standard to begin with and is constantly changing to boot ...
While most of us use computers with the Windows Operating System, there are many who use the Apple OS or even some flavor of Linux/Unix. And, even if we were all "Windows users", well what version of Windows are we all using? You're still using 98SE, maybe, and he's using XP and over there that person is using Vista ... and, which Service Pack do you have installed on your System, and are you current with your Updates ... we won't even go there ...
Not only does your Operating System affect how you use your computer and the Internet, but what kinds of software applications you have installed on your System affect what you can do versus what he can do versus what I can do.
For instance, LCAHL likes to use Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and Word documents for disseminating League information, which is fine since most folks have those applications on their system. But, what if you don't? How do you read the League documents if you don't use Excel or Word? And, what about the Adobe PDF (Portable Document Files) format, which is often the best way to share information? LCAHL also uses this file format frequently. If you don't have the PDF reader on your System, you will not be able to read the League's PDF files.
You can see where I'm going with this ... It is truly amazing that we all do as good as we do with this InfoTech stuff. Now, I will make things worse ...
Kids. Your kids. Your kids using your computer! Right. I do not have to go any farther. But, I will. Music download sites, game sites, gambling sites, "adult" sites, MySpace, FaceBook, "warez", and et cetera. Your kid uses your computer and your computer stops working.
So, now, you not only have to be concerned about having the right apps on your System, but you also have to be very concerned about Viruses, Worms, Trojans, Spyware, Malware, bad people, bad sites, bad this and bad that!
Sorry, but it doesn't look like things are going to get any better for any of us. If we want to use this technology with a minimum of hassle (is that even possible?), we will have to be pro-active in what we do with our computer and the Internet.
To that end, this page will be dedicated to providing some survival tools and tips that you website visitors can/should use to insure that your visits to LCAHL and elsewhere are reasonably productive. For LCAHL Team Managers and Team Webmasters, we will try to share what we know about how best to get the word out to your Team and anyone who is interested in your Team!
We will start, below, with some links to some must-have applications that you users need to install on your System or that Team Managers/Webmasters need to have in their Tool Box. In no particular order ...
[This Item Updated: 9/4/2007 - 8:00PM -- GF]
