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Learning things from the Internet is great and reading how-to books is wonderful, but how many times have you wished that you had a real person to hear and answer your computer questions?

Next Tuesday, April 19, 6:30 p.m. at the Norman Public Library is your opportunity to ask your most pressing computer questions and get answers from real, live people. “Ask the Geeks” is the events name. I and three other computer pros will be there to have a panel discussion and help you with a wide range of computer-related topics.

Jason Casarez will be there to cover, “Back-up on the Cloud.” Backing up your files is something I’ve been preaching since day one and backing them up to “the cloud” is an option you should know about. If you don’t know what “the cloud” is (or even if you think you do), you need to show up and hear what Jason has to say.

“E-Commerce: How to get your business online,” will be covered by Mike Reim. Millions of people run an online business and you could be one of them, but there are many details that need attention before you are ready to launch an Internet business. Save your e-commerce questions for Mike.

“Linux and you,” covered by Richard Davis, should definitely be interesting. Believe it or not, there are excellent alternatives to the majority of computers that you see for sale on a daily basis. Expensive Macintosh computers from Apple are nice, and computers running Microsoft’s latest buggy version of the Windows operating system may rule the shelves at your favorite big-box store, but have you ever heard of Linux? Various versions of the Linux operating system have been doing an excellent job of powering computers for many years, such as almost every computer used by Google. You may be using Linux sooner than you think.

Computer and Internet security will be covered by yours truly in a segment titled, “Careful where you click.” Many of today’s threats to your computer happiness have nothing to do with email attachments. It is foolish to trust websites just because they look “professional” or have a big-time name, and simply having an antivirus program is no guarantee that you are protected. Show up on Tuesday and I’ll answer your questions about what not to do.

The library has many classes designed to help you get the most from your computing life, all for free. Whether you need to know how to use complex programs like Excel, or just need to know how to use a computer mouse, the library has a class for you. Visit www.pioneer.lib.ok.us/nortop and find the class for you. See you on Tuesday.