Diet PC at 69: What I can do with IT, you can too

SENIORS HAVE A LOT TO LEARN, and enjoy the learning too. What they need is a diet PC - you take in just enough each time. I'm 69; I'm writing my 5th or 6th book (I forget), and I have great news for you. Since 1985, when I started learning to use the personal computer, I have been able to do a great number of things. Here is a random listing of what I have been able to do with the PC, having started learning to use the desktop computer on 28 December 1985 at the University of the Philippines Los Baños south of Manila. If I can do it, so can you! (Except perhaps the fantastic claim I make - check out #140 in the list.)

(1) Create an outline for a book
(2) Edit your manuscript onscreen
(3) Do track changes
(4) Prepare text for PowerPoint presentation
(5) Create an outline out of any manuscript
(6) Write with (almost) perfect English grammar
(7) Spell difficult or technical words correctly
(8) Type as fast as you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
(9) Create an automatic table of contents for a manuscript of 500 pages in 5 minutes
(10) Capture any image from the Internet
(11) Blog
(12) Upload a photo in the Internet (the image shows a photograph I myself took and, of course, I uploaded it here myself
(13) Create hyperlinks for uploading in the Internet
(14) Design a book cover
(15) Layout pages of a book or manual
(16) Produce a flyer
(17) Create a brochure and print it out without cutting & pasting
(18) Do camera-ready pages for commercial printing
(19) Configure counters of hits for my own blogs
(20) Create a blog from scratch
(21) Redesign a blog using available templates
(22) Create links of my own blogs
(23) Produce proposals
(24) Ghost-write for people with speed, accuracy and quality
(25) Print photographs in rich color
(26) Print photographs in economode
(27) Print text in deep black
(28) Print text in economode
(29) Crop photographs & other images
(30) Reduce the size of an image to fix space
(31) Copy files from my Nokia cellphone to the PC, including recordings
(32) Copy image files from my Canon PowerShot A540 to the PC
(33) Take notes while reading a book
(34) Carry on a huge amount of research on the Internet
(35) Jot down random thoughts
(36) Send email to anyone anytime
(37) Automatically inform emailers when I'm out of touch
(38) Do math with Word 2003
(39) Install Windows XP as well as Vista
(40) Install Adobe software
(41) Install OpenOffice software
(42) Install anti-virus software
(43) Install anti-spyware software
(44) Defrag a hard disk
(45) Format a hard disk & create partitions
(46) Set up an HP LaserJet printer
(47) Set up an Epson 5-in-1 printer
(48) Format and use an external hard drive
(49) Format and use a flash drive
(50) Rip a CD or DVD
(51) Burn a CD or DVD
(52) Disconnect and reconnect a whole PC system
(53) Prepare a UPS for use for the first time
(54) Burn the PC before use for the first time
(55) Create a corporate stylesheet with Word 2003
(56) Teach Word 2003 from Basic to Guru level
(57) Teach Windows XP to Windows Vista from Basic to Expert level
(58) Create a list with automatic numbering
(59) Create a list with bullets
(60) Print minutes of a meeting with automatic line numbering
(61) Reorganize chapters of a book of 500 pages in 5 minutes
(62) Set up a wireless Internet connection legally
(63) Create shortcuts in Windows XP / Vista
(64) Create shortcuts in Word 2003
(65) Insert images in a Word 2003 document
(66) Insert tables in a Word 2003 document
(67) Create 2 or more columns in a Word 2003 document
(68) Do odd pages for chapter titles in Word 2003
(69) Create bookmarks in Word 2003 for quick reference
(70) Create automatic index entries with correct pages
(71) Can reformat a manuscript of 500 pages in 5 minutes
(72) Recover a lost file or folder
(73) Autosave
(74) Jump page to page
(75) Search for
(76) Insert 500 corrections in 5 seconds
(77) Change hard breaks (Enters) into line breaks
(78) Teach you Word 2003 blindfolded
(79) Change 500 instances of co2 in different pages of a document to CO2 in 5 seconds
(80) Put a space before in each of 500 paragraphs in 5 seconds
(81) Move a chapter from page 234 to page 123 in 2 minutes
(82) Assign running heads and page numbers
(83) Create an automatic Venn diagram
(84) Create an automatic organizational chart
(85) Create automatic concentric circles
(86) Insert graphics anywhere on a file and drag them around
(87) Insert tables as if they were images so they can be easily moved around
(88) Align lines of text in columns perfectly
(89) Format pages to fit specific print areas
(90) Set up 2 printers connected to only 1 computer without networking
(91) Connect 10 PCs to one router for Internet surfing
(92) Convert a Word 2003 file into an Adobe Reader file (pdf)
(93) Create folders and subfolders in Windows
(94) Designate a folder where a browser downloads files
(95) Designate a folder where Word 2003 saves files
(96) Use the Windows Briefcase to work and manage files flawlessly
(97) Change page setup according to the needs of the job
(98) Print a whole file or some specific pages
(99) Move text
(100) Copy text
(101) Undo mistakes
(102) Repeat certain commands any number of times
(103) View outline of any Word 2003 manuscript
(104) Insert Comments in a document
(105) Insert symbols
(106) Insert page numbers
(107) Insert date and time
(108) Create a drop cap for any first paragraph of a chapter or article
(109) Left align text with a shortcut command
(110) Right align text with a shortcut command
(111) Center text with a shortcut command
(112) Change case of a line or paragraph in a split second
(113) Change line spacing of text to any value in a split second
(114) Change space between letters of a word with only 1 command
(115) Change bold to italics in 500 pages in 5 seconds
(116) Change left align to center align in 500 pages in 5 seconds
(117) Get a synonym of a word with a click of the mouse
(118) Examine the definitions of a difficult word with a click of the mouse
(119) Save 5 Word 2003 files simultaneously, including the autocorrect file
(120) Compare 2 or more Word 2003 files side by side
(121) Convert text to table
(122) Convert table to text
(123) Draw table with texts in columns
(124) Alphabetize lines in the blink of an eye
(125) Renumber lines in no time at all
(126) Reformat a Word 2003 table
(127) Insert columns in Word 2003 tables
(128) Insert rows in Word 2003 tables
(129) Copy table format in Word 2003
(130) Count number of words in a Word 2003 file automatically
(131) Format ALLCAPS any number of words instantly
(132) Create automatic lists of figures
(133) Create automatic lists of tables
(134) Create automatic footnotes and endnotes
(135) Create textboxes for handling blocks of text
(136) Install a dictionary other than that of Word 2003
(137) Move files
(138) Copy files
(139) Rename files
(140) Use Word 2003 as a first-class desktop publishing program

NOTE: This list is by no means exhaustive or complete. I shall be adding to the list from time to time. Or not. The list is already long enough to impress people, not necessarily only seniors, on what one can do to turn the PC into a slave and not allow it to be the master. 'There are no masters where there are no slaves' - Jose Rizal.