For those of you who like a neat, orderly desk, the tangle of cords connected to the back of your computer can send you into a conniption. However, it is the peripherals of your computer that make it powerful. Without a keyboard or a mouse, inputting information into your computer would be impossible. So while we hate the "spaghetti", think of the bright side – at least it’s hidden in the back.

In the battle of man vs. mouse, sometimes it seems as if the mouse has the upper hand. To become more proficient with the mouse, you need practice. Try using it in a simple, fun application like solitaire. Trying to learn how to use the mouse and a new software package simultaneously can be overwhelming. There are four basic actions you can do with the mouse. Here are some tips on each of them:

Moving it - The key to getting to where you want to go. Be sure you are using a mouse pad - a desktop does not give the proper friction for the mouse to work properly.

Clicking - Used to select an item. Be sure to hold the mouse steady when you click the item. Even a slight budge in the mouse may lead to unpredictable results.

Double Clicking - Used to start or open an item. If you can not seem to double-click fast enough for the computer, you can adjust the required double-click speed via the mouse icon in the control panel settings.

Almost everyone appreciates seeing pictures on their computers. A scanner enables you to get a picture or a document into your computer. Scanned images can be e-mailed, faxed or posted on a web page. A photo of that new grandchild in your e-mail allows you to forward it on to 75 of your closest friends. Scanners cost anywhere from $75 to several thousand dollars, and the quality of even the least expensive scanners is very good. Installation of a scanner is usually easier than installing a printer.

If you are looking for a new printer, HP and Epson both make great printers. But which kind is right for you?

Inkjet printers are generally a good choice for home PCs. They are less expensive than laser printers and print in color.

Have you ever wondered why that "other" button on your mouse is there? The right mouse button can save you the trouble of looking through menus for a particular command by bringing up a shortcut menu. This menu usually includes common commands such as format, and cut/copy/paste.

The power of right clicking is that the menu also includes commands based on where you are. Right-click on a misspelled word in MS-Word (e.g. "Hellp" as shown), and the menu will include suggested spellings. In Internet Explorer, right-click on a picture/link and you will have the option to add it to your favorites or to download it. The right click works in most applications.

On most keyboards, you can also bring up the shortcut menu by pressing the pop-up menu key on your keyboard, located to the right of the space bar between the "alt" and "ctrl" keys.

Just when you finally figured out the difference between a floppy diskette and a CD, along comes the DVD. The digital video disk is a new kind of storage that looks like a CD, but holds almost 10 times as much data – 5.2 gigabytes (that’s 5,200,000,000). So far, the most useful DVD application has been to show full-length Hollywood movies with exceptional clarity. CDs just do not have the data capacity for movies. The future is sure to bring more applications that will leverage this new technology – in the meantime, get some popcorn and enjoy the show!