The PC Improvement News
Issue 1-26
April 07, 1999
ISSN 1488-3163
Published electronically by PC Improvements (c) 1999
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit
http://www.pcin.net/
Note 1: If any of the links are too long, please cut and
paste.
Note 2: You can only win one contest every 30 days.
Welcome to the 26th edition of the PC Improvement News. In
this newsletter,
I have a couple of tips to make your computing life easier
as well as
highlights of the past weeks PC Industry News. I am more than
willing to
discuss any PC related topics in this newsletter. Just email
me at
editor@pcin.net with
your suggestions. I would also appreciate it
if you let me know if there is any strange formatting in the
newsletter so
that I can fix them.
Give me two or three issues, and I know that you will get
something great
out of this!
----------------------------------------------------------------
SOME OPENING THOUGHTS
----------------------------------------------------------------
None
----------------------------------------------------------------
THE NEWS
----------------------------------------------------------------
Are you smarter than a 5-year-old child is? Part II
----------------------------------------------------------------
I have to admit that when I first read last weeks story about
the 5-year
old girl trading stocks, I thought it was real. I wrote the
summary for
the newsletter, and I still thought it was real. It wasn't
until just
before I sent off the newsletter that I checked the article
again and read
right at the bottom that "Nothing in the above piece
is true, except in
his (the author's) mind." I sent the article out on March
31, and usually
ListBot sends them out right away. Unfortunately, it didn't
and most of
you didn't get them until April 1, which of course is April
Fools Day. I
didn't intend it to be, but I guess it was still a pretty
good April Fools
Joke. It tricked a few people.
Congratulations to Martin Barron of the UK who was the first
to identify
the article as fake. He wins the prize of a copy of EA Triple
Play 98 (I
will be sending it soon Martin, I promise). I think I had
10 people reply,
so that is a much better response. I can still be better though.
Don't be
afraid to send in your comments. My name is Graham. Let me
know yours!
For the new subscribers, you can read the article at:
http://www.upside.com/David_Bunnell/
Do you want faster Internet access?
----------------------------------------------------------------
DigitalWork at http://www.digitalwork.com/
asked 243 small-business
managers how much more they would pay per month for improved
Internet
Access. 62% said they would pay more while 36% said they would
pay
nothing. The largest group, 36% would pay $5-$10 more permonth.
Only 5%
would pay more than $50 per month. I certainly would pay more.
I am dying
to get the Internet through my cable company, but it still
going to be a
year or more before I can in the city I live. A 56k modem
just doesn't cut
it!
How much would you pay for a baby?
----------------------------------------------------------------
Don't yell at me for asking such a question! That is really
what is
happening over the Internet. An American lawyer has been accused
of trying
to sell a ten-week old baby over the Internet for $60,000.
The mother and
the lawyer have both been charged with various offences.
This has sparked a whole new debate on whether the Internet
should be
regulated or not. I'm all for letting the Internet continue
the way it is,
but I still hope the lawyer and mother get a good punishment.
They deserve
it!
For more info:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2234859,00.html
Watch what you type!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! runs message boards that people can post messages to
about
companies that trade on the stock exchange. It is a chance
for investors
to share knowledge and to warn people about things. Well,
don't be too
hard on the company that you post about. A company named Phoenix
International Ltd. has been granted permission by a judge
to sue bulletin
board users. "The Phoenix lawsuit alleges messages posted
on the Internet
have misinformed analysts, misstated the company's financial
performance
and implied difficulties with Phoenix's products or services."
Sorry, but you can't hide behind the First Amendment, even on the Internet.
For more info:
http://www.amcity.com/orlando/stories/1999/04/05/story1.html?h=Internet
AOL to buy CBS?
----------------------------------------------------------------
In a continuation of rumours that have been spreading for
a while, it is
rumoured that AOL will buy CBS. CBS is constantly in last
place in the
network ratings, and analysts say this would be a logical
decision. It
would further emphasize the convergence of traditional media
and the
Internet.
For more info:
http://www.thestandard.net/articles/mediagrok_display/0,1185,4114,00.html?home.mg
Father of Melissa has been arrested
----------------------------------------------------------------
A man who allegedly created the computer bug Melissa is awaiting
a court
appearance. David L Smith, 30, a network programmer, will
appear in a New
Jersey court charged with the interruption of public communications
and
theft of computer services. In all, the charges carry a maximum
penalty of
40 years in prison and a $480,000 fine. Supposedly he propagated
the virus
from a stolen AOL account.
I find this really interesting. He technically didn't do
anything (the
virus did it all) and he could go to jail for 40 years. I'm
23 now. If it
were I, I could be in jail until I am 63! I don't think he
should get
anywhere near that punishment. Yes, he should be punished
as he is the
creator, but this while thing should have been a non-issue.
It is because
of all of the trusting users that it spread. Everyone knows
that you
aren't supposed to open strange email. If you weren't expecting
information from a friend, why would they send you something
with the
message, "Here is the information you requested"?
For more info:
http://www.internetnews.com/isp-news/article/0,1087,8_85711,00.html
Cyber Trial of the Century
----------------------------------------------------------------
Before the current recess in the DOJ trial, the judge encouraged
the two
sides to come to some sort of a settlement. On March 24, Microsoft
offered
a settlement package (see
http://www.cnnfn.com/digitaljam/9903/24/microsoft/)
but it appears that
it was rejected. I guess the lawyers for the government are
pushing for
Microsoft to sell the code to Windows to another company so
that there can
be 2 different places for resellers to obtain the operating
system.
For more info:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2233239,00.html
Also visit:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/special/msdojtrial.html
----------------------------------------------------------------
THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
----------------------------------------------------------------
Another Free Help site
----------------------------------------------------------------
As most of you know, I offer a free help service via email.
If you visit
http://www.pcimprovements.com/help/questions/index.shtml
you can fill out the form
and email me a question. I have currently helped over 1000
people with
their computer problems. I recently had a visitor ask me a
networking
question, and I am not too familiar with networks. He looked
elsewhere and
found a site the also offers free help. If you visit
http://www.4pcdeals.com/techadv.htm
you can email them a question. They
then post the answers so everyone can see them. Thanks to
Darren Jones for
finding this.
IE5 tips
----------------------------------------------------------------
I'm sure a lot of you downloaded IE5. It runs well and does
seem to be
faster than other browsers. As with all software, new versions
have new
shortcuts that we need to learn. For instance:
1--If you type in pcimprovements into the Address bar and
press CTRL-Enter
it will put the http:// and the .com and the end automatically.
2--To make the Address bar active, press ALT-D
Navigator versus Explorer
----------------------------------------------------------------
Last week I asked you all to email me at editor@pcin.net
and
tell me what your favorite feature of your browser is. I had
one person,
Silvan Kuipers of the Netherlands, email me. I would really
like to ask
you to do this. Why do you use your current browser? Is it
the features?
If so, which ones? Was it preinstalled? Was it something a
friend
recommended? Do you hate Microsoft? I was going to offer 100
business
cards to the best 5 responses, but I've decided that this
isn't a contest
of who has a better reason. Sorry, there will be no reward.
I will compile
a list of reasons and publish them in a future issue of the
newsletter
with a reference to each submitter (URL/email address).
Please take 5 minutes of your time to email me at
editor@pcin.net and let
me know what is so good about your
browser!
Easter Eggs
----------------------------------------------------------------
Many issues ago I talked about an Easter Egg that is found
in Windows 98.
An Easter Egg is a little hidden program or function within
another
program. It is usually something that the programmers put
in for fun.
Almost every major program has an Easter Egg. If you visit
http://www.supersite.freeserve.co.uk/eggheaven/
you will find a site that
specializes in Microsoft Easter Eggs. Some of the Easter Eggs
are really
neat. I think it was Microsoft Word that had a hidden pinball
game. Check
it out!
Creating New Words
----------------------------------------------------------------
Have you noticed that there are words in use today that weren't
in use
even a couple of years ago? As new technology is invented,
new "buzz"
words follow, which quite often become regular words in our
vocabulary. If
you visit http://www.wordlab.com/
you will find a site that has a listing
of over 4000 of these new words or phrases. A lot of them
I have never
heard of. There is a discussion board where you can read funny
things from
license plates and even a section called "spot on the
urinal wall."
----------------------------------------------------------------
Lastly, send in your comments, tips and news and you too can
be included in
The PC Improvement News with a reference to your name and
web site.
Send email to pcinews@pcimprovements.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
Well, that's all for this week. Remember that if there is
anything that you
want to learn about, let me know and I will try to accommodate
you. Also,
feel free to send any comments about the newsletters and the
topics covered.
This newsletter is sent to those who subscribed only. We don't
believe in
SPAM, so if you have somehow gotten this and you don't want
it, please see
the subscribe/unsubscribe options at the start of the newsletter.
The PC Improvement News is brought to you by PC Improvements.
The opinions
expressed are those of the editor, Graham Wing. PC Improvements
and Graham
Wing accept no responsibility (either good or bad) for the
results obtained
from trying the tips in this newsletter.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Editor: Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Copyright 1999, PC Improvements and Graham Wing. All rights
reserved.
This publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part, as
long as the
editor is notified.