Issue 73 - March 01, 2000

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements (c) 1999
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Welcome to the 73rd issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN consists of news, tips, thoughts, and contests. There is something for everyone, and if this is your first issue, I'm sure there will be something for you. I am willing to discuss any computer topic. Email me at mailto:editor@pcin.net with any suggestions. If you give me two or three issues, I know that you will come back for more!

Recommend PCIN to others and be entered in a monthly draw (March draw is for StarOffice 5.1) at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml

OPENING THOUGHTS

Well, it's been a week since Lisa's surgery and her recovery really has been miraculous. She came home on Friday and has been doing great. She has very little swelling and very little bruising, which is amazing considering the 5 hours of surgery. She received a lot of emails from PCIN subscribers and replied to a few of them. She was touched that so many "strangers" were asking about her.

Congratulations to Alec Thompson who won the draw for February for recommending PCIN. He won a copy of PowerDesk Utilities. You can all start recommending PCIN for the March prize of StarOffice 5.1. This is the Sun product that is a Microsoft Office alternative. This is an original CD, not a download, and comes with versions for OS/2, Linux, Windows, and Solaris. It is a complete program with a word processor, presentation software, spreadsheet, database, and a drawing program. Recommend PCIN at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml

I meant to include this in last week's newsletter, but I was rushed and forgot. This has to do with the contest a couple of weeks back regarding bad predictions. In every issue of Computing Canada, they have a section called Looking Back where they look at comments and technology advancements from 20, 15 and 10 years ago. In the February 18, 2000 issue, there was the following:
15 years ago
The editor of the Records Management Quarterly of Silver Springs, MD dissed office automation and email in a big way. Comparing the technology to the emperor's new clothes, Ira Penn told an industry gathering that "Electronic email isn't going anywhere... There is no substitute for a piece of paper."
Ira may be right about paper, but email has certainly gone places.

SMILEYS and ACRONYMS of the WEEK

|-I     Asleep
:-C     Bummed Out
GMTA    Great Minds Think Alike
IDK     I Don't Know

Get the WWW. Smileys & Acronyms book for the PCIN special price of $7.00 Cdn (around $5.00 US). You can only get this price by visiting http://www.pcin.net/help/books/reviewed/smileys.shtml

The NEWS

Amazon.com and Internet Patents

A couple of weeks ago I received the latest issue of MIT's Technology Review. They had a great special on Intellectual Property and how it is affecting our technology. They went into great detail on patents, and I prepared a very short summary. Then this week, Amazon.com was granted another patent. Late last year Amazon.com sued Barnes & Noble for having a "one-click purchasing" system. Amazon.com had patented that idea. Although this seems like something that most sites would have come up with, they can't use it (or shouldn't) because the patent is owned by Amazon.com Now Amazon.com has been granted a patent on their affiliate program idea. This could greatly affect the way other sites run their programs.
There are several other patents that are held by companies that could affect how others do business on the Internet:
CyberGold - owns a patent that covers rewarding people for paying attention to ads online
Open Market - owns a patent that covers the technology and ideas used in shopping carts. This is an interesting one because virtually everyone who sells on the Internet has a form of shopping cart.
Priceline.com - owned a patent that covers the ability of consumers to name their own price. They have already sued Microsoft for trying to do the same thing on their Expedia site.
Sightsound.com - owns a patent that covers the downloading of music.
As some companies have already done, if they find another company using an idea or technology that they have patented, they can and will sue.

For more info:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2449914,00.html
http://www.patents.ibm.com/details?pn=US05960411__
http://www.patents.ibm.com/details?pn=US06029141__


eBay wants Sotheby?

"Online auctioneer eBay is preparing a $1.6 billion bid to take over troubled auction house Sotheby's, a European newspaper reported today. According to London-based The Independent, eBay would take advantage of Sotheby's current turmoil to pounce after two senior executives resigned from the 250-year-old firm amid a widening price-fixing probe."

For more info:
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-1558780.html?dtn.head


Help for Seniors

George's mother on Seinfeld, Estelle Harris, is starting a web site for seniors at AskEstelle.com
"The Web site will feature an Internet talk show geared for seniors. Harris will be the show's host. 'Don't ask me how it's done because I don't know,' she said, referring to the technical aspects of producing an online talk show. 'I'm just the personality kid who wants to do, to help and to learn.'"

For more info:
http://www.techserver.com/noframes/story/0,2294,500172572-500222877-501064172-0,00.html
http://www.askestelle.com/

CONTEST RESULTS

Last week I asked you to send in your opinions on what makes a good newsletter. I received a lot of good suggestions and they can be found at http://www.pcin.net/contests/20000301.shtml Some people put a lot of thought into their responses and they are very good. You should check it out if you have the time.

Shawn Bremner and Chris Watson both won a copy of the book Poor Richard's Email Publishing. Shawn is sure taking advantage of the once a month rule. He has won a prize 3 times. As a matter of fact, so has John Hills.

I NEED HELP

I offer a free help service via email. If you have a question, you can email me and I will try my best to answer them. I can answer about most of them, but there are things that I have never tried or experienced so I don't have an answer. I post those questions here and see if any of the readers have any suggestions. I will include all reasonable suggestions with credit to you.
These are NOT my own questions and they are NOT my answers. I will NOT check the validity of these comments. That is up to you. If you do try one of these tips, please let me know how the suggestions worked out. Did they work or not? Please send in your results to freehelp@pcin.net

Previous Question 1
Whenever I try to install a program, it tells me there is a problem with _setup.dll. What is the problem? I know my download is good. It installs fine on other computers.

Answers to Question 1
John Hills said, "I think the problem here is that the file u mentioned is compressed and therefore cannot work. You presumably need to find the exploded file which probably reads setup.dll."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rob said, "Just a guess but try deleting anything in the Windows\Temp folder, then restart and try again. I've had some trouble when a program leaves stuff in there and it conflicts with the next install. If that doesn't work close all running programs, CTRL-ALT-DEL once, close everything except explorer and systray - before trying the install."


Previous Question 2
My mouse is hesitating, the music and games are skipping or studdering. It is very difficult to point the mouse. What could be causing this?

Answers to Question 2
John Hills said, "If it is a serial mouse then it sounds like it is conflicting with another device e.g. a modem.
The games and music are probably skipping because of the mouse delay. Check out in device manager which devices are using COM ports and try and change them around leaving the mouse on com1. If you have a PS\2 mouse then possible you have the wrong driver for it."

New Questions
Q1) The PC will automatically enter the CMOS setup upon bootup and will keep re-entering after I leave the setup no matter how I try to exit it.
Q2) I'd like to learn a little about DOS. Where are some good sites to learn about it?

If you have an answer to these questions or have a question of your own, please email me at mailto:freehelp@pcin.net

NO NEW CONTEST

No contest this week, but don't forget to recommend PCIN at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml and be eligible at the end of March to win a copy of StarOffice 5.1

THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

Cheap Trick of the Week
**The wandering Start button**
Here's one for Windows 95 users.
If you think the Start button always has to be at the left end of your taskbar, then try this:
Click on your Start button, and then press Alt and the hyphen key (the key to the right of the zero) together. Choose Move from the menu that pops up. The cursor now appears as a crosshatched cursor. Using the left and right arrow keys, you can now slide the Start button across your taskbar.
It will appear to "ghost" across your screen - hit Return when you've positioned it where you want it, and it will look normal again. (Of course, its positioning will be anything but normal.)
Repeat the above process to move it to another spot, or back to its original location.

You can get the Little Black Book of Cheap Tricks yourself for only $9.95 Cdn (about $7.00 US)
http://www.pcin.net/help/books/reviewed/cheaptricks.shtml
(Please mention that you heard about it from PCIN)


PC Protection when on the Internet
Subscriber Roger Thompson sent this in:
ZoneAlarm is absolutely a must for everyone. Free to individual user. It controls access to your computer. It won't let RealPlayer send out info on you unless you agree. It blocks all incoming requests. It keeps track of every program you use and you have 5 yes/no selections for each [server 2; local/network safe]. 1st time any run you have to give permission to leave your computer.
It's the 1st time I have felt secure, but to use some things I have to give access, so it's still on trust. But web sites I visit can't get in and I can tell how often they try. Some over and over. One was so much I couldn't type an email to zone alarm. It checked 17 times while typing. Each block, you can go to ZoneAlarm for info. Just #'s mostly. You have to do the trace. But good places like ZDNet show up in block data info. You can check it out at http://www.zonelabs.com/zonealarmnews.htm

Editors note: In the March 21, 2000 issue of PC Magazine they reviewed it and gave it 3 out of 5 stars.


Another Registry Tip
I just added another registry tip to my registry page at http://www.pcin.net/help/articles/registry.shtml This tells the registry to change if you want to have your Programs menu show up as multiple columns rather than 1 long one that you have to scroll up and down in. You need IE5 for it to work. As usual, if you aren't familiar with the registry, don't try it. If you are familiar with it, then be careful.


Capture Images from Video
I know there are several ways to do this, but one of the easiest I have experienced is with Snappy 4.0 from Play, Inc. This is a small device that you can hook up to your parallel port and then hook up virtually any external video source. It is good for capturing images from your favourite TV show or from a home video. Of course be mindful of copyrights.
Snappy retails at $170 US, but you can usually find it online for $30 less or so. It is kind of expensive, but it really is easy to use. I hooked it up, installed the software, and it was ready. I can't emphasize enough how impressed I was with its ease of use.
Melissa Wolfe of Play, Inc. has told me that I will get another one in the future to give away as a prize.
You can see my full review at http://www.pcin.net/help/software/snappy.shtml


Windows Explorer Replacement
I did a review for PowerDesk Utilities by Mijenix a while ago. I love it. It is a Windows Explorer replacement that incorporates Zip support, a built in file viewer, multi-pane capability and more. But the last version came in 1998 so it is due for a new version. I just got an email from Mijenix saying there would be a new version soon. They will have a basic version that will be free and then a Pro version with extra features. The beta version of the free version is available at http://atlantis.mijenix.com/powerdesk/index.htm

DISCLAIMER and OTHER STUFF

PCIN 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 for the results obtained from trying the tips in this newsletter.

  1. If any of the links are too long to fit on one line, you may have to cut and paste.
  2. You can only win one contest every 30 days.
  3. To subscribe another address or unsubscribe, please visit http://www.pcin.net/ and follow the appropriate links.
  4. Recommend PCIN to others at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml and be entered in a monthly draw.
  5. There are only 2 ways to get on the subscriber list. You have either been subscribed by filling out a subscription form on any of the pages on my site, or you have requested FreeHelp from me in the past.
  6. If you have a web site or run your own newsletter, please email me at mailto:editor@pcin.net and I will add it to the subscriber web pages that I have on my site.

Graham Wing can be reached at mailto:editor@pcin.net
Copyright 1998-2000, PC Improvements and Graham Wing. All rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced in hole, or in part, as long as the author is notified and the newsletter is presented as is.

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