Issue 130 - April 04, 2001

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements ©2001
==== 1587 Subscribers in 50 Countries ====

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Welcome to the 130th 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 in April and win a copy of PrintMaster Platinum and Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia. Recommend PCIN now at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml

OPENING THOUGHTS

A big Thanks! goes out to everyone who sent in their emails of support for Lisa and I. We had an unbelievable amount of support from family, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers. It has helped.

But, life goes on, so here is the latest issue of PCIN. Don't forget to visit the http://www.pcin.net/help/articles/index.shtml page to see what pages are new or changed regularly.

Congratulations to Jamie Crowther who recommended PCIN in March and won a Snappy! 4.0.

Recommend PCIN in April and win a copy of PrintMaster Platinum and Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia. Recommend PCIN now at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml

The NEWS

Print, Paste & Hang

From the May 2001 issue of Smart Computing magazine:
"LexJet, a company that manufactures digital imaging and laminating products, recently unveiled a new product that should offer some interesting possibilities to interior design professionals (and, therefore, to homeowners). WallPro is a new printable variety of wallpaper that comes in blank rolls and lets designers and graphic arts professionals print their own colors, designs, and patterns on with thermal and piezoelectric inkjet printers. WallPro comes in rolls that are 75 feet long x 36, 50, or 60 inches wide, and once users finish printing a roll or section they can apply laminate or spray-on protectant and hang with standard wallpaper paste.
Because of its size, WallPro is restricted to use with wide-format, professional printers, and LexJet spokesperson Chris Cudzilo says the company doesn't currently have plans to create a narrow-format version for desktop printers. 'However,' he says, 'the technology creates limitless possibilities, and as wide-format printers become less expensive, or if consumer demand becomes great enough, who knows?'"

For more info:
http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?
article=articles/2001/s1205/01s05/01s05.asp

http://www.lexjet.com/

Securities Regulator Tries Scam Game To Prove A Point

"The securities regulator in Ontario, Canada, isn't saying there's a sucker born every single minute. But it does say that more than 1,000 of them may have shown up at a fake investment Web site it operated during the six weeks it pretended to be an investment scam artist.
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) said today that it launched its phony investment site - part of en effort it called 'Project Cyber Scam' - Jan. 22, to demonstrate the dangers in store for investors who believe everything they see on the Internet."

For more info:
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/163846.html

Microsoft Wants to Conquer E-Government

"Microsoft may soon have a new ally in its bid for global domination - of the e-government business, that is.
At the company's 'Government Leaders Conference 2001' here on Tuesday, the United Kingdom unveiled the 'U.K. Government Gateway' portal, developed in cooperation with Microsoft. In a press conference, Andrew Pinder, who holds the title of 'e-Envoy' in Prime Minister Tony Blair's administration, said that that country and Microsoft were discussing the possibility of jointly marketing the intellectual property that Microsoft helped develop for the U.K."

For more info:
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,23165,00.html

602Pro PC Suite Surpasses A Quarter Of A Million Registered Users

I received this press release from Premysl Pech, the President of Software602 (and PCIN subscriber):
"Jacksonville, FL., March 21, 2001 - Software602, Inc. announced today that more than 250,000 (two hundred fifty thousands) copies of 602Pro PC SUITE 2000 have been registered. This Alternative to MS OFFICE was released FREE for commercial and non-commercial use in June of last year.
'This significant market reaction is a tribute to the customer demand for an alternative in desktop productivity software.' said Premysl Pech, President and CEO of Software602, Inc.
602Pro PC SUITE 2000 is available for MS Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000 operating systems. This small 14 MB software suite can be downloaded from http://www.software602.com/ or purchased on CD-ROM for only $9.95."
I reviewed the program a while ago. The review is available at http://pcin.net/help/software/602pro.shtml There will be a new version ready in May and it too will be free.

MOBILE COMPUTING NEWS and NOTES

Motorola just launched two new iDEN phones that are Java(tm) 2 Micro Edition Capable. The Java allows users to download and install software applications on their phones, including games, calendar programs, and more.

Brought to you by Shawn Bremner and The Wireless Web ezine. Sign up by sending a blank email to mailto:wirelessweb-subscribe@topica.com

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 questions or results to mailto:freehelp@pcin.net

Previous Questions

Q 129-01

Problem driving me crazy is that I suddenly cannot download any file attachment when I receive an email in my Hotmail inbox. No matter what the attached file name or type (.doc, .exe, .pdf) I can "view it from its current location," but if I click "download now" that attachment's name changes to "getmsg" and what downloads is a tiny file that when double-clicked just brings me back to the Net and the view-or-download dialogue box.
I think I have proved that the problem is specific to my home computer, because the problem does not exist when I access the email from my office computer. Since I'm guessing that it's some setting causing the problem, I've made sure that my Internet settings in IE 5.5 are all at "default." Just don't know what else to do.
(PIII 800, 128MB RAM, 6 GB HD, Win98SE, IE5.5)

A 129-01

John Hills said, "I can only suggest that you not only need to reset advanced options in IE Tools but also Security where you need to check that downloads are allowed.
Sorry if this is what you have already done."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** said, "Sounds like it is your computer software, so the next step is try re-installing the software. Start with re-installing IE, available on the net or on many computer magazine CD's. Otherwise maybe try using Netscape (www.netscape.com), or try re-installing windows (booting from the windows cd and just installing over the top refreshes all your windows files & keeps your other programs and data :)"

Q 129-02

Is it possible to "piggyback" 2 graphics cards? I am using a Monster4 and an Intel i740. Even if these can't work together, any information on piggybacking would be appreciated.
(AMD 800, 128MB RAM, 6GB HD, WinME, IE5.0)

A 129-02

** said, "'Piggyback' is a little vague to me so hope this answer helps, windows ME should have support for two monitors running from 2 separate PCI video cards (win98 did). I'm guessing the i740 is built into the motherboard so that might get a little tricky. If you mean can you get more 3d acceleration with your set up, I'm afraid not. You could if you had a few voodoo cards (probably of the exact same type needed) which all link together. But there is the key, the cards need to be able to talk to each other, which most cards cant."

New Questions

Q 130-01

Lately I have been getting this noise over my speakers that sound like a car motor running. Along with that, when I move my mouse across the pad, it makes a noise like severe static. Any suggestions? I don't think the noise is coming from a fan; however, I could be wrong.

Q 130-02

I have Windows ME and am running a DSL modem. For some reason, Windows ME will not shut down when prompted unless the modem is unplugged from the USB port. Is there any way to go in and reconfigure so that I can stop this problem?

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

THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

Cheap Trick of the Week

**Yes, there is a use for that key!**
Ever wonder what the Pause/Break key on your keyboard is for?
Well, we still don't know what it was invented for - but we do know one thing you can do with it.
Hold down the Windows key on your keyboard while pressing the Pause/Break button.
Your System Properties control panel should open up.
We have no idea what this has to do with Pausing or Breaking, but it's a nifty shortcut.

Get your own copy of "The Little Black Book of Cheap Tricks: 2001" by visiting http://www.pcin.net/lbbct

Books Online

Subscriber Chris Empey let me know about this site. If you visit http://docs.rinet.ru:8083/ you will find dozens of books online that cover networking, web, and other topics.

Resuming Downloads

Last week's "Cheap Trick" was a registry tweak to make the "timeout" period longer when you are downloading files. Subscriber ** wanted to remind everyone that "programs like GetRight or GoZilla let you resume downloads days or months later at whatever point in the file you got off or just disconnected (assuming of course that a) the fileserver allows resuming (about 90% + do) and b) the file still exists)."

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.

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