Issue 133 - April 25, 2001
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements ©2001
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Welcome to the 133rd 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
Not much to say this week. There doesn't much to me anything new in the
industry right now. It seems to go in cycles. There are a couple of months
where there is always something to write about, and then there's a stretch
where there is nothing to write about. We'll see what happens when Windows
and Office XP are released.
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
Microsoft picks FireWire over USB
"Microsoft will not support a budding peripheral-connection standard
in its forthcoming Windows XP operating system, instead favouring a
technology developed by Apple Computer.
The software maker said it will not include support for USB 2.0, the
latest iteration of the universal serial bus connection technology,
in Windows XP, its next-generation operating system expected later this
year. Microsoft will instead throw its support behind IEEE 1394, also
known as FireWire, which was developed by Apple."
For more info:
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2001/14/ns-22207.html
RIAA wins in Net radio dispute
"The record industry has scored a win with the U.S. Copyright
Office, which published a ruling Monday that radio broadcasters are
not exempt from licensing royalties when they simulcast their programs
on the Internet.
The decision, published in the Federal Register on Monday, was cheered
by Webcasters. They sided with the Recording Industry Association of
America as part of their crusade to clarify what they say are gray areas
of copyright law, which are impeding their efforts to provide entertainment
on the Web."
For more info:
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-5696833.html
MOBILE COMPUTING NEWS and NOTES
"A wireless phone is simply a credit card with an antenna."
NTT DoCoMo
Information is not the "killer app" with the wireless web.
IMHO, it will be the ability to make & transfer payments from phone
to phone, and from phone to a merchant. It took a while for buying
via debit cards to catch on; I hope this comes quicker.
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 132-01
Is it possible to change the printer default from "Print All"
to "Print Selection"?
A 132-01
** said, "It depends on the printer manufacturer on whether
you get this feature. But even if you have this feature not
all programs use it automatically. For example with Microsoft
word, rather than pushing the print icon visible whilst you type,
go to the file menu and manually select print. Using the print
feature within the menu of a program (almost always file->print)
should give you this option. Again here it depends on how the
program was made. If the above fails you could take the specific
piece of text you wish to print and copy it into another document/file
and print from there."
Q 132-02
I plan on replacing my video card. Is there anything special I should
do? Do I uninstall the old drivers? Do I just change cards and install
the new drivers? Any advice to make this as smooth as possible would
be appreciated.
A 132-02
There were several good suggestions regarding this, and they were
fairly lengthy, so I made a web page for them. You can read the responses
at:
http://pcin.net/help/articles/changegraphics.shtml
New Questions
Q 133-01
What about personal firewalls? Is ZoneAlarm better than Norton? Any
advice or links to web sites with info would be appreciated.
Q 133-02
I have to change the company name on 2000 PCs with Office 97 due
to rebranding. Do you know of a utility that will allow me to change
the company name, as Office 97 does not respond to registry changes?
I believe the name is written back and encoded on installation.
If you have an answer to these questions or have a question of your own,
please email me at mailto:freehelp@pcin.net
PCIN.net UPDATE
I'm still working on the new look for the PCIN.net site.
I have also worked on a couple of book reviews that will be shared over
the next couple of weeks.
THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
Cheap Trick of the Week
**Screensaver that can't be avoided**
So you use a password on your screensaver to prevent your family or
colleagues from stopping it and accessing your computer when you're
absent.
But then they discovered they can get past this obstacle by simply pressing
the restart button on your computer.
So now you need a higher level of protection: a password-protected screensaver
that takes effect whenever Windows is started.
First find out which screensaver your computer is using. Most of the
default screensavers for Windows can be found in the C:\Windows\System
folder. Screensavers usually have the .scr extension. For example, if
you know you're using the 3D text screensaver, its filename should read
something like "3D Text.scr". When you find it, right-click
on the file and select Create New Shortcut.
After you have created the shortcut to the screensaver, move the shortcut
to your Startup folder, which can be found in your main Windows folder
under the Start Menu and Programs sub-folders.
Make sure the screensaver is password protected. You can do this through
the Display control panel on the Screen Saver page.
From then on, every time someone starts or restarts your computer, they'll
come face to face with the screensaver and password again.
Line Spacing in Microsoft Word (Correction)
Thanks to Randy Pierce, Chuck Quenzler, and Carol Page who pointed
out that I had made a mistake in the Word tip I shared last week about
line spacing keyboard shortcuts. Here is the correct tip:
Press CTRL and 1 to format the selected paragraph with single spacing
Press CTRL and 5 to format the selected paragraph with 1.5 spacing
Press CTRL and 2 to format the select paragraph with double spacing
Press CTRL and 0 to insert a blank line above the selected paragraph
Too Many Newsletters?
I personally subscribe to over 20 newsletters that offer tips and news
for computer users. I'm sure if I looked, I could easily find hundreds
of newsletters that I could receive everyday with this sort of thing
in it. The problem is that many of them are not worth reading. They
have no original content, or aren't enjoyable to read.
Well, Peter Crockett of PuterGeek.com writes a newsletter (sent approximately
once a week) where he does all of the reading for you and puts it all
together in a nice succinct newsletter of his own. He says:
"This is not like most newsletters available on the internet.
It will not contain very much original content. The format is
very casual and laid back. It will contain info about PuterGeek.Com,
myself, what's going on in my life, and things that I've learned in
the school of hard knocks.
The bulk of the newsletter will feature articles, quotes, and snippets
of info I've read from all the newsletters I subscribe to. I've
found a large number of people either don't have the time, or don't
wish to take the time to read multiple email newsletters per week.
So, since I do read them, I take the info I find most interesting and
put it together into a more condensed single newsletter."
Of course I'm flattered that PCIN is one of the newsletter he quotes
from.
You can visit http://www.putergeek.com/newsletter/
to see past issues as well as many resources for computer users in need
of help. Check it out.
"Brand Name" Support Problems
Everyone has their own tech support nightmares. Often people think
that if you buy a brand name product, your support will be better. I
know a lot of you are subscribers to the Lockergnome newsletters and
have read of their problem with Dell. Well, subscriber Martin Needleman
has had some problems with HP.
"My wife and I (about a month ago) were in dire need of a computer
while the one I am on now was being upgraded.
I had an E-account with HP (bought an external CD-writer) on line and
availed myself of the HP Financing.
On the HP Site there is a toll free number to enable people to discuss
purchases, financing, etc.
Well, like I said we were in dire need of a computer for business.
So, I said to my wife lets call the HP-e-Shopping phone No. a get whatever
they can send for next-day delivery.
All was, for the most part, OK. We had decided on a HP Pavilion.
So it came time for "check-out." I said to the sales representative
"Let me give you my HP e-account No. (credit limit $3,200.00 US)
owing HP $150.00 US I knew I could buy the unit.
The Sales person said, "We can't do that." We can only take
credit cards.
I asked if he was kidding. He wasn't! We were told that they (HP) could
not verify that it was really us unless we were on line. But, we need
a computer to get on line I said. "Can't complete the transaction"
is what we were told. I asked if my Social Security No. could identify
me. No, was the answer. How about my Mothers' maiden name? No. Can you
call me back at my home phone number to verify I am me? No, we can't
do that.
We were about to spend $1200.00 (US) at 21% interest, but were told
NO.
I contacted HP Customer Service the following day. I was told that their
system is "setup that way." I contacted HP headquarters in
CA. no help there either. More sympathy though.
We did not by an HP Computer. We have paid our account "in full"
and have closed it.
The end is that we will no longer by from HP."
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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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 whole, or in part, as long as the
author is notified and the newsletter is presented as is.
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