Issue 148 - August 15, 2001

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements ©2001
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Welcome to the 148th issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN consists mainly of news and tips. There is something for everyone, and if this is your first issue, I'm sure there will be something for you.

You can reach me at mailto:editor@pcin.net with any suggestions or comments. If you give me two or three issues, I know that you will come back for more!

Recommend PCIN at http://PCIN.net/recommend.shtml
Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.shtml

OPENING THOUGHTS

I went to use my computer last night and when it came back from power saving mode, my monitor was all green. I don't know what's wrong, but it is 3 years old and I've already had it repaired once, so I think I'll buy a new one. Most likely a 19". So I'm doing this at work during my lunch break :-)

Does anyone know anything about System Restore? I hate Windows ME, and so don't use it. Unfortunately, a lot of computers come with it preinstalled, so I often get questions on how System Restore works. If you know enough about System Restore to write an article, or you have some links to some good existing articles, email me at mailto: editor@pcin.net

Lastly, who says that Napster (and other file-sharing programs) have killed the music industry?! Since Napster has been shut down, CD sales are down. As I mentioned before, I've been listening to live streams from Live365.com instead of installing any of the new programs. I listen to one Jazz stream, and because of a song I heard the other day, I ordered a CD from Amazon.com.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done this.

The NEWS

AOL's Blue Blitz

From the August 20-27, 2001 issue of The Industry Standard magazine, PG 17 (by Boris Grondahl):
"AOL may lag behind Deutsche Telekom when it comes to Web customers in Germany, but the U.S. media giant is No. 1 in marketing chutzpah. In June, AOL Germany bought the naming rights to the soccer stadium in Hamburg, Germany, changing it from Volks-parkstadion to AOL Arena. Then last week, for soccer club Hamburger SV's first game in the renamed stadium, the national newspaper Die Welt agreed to change the color of its front page - for one day - to AOL's distinctive blue.
Terms of the deal were kept secret, but that didn't silence the chorus of media critics. In an op-ed piece in the daily Der Tagasspiegel, journalism professor Wolf Schneider concluded 'Die Welt must have kissed goodbye its ambition to establish itself in the small circle of German prestige papers.' Who says there's no such thing as bad publicity?"

Britons drawn to online porn

"More than a quarter of Britons using the Internet from home visit pornographic websites, according to new figures.
Around 3.8 million home users visited an adult site in June, said Internet monitoring company NetValue. It found that 3,879 of the 9,411 websites visited in the month were pornographic, with Britons spending around 45 minutes a month looking at adult material."

For more info:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1484000/1484003.stm

Don't Eat the Yellow Links

"If you have a popular file-sharing program called KaZaA on your computer and suddenly start seeing yellow links to obvious ads on some of your favorite Web sites, this is because a cunning piece of software called TopText was automatically installed on your computer along with KaZaA. Many Web site owners are upset with this alteration of their content. But there is an opt-out procedure (albeit a somewhat cumbersome one) you can use to keep TopText links from being added to your site, according to the company that markets TopText."

For more info:
http://slashdot.org/features/01/07/31/2015216.shtml

Best Buy purchases Future Shop in $580 million spree

"Canada's largest consumer electronics retailer announced Tuesday an agreement to be acquired by Best Buy Co. Inc. for $580 million.
The Eden Prairie, Minn.-headquartered company has offered $17 for each Future Shop Ltd. share, an increase of a 48 percent on Monday's closing price on Toronto Stock Exchange. The deal is expected in late September.
Richard Schulze, chairman and CEO, called the acquisition a huge win for Best Buy and its shareholders and 'will accelerate our plans to expand into Canada by several years.'"

For more info:
http://www.itbusiness.ca/index.asp?theaction=61&sid=45771

PCIN POLL of the WEEK

Here are the responses from the last poll:

How many computers (desktops or laptops) do you have in your home?

2: 39.19%
1: 24.32%
5 or more: 16.22%
3: 14.86%
4: 4.05%
0: 1.35%

Total Votes: 74

Visit http://pcin.net/polls/ to participate in the new poll this week:

Have you ever purchased a music CD because of music you heard online (either using a program like Napster or with streaming radio)?

MOBILE COMPUTING NEWS and NOTES

One Voice Technologies has begun beta testing with mobile phone carriers for their voice-to-text software for wireless phones. The platform will allow users to send email, SMS, and navigate the web all by voice.  One Voice says the software "understands words, concepts and phrases by asking clarifying questions and archiving previous commands".

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

FREEHELP FORUM

Visit the PCIN FreeHelp Forum to post your questions or answer others. Each week I highlight a question, and where to go to get the answer.

Question

My [Windows ME] system just reboots after I choose shutdown from the start menu. Does anyone have a remedy?

Answer

A shutdown troubleshooter is built right into Windows ME. To access it, click Start | Help. In the window, type Troubleshooting. Click on the Troubleshooting entry in the menu. Scroll down the new list provided and click on "Startup & Shutdown Troubleshooter" in Win ME.
Or try this link: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q273/7/46.ASP

Visit http://www.pcin.net/cgi-bin/forum/index.cgi and check out the Software Forum to post your suggestion, or to post a question of your own.

PCIN.net UPDATE

Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:

FrontX CPX Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/frontx.shtml

PCIN FreeHelp Headquarters
http://PCIN.net/help/

Tips of the Day
http://PCIN.net/help/tods/index.shtml

Support PCIN
http://pcin.net/donate.shtml

THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

Cheap Trick of the Week

**Clear out, docs**
If you find Windows' Documents list useful but would like to clear the contents every now and then, you can use the following simple tweak to the Registry to have the list wiped out every time you exit Windows.
(Once again, if you are not used to Registry editing, you can find out all about it at http://www.WE-Compute.com/registry.html )
Open the Registry Editor and head to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer. Click Edit and New DWORD value.
Right-click the value and select Rename. Type ClearRecentDocsOnExit and press Enter. Double-click the new value and set the value data to 1 (that's the numeral one). Exit the Registry and restart the computer.
Windows will now clear the Documents list whenever you restart or turn off your PC.

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

Highlight Vertically in Microsoft Word

This is a great tip! I was looking for months on how to highlight vertically text in Word. By default, when you highlight text, it highlights vertically across the row you are in, and then up or down to the next row.
Depending on how you have formatted your document, you may have text at the beginning and/or end of each line. You can delete this text quickly by holding down the ALT key and then highlighting the text. Give it a try; you'll see what I mean.

Some Odd Rest Stops on the Digital Highway

"Never underestimate the drawing power of eccentricity, especially on the Internet. A Web site, even about the most arcane topics, is like the baseball diamond in the Iowa cornfield: if you build it, they will come. And since the Web is a great equalizer, those with peculiar interests can make them seem as compelling as artifacts in the British Museum. Or not. Just keep in mind that there are no Accuracy Police in cyberspace. Here, based on uncounted hours of aimless Web surfing, are some good, bad or ugly - but mostly offbeat - sites devoted to topics related to automobiles and driving."
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/10/automobiles/10CARS.html

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

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