Issue 262 - October 22, 2003

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2003
==== 2126 Subscribers in 60 Countries ====

Welcome to the 262nd 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. If you give me two or three issues, I know that you will come back for more!

You can reach me at editor@pcin.net with any suggestions or comments.

Recommend PCIN at http://PCIN.net/recommend.php

Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.php

CONTENTS

Opening Thoughts

I know I've been promising it for a while, but I have finally finished the Sunbelt Software iHateSpam software review. I've used it for about 2 1/2 months, and it has caught almost 30,000 junk emails for me. Check out The Tips and Other Stuff section below for more about the software and a link to the full review.

Chris is working on a review of NewsGator, and RSS feed aggregator that integrates with Outlook. After that, we have several other software titles to look at. We're keeping busy, and hopefully you will find the reviews useful. Remember, if you are interested in learning about a particular product and would like us to check it out, just email us and we'll see what we can do.

Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net

The NEWS

Amazon moves back into profit

"Online retailer Amazon has reported a quarterly profit for the first time outside of the key Christmas sales period.
The company said free delivery offers and a new sporting goods store had helped boost revenue by 33%.
It also gave an upbeat assessment of trading in the current quarter, predicting sales growth of between 24% and 34%.
The results - only the third time in its history Amazon has made a quarterly net profit - were slightly better than most Wall Street estimates."

For more info:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3212322.stm

Apple whistles a happy 1 million iTunes

"Apple Computer said Monday that 1 million copies of its iTunes software for Windows have been downloaded since its introduction on Thursday.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company also said it has sold more than 1 million songs in that same time, a significant increase from the typical rate of 500,000 or 600,000 songs the company had been selling in recent weeks.
'We're off to a great start, and our competition isn't even out of the starting gates yet,' Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement."

For more info:
http://news.com.com/2100-1046_3-5093702.html

He turned Web site in the rough into online jewel

"Mark Vadon's ability to raise $57 million to sell diamond engagement rings over the Internet during the spring of 1999 was not particularly remarkable.
After all, it was a time when budding entrepreneurs dreamed of hawking everything from dog food to Dom Perignon online. And venture capitalists couldn't wait to throw money at business plans scrawled on napkins.
But four years later, Vadon's brainchild, Blue Nile, is a rare breed: It is one of the few pure online retailers to survive the dot-com implosion - and thrive in its aftermath." For more info:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/2003-10-19-entrepreneur_x.htm

Memorex to raise recordable CD prices

"Citing factors such as supply shortages and rising costs from overseas disc manufacturers, Memorex plans to increase CD-R and CD-RW media prices by 10 percent to 15 percent beginning January.
Manufacturing costs have increased 35 percent this year because of patent royalty fees, rising production costs for petroleum-based plastics used to make optical media, as well as transportation costs to deliver products to warehouse and retail facilities, Memorex said in a statement Friday. Until now, the company said, Memorex has absorbed all of these increases instead of passing them on to customers."

For more info:
http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-5094136.html

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POLL of the WEEK

Last Week's Poll

Should Microsoft be held liable for any losses incurred as a result of their unsecure software?

Yes 57.14 % (84)
No 33.33 % (49)
I don't know 9.52 % (14)
Total votes: 147

This Week's Poll

Will you switch to Microsoft Office 2003 in the next 6 months

Yes, I always upgrade
Yes, I will be switching from a competing product
No, I don't use Office at all
No, I am fine with my current version of Office
No, I will upgrade in more than 6 months

You can also vote online at http://PCIN.net/polls/

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PCIN.net FREEHELP FORUM

Visit the PCIN.net FreeHelp Forum at http://PCIN.net/help/forum/ to post your questions or answer others.

Question

I am running windows xp and as you all know or don't, microsoft in the world of wisdom decided to remove the api's for the scsi, which conflicts with ripping, all i need is a aspi driver that is compatible with my computer so i can rip happily ever after i have a SAMSUNG CDR/W

Response

Try http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread/t-51213.html
If that doesn't work, do a search on the entire forum at CDFreaks.com and see what you can find.

To post a response, visit the General Hardware Help forum at http://PCIN.net/help/forum/index.php?board=4 and click on the "SCSI APIS" topic.

Visit http://PCIN.net/help/forum/ to post a question of your own.

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PCIN.net UPDATE

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

Sunbelt Software iHateSpam Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ihatespam.php

Logitech Cordless Elite Duo Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/lced.php

XemiComputers Ltd. DeskLook 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/desklook3.php

Symantec Norton Ghost 2003 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ghost2003.php

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

Sunbelt Software iHateSpam Software Review

"If you have an email account, then you get SPAM, Unsolicited Commercial Email, Junk Email, or whatever else you want to call it. If you have a web site of your own, then the amount of junk email you get is probably even higher. The increase of junk email has brought a number of products to the marketplace that claim to reduce or all together eliminate your junk email. I first heard about iHateSpam from an MCSE consultant that Chris and I have worked with. He recommended a server version of the product. When we looked into the product and saw that they had a desktop version, we had to try it.
iHateSpam is by Sunbelt Software. They have 2 different server versions along with a version for Microsoft Outlook and a different version for Microsoft Outlook Express. During the trial, I used the Outlook Edition with Microsoft Outlook 2000. Chris also tried the Outlook Express Edition with Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0 and had similar results."
Check out the full review at http://PCIN.net/help/software/ihatespam.php and don't forget to rate the review!

What a Computer is Supposed to Do

Subscriber and co-worker Vicki sent me this:
i HAD to forward this one :)
What a computer is suppose to do
Whenever the day is getting you down..... try this!
This is what a computer is supposed to do! Click on the link below and then type in your first name...
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~geoffo/humour/flattery.html

Updates from Software602

I recently heard from Premysl Pech of Software602 letting me know of some updates to the Software602 line of products. They have a Microsoft Office alternative (free), as well as many other useful programs.
Software602 has recently released a new 3 software products:
602PC SUITE 4.0
Free Alternative to MS Office compatible with Word/Excel files
602PHOTO SUITE 4.0
Digital photo suite with photo editor, organizer and upload to web support
eDock Desktop 2.1
Secure personal storage with real-time encryption and full-text search
More information about the products is available here:
http://www.software602.com/products/home.html

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PCIN.net AFFILIATED SITES

Both of us have other sites other than PCIN.net. These are all sites that we are actively involved in (they aren't client sites). Don't forget to check them out from time to time for updates:

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DISCLAIMER and OTHER STUFF

PCIN is brought to you by Graham Wing. The opinions expressed are those of the Editor, Graham Wing and the Assistant Editor, Chris Empey. Graham Wing and Chris Empey accept no responsibility for the results obtained from trying the tips in this newsletter.

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  3. To subscribe another address or unsubscribe, please visit http://PCIN.net/ and follow the appropriate links.
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Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.net

Copyright 1998-2003, Graham Wing. All rights reserved.

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