ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2003
==== 2316 Subscribers in 62 Countries ====
Welcome to the 252nd 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
I had to leave work early today because I had a migraine headache. I haven't had one for 4 years, and if I have one again in another 4 years, it will be too soon for me. I regularly have headaches, but have only had migraines 6 times in my almost 28 years of existence. I had 4 in 2 years when I was a missionary in Taiwan (the first time I ever had one), and then 2 in the last 7 years. I certainly feel for those who suffer from migraines regularly. It must be terrible.
On a happier note, Lisa and I are heading up to a cottage for a long weekend tomorrow. Every summer my parents rent a cottage for 2 weeks in Buckhorn in Central Ontario. It is about 30 minutes north of Peterborough and is beautiful! I'll take lots of pictures so that you can all see more of the beauty of Ontario. Until then, visit http://www.buckhorncanada.org/ to learn more about Buckhorn.
Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net
Searching for the personal touch
"A stealth start-up out of Stanford University is hoping to raise the heat on one of the toughest problems in Web search--and possibly out-Google Google in the process.
Kaltix was formed in recent months by three members of Stanford's PageRank team--a research group created to advance the mathematical algorithm developed by Google co-founder and Stanford alum Larry Page that cemented Google's fame.
PageRank has helped steer people to Web sites like no other search technology before it, harnessing the link structure of the Web to determine the most popular pages. Now, Kaltix hopes to improve upon PageRank, with an attempt to speed up the underlying PageRank computations."For more info:
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5061873.html
Are you a Web addict?
"To determine whether someone is spending an unhealthy amount of time with their computers, two University of Florida psychiatrists say doctors need to only remember the acronym MOUSE.
Web surfing, e-mailing, instant messaging, gaming, shopping, downloading music and visiting chat rooms become troublesome when they interfere with someone's job or social life, said Dr. Nathan Shapira of UF's Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute.
The challenge for health care professionals is to determine when high Internet use is dysfunctional, and whether unhealthy Internet use is a lone disorder or a byproduct of other disorders, such as manic depression."For more info:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/08/07/web.addict.ap/index.html
Merrill Lynch bans AOL, Yahoo, MSN...
"Merrill Lynch on Friday will ban access to outside e-mail services from popular sites such as America Online, Yahoo and MSN, in response to regulatory requirements and to protect its network from viruses, according to a company memo.
For more info:
The policy shift will affect the 48,000 Merrill Lynch employees worldwide who use the company's Internet network. A Merrill Lynch representative said the policy is an extension of existing bans in departments such as the trading desk. Other investment banks, such as Goldman Sachs, have similar companywide policies."
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5061310.html
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How much total hard drive space do you have on your home computer?
Less 2 GB 1.33 % (2) Between 2 GB and 10 GB 7.33 % (11) Between 11 GB and 20 GB 6.00 % (9) Between 21 GB and 50 GB 25.33 % (38) More than 51 GB 58.00 % (87) I don't know 1.33 % (2) I don't have a home computer 0.67 % (1) Total votes: 150
This Week's Poll
You can also vote online at http://PCIN.net/polls/
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Visit the PCIN.net FreeHelp Forum at http://PCIN.net/help/forum/ to post your questions or answer others.
Question
Bought a new ASUS P4C800-DX i875 SATA Pro8X motherboard. After I installed it, it gives me 1 long and 2 short beeps. (This mobo does not have onboard graphics.) I'm using an ASUS V8440 GeForce4 Ti 4400 graphics card. It is situated properly as far as I can tell. Have tried an old PCI graphics card with same result. This happens whether any other cards or drives or whatever else are plugged into the motherboard. Manual mentions no jumpers for video.
Response
You should be able to start the mainboard with a PCI card installed, although you may need to install it in Slot 1.
If the board won't POST then move the CMOS reset jumper to CLEAR, wait 20 seconds and move it back to Operate.
If the problem persist, you have a defective board.
To post a response, visit the General Hardware Help forum at http://PCIN.net/help/forum/index.php?board=4 and click on the "new ASUS P4C800-DX motherboard fails to recognize video card" topic.
Visit http://PCIN.net/help/forum/ to post a question of your own.
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Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
Logitech Cordless Elite Duo Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/lced.phpXemiComputers Ltd. DeskLook 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/desklook3.phpSymantec Norton Ghost 2003 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ghost2003.phpAmic Games Email Saver Xe Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/emailsaverxe.php
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How Scanners Work
"Sometimes I think the history of computer technology is the history of listening to people who say, 'You'll never make that available to consumers,' and systematically proving them wrong.
Consider the desktop scanner. Scanners have gone from being some of the rarest and most exotic bits of hardware in the whole of the computer market to being a nearly-ubiquitous PC add-on, getting flatter and cheaper and better with each passing year. The expansion of digital photography and desktop and web publishing have made scanners more of a standard fixture. People are digitizing their old photo libraries and archiving images onto CD-R at an increasing rate.
But the inner workings of scanners are often a bit of a mystery, even for experienced users. In this article, I will be laying bare the ins and outs of desktop scanners--where they came from, how they work, how different technologies figure into their makeup, and where they may be headed."
Read the article at http://www.extremetech.com/print_article/0,3998,a=29391,00.asp
Email Signatures
Subscriber and co-worker Pat Clary received an email from someone asking him to update his contact information by visiting the Plaxo.com web site. We looked into it and it looks like a neat service. The site describes it this way:
"Plaxo Contacts is a free software tool that provides a variety of useful features for maintaining your contact information.
One of the newest features is personalized e-mail signatures -- within seconds, you can design your own personalized e-mail signature containing your latest contact info (name, email, company, etc.) and have it added to all of your outgoing e-mail messages.
If you are not interested in Plaxo's contact update features, skip those steps during installation and go directly to the Plaxo toolbar in Outlook or Outlook Express, and click "E-mail Signatures".
Plaxo seamlessly integrates into Outlook and Outlook Express, and gives you a variety of features for keeping your contact info up-to-date:
+ Customized e-mail signatures
+ Tiny download and simple install
+ It's free!
+ It's extremely easy to use
+ Quickly updates your address book
+ Lots more!"
Check it out at http://www.plaxo.com/signature/
Absolute WinInfo
"The Best Windows 98 Information. Including Windows 98 news, tips, reviews, software, resources, web site links, discussion, and more."
Check it out at http://www.barkers.org/windows/main.html
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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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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.
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.
This publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part, as long as the author is notified and the newsletter is presented as is.
Support PCIN by visiting http://PCIN.net/donate.php