Issue 236 - April 23, 2003

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2003
==== 2189 Subscribers in 61 Countries ====

Welcome to the 236th 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

My vacation last week was fantastic. I did nothing of any significance, but it was sure nice being at home. We did a few little things with Andrew and had a lot of fun. I've updated the Wing Family Web Site if anyone would like to see the pictures:
Various Pictures of Andrew from March 15 to April 15
http://WingFamily.ca/lisagraham/Andrew/20030315-20030415/index.html
Pictures of our Toyota Echo
http://WingFamily.ca/lisagraham/toyota_echo/index.html
Trip to Metro Toronto Zoo
http://WingFamily.ca/lisagraham/20030414/index.html
Good Friday with the family
http://WingFamily.ca/lisagraham/20030418/index.html

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

The NEWS

Eluding the Web's Snare

"Vicki Lewis, a 57-year-old former television producer who lives in Bethesda, Md., inhabits a household filled with Internet users. Her children are on the Internet constantly, as is her husband.
But in spite of the electrons flying all around her, she resists the pull to go online.
A new study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project has found that 42 percent of American adults say they are not connected to the Internet, and a surprising number are like Ms. Lewis. That is, they live in a household where other relatives are regular Internet users, or they have close friends who regularly go online. Yet they refuse to join the crowd."

For more info:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/17/technology/circuits/17shun.html?th

Happy Birthday, Ask Jeeves!

"Ask Jeeves, an online question answering service that has gradually morphed into a search engine, officially launched its site six years ago.
Jeeves was the brainchild of venture capitalist Garrett Gruener and technologist David Warthen. From the start, Jeeves was different than the other search services of the day.
The idea behind Jeeves was not to create yet another search engine or directory, but to offer a question-answering service -- a virtual online concierge.
The askjeeves.com domain was created on Wed, November 29th, 1995, shortly after AltaVista had its public launch. Yahoo, though popular, was still a small operation, hosted on servers provided by the web's major powerhouse of the time, Netscape."

For more info:
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/2177081

Concern rises over proposed Japanese privacy law

"Japan's Internet executives fear a proposed privacy-protection law may be used to restrict speech and shut down search engines and personal Web pages.
'There's a danger the law will be abused,' said Nobuo Ikeda, a senior fellow at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry. 'We should do away with all restrictions on the freedom of expression.'
Defenders of the bill, backed by Japan's ruling coalition, say the measure is a response to consumer complaints about personal information circulating without regulation in dubious databases and mailing lists. The bill is now before Parliament."

For more info:
http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030417.gtjapanapr17/GTStory

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POLL of the WEEK

Last Week's Poll

Do you own your office suite (MS or otherwise)?

Yes, I paid for it 48.57 % (51)
Yes, work paid for it 16.19 % (17)
No, but I got a copy from someone or someplace 22.86 % (24)
I don't have an office suite 10.48 % (11)
I didn't pay for it because I use free software 1.90 % (2)
Total votes: 105

This Week's Poll

Do you own a DVD Burner?

Yes
No, I don't need one
No, I'm waiting for a standard to be decided on
No, they're too expensive

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

Whenever I access any floppy in the floppy drive this error message comes "DISK WRITE ERROR, Unable to write to Disk in Drive A:, Data or Files May be lost. Press any key to continue. " Please tell me that what is the solution of this problem.
and
In Bios my Cpu Fan is showing 0 RPM, but the Fan inside the CPU is running properly. I am using 1.2MHz Celeron. Please tell me that why it is showing wrong Speed.

Response

Check the disk your are using.
That is it clean, and not in write-protect mode.
Make sure the cable on the floppy drive is orientated properly and in good condition.
If necessary check the floppy by using a boot disk, if it boots the problem is in the Operating System software. If not it is a fault of the floppy drive.
You can either clean it or replace it (for about $15 CAN).

To post a response, visit the General Software Help forum at http://PCIN.net/help/forum/index.php?board=3 and click on the "Incorrect CPU Fan Speed" 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:

Logitech Cordless Freedom Optical Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/lcfo.php

Some Useful Registry Tips - Now 171 Tips!
http://PCIN.net/help/articles/registry_tips.php

Paragon Hard Disk Manager 5.5 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/paragonhdm55.php

Object Desktop Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/objectdesktop.php

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

Microsoft MVPs

A short time ago an Excel site was featured in the PCIN newsletter Tips and Other Stuff section. That site is part of a collection of sites offered by some of the people Microsoft has deemed to be their Most Valuable Professionals (MVP). http://www.mpvs.org has many different contributors covering topics from Excel, Access and Internet Explorer to Visual Basic, Exchange and Windows Scripting. You can read about the MVP program at http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/.

Langa Letter: 10 Great, Free Tools

Many of you know of Fred Langa. He used to be with Windows Magazine and now writes a newsletter and regular columns for InformationWeek. His latest column about is called 10 Great, Free Tools. The site says:
"Fred Langa evaluates 10 valuable, commercial-quality software tools that are available just for the asking. It's not the same old freeware."
Check it out at http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=8800348

More Excel Help

Here is another site to help you with Excel:
"ExcelTip.com offers free Microsoft Excel Tips, Microsoft Excel Tutorials, and Excel Spreadsheet Help for Microsoft Excel 97 / 2000 / 2002"
Check it out at http://www.exceltip.com/

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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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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.

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