PCIN, The PC Improvement News logo

Issue 323 - December 22, 2004

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2004
==== 2019 Subscribers in 58 Countries ====

Welcome to the 323rd 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.

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

CONTENTS

Opening Thoughts

I don't have much to report on this week. But I did want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! I hope that you have an enjoyable weekend. Be sure to send an email if you get any cool new gadgets!

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

The NEWS

Britons growing 'digitally obese'

"Gadget lovers are so hungry for digital data many are carrying the equivalent of 10 trucks full of paper in 'weight'.
Music, images, e-mails, and texts are being hoarded on mobiles, cameras laptops and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), a Toshiba study found.
It found that more than 60% kept 1,000 to 2,000 music files on their devices, making the UK 'digitally fat'.
'Virtual weight' measurements are based on research by California Institute of Technology professor Roy Williams."

For more info:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4079417.stm

ISP wins $1 billion in spam suit

"An Internet service provider in Iowa has been awarded more than $1 billion in what is believed to be the largest lawsuit judgment ever against spammers.
Robert Kramer, who owns CIS Internet Services, sued 300 spammers after his servers received up to 10 million spam e-mails a day in 2000, according to court documents."

For more info:
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-22_11-5497725.html

Symantec to Buy Veritas Software

"The Symantec Corporation, a leader in security software and one of Silicon Valley's oldest companies, announced early Thursday that it would acquire Veritas Software, a maker of data storage programs, to create the world's fourth-largest software company. The all-stock transaction was valued at $13.5 billion.
The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter of next year, will give the combined company revenue of $5 billion next year. Only Microsoft, Oracle and SAP, a German-based competitor, would have greater software sales."

For more info:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/17/technology/17symantec.html?ex=1260939600&en=63cf82d34a8b26cc&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

POLL of the WEEK

Last Week's Poll

How often do you update your virus definitions?

Several times a day 3 % (3)
Once a day 23 % (20)
A few times a week 20 % (18)
Once a week 7 % (6)
Whenever my software prompts me 15 % (13)
I don't know. It's done automatically 27 % (24)
Never 5 % (4)
Total votes: 88

This Week's Poll

Are you giving or receiving any tech gifts this year?

Giving
Receiving
Both
Neither
I don't know

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

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

PCIN.net UPDATE

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

PCIN.net Update Blog
http://PCIN.net/update/

Sunbelt Software iHateSpam 4.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ihatespam4.php

Micro Solutions RoadStor Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/roadstor.php

Album Creator by FirmTools Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/albumcreator.php

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Administrator's Pocket Consultant, Second Edition Book Review
http://PCIN.net/help/books/w2kapcse.php

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

Free Stuff For MS Office Users

Subscriber and co-worker Pat Clary sent me along a link to this Small Business Pipeline story:
" Microsoft Office is both popular and widely distributed, which means that there are a lot of resources available for Office users. This week, instead of focusing on one feature, I'm going to point you toward a few small but useful items that are out there for the taking."

Create Tables in MS Word

Chris saw this in the Tech Republic Microsoft Office Suite newsletter:
To create a table in Microsoft Word using the keyboard, using the + and - keys. Where you want your table, enter +------+-----------+----------+. The + denotes a table cell border and the - determines the width of the cell. When you are done, press enter.

Free Vector Graphics Application from Microsoft

From the Rays of Light blog:
"Last year long about November, Microsoft purchased a small Hong Kong-based software firm named Creature House. One of their principal products was a vector graphics editing program called Expressions 3. Primarily a Mac product, they also had a Windows version; both versions received very positive reviews. Microsoft's disposition of the developmental version of Expressions 3.3 is totally unexpected. They are currently giving away both the Mac and the Windows versions for free!"
I admit I've never heard of this before and first read of this in the LangaList newsletter. You can read more of the write-up at the link above or visit the Microsoft Expression site.

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

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:

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

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 1998-2004, 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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