PCIN, The PC Improvement News logo

Issue 280 - February 25, 2004

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2004
==== 2197 Subscribers in 62 Countries ====

Welcome to the 280th 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 had a nice relaxing week off. We hung out around the house for most of the week, but did spend a couple of days visiting Lisa's parents. The only problem with vacations is that they just aren't long enough!

Tomorrow Chris and I will be in Toronto for a Microsoft security event with Steve Balmer as the keynote speaker. I doubt think he'll share anything earth-shattering with us, but we've never heard him speak before so we are looking forward to it.

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

The NEWS

Top net villains and heroes named

"Britain's net industry has named internet domain giant Verisign as its villain of the year.
It won the accolade for a system it set up that hijacked mistyped web queries and sent people to a Verisign-run site.
Hero of the year was Steve Linford who runs the Spamhaus Project that attempts to thwart peddlers of unwanted mail.
The two awards were given out during the annual ceremony in which the UK net industry picks out the best and most innovative in its business."

For more info:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3506157.stm

Gates predicts death of the password

"Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates predicted the demise of the traditional password because it cannot 'meet the challenge' of keeping critical information secure.
Gates, speaking at the RSA Security conference here on Tuesday, said: 'There is no doubt that over time, people are going to rely less and less on passwords. People use the same password on different systems, they write them down and they just don't meet the challenge for anything you really want to secure.'"

For more info:
http://news.com.com/2100-1029_3-5164733.html

Yahoo vs Google

"Yahoo's decision to break away from Google and use its own internet search technology signals a new 'search engine war' in an increasingly lucrative segment of cyberspace.
The move marks a new direction for Yahoo, which had previously relied on Google, the new powerhouse, for many of its web searches.
'Everybody had thought of Yahoo as the web, and they kind of lost a bit of that,' said Brett Tabke, founder of WebmasterWorld.com, a news and discussion forum for internet professionals.
Google is the direct website used for searching by 39% of US internet users, compared with 30% for Yahoo, according to Nielsen/Netratings.
Yet because Google is an underlying engine for Yahoo, AOL and others, it powers some 79% of all searches, according to Searchenginewatch.com."

For more info:
http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,6119,2-13-1443_1488958,00.html

MandrakeSoft ordered to drop trademark

"A French court has ruled against Linux distributor MandrakeSoft in an intellectual-property dispute with United States-based Hearst Holdings and King Features Syndicate.
The decision could force the Paris-based software company to surrender its trademark and domain names and to pay nearly $90,000 (U.S.) in damages to the U.S. companies, holders of the rights to the comic strip character Mandrake the Magician. The comic strip marks its 70th anniversary this year."

For more info:
http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040220.gtmandrakefeb20/BNStory/Technology/

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POLL of the WEEK

Last Week's Poll

How many software products do you use to protect against spyware?

1 17.59 % (19)
2 42.59 % (46)
3 25.00 % (27)
4 6.48 % (7)
5 0.93 % (1)
More than 5 4.63 % (5)
None 0.93 % (1)
What's spyware? 1.85 % (2)
Total votes: 108

This Week's Poll

Do you use biometrics for computer authentication?

Yes, at home
Yes, at work
Yes, at home at at work
No
What's biometrics?

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

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PCIN.net UPDATE

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

Anyplace Control by Anyplace Control Software Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/anyplacecontrol.php

Inboxer 1.1 by Audiotrieve, LLC Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/inboxer.php

Microsoft Outlook Add-Ins by MAPILab Ltd. Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/mapilab.php

SnagIt 7 by TechSmith Corporation Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/snagit7.php

Icon Catcher 4 by Helexis Software Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/iconcatcher4.php

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

4th Annual Search Engine Watch Awards

"In early January 2004, Search Engine Watch members were invited to nominate search engines in various categories for the 4th Annual Search Engine Watch Awards. They could choose from a list of search engines that Search Engine Watch editors thought were good for within a particular category or suggest new services.
In late January 2004, anyone subscribed to one of Search Engine Watch's newsletters was sent a special email allowing them to vote in the final round. Each person was only able to vote once using a unique voting URL.
Search Engine Watch editor Danny Sullivan and associate editor Chris Sherman made the final decisions about award winners. Our selections were influenced by reader votes, though the final decisions over winners isn't always the same as the voting. More details about how decisions were made are described in each category below."
Check them out at http://www.searchenginewatch.com/awards/article.php/3309841

Remember DOS/Command Shell Commands

Windows NT, 2000, XP, and 2003 don't have the traditional DOS environment. They have something called a Command Shell. It looks the same, and you can do most of the same things. For those familiar with DOS, there was a small program called DOSKEY that you could load that would remember what commands were entered. Then by pressing the up or down arrows, you could scroll through these commands. Windows NT, 2000, XP, and 2003 doesn't require the old DOSKEY program to do this. It has this feature built-in. You can also press F7 to have a small window pop up that will show all of the recent commands. You can then easily choose the one you'd like to run again.
In case you are interested, these newer operating systems have an enhanced version of DOSKEY that does much more than before.

DVD Hidden Features

"Some DVD discs contain hidden features that are more or less easy to find. Well, some are rather obvious, but others are quite a tricky beast. On this page we want to help you find some of the so called 'Easter Eggs' on currently available discs so that you, too, can take a look at those special features the publishers are hiding there."
Check it out at http://www.dvdreview.com/html/hidden_features.shtml

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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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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.

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