Issue 277 - February 04, 2004

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2004
==== 2192 Subscribers in 62 Countries ====

Welcome to the 277th 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've added two small galleries to the Wing Family web site. One is of Andrew and me shoveling and the other is of Andrew's first haircut. It also occurred to me that I haven't let you all in on our little secret... we're having another baby! On Thursday Lisa will already be at 20 weeks. We're pretty sure that we're having a girl, and hope to confirm this with the obstetrician soon.

This week both Chris and I finished reviews. Check out the Tips and Other Stuff section for the review of SnagIt 7 by TechSmith Corporation and some Microsoft Outlook add-ins by MAPILab.

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

The NEWS

Engineering geek names son version 2.0

"Tacking Jr. or II onto a boy's name is too common, a new father decided, so the self-described engineering geek took a software approach to naming his newborn son.
Jon Blake Cusack talked his wife, Jamie, into naming their son Jon Blake Cusack 2.0.
Version 2.0 was born Tuesday at Holland Community Hospital, and the proud parents took him home Friday."

For more info:
http://us.cnn.com/2004/US/Midwest/02/01/offbeat.baby.version2.0.ap/index.html

Gateway to acquire eMachines

"Struggling computer maker Gateway Inc. is acquiring its privately held rival, eMachines Inc.
The new company will be the No. 3 player in the U.S. personal computer market, with a 7-per-cent share of overall U.S. computer sales and a 25-per-cent share of U.S. retail desktop sales. It will also be the eighth-largest PC company in the world, with a combined revenue of $4.5-billion (U.S.)."

For more info:
http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040130.gtgatweayjan30/BNStory/Technology/

AOL May Demand Refund For Peep Show

"After paying for a halftime show - and instead getting a peep show - AOL may demand some of its money back.
The Super Bowl was supposed to be AOL's chance to shine - the first salvo in its new $200 million advertising campaign.
Instead, its $10 million sponsorship of the halftime show and numerous commercial spots turned into a disaster because of Janet Jackson's inability to keep her clothes on, analysts said."

For more info:
http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/17208.htm

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POLL of the WEEK

Last Week's Poll

Do you believe that spam can be eliminated by 2006, as has been recently predicted?

Yes 10.08 % (13)
No 58.91 % (76)
I sure hope so! 31.01 % (40)
Total votes: 129

This Week's Poll

Do you regularly run software to check for spyware on your computer?

Yes
No
What is spyware?

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:

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

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

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

Updated PCIN.net Search
http://PCIN.net/search/

Moon Software Password Agent Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/passwordagent.php

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

Super Bowl Ads

Here in Canada, the Super Bowl is simulcast by Global (a Canadian broadcaster). They use the CBS feed, but then insert their own commercials. So unless you have a satellite service where you can get the direct US feed, you don't get to see the commercials. If you are in this situation, or just missed them, you can see them all at http://www.ifilm.com/?sctn=collections&pg=superbowl2004

Real Player from the BBC

This was posted 20040201 to the Boing Boing blog:
"An anonymous reader sez, 'The BBC made a unique deal with Real Networks which disposes of their spyware tactics. Basically, if a user clicks on a link to download Real Player from a BBC website, the referrer script sends them to a page where they can download an expiry-free, spyware-free and nuicance-free version of the player. It's because the BBC have such a stringent public service remit, that it was offensive to charge people a license fee for BBC content, then make them pay all over again for the facility to view/listen to it.'"
I don't know if there is a difference or not in the program, but you can check it out at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/audiohelp.shtml?help

TechSmith Corporation SnagIt 7 Software Review

"Back in the days of DOS, you used to be able to press the Print Screen (also called PrintScr or PrtScr or PrintScreen) key and what was on the screen would print directly to your printer. These days, pressing that button will just copy the current screen to the clipboard. You then need to open up an application and paste the image into a document so that you can edit or print the screenshot. If you've ever tried to do this you know it is not very convenient and usually the files created are unnecessarily large. This has created a demand for screen capture utilities.
SnagIt by TechSmith Corporation is probably the most well-know screen capture utility. It lets you capture images of windows, toolbars, web pages, text, and video and has many features. I recently obtained a copy of SnagIt 7 to review."
Check out the full review at http://PCIN.net/help/software/snagit7.php

MAPILab Ltd. Microsoft Outlook Add-ins Software Review

MapiLab Ltd. has produced several add-ins for Microsoft Outlook and Exchange. We had the opportunity to review four of them. Subscription Manager allows you to use Microsoft Outlook as a mailing list manager, Send Personally will send a group of emails, such as to a distribution list) to each person individually while customizing what each person sees. Together the two products work in conjunction to provide strong mailing list services. Also reviewed are Duplicate Email Remover and Contacts Verifier.
Check out the full review at http://www.pcin.net/help/software/mapilab.php

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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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