PCIN, The PC Improvement News logo

Issue 302 - July 28, 2004

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2004
==== 1961 Subscribers in 58 Countries ====

Welcome to the 302nd 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

Yesterday was Andrew's second birthday. I can't believe the time has flown by so quickly! We had a big family party on Saturday. If you are interested, I've updated the family web site with pictures from Andrew's party, pictures from my sister Brianna's 17th birthday party, various pictures of Andrew, pictures of Andrew on his birthday, as well as daily galleries of Matthew from Day 20 - Day 27.

Chris still has 2 GMail invitations. Send us tips, a software recommendation, a helpful web site, or anything that you think other PCIN subscribers would find useful and we'll send you a GMail invitation. Subscriber and co-worker Pat Clary also thought people might want to check out http://gmail-is-too-creepy.com/ I've been using GMail quite a bit over the last couple of months, and I don't think it's creepy, but you can decide for yourself.

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

The NEWS

NASA to build 10,000-processor Linux computer

"The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has given the green light to a project that will build the largest ever supercomputer based on Silicon Graphics Inc.'s (SGI) 512-processor Altix computers.
Called Project Columbia, the 10,240-processor system will be used by researchers at the Advanced Supercomputing Facility at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.
Scientists will use Columbia to design equipment, simulate future space missions and model weather patterns. A portion of the $160 million system will also be made available to other government agencies and educational facilities, said Bill Thigpen, manager of Project Columbia. 'We need to look at working with other agencies to provide them with access to this system because it is a unique system,' he said."

For more info:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/07/28/HNnasalinux_1.html

Google, other engines hit by worm variant

"Major Internet search engines were crippled Monday morning by a variant of the MyDoom worm, rendering Google inaccessible to many users and slowing results from Yahoo.
The attack also affected smaller engines, including Yahoo's AltaVista and Lycos.
Google representatives confirmed that the MyDoom worm affected performance of the search engine. Despite numerous e-mail complaints received by CNET News.com that Google's search engine was down for hours, the company down played the impact of the worm and said it had been not widely affected by the worm.

For more info:
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-22_11-5285091.html

Are P2P networks leaking military secrets?

"A new Web log is posting what it purports are pictures, documents and letters from U.S. soldiers and military bases in Iraq and elsewhere--all of which the site's operator claims to have downloaded from peer-to-peer networks such as Gnutella.
The 'See What You Share' site has been online for a week and has published photos ranging from a crashed military jet to a screenshot of a spreadsheet file that appears to include names, addresses and telephone numbers of marines.
The site's operator, a 30-year-old named Rick Wallace, wrote in a blog posting that he is trying to help the military understand how serious a security risk unmonitored peer-to-peer file sharing can be."

For more info:
http://news.com.com/2100-1038_3-5285918.html

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POLL of the WEEK

Last Week's Poll

Do you shutdown your computers nightly or just let them run?

I turn it off whenever I'm not using it 38 % (55)
I turn it off at night only 25 % (36)
I reboot my computer every few days 8 % (12)
I almost never turn my computer off 19 % (28)
I never turn my computer off 10 % (14)
Total votes: 145

This Week's Poll

Do you every use the Hibernate or Standby features of your computer?

Yes, I use both
Yes, I use Hibernate
Yes, I use Standby
No, I don't use either because I don't know how
No, I don't use either, but I'd like to
I don't know what the Hibernate and Standby features do

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:

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

Updated Windows Registry Tips and Tweaks Article
http://PCIN.net/help/articles/registry_tips.php

MySlideShow 2.3 by Anix Software Software Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/myslideshow.php

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

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

Use Styles in MS Word

Many people are aware of the numerous ways MS Word allows you to format your text. There are easy ways to copy those formats within your document. The first is the format painter which we featured in a previous newsletter (http://www.pcin.net/archive/2000/20000906.php) The second is to use word Styles. There are many built in Styles, all can be modified to suit your taste with any option available for formatting including font and paragraph formatting. To access the styles manager, click on Format from the menu, and choose Style (or in Office 2003, Format, then Styles and Formatting). You can now make adjustments to your styles that can be applied throughout your document. This is a nice way to keep your formatting consistent.

One of Marian Baade's favorite FREE utilities

From Marian:
"EMAIL STRIPPER!
http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm
Teach your email buddies to use this to strip out all that junk before they forward messages to you."
From the site:
" emailStripper is a free program for cleaning the '>' and other formatting characters out of your emails. It will restore 'forwarded' or 'replied' emails back to their original state so they're easier to read."

Software Recommended by Larry Leach

"Here is a neat, small software that I use quite a bit. It is called 'chainsaw' and it is freeware. The URL is:
http://www.schmeusser.siw.de/software/chainsaw.html
I can't tell you the number of times I have a file that is just a little too big for a floppy."

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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.

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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