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Issue 282 - March 10, 2004

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2004
==== 2167 Subscribers in 60 Countries ====

Welcome to the 282nd 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

Nothing much to report on this week. The weather has been improving nicely. All of that snow we got in January is finally gone. The sun is rising earlier and setting later. It certainly brings a brighter feeling to the day.

Chris and I are still working on some reviews. We hope to have them done soon so we can move on to some new things. Stay tuned!

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

The NEWS

Hands Off! That Fact Is Mine

"Imagine doing a Google search for a phone number, weather report or sports score. The results page would be filled with links to various sources of information. But what if someone typed in keywords and no results came back?
That's the scenario critics are painting of a new bill wending its way through Congress that would let certain companies own facts, and exact a fee to access them."

For more info:
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,62500,00.html

Army to Gates: Halt the free software

"Microsoft has been mailing free copies of its pricey Office productivity software to government employees, but CNET News.com has learned that at least two federal agencies are warning recipients to return the gifts or risk violating federal ethics policies.
Since the launch of Office 2003 last year, Microsoft has given out tens of thousands of free copies of its flagship software, which retails for about $500, to workers at its biggest customers. The giveaway was expanded to government workers this year, but ethics offices at the Department of the Interior and Department of Defense have said the offers constitute unauthorized gifts and must be returned.

For more info:
http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-5171976.html

Employees Still Swapping Files at Work-Survey

"Employees are still swapping music and other files on peer-to-peer applications at work despite the legal threat from the record industry, a survey released on Wednesday said.
Forty-two percent of the 300 respondents said they continue to use file sharing applications like Kazaa and networks like Gnutella, and 38.6 percent said they do their file swapping on company networks, according to the poll conducted by security provider Blue Coat Systems Inc."

For more info:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=4492331

Comcast filter snarls e-mail to Russia

"A misconfigured spam filter blocked Comcast Corp.'s five million high-speed Internet customers from reaching Russia for four days.
Until the filter was corrected Tuesday, customers could not send e-mail to users with Russian ".ru" domains, the company said."

For more info:
http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040308.gtspammar8/BNStory/Technology/

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POLL of the WEEK

Last Week's Poll

What do you do when you run out of printer ink at home?

I buy a manufacturer's replacement cartridge 57.58 % (76)
I buy a third-party cartridge 27.27 % (36)
I use a refill kit 12.88 % (17)
I print at work 0.76 % (1)
I don't own a printer 1.52 % (2)
Total votes: 132

This Week's Poll

How much did you pay for your last computer?

It was given to me
Less than $500
Between $500 and $700
Between $701 and $1000
Between $1001 and $1500
Between $1501 and $2000
More than $2000
I don't remember

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

Computer Gripes

"This web site is devoted to what stinks about computer products (hardware, software, web sites); specifically to the problems I've experienced in using them. It exists because the errors, bugs, poor documentation, and occasional stupidity in the field drives me nuts.
These gripes are not product reviews, which typically describe the features of a product and what's good about it. Instead they fill in the gap, focusing exclusively on what's bad about a product. The intention here is not to rate or judge products, in fact, I continually use many griped about products."
Check it out at http://www.computergripes.com/

Experience Google's new look

From Jesse Ruderman's blog (Posted on March 06, 2004 at 08:50 PM in Bookmarklets, Google)
"Google has been testing a new look with a small percent of visitors. I wrote a bookmarklet that lets you make Google show you the new look:
toggle google look
(Drag it to your bookmarks bar, visit google.com, and click on the bookmark.)
It works by changing the ID in your Google cookie to 102c51875a8839e9, the ID of one of the visitors Google randomly selected to test the new look. If your ID is already 102c51875a8839e9, it sets it 0000000000000000 (anonymous), letting you switch between the old and new looks quickly. Since the bookmarklet only changes the ID part of the cookie, it preserves your settings, such as the number of results per page.
Thanks to jcurious for pointing out the Neowin thread in which "poind" posted the ID from his Google cookie."
Get the bookmarklet at http://www.squarefree.com/archives/000369.html
Note: A bookmarklet is a bookmark that is also a script. When you add the bookmark to your Links toolbar, you will get a warning, but I have used this and have found it to be safe. When you visit Google, do a search, then click on the toggle google look and you'll see a whole new look

Burn your labels right on to your CD/DVD without using a printer

"HP announced an innovative new technology to address the problem of labeling CDs and DVDs. HP LightScribe technology allows consumers to create silk-screen quality labels on their CDs or DVDs by burning text and graphics directly onto a disc, eliminating the need for adhesive labels. HP will begin making this new capability available to consumers in HP PCs in the second half of 2004."
Learn more about this at http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,114211,00.asp or http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2004/040108a.html

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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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