ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2004
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Welcome to the 283rd 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
Last week I reported that the weather has been improving and that each new day brings a brighter feeling. Well, all the snow was gone, and last night we got a foot of snow! Add to that the fact that I've been feeling sick for the last few days, peaking today, that bright feeling sure is gone :-(
On Monday, Lisa, Andrew, Julia (my sister) and I went over to Lewiston, NY and went to a Tops grocery store where I had my first experience with a self-serve grocery checkout. The store had half a dozen regular aisles open, each with a lineup. They also have 4 self-serve aisles, and there wasn't anyone using them. All we had purchased was a dozen donuts, but it couldn't have been easier. You've gotta love it when technology is actually helpful!
Lastly, I've taken my first step into digital printing online. Both Wal-Mart Canada PhotoCentre and President's Choice PhotoLab have online digital photo processing. You upload pictures, and you can either have them shipped to you directly (for a fee) or have them shipped to the closest store (for free) and pick them up there. Both stores offer 4x6 printing for 25¢ with equally reasonable prices for 5x7 and 7x10 prints. It isn't a quick process (it will take a couple of weeks to get the prints), but if they look nice, I'd rather do that then print them myself.
Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net
Your computer is dirtier than a toilet
"Keyboards, computer mice and telephone dials are more infested with microbes than toilet seats, according to a University of Arizona study.
The study recommends that office workstations be regularly disinfected since they can on average contain 400 times as many germs as a toilet seat, said Charles Gerba, a University of Arizona microbiologist.
According to the study, telephones harboured up to 25,127 germs per square inch, keyboards 3295 and computer mice 1676. The average office contains 20,961 germs per square inch."For more info:
http://www.themercury.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,8944547%5E401,00.html
Guinness record for world's smallest disk drive
"Japan's Toshiba Corp said on Tuesday that Guinness World Records had certified its stamp-sized hard disk drives (HDDs) as the smallest in the world.
The electronics conglomerate's 0.85-inch HDDs, unveiled in January, have storage capacity of up to four gigabytes and will be used in products such as cell phones and digital camcorders."For more info:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/03/16/toshiba.record.reut/index.html
Apple's iTunes sales hit 50 million
"Apple Computer said Monday that it has sold 50 million songs through its iTunes Music Store, with about 2.5 million songs being downloaded each week.
Apple said the sales figure excludes the number of songs downloaded through a promotion with Pepsi, in which 100 million songs are being given away.For more info:
http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5173115.html
Privacy in the age of transparency
"It's not often that a blue-chip CEO publicly lectures another CEO from a brand-name company about how he should manage his organization. Then again, it's not often that the practices of one company upset employees of another one so strongly.
The incident occurred in 1999 when Amazon.com introduced purchase circles, an online marketing tool that, supposedly for the customer's benefit, revealed what books Amazon's customers from some well-known corporations were buying. For example, customers from Microsoft, it appeared, liked to read 'The Microsoft File: The Secret Case Against Bill Gates,' a book that was critical of top management at the software giant. A book about operating system upstart Linux was a hit at Intel."For more info:
http://news.com.com/2030-1069_3-5172731.html
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How much did you pay for your last computer?
It was given to me 1.56 % (2) Less than $500 7.81 % (10) Between $500 and $700 14.06 % (18) Between $701 and $1000 17.19 % (22) Between $1001 and $1500 27.34 % (35) Between $1501 and $2000 14.06 % (18) More than $2000 17.19 % (22) I don't remember 0.78 % (1) Total votes: 128
This Week's Poll
You can also vote online at http://PCIN.net/polls/
Return to the top | Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week |
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.phpInboxer 1.1 by Audiotrieve, LLC Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/inboxer.phpMicrosoft Outlook Add-Ins by MAPILab Ltd. Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/mapilab.phpSnagIt 7 by TechSmith Corporation Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/snagit7.phpIcon Catcher 4 by Helexis Software Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/iconcatcher4.php
Return to the top | Recommend PCIN.net Update |
Windows IT Library
Windows IT Library, affiliated with Windows & .NET Magazine, offers some free ebooks for download. They release the books one chapter at a time, but it is very easy to pick up an entire book over a short period. I was able to acquire several good books last year, and am looking forward to continuing this year. You can check it out at http://www.windowsitlibrary.com/
Get Command-line Help
From a DOS or Command-line window, type HELP and press Enter. You'll see a list of different commands that can be used (85 in Windows 2003). If you want more details of each of these, type HELP COMMAND_NAME. For instance, if you would like to learn about the DIR command, then type HELP DIR.
Windows is meant to be a graphical operating system, but using batch or command files to run quick scripts can be very handy. You can find links to DOS/Command-line sites at http://PCIN.net/help/articles/doslinks.php
Tile Open Windows
If you want to tile windows across the screen, click on the taskbar icon of one of the windows you want open, then press the CTRL key as you click each of the other windows you want open. You can then right-click on any of these taskbar icons and choose Cascade, Tile Horizontal, and Tile Vertical. This can come in handy if you are copying something from one window to another. Rather than minimizing windows or using ALT+TAB to switch between windows, you can view them all at the same time.
Return to the top | Recommend PCIN Tips and Other Stuff |
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 Tips 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.
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.
Support PCIN by visiting http://PCIN.net/donate.php