Issue 300 - July 14, 2004
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2004
==== 1947 Subscribers in 58 Countries ====
Welcome to the 300th 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
Today marks two occasions! The first one isn't terrible important, but I'd
like to point out that this issue of PCIN that you are reading is issue #300!
I can't believe I've been doing this for almost 6 years. I've really enjoyed
putting this together. I just wish I could get more traffic and more subscribers.
You'd think by issue 300 I'd have more than 1940 subscribers.
The second occasion is far more important. Lisa is 29 today!
Yes, I married an older woman (I'm only 28!).
We're not doing too much exciting. We're going out to East
Side Mario's for dinner and having some cake at home. It will be our first
dinner out with the boys.
You can send Lisa birthday greetings by sending email to lisa@pcin.net
Lisa and Matthew are
both doing great. I'll have some more pictures to put up for you to see next
week.
Lastly, my web hosting provider has
informed me that my site needs to change servers, and so all sorts of back-end
things will be changing. This is supposed to be seamless, but I doubt it will
be. If you visit the site sometime between Thursday and Saturday and find that
things aren't working, it is because I haven't had a chance to fix things up.
Hopefully there won't be too much disruption.
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
The NEWS
Apple: 100 Million Served
"Taking a page from burger broker McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Apple Computer
(Nasdaq: AAPL) yesterday plastered a digital billboard not unlike the Golden
Arches' "over one billion served" signs you see during your lunchtime
drive-through. Apple's message? We've sold 100 million iTunes."
For more info:
http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2004/mft04071342.htm
Mexico attorney general gets microchip implant
"Mexico's attorney general said on Monday he had had a microchip inserted
under the skin of one of his arms to give him access to a new crime database
and also enable him to be traced if he is ever abducted.
Attorney General Rafael Macedo said a number of his staff had also been fitted
with chips which will give them exclusive and secure access to a national,
computerized database for crime investigators that went live on Monday.
'It's an area of high security, it's necessary that we have access to this,
through a chip, which what's more is unremovable,' Macedo told reporters."
For more info:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/07/13/mexico.chip.reut/index.html
Survey: Movie-swapping up; Kazaa down
"Online movie trading is skyrocketing, but onetime leader Kazaa is
tumbling in use, according to a new worldwide survey of file-swapping traffic
from network management company CacheLogic.
One of the most detailed examinations to date of actual peer-to-peer traffic,
the CacheLogic survey used network-monitoring tools installed inside top
Internet service providers (ISPs) to capture data packets and identify whether
they had been sent by programs such as Kazaa or Gnutella."
For more info:
http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5267992.html
More firms keep an eye on outgoing e-mail
"More businesses, already battling spam and viruses, are watching for
outbound e-mail that contains sensitive information or breaks laws.
About 30% of 140 businesses with more than 1,000 employees check outgoing
mail, says a June survey by Forrester Consulting, the first time it has issued
such a report. 'The regulatory climate has intensified, and if you're not
careful, you could be subjected to lawsuits or an SEC investigation,' says
Steve Weiswasser, a lawyer who specializes in media and technology. 'It's
life in the post-Enron age.'"
For more info:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-07-13-email_x.htm
POLL of the WEEK
Last Week's Poll
Do you have a GPS device?
Yes, my car has one |
|
3 % (3) |
Yes, my laptop has one |
|
2 % (2) |
Yes, my palm device has one |
|
0 % (0) |
Yes, I have a portable one |
|
7 % (7) |
No, but I'd like one |
|
34 % (34) |
No, I don't need one |
|
51 % (50) |
What is GPS? |
|
3 % (3) |
Total votes: 99 |
This Week's Poll
You can also vote online at http://PCIN.net/polls/
PCIN.net UPDATE
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
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
Microsoft Outlook Add-Ins by MAPILab Ltd. Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/mapilab.php
THE TIPS and OTHER
STUFF
Michael Davis' Tips
[1] If running XP Professional and you'd like to customize the Internet
Explorer logo to say you or your company's logo (or even remove any logo
for that matter) do the following:
a) Using any photo-editing software, save you or your company's logo as a
bitmap (BMP). The size can be 22 by 22 or 38 by 38 pixels.
b) Next, sign on to the computer with an account that has Administrator privileges.
c) Click Start> Run. In the open box, type "Gpedit.msc" (without
the quotes) Click OK.
d) This opens the Group Policy Editor. Double-click User Configuration on
the right side.
e) Double-click Windows Settings. Double-click Internet Explorer Maintenance.
Double-click Browser User Interface.
f) There are three settings: Browser Title, Custom Logo and Browser Toolbar
Customizations. Double-click the settings to make your changes.
g) Click the Close box. Your changes will be saved.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
[2] SELECTIVE QUOTING
Netscape's email doesn't support this, but it seems most other email programs
will. Before replying to email, you can quote any part of the message by
simply selecting (highlighting) that portion desired before clicking on Reply.
Help-Site Computer Manuals
"Welcome to help-site, your free computer help and support resource!
We are in the processes of checking all links in order to remove bad links
and the less useful ones. You will also find many new resources have been
added and many pages and links updated.
The dates shown against many links specify the date on which the link was
checked (depending on how the link was added, this may be a manual or automated
processed.)
A new site is under development, which will eventually replace Help-Site.
It will be called HelpSpy. When the site
is complete and it is officially launched, any links to Help-Site will be
automatically re-directed.
Help-Site currently contains links to 17867 documents and 167 sites!"
Check it out at http://www.help-site.com/
Find out what non-Microsoft services are running
This comes from the May 27, 2004 Windows XP Tips at TechRepublic.com newsletter:
"When you're troubleshooting a problem in Windows XP, it can be useful to
know which services are running. While most of the services running on a Windows
XP system relate to the operating system, this is not the case for all of them.
You can use the Services tool, which you can launch via Control Panel's Administrative
Tools, to view the running services. But if you use this tool, you must be
able to recognize which services relate to the operating system and which
do not.
However, there's a little-known feature in the System Configuration Utility
that can quickly identify non-operating system services for you.
Follow these steps:
Press [Windows]R to open the Run dialog box.
In the Open text box, type msconfig, and click OK.
When the System Configuration Utility launches, select the Services tab.
At the bottom of the Services tab, select the Hide All Microsoft Services
check box.
The System Configuration Utility will then display only non-Microsoft services
that are running. Deselect the check box to return to the full list."
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:
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.
Support PCIN by visiting http://PCIN.net/donate.php
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