Issue 308 - September 08, 2004
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2004
==== 1974 Subscribers in 58 Countries ====
Welcome to the 308th 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
Chris is enjoying his time in London,
England. He suggested is pass this along:
Having been here for a few days, a few things have are quite noticable.
Everyone here has a cell phone (or two). Leanne and I have the use of a phone
because one of her friends had an extra handset that he was not using. They
are really disposable items. This spare handset that we are using is bluetooth
enabled, has a WAP browser, infrared transfer of data, is capable of sending
and receiving both SMS and MMS messages and has a colour screen. While these
options are available on phones in North America, my experiance has been
that they really aren't used as often. Bluetooth is the standard for giving
away your phone number, and if someone is using an older handset, then you
us IR.
Most short conversations are SMS as they are less expensive to send than
to actually make a phone call. And we are told when placing phone calls,
many people do not answer, so text is the best way to go.
We have met many friends of Leanne's sister. It appears that Linux is a much
more popular desktop OS over here as each one of them run it on their desktops.
Landline telephone calls are charged on a per minute basis, though the broadband
DSL is flat rate, and unlimited. As it is back home, they do throttle the
speeds, and .5 meg and 3 meg are available (not sure what else) . I have
been told that the 3meg is not much more than the .5. With the lack of download
limits, downloading of movies appears to be a fairly common task here as
well.
These are just observations of course from my few days here with only support
from 1/2 dozen people who admittedly more technologically inclined than the
general public, though the use of the cell phones and SMS really seems to
be the norm.
You can see a few pictures he's taken at http://forcedbeat.com/gallery/categories.php?cat_id=27 He'll
post more when he gets back.
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
The NEWS
Floppy Disk Becoming Relic of the Past
"Long the most common way to store letters, homework and other computer
files, the floppy disk is going the way of the horse upon the arrival of
the car: it'll hang around but never hold the same relevance in everyday
life.
And good riddance, say some home computer users. The march of technology
must go on.
Like the penny, the floppy drive is hardly worth the trouble, computer makers
say."
For more info:
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Business/ap20040906_888.html
ABC News banks on digital, despite small audiences today
"As Peter Jennings opened gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Republican
National Convention one evening, he posed an unconventional question to a
Texas delegate: Is it true Republicans dress better than Democrats?
Minutes later, the ABC News anchor asked a woman in the front row of the
Missouri delegation how she got such a good seat. Then he posed for a souvenir
photo with a Wisconsin delegate - on the air.
This wasn't broadcast on regular TV.
It's part of a 24-hour-a-day news experiment available only on the Internet,
wireless phones and digital TV. The network considers 'ABC News Now' the
future of television news - even if relatively few people are watching."
For more info:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2004-09-04-digital-broadcasts_x.htm
Samsung to Launch Phone with Mini Hard Drive
"Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the world's third-largest handset maker,
said on Tuesday it was launching the first mobile phone with a stamp-sized
hard disc drive this month that would expand the memory capacity by 15 times.
The phone is equipped with a one-inch diagonal 1.5 gigabyte hard disc drive
that expands the memory capacity of mobile phones from the conventional 100
megabyte."
For more info:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=6166509
POLL of the WEEK
Last Week's Poll
For people who live more than 30 minutes drive away from you, what is your
primary way to contact them?
Email |
|
36 % (34) |
Instant message |
|
5 % (5) |
Phone |
|
57 % (54) |
I still prefer to drive and see them in person |
|
2 % (2) |
Total votes: 95 |
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:
Newsgator 2.0 by Newsgator Technologies Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/newsgator2.php
CDBF for Windows by WhiteTown Software Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/cdbf.php
Photoshop Elements 2.0 plus Photoshop Album 2.0 by Adobe Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/elementsplusalbum.php
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
THE TIPS and OTHER
STUFF
Freeware
BaxterSoft LLC has 25 software titles they offer as freeware. I haven't
tired any of them, but they look interesting. With them you can tweak and/or
save various Internet Explorer and Outlook Express settings. There are also
several command-line utilities.
Check it out at http://www.bartdart.com/
WinZip Update
Most, if not all, of you are familiar with WinZip, the popular compression
utility. They recently released an update that fixes a vulnerability that
may allow someone to gain access to your PC. If you have WinZip, then visit http://www.winzip.com/wz90sr1.htm for
more information and to download the update. The new version is WinZip 9.0
SR1.
Removing Spyware
Back in March I mentioned the ComputerGripes.com web
site. It is run by Michael Horowitz. Michaelt teaches a few classes at various
locations, as well as appears on a radio show. On his personal site he has
a lengthy article on removing spyware:
"Malicious software goes by many names: Spyware, worms, viruses, Trojans,
Adware, keystroke loggers, pests, and more. 'Spyware' often is used to mean all
malicious software other than viruses. I use the term 'malware' instead.
The following is a blueprint for removing any and all malicious software
from an infected Windows computer. This is not customized for a particular
malware program, but applies to any and all malicious software. The intended
audience for this are computer nerds and, as such, some details have been
omitted. If you are not a computer nerd and think your computer may be infected
(see Symptoms section below), print this page and give it to your local techie."
Check it out at http://www.michaelhorowitz.com/removespyware.html
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.
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