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Issue 330 - February 09, 2005

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2005
==== 2026 Subscribers in 59 Countries ====

Welcome to the 330th 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

I'm flying solo this week. Chris is on vacation and trying to move and get settled into his new home.

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

The NEWS

What's next: a Ph.D. in video gaming?

"Video gaming reached official academic status Tuesday when Electronic Arts endowed a chair at the University of Southern California for the study of interactive entertainment.
Bing Gordon, Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of Electronic Arts, was named the first holder of the Electronic Arts endowed faculty chair at the USC School of Cinema-Television, according to a statement from the company, the biggest video game publisher."

For more info:
http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/08/technology/ea_chair/index.htm

Judge: Microsoft Pact Not a Guarantee

"The federal judge overseeing the landmark Microsoft Corp. antitrust settlement said on Wednesday there was no guarantee the pact will put a dent in the company's Windows computer operating system monopoly.
U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said during a court hearing that it was not her job to ensure the settlement gives rise to new competition, only to make sure Microsoft sticks to the agreement it made with the government."

For more info:
http://tinyurl.com/6vabj

Teens' online lingo leaves parents baffled

"She did everything right. Her 14-year-old daughter's computer was in the living room. She even peeked over her shoulder once in a while during the girl's avid instant message chats to make sure nothing unusual was going on.
But the girl fell into a steamy Internet love affair with a 35-year-old man anyway. The mother was horrified and confused: How could this happen?
The family computer contained little evidence of the affair -- until the mother brought it to a police officer who spoke the right language. Instant message shorthand was to blame, he told her. Her daughter and the 35-year-old were so proficient at that cryptic language often spoken by cell phone text message users (r u there?) that they were having the affair right under the mother's nose."

For more info:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6928800/

What's Bugging the High-Tech Car?

"On a hot summer trip to Cape Cod, the Mills family minivan did a peculiar thing. After an hour on the road, it began to bake the children. Mom and Dad were cool and comfortable up front, but heat was blasting into the rear of the van and it could not be turned off.
The minivan's problem was unusual only in the specific form it took. Owners across the country and around the globe have posted anguished cries to Internet forums about electronic gremlins that stop windows from rolling all the way up, that unexpectedly dim the interior lights, that drain batteries or that make engines sputter. While most automakers have had problems, quality rankings for some - particularly technology-intensive German luxury brands renowned for engineering - have plunged."

For more info:
http://tinyurl.com/6aqap

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

POLL of the WEEK

Last Week's Poll

Do you have a Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) PC?

Yes 6 % (5)
No 76 % (65)
What's that? 19 % (16)
Total votes: 86

This Week's Poll

Do you regularly pay for and download music from an online store?

Yes
No

You can also vote online at http://PCIN.net/polls/

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

PCIN.net UPDATE

Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:

VMware Inc. VMware Workstation 4.5 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/vmware45.php

PCIN.net Update Blog
http://PCIN.net/update/

Sunbelt Software iHateSpam 4.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ihatespam4.php

Micro Solutions RoadStor Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/roadstor.php

Album Creator by FirmTools Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/albumcreator.php

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

All of the tips this week were sent in by a subscriber, John. Thank you so much John! It's great when subscribers help us send out the newsletter.

Take Quick Look at the Desktop

Ever wanted to do a quick file manager style look at the desktop but got frustrated at how long it takes to navigate there? Go to the START menu, click run and type "DESKTOP" (without the quotes) hit enter, and bam you're there. Handy for sorting by type (without having to sort the desktop icons) and cleaning downloads off the desktop. Same thing works for My Documents, My Music, and other system folders. Works on WinXP (Home and Pro), may work on 2000, not on 9X (some versions/revisions might though).

Free Alarm Clock

Also, a neat alarm clock (freebie!) I found in Australia called Kirby Alarm. Go to http://www.kirbyfooty.com/ for a neat alarm clock. Comes with Big Ben chime, and several others, all way nicer to wake up to than the standard nasty rasping sounding alarm clocks. It's freeware, and the author appreciates donations, but they are not required.

Completely Free Software

As well, another Australian site, http://www.completelyfreesoftware.com/ , it's a membership site, but only costs a little for a lifetime membership. I go there first to find almost anything I need, and most of the time come away with something as good as or better than available commercial software. The site owner has run and tested all the software indexed on his site, including my freeware, CHIPSpeaking software for the vocally impaired available at http://www.chipspeaking.com/

CleverKeys

And the last but not least, http://www.cleverkeys.com/ for a free online (waits for a CTRL-KEY combination) software that can go to DICTIONARY.COM THESAURUS.COM and GOOGLE.COM while writing to get definitions, synonyms, and raw data from GOOGLE.COM It works fantastic, and it too is free. Hit the keystroke (configurable) of your choice and get a pop-up to go to the reference of your choice.

Thanks again for your newsletter, it has been a tremendous help!

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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 1998-2005, Graham Wing. All rights reserved.

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