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Issue 346 - June 01, 2005

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2005
==== 2067 Subscribers in 59 Countries ====

Welcome to the 346th 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 can't believe June is here already! The weather is great, Andrew and Matthew love their new playset, and Lisa and I are having fun out in the gardens. I love this time of year. Speaking of the playset, I've been busy with a lot of AccessNiagara.com stuff lately, so I haven't had a chance to put up any new family galleries. Here is a small picture of what the new playset looks like. Dad and Andrea did a great job!

New playset

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

The NEWS

Study: Shoppers naive about retail prices online

Most American consumers don't realize Internet merchants and even traditional retailers sometimes charge different prices to different customers for the same products, according to a new survey.
The study, "Open to Exploitation," found nearly two-thirds of adult Internet users believed incorrectly it was illegal to charge different people different prices, a practice retailers call "price customization." More than two-thirds of people surveyed also said they believed online travel sites are required by law to offer the lowest airline prices possible.

For more info:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/06/01/internet.shopping.ap/index.html

Microsoft: SP2 makes Windows 15 times safer

Computers running Windows XP Service Pack 2 are 15 times less likely than those running XP or XP SP1 to be infected by some of the most dangerous forms of malware, according to a Microsoft security guru.
Jason Garms, who heads the company's anti-malware product team, said Tuesday that this improvement had been revealed by an internal analysis of SP2's performance.
SP2--a major security update released in August--was designed to turn on auto-update by default and consolidate security controls into a "security center."
"A machine that had Windows XP or XP SP1 was 15 times more likely to have one of the highly prevalent top 20 worms installed than on a machine running XP SP2," said Garms, who spoke at a conference sponsored by Australia's national Computer Emergency Response Team, or AusCERT.

For more info:
http://techrepublic.com.com/2100-10877_11-5718630.html
Leave a comment:
http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/05/28/microsoft_sp2_makes_windows_15_times_saf

Why just play games when you can create them?

With the summer camp season fast approaching, kids across the country will be stocking up on hiking shoes, bug spray and other necessities for adventures in the great outdoors. Thousands of others, however, will be enjoying adventures of the indoor variety: creating video games, building robots and designing Web pages.
Computer camp, as it was known to an earlier generation, just isn't what it used to be. With the booming growth of video games, the Internet and digital media, technology-minded kids have an enormous variety of things to learn at technology camps, which are often taught on the campuses of major universities.

For more info:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8049734/

Trump's latest deal: An online university

Never mind that Donald Trump is a graduate of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He says people need the street smarts and skills to achieve, and they need them fast.
On Monday he launched the online Trump University with courses in entrepreneurship, real estate and wealth accumulation that last six to 10 hours and cost $300. "I went to the best business school in the world," Trump said in an interview. "You don't have to go through four years to learn a lot."

For more info:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2005-05-23-trump-u_x.htm
Leave a comment:
http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/05/28/trump_s_latest_deal_an_online_university

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

POLL of the WEEK

Last Week's Poll

What is your primary search engine?

Google 90 % (89)
MSN 0 % (0)
Yahoo 6 % (6)
MyWay 0 % (0)
Altavista 1 % (1)
Mamma 0 % (0)
Dogpile 1 % (1)
Excite 0 % (0)
Other 2 % (2)
Total votes: 99

This Week's Poll

How does the Internet help you the most to obtain medical information?

I use search engines
I visit specialized sites
My doctor/clinic has a web site
I don't use the nternet for something so important

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

IE Blog

Follow along the progress of Microsoft's next Internet Explorer browser by keeping tabs on Internet Explorer 7.0 development with this Microsoft blog.
Check it out at http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/default.aspx

Norton Removal Tool

Someone I know was having problems with their computer, and they ended up having a copy of their registry being restored and so they had to reinstall a bunch of things. But they couldn't get Norton Antivirus 2005 installed. I tried everything I could. I removed registry entries, I deleted the folders that were there, I rebooted dozens of times, but everytime I went to install it, the process would fail. As I did a search on the Symantec web site, I came across document 2005033108162039:

Symantec has a program that removes the programs listed at the beginning of this document from your computer when Windows Add/Remove programs does not work. This program is called SymNRT. SymNRT works with Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. Do not use SymNRT unless Windows Add/Remove programs cannot uninstall your supported program.

The removal tool works with the following programs:

I used the tool, rebooted, and then when I tried to reinstall the software it worked perfectly. Obviously there was something left over somewhere that was causing the process to fail. It's a handy tool that you can download directly from the Symantec FTP site.

Leave a comment at http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/05/30/norton_removal_tool

Liquid Measurements Conversion

Lisa was baking today and asked me how many litres are in a quart. I didn't know, and she found this site:

Liquid Measurements
Liter / Gallon / Quart / Pint / Cup / Ounce /
Tablespoon / Teaspoon Conversion

Check it out at http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Metric/number-liters.html

Leave a comment at http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/05/28/liquid_measurements_conversion

Troubleshooting drivers with XP's hidden Driver Verifier Manager

A great tip from TechRepublic:

The next time you need to identify the cause of a driver problem, turn to Windows XP's little-known troubleshooting tool called the Driver Verifier Manager. By going through a few short steps, you'll be able to determine whether the drivers you choose to diagnose are causing the problem.

Check it out at http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-10877_11-5714091.html

Leave a comment at http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/05/28/troubleshooting_drivers_with_xp_s_hidden

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

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:

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

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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