ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2006
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Welcome to the 423rd 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.
Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.php
So, did you get a PS3 or a Wii? I've mentioned before that my sister works at Best Buy. I was there last week the night before the PS3 came out and there were people camping outside waiting. No thank you! If you saw anything or managed to get one for yourself, feel free to leave a comment.
I will have a review done next week for Paragon Partition Manager 8.0. I've reviewed their products in the past, and they have definitely continued to make good products.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net
The race to create a 'smart' Google
Everything you buy online says a little bit about you. And if all those bits get put into one big trove of data about you and your tastes? Marketer's heaven.
'Tis the season to send spam
In addition to plenty of turkey, a record amount of spam will be served up this holiday season.
Mass e-mailers traditionally bump up their activity as the year winds down. But this year, the amount of junk messages could be unprecedented, companies that make spam-busting tools say. And senders of unsolicited ads are already celebrating the close of the harvest season and the approach of Christmas.
"Just as legitimate vendors began stocking their shelves with holiday decor and gifts before Halloween, spammers started sending spam messages tailored to the holiday gift-giving season earlier this year," said Stephen Pao, vice president of product management at Barracuda Networks, a Mountain View, Calif., maker of security appliances.
In October, 63 billion junk messages were sent daily, on average, compared with 31 billion a year ago, according to data from IronPort Systems.
Court OKs broad Web libel immunity
Web sites that publish inflammatory information written by other parties cannot be sued for libel, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday.
The ruling in favor of free online expression was a victory for a San Diego woman who was sued by two doctors for posting an allegedly libelous e-mail on two Web sites.
Some of the Internet's biggest names, including Amazon.com, America Online Inc., eBay Inc., Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc., took the defendant's side out of concern that a ruling against her would expose them to liability.
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
Update PCIN.net home page with "Top 10 Most Popular..." features
http://PCIN.net/Microsoft Digital Image Suite Plus Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/msdimagesuiteplus.phpOmega One Software Battery Pack Pro 2.1 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/bpp2.phpMakayama Interactive DVD to Pocket PC 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/dvd2ppc3.phpAdobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/elements40.php
101 Fabulous Freebies
Regular reader Pat send in a link to a list from PC World magazine with links to 101 software/Internet freebies. There are links to freeware utilties, web-based email, fun web sites, and more. Check it out!
Games for kids (and you)
I read about this on the Office Tips and Hints Blog...
SchoolHistory.co.uk - online history lessons, revision, games, worksheets, quizzes and links.
In particular, as it mentions, the site has a games section with over 200 topics cover over 6,000 questions. Although the site is based in the UK, the questions would be appropriate for people around the world. Check it out!
PortableApps Suite 1.0
I found this on Lifehacker:
PortableApps Suite 1.0 stocks your USB drive, portable hard drive, or any other drive with a full complement of software, ready to run wherever you plug in.
This new version of the suite (which we've loved on in the past) includes the latest portable versions of Firefox, GAIM, OpenOffice, and other open-source gems.
Read the more about PortableApps Suite 1.0 at Lifehacker or directly at the PortableApps web site.
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:
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 1998-2006, 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