ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2007
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Welcome to the 443rd issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN consists mainly of news highlights 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
I hope everyone had a nice Easter. We had a big family dinner at our house. My mom cooked a huge ham (it was awesome!), and we had lots of vegetables (mmm... Brussels sprouts and turnip). April is a busy month as we also have my older sister's birthday (yesterday) and my oldest younger sister (next week), so we'll all be together again for another family meal. Sounds (and tastes) good to me!
My memory came in for my laptop, so I'll think I'll give Vista a try. I'll report back next week.
Chris is on vacation this week, so he hasn't had a chance to get a tip ready. It will be back next week.
Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net
Microsoft sued over Vista branding
Microsoft has come under attack for the way it advertises the Vista operating system.
A lawsuit, filed in Seattle, alleges that the company advertised systems as "Vista capable," when in fact the systems were not able to run Vista properly. The suit alleges that the marketing around Vista was designed to deliberately mislead potential customers.
The outcome hangs on the precise definition of the circumstances under which a machine is "Vista capable."
Microsoft has allowed PC vendors to put stickers on their systems saying that they are "Vista ready," when the system could run only Vista Home Basic, which does not allow many of the core features of Vista to run. The suit maintains that it was unreasonable of Microsoft to assume that every person to whom it was marketing Vista could understand the system requirements.
Toy maker strikes gold with Beanie Babies of the online era
First came Google. Then came MySpace, Facebook and Second Life - all created by hip young techies from California. But the biggest new Internet innovation comes from an unlikely place: a Toronto-based company best known for cheesy giftware and stuffed toys.
If you have a kid in elementary school, chances are you've heard of Webkinz - a line of plush toys made by Ganz Inc. What makes Webkinz possibly the most sought-after toy ever is that each one comes with a secret code that gives its owner access to the vast online Webkinz World. There, users can create an avatar, or online identity, for their pet and "adopt" it.
Ganz's product is revolutionary: It's the first real-world toy that's essentially just a key to an interactive website. And it has likely created panic at toy companies the world over as they try to replicate Ganz's success.
Beating Oprah at the book club game
Tim Spalding was 9 years-old when he had the idea of using his first computer--an Apple II--to make lists of the books he owned, like the Adventures of Tintin series and Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective.
Flash-forward to 2007. Spalding is now a programmer, and he's still keeping lists, but on a far grander scale. A couple of years ago, on a lark, he created an online version of his original Apple application, one that allowed anyone on the Internet to post a list of the books in his or her library, compare it with other online book lists, and talk about literature with people of similar reading tastes. "I was trying to scratch my own itch," Spalding admits. That itch became LibraryThing, a social network based not on who you know but on what you've read. It's already producing a nice revenue stream for Spalding from the sale of thousands of premium memberships at $10 to $25 apiece.
Spalding's creation is quietly achieving cult status among bookworms around the world, creating a network with one of the highest IQs in cyberspace. Less than two years after it opened its doors to the public, LibraryThing's users have listed, tagged, or recommended more than 10 million works--a collection that, were it not virtual, would be the third-largest private library in the United States, behind those of Harvard and Yale.
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 and Adobe Premier Elements 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/photoshopEL5_Premiere3.phpExpoDisc White Balance Filter Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/expodisc.phpParagon Software Group Partition Manager 8.0 Professional Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ppm8.phpUpdate 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.php
AutoRuns for Windows
The April 2007 TechNet Magazine highlights a tool called AutoRuns for Windows.
This utility, which has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup monitor, shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them. These programs include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. You can configure Autoruns to show other locations, including Explorer shell extensions, toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, and much more. Autoruns goes way beyond the MSConfig utility bundled with Windows Me and XP.
The utility was written by Bryce Cogswell and Mark Russinovich of Sysinternals fame.
Spring cleaning for photographers
David Kennedy has a tip on his blog about Spring cleaning for photographers:
Spring cleaning applies to photographers too. Every year, it is good to look at your equipment and see if you need everything on your shelf. Are you really going to use that old film camera again? Are you going to re-read that software guide? You will be surprised, however, at how many people will be interested in your used equipment, software and books.
Kijiji
If you are looking for a free classified service in your area, try Kijiji:
Kijiji means "village" in Swahili. Kijiji helps you connect with your community. It's free and easy to use. You can find everything you need from housing to furniture, from jobs to new friends and more.
You can charge for things, or offer them free.
Free virtual CD-ROM drive from Microsoft
The latest issue of Windows Secrets newsletter has a nice tip about a free virtual CD-ROM drive:
I recently rediscovered a nifty free tool from Microsoft. You may find it useful, too. It's the Microsoft Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel... It lets you mount an ISO file of a CD in one step, without having to burn it to an actual, physical CD first. You then have access to the full contents of the CD and can get at any or all of the data. The Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel also lets you mount several images at once, each with its own drive letter. I don't know what the upper limit is, but I've had as many as four ISOs mounted at once, in addition to the two real CD drives in my system. And, of course, because the ISO files actually reside on your hard drive, you can access them at normal hard-drive speeds, which are usually much, much faster than CD drives.
Visit the Windows Secret site for more details and to find the link to download the utility.
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 1998-2007, 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.
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