|
Issue 171 - January 23, 2002
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2002
==== 2209 Subscribers in 58 Countries ====
Welcome to the 171st 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.shtml
Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.shtml
CONTENTS
OPENING THOUGHTS
Last week I asked for people to send in their comments regarding
their first computer. I've heard from a few, but hope to hear
from many more. Let me know what kind it was, why you got
it, how much it was, what you did with it, how long you kept
it for, etc. I will have a special issue in a week or 2 that
contains most of these. Send your stories to editor@pcin.net.
Return to the top
The NEWS
Amazon Makes First Profit on Strong Sales
"Amazon.com Inc. on Tuesday posted its first-ever
net profit as strong turnout from holiday shoppers fueled
a 15 percent rise in sales and helped the online superstore
trounce even the most optimistic expectations.
The Seattle-based retailer, which has lost nearly $3 billion
since it went public in 1997, said its fourth quarter net
profit -- including charges like acquisition expenses, stock
compensation and interest payments on debt -- was $5 million,
or 1 cent a share, compared to a loss of $545 million, or
$1.53 a share a year earlier."
For more info:
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=businessnews&StoryID=534557
Bloomingdales Reconsiders Online Sales
"This Wednesday will be an Internet milestone for
Federated Department Stores - a milestone in backtracking.
That is the day the company's Bloomingdales.com Web site
plans to begin pulling items from its virtual shelves, as
it is transformed into a site primarily offering marketing
information, with only limited sales transactions. The move
is part of a major scaling back of what had been the most
aggressive e-commerce strategy among all the major department
store chains."
For more info:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/21/technology/21ECOM.html
'Sucks' sites to be doled out for free
Cyber-gripers, take heart. You and your 'ThisCompanySucks.com'
Web site have a patron. Free speech lawyer Ed Harvilla is
worried that too many 'sucks'domains have been taken away
from owners and given to their target companies. So he and
some silent partners have developed a system to dole out
'sucks'Web sites - and he's given them away for free.
For more info:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/691648.asp
Return to the top
POLL of the WEEK
Here are the responses from the last poll:
Do you use your computer more at work or at home?
Home: 59.09%
Work: 40.91%
Total Votes: 66
Visit http://pcin.net/polls/
to participate in the new poll this week:
Which computer "brand name" do you prefer?
Return to the top
FREEHELP FORUM
Visit the PCIN FreeHelp Forum to post your questions or answer
others. Each week I highlight a question, and where to go
to get the answer.
Question
How can I change a sound card or find out if my computer
has one?
Answer
To find out if you have a sound card go to START/SETTINGS/CONTROL
PANEL and click on the SYSTEM applet. Then click on the
DEVICE MANAGER tab. In the list you should see SOUND, VIDEO
and GAME CONTROLLERS listed if there is a soundcard installed.
You may have an integrated soundcard which is a soundcard
that is integrated into the motherboard and cannot be changed
but can be shut off if you want to install a separate soundcard
of your own. First you will need to remove the cover from
the computer case to see if there are any available slots.
The sound card would go into an empty expansion slot such
as a PCI or ISA slot. If the sound card is separate from
the motherboard it will be in one of the expansion slots
on the motherboard. To change this type of soundcard you
would remove the soundcard from the slot and then put the
new soundcard in the same slot or another slot depending
on what type of card it is PCI or ISA. If the soundcard
is integrated into the motherboard and all of the slots
are full then you would need to buy another motherboard
that has more expansion slots to be able to install another
card.
Do you know the answer or have a suggestion? Visit http://www.pcin.net/cgi-bin/forum/index.cgi
and check out the Hardware Forum. Post your answer or post
a question of your own.
Return to the top
PCIN.net UPDATE
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
WE Compute Magazine's Cheap Tricks of the Week
http://pcin.net/help/articles/cheaptricks.shtml
(The entire collection is in Microsoft Word format and currently
has 100 tips and tricks. You can download the file from
here)
Windows Registry Tips and Tweaks
http://pcin.net/help/articles/registry.shtml
(The entire collection is in Microsoft Word format and currently
has 85 registry tips. You can download the file from here)
Return to the top
THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
Cheap Trick of the Week
Get rid of the pause that refreshes
In Windows when the contents of a folder are changed, such
as when you add or delete a file, the systems may take a
few seconds for the system to update the screen. To update
the screen manually you can press F5 on your keyboard to
force an update after you've made changes.
Or you can try this Registry tweak. (For instructions and
important precautions on editing the Registry, check www.WE-Compute.com/registry.html.)
In the Registry Editor, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Update.
Under the Edit menu, select New and DWORD Value. Right-click
on this new value and select Rename. Type "UpdateMode"
and press Enter. (If the value already exists, you don't
have to create it again. Just double-click it and edit it
to make the last two digits "00".)
Restart Windows and from then on your screen should refresh
itself quicker and without you having to prompt it.
Get your own copy of "The Little Black Book
of Cheap Tricks: 2001" by visiting http://www.pcin.net/lbbct/
Windows Explorer Tips
When you open up Windows Explorer, either from the Start
Menu or by using the Windows Key + E hotkey, it always opens
up the same. There are some shortcuts that you can make
that will change that though.
explorer.exe /n
Opens Windows Explorer in single-pane view, which is similar
to the view you see when you open My Computer.
explorer.exe /e
Opens Windows Explorer in multipane view, which is the view
used when you open Windows Explorer from the default Windows
Explorer shortcut on the Start menu.
explorer.exe /root, c:\
Specifies the folder that you want Windows Explorer to use
as the root for the view. You can change the part that has
c:\ to anything you want.
explorer.exe /select, c:\command.com
Makes Windows Explorer select the file or folder specified.
You can also combine several of these and separate them
with a comma ",". For instance, if you wanted
to open up Windows Explorer in multipane view, with a root
of c:\windows and you wanted your cookies folder highlighted,
you would use the following command:
explorer.exe /e, /root, c:\windows, /select, c:\windows\cookies
Learn How to Spot a 16-Bit Application (and more)
I've highlighted Microsoft pages before because they do
offer some good tips. Visit http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/tips/security/spot16bit.asp
to learn how to spot a 16-bit application. While there,
click on the Tips link and see a complete list of tips for
Windows XP Professional.
Return to the top
DISCLAIMER and OTHER
STUFF
PCIN is brought to you by PC Improvements. The opinions expressed
are those of the editor, Graham Wing. PC Improvements and
Graham Wing accept no responsibility for the results obtained
from trying the tips in this newsletter.
- If any of the links are too long to fit on one line, you
may have to cut and paste.
- You can only win one contest every 30 days.
- To subscribe another address or unsubscribe, please visit
http://www.pcin.net/ and follow the appropriate
links.
- Recommend PCIN to others at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml
and be entered in a monthly draw.
- There are only 2 ways to get on the subscriber list. You
have either been subscribed by filling out a subscription
form on any of the pages on my site, or you have requested
FreeHelp from me in the past.
- If you have a web site or run your own newsletter, please
email me at editor@pcin.net and I will add it to the subscriber
web pages that I have on my site.
- Support PCIN by visiting http://www.pcin.net/donate.shtml
Return to the top
Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Copyright 1998-2002, PC Improvements and 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://www.pcin.net/donate.shtml
PC
Improvement News Home Page
PC
Improvement News Archive
|
