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Issue 172 - January 30, 2002
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2002
==== 2213 Subscribers in 59 Countries ====
Welcome to the 172nd 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
This is your last chance to send in your stories of your
first computer. Next week's issue will be made up entirely
of these stories. So once again, 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.
It seems that there are some problems with the FreeHelp Forum.
And because of this, I've had people emailing me directly
about problems, which means that I'm a little behind in replying
to emails. If you haven't heard from me, I haven't forgotten
about you!
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The NEWS
Is the Web Shrinking?
"The first documented evidence of the growing number
of abandoned domain names on the Internet is proof of something
that analysts have said for months - if there was dot-com
madness, it is most definitely over.
The Web Server Survey, completed by Bath, England-based
Netcraft, looked at Web server software usage on Internet
connected computers, and shows that around 130,000 owners
dropped their domains over the last three months.'
For more info:
http://itworldcanada.com/portals/portalDisplay.cfm?oid=7E910082-6CD8-403A-8DAB4905E7D791EA
Supreme Court Rules on Utility Pole Use
"They're everywhere we look, carrying the cables that
bring us telephone service, electricity, television feeds,
and Internet access. Utility poles have become part of the
landscape. They line nearly every highway and side street
in the country, and you pass them nearly every time you
take a drive. But who ever gives them a second thought?
How many realize that utility poles represent an important
legal battleground, and that the laws governing them can
have a significant effect on our daily lives?
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled on the use of utility
poles, and its ruling could substantially reduce the price
of high-speed Internet access. 'Utility-pole law may seem
like an esoteric issue,'says Mark Johnson, a telecommunications
lawyer with Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal in New York,
'but it's of huge importance.'"
For more info:
http://www.extremetech.com/article/0,3396,s%253D201%2526a%253D21592,00.asp
States Asked to Probe Microsoft Online ID Service
"A privacy group on Tuesday asked state law enforcement
authorities to examine software giant Microsoft Corp.'s
Passport online identity service, saying it exposes consumers
to fraud, junk electronic mail and identity theft.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center sent a letter
to all 50 state attorneys general, asking them to protect
consumers against what it called Microsoft's unfair and
deceptive trade practices because the federal government
has failed to act."
For more info:
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=internetnews&StoryID=553791
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POLL of the WEEK
Here are the responses from the last poll:
Which computer "brand name" do you prefer?
Dell: 46.77%
HP: 16.13%
Gateway: 12.90%
Compaq: 12.90%
IBM: 11.29%
Total Votes: 62
Visit http://pcin.net/polls/
to participate in the new poll this week:
Do computers make life easier or more complicated?
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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
By request, I formatted a friend's hard drive and restored
Win98. When I was installing the software for her modem;
Win98 crashed and when it rebooted; the C: drive contained
absolutely no files. She told me she has virus W 3 2 . M
a g i s t r....
Surely, the virus didn't do all that damage? She is ready
to replace her motherboard or buy a new computer?
Isn't it possible to fdisk; format and restore this hard
drive somehow?
Answer
That virus can't damage your hardware.
Try Formatting the Hard Drive from a CLEAN (non infected)
Windows 98 boot disk
Type "format C: /s" from the DOS prompt and reinstall
Windows to ensure that the virus is gone.
If you need more information on W32.Magistr and its many
strains, visit www.sarc.com and do a search in the Virus
Encyclopedia.
Note: Formatting the drive removes all the Files contained
on it.
If necessary, remove the Partition using FDISK
... AND run "FDISK /MBR" to repair the Master
Boot Records. (a Virus scanner can also repair the boot
records)
Do you know the answer or have a suggestion? Visit http://www.pcin.net/cgi-bin/forum/index.cgi
and check out the General Discussion Forum. Post your answer
or post a question of your own.
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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 106 registry tips. You can download the file from here)
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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
Cheap Trick of the Week
Numbing the NumLock
Windows 95 and 98 have a nasty habit of starting your computer
with the NumLock key on.
If you want it off from the start, open the System Editor
which can be found by pressing Start, and selecting Run.
In the Open box, type sysedit and click on OK. You will
then find a program with a few cascading windows. Select
the window with the title C:\CONFIG.SYS in the title bar.
In an open line at the bottom of this page type an extra
line which reads NUMLOCK=OFF and press the Enter key. Save
the file, by selecting Save from the File menu. Then select
File and Exit. The next time you start Windows your computer
should have the Number Lock feature off.
If you later decide that you would like the NumLock back
on, change the line to read NUMLOCK=ON.
Get your own copy of "The Little Black Book
of Cheap Tricks: 2001" by visiting http://www.pcin.net/lbbct/
Jailbird.com
From the january 21, 2002 issue of InformationWeek magazine,
pg 17:
"Colleges and the miltary don't have alock on 'find
your long-lost buddy' sites. THe newest one is for convicts
- current ones and alums.
ConvictsReunited.com,
with about 200 registered userrs (both the convicted and
the curios), offers an online search for old prosion pals.
Chat-room topics range from wrongful convictions to prison
food. The site invites users to share old times or work
together on new vetnures 'wheterh you're a fully fledged
jailbird or a mear [sic] speedinf fine holder.'"
Add the File Path to Footers in Excel 97/2000
This is somthing we were talking about at work today. Microsoft
Word has a built-in feature where you can add the filename
and path to the header or footer of a page. For some reason
Microsoft didn't provide a way to do this in Excel 97 or
2000. At least they were kind enough to tell you how to
do it. They suggest making a macro the assigns the footer
the value of "ActiveWorkbook.FullName". You can
read the details at http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/2000/xlfilepath.aspx
The Ten Best Things To Say If You Get Caught Sleeping
At Your Desk
Someone at work passed this on to me:
10. They told me at the blood bank this might happen.
9. This is the 15 minute power-nap they raved about in
that time management course you sent me to.
8. Whew! Guess I left the top off the White-Out.
You probably got here just in time!
7. I wasn't sleeping! I was meditating on the mission
statement and envisioning a new paradigm.
6. I was testing my keyboard for drool resistance.
5. I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve
work-related stress. Are you discriminatory toward
people who practice Yoga?
4. Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured
out a solution to our biggest problem.
3. The coffee machine is broken...
2. Someone must've put decaf in the wrong pot...
And the #1 best thing to say if you get caught sleeping
at your desk
1. ... in Jesus' name. Amen.
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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.
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- To subscribe another address or unsubscribe, please visit
http://www.pcin.net/ and follow the appropriate
links.
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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
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FreeHelp from me in the past.
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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
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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.
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