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Issue 179 - March 20, 2002
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2002
==== 2306 Subscribers in 57 Countries ====
Welcome to the 179th 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.shtml
CONTENTS
OPENING
THOUGHTS
I didn't get much of a response for the next special issue, so
I've decided not to do it. I only had a few people email me their
"success" stories that only happened because of the
Internet. That's no problem though. The whole point of PCIN is
to give you the content that you want. If you don't want that
particular bit of content, then that's fine with us.
Well, I guess I've waited long enough for this one... I'm happy
to let you all know that Lisa and I (Graham) are once again going
to have a baby. Many of you are familiar with what happened before,
which makes this even better. She is about 5 months along now,
with a due date of July 19, 2002. We've had a couple of ultrasounds,
but weren't able to tell the sex of the baby. Lisa is doing well.
She makes a cute pregnant lady!
Graham editor@pcin.net
and Chris chris@pcin.net
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The NEWS
Ottawa set to burn your CD, MP3 budget
"Rockin' on with your MP3 or burning music CDs on your
computer will cost a lot more if the federal government has
its way.
Newly proposed royalty charges will add a whopping $400 to the
cost of a $600 MP3 player and at least a $1.23 charge to the
cost of each blank CD or MiniDisc.
Old-fashioned cassette tapes will also face an additional 40c
charge.
All the money will go to artists as royalties designed to compensate
for home recording and dubbing of CDs."
For more info:
http://www.canoe.ca/JamMusic/mar15_mp3-sun.html
Chris: This is ridiculous. I will now be taxed with the proceeds
going to a musician every time I backup my data. This would
effectively more than double the costs of blank media.
Graham: Why not add $2.46 instead and give $1.23 to each to
the recording industry and the software industry. There is just
as much chance that a CD will be used to copy software as it
will be used to copy music.
Judge Refuses to Halt Lindows.com Name
"Another day in court resulted in another stymie for Microsoft
Corp. when a Seattle court judge found late Friday that the
Redmond, Wash. software giant could not prevent San Diego's
Lindows.com from using their name and releasing a competing
operating system called LindowsOS.
But that won't prevent the company from pursuing a trademark
infringement lawsuit versus the startup. Microsoft spokesperson
Jon Murchinson told InternetNews.com: 'We are disappointed with
the ruling but we intend to pursue our claim in order to protect
the Windows trademark. Windows is one of the most recognizable
brands in the world and we will defend the years of hard work
that went into building it into a trusted name among consumers.'"
For more info:
http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article/0,,10_993621,00.html
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175264.html
Could Online Gambling Be Banned?
Just in time to become the prime topic at the upcoming 2nd
Annual World Internet Gaming Summit, a Congressional panel has
voted to amend the federal ban on interstate betting to include
online gambling.
The House Judiciary subcommittee on crime has voted unanimously
to OK an update of the Wire Act of 1961, which bans interstate
wagering. The amendment would make it clear that the law applies
to the Internet and other modern communications (read wireless)
as well as telephone lines.
"This legislation is badly needed because there are a great
many offshore sites that are sucking billions of dollars from
American households," said Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the Virginia
Republican who sponsored the bill.
For more info:
http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article/0,,4_990891,00.html
Africa Struggles to Get Online
It may take all day to phone Ghana from the country next door,
but if you want the latest news from a shadowy group of rebels
fighting in remote West African jungles, you can always go to
their Web site. Small ads, chat rooms, government propaganda,
dissident tracts, soccer scores, news, horoscopes, lonely hearts,
pornography and racist rants -- Africa's Web sites have it all.
For more info:
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=internetnews&StoryID=694544
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POLL of
the WEEK
Here are the responses from the last poll:
When at work how much of your Internet access is for personal
use?
I have no need to
buy online 8.11
% (6)
Uncomfortable; I will not do it!
6.76 % (5)
Hesitant; I do it occasionally. 20.27
% (15)
Comfortable; I do it regularly but still worry a bit. 32.43
% (24)
No Worries! 32.43
% (24)
Total votes: 74
Visit http://pcin.net/polls/
to participate in the new poll this week:
What sex will Lisa and Graham's baby be?
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FREEHELP
FORUM
Visit the new and improved PCIN FreeHelp Forum at http://www.pcin.net/cgi-bin/bb/YaBB.cgi
to post your questions or answer others.
Question
I'm having a recurring error in Microsoft Works Suite, specifically
under WORD and Task Launcher. Making changes to certain task
documents initially prompted error message and Global changes
have been made to the template. Trying to get back into the
document jouwduz.wiz caused a serious problem the last time
it was open, then again with normal.dot and growdus.wiz. I have
reinstalled the program and that didn't work and I used system
restore and the problem is still there. I believe normal.dot
is WORD, growdis.wiz is a grocery list wizard and jouwduz.wiz
is a journal wizard. I have managed to change something I should
not have.
Answer
Did you fully uninstall the program before reinstalling?
Also, after you uninstall the program, you can search for the
templates that are damaged to make sure they are gone. Delete
them if not. Then, reinstall the program. It's a roundabout
way, but might be the most straightforward.
Or, you could see if there is a "templates" folder
on your install CD and if it contains the templates you want
to replace. Just delete those that are damaged and copy the
original versions from the CD into the templates folder on the
hard drive.
If you have a suggestion, visit the Software forum at http://www.pcin.net/cgi-bin/bb/YaBB.cgi?board=software
and click on the "xp Changes to Global Template/Wizard "
subject.
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PCIN.net
UPDATE
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
Avocent SwitchView KVM Switch Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/switchview.shtml
Connectix Virtual PC 4.2 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/virtualpc4.shtml
PurgeIE 4.04 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/purgeie4.shtml
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THE TIPS
and OTHER STUFF
Software for Windows 95/98
Visit http://www.petsyb.com/
to find a nice collection of Freeware. According to the web
site, "Over the past few years I have written several programs
most of these programs I have written to specifically cater
for my needs as an IT Manager, some programs are complete whilst
others are still in the Beta stages. My aim has been to write
user friendly, simple and to the point software that requires
only a basic knowledge to use. So as others may benefit from
my work I have decided to allow it to be downloaded and used
for free."
Perhaps one of the most interesting programs is Petsyb PC Lock
UP V2.87 which lets you do a number of things to restrict access
to your computer. Check it out at http://www.petsyb.com/
Search Google Directly
Subscriber Bruce K emailed me regarding a little utility that
is a cross between the Google Toolbar and the Address Bar that
you can have on your taskbar. It allows you to start a search
without having to open IE first. Check it out at http://notesbydave.com/toolbar/doc.htm
Avocent SwitchView KVM Switch Hardware Review
"As computers continue to come down in price, more and
more people are finding themselves with several computers. The
kids may have their own so they can play games and not mess
up Dad's computer. Mom might have her own so she can work from
home. Or maybe you are on your own but like to have different
computers for different purposes. Whatever the reason, having
all of these computers can take up a lot of room. If you are
able to have the computers in one location, then one of the
best things to do is to get a KVM (keyboard, video (monitor),
mouse) switch. This allows you to have one keyboard, monitor,
and mouse connected to more than one CPU at a time. The keyboard
monitor and mouse would plug into the switch and the CPUs would
plug into the switch. Then with the press of a button, you can
access each CPU individually.
The SwitchView KVM switch is an excellent product for an excellent
price. It has basic functionality, but does it very well."
Check out the full review online at http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/switchview.shtml
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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.
- If any of the links are too long to fit on one line, you may
have to cut and paste.
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and be entered in a monthly draw.
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Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.net
Copyright 1998-2002, 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
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