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Issue 200 - August 14, 2002
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2002
==== 2188 Subscribers in 57 Countries ====
Welcome to the 200th 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
Happy Birthday PCIN! Wow... PCIN turns 200 today. I can't believe I've been
doing this for 4 years, and that I've typed up 200 of these newsletters. It
has been fun "meeting" many of you online, helping you, and having
fun with you. Chris asked if I had any big plans for the 200th issue, and as
you will see below, I didn't. We'll just keep trucking ahead trying to share
some interesting news and help you with your computer problems.
Remember that we are always open to suggestions for content, tips, poll ideas,
etc. Send any of these to editor@pcin.net
Graham editor@pcin.net
and Chris chris@pcin.net
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The NEWS
Dell unhooks Windows from desktops
Dell Computer is making Windows optional for some of its business desktops.
The PC maker next month will introduce n-Series corporate desktop and workstations
that ship without Microsoft's Windows, or any other operating system, pre-installed.
The new desktops appear to be a slick interpretation of Microsoft's new licensing
terms and a way to navigate customer demand for PCs without an OS installed.
The Microsoft licensing terms, which were put in place on Aug. 1, specify
that PC makers must ship PCs with an operating system. The new policy exists
to prevent piracy and to better track OS shipments.
For more info:
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-949671.html
Music sales dive--don't blame pirates
Video may have killed the radio star, but Forrester Research on Tuesday said
Internet piracy was not to blame--as record labels have claimed--for the 15
percent drop in music sales in the past two years.
"There is no denying that times are tough for the music business, but
not because of downloading," said Josh Bernoff, principal analyst at
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based research firm Forrester Research, who released
a report on the digital music market.
Based on surveys of 1,000 U.S. online consumers, Forrester said it sees no
evidence of decreased CD buying among frequent digital music consumers and
said the record labels could restore industry growth by making it easier for
people to find, copy, and pay for music on their own terms.
For more info:
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-949717.html
Online Shareware: Is Anyone Paying?
Some analysts have dismissed shareware as inferior to traditional commercial
software, suggesting "you get what you pay for." But shareware quality
has risen across the board.
It seems like a shaky way to make money in the software industry: Create programs
that are free to download and try, but require users to pay registration fees
if they decide to keep the software. Despite this business model's uncertainty,
the number of shareware makers continues to grow as more developers put their
faith in the honor system.
For more info:
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/18971.html
Bootleg Movies
Who should police online illegal file sharing of movies? If the Motion Picture
Association of America, (MPAA) has its way, it'll be job of Internet service
providers (ISPs).
The MPAA, an organization that represents such studios as Sony Entertainment
and Universal Studios, has sent out more than 100,000 legal notices - cease
and desist letters - to ISPs such as Speakeasy, ordering them to contact persons
unlawfully downloading films.
"The fear is the Internet provides a worldwide capability to disseminate
product stolen from our member companies," said Ken Jacobsen, senior
vice president of worldwide anti-piracy efforts for MPAA. "It's instantaneous,
it's digital, it can be very high quality, and it's very difficult to address
because it covers the entire world," he adds.
For more info:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business/TechTV/techtv_piracy020806.html
POLL of the WEEK
Here are the responses from the last poll:
What is the youngest age that your child was able to use the computer?
1 year 5.13 % (2)
2 year 15.38 % (6)
3 year 25.64 % (10)
4 year 2.56 % (1)
5 year 10.26 % (4)
6 year 5.13 % (2)
7 year 5.13 % (2)
8 year 5.13 % (2)
9 year 2.56 % (1)
10 year 5.13 % (2)
> 10 years old 17.95 % (7)
Total votes: 39
Visit http://pcin.net/polls/ to participate
in the new poll this week:
Should schools require students to have a laptop?
FREEHELP FORUM
Visit the new and improved PCIN FreeHelp Forum at http://www.pcin.net/help/forum/index.php
to post your questions or answer others.
Question
When I browse any web page, my IE6 browser doesn't display the different
images. help me. I am using win98
Response
None yet.
To post a response, visit the Software How-To forum at http://www.pcin.net/help/forum/index.php?board=6
and click on the gif images in IE6" subject.
Visit http://www.pcin.net/help/forum/index.php
to post a question of your own.
PCIN.net UPDATE
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
PCIN.net FreeHelp Forum Update
(I've updated the forum and there is a new calendar feature. If you go and
edit your profile to add your birthday, it will show up on a public calendar.
Kind of neat!)
http://PCIN.net/help/forum/
Outback Plus 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/outbackplus3.php
Microsoft Office Keyboard Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/msok.php
VMWare Workstation 3.1 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/vmware31.php
Microsoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/mswie.php
THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
OutBack Plus 3.0 Software Review
"A couple of years ago I had the unthinkable happen... my hard drive
died. I lost everything. I never thought I had anything important that needed
to be backed up, but once something like that happens, you realize that almost
everything is important. Once that happened I purchased both a CD-RW drive
and a Zip drive and I started backing up my data.
For anyone who has tried to find all of their data to backup, it can be quite
a chore. OUTBACK Plus 3.0 (OP3) from AJ Systems tries to help when backing
up your Email and Internet Files.
As I mentioned above, OP3 doesn't do anything that you couldn't do yourself
manually. You might think that you don't need to spend the $30 to do something
you can do yourself, but if you give OP3 a try, you will stick with it. It
is quick, can be automated, and backs up so many different items, it becomes
very valuable. Even that fact that the backup file can be opened in your zip
program of choice is nice. You can extract data as needed if you didn't want
to use the Restore option."
Read the full review at http://PCIN.net/help/software/outbackplus3.php
Step-by-Step Confirmation When Booting Windows 9x
One of the most useful tool when troubleshooting Windows problems is using
the option to walk through Windows as it loads. When you first see the Windows
98 boot screen, press F8 for a startup menu. From that menu choose the step-by-step
confirmation option. You will then be prompted to load drivers, autoexec.bat,
config.sys, and other files. You can choose yes or no to each of these options.
By doing this, you can narrow down what might be causing problems on your
system. This is something that Microsoft mentions in several KB articles.
You can find lots of articles about this as well by search at Google like
this:
http://www.google.ca/search?q=step+by+step+confirmation+Windows+98
Typing Accents in Word
Many foreign language words have accent marks, such as résumé,
déjà vu, pâté, and voilà. This can be hard
to type on an English keyboard with English software. Word, however, does
have a simple way to do this. Here are some examples:
- ç - type [Ctrl][,] followed by c
- é - type [Ctrl]['] followed by e
- è - type [Ctrl][`] followed by e
- â - type [Ctrl][^] ([Ctrl][Shift]6) followed by a
- å - type [Ctrl][@] ([Ctrl][Shift]2) followed by a
- ü - type [Ctrl][:] ([Ctrl][Shift][;]) followed by u
- ñ - type [Ctrl][~] ([Ctrl][Shift][`]) followed by n
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.
- 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.
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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 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
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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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