Issue 193 - June 26, 2002

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2002
==== 2301 Subscribers in 57 Countries ====

Welcome to the 193rd 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 finally got around to doing a few updates on the site. Of course you probably wouldn't have noticed because I've been having so many problems with my web hosting provider. First they did a transfer of my site that made half of the features not work. Since then nothing has worked as they have claimed. Their service response is terrible. They are only willing to credit my account for a months service even though it has been more than a month that one of my accounts has been running improperly. Then yesterday and today the mail was down. I'll put up with some disruptions in my web site, but as soon as you mess with my email I get ticked off. This is an electronic newsletter that gets sent through email. I absolutely have to have email working.

Anyway, I'm looking for a new provider. If you have any suggestions, email me at editor@pcin.net

With regards to the site updates, the main thing was that I've added 11 more registry tips to the DOC and PDF files that you can download. The link is below in the PCIN.net Update section.

Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net

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The NEWS

Crack Killer combats software piracy

"It doesn't incite actual violence, but a piece of freeware from the Trialware Professional Association (TPA) may turn Canadian software developers into IT vigilantes.
Crack Killer 1.0, released last week, allows developers to track and report cracks, posted serial numbers and pirated versions of their software, according to TPA president Mike Fullerton.
Developers record Web sites with links to pirated versions and cracks of their software in the database application, which features SMTP e-mail complaint capabilities for informing ISPs that host the offending sites, and an IP address check function that allows developers to track those sites for reactivation or relocation."

For more info:
http://itbusiness.ca/index.asp?theaction=61&sid=48880

VeriSign backs down over phony alerts

"VeriSign has agreed to stop sending false notices that tell customers of rival registrars their domain names will soon expire.
The company, which is the leading registrar of domain names, signed a federal court order Wednesday saying it will not send bogus messages warning customers that their domain names were about to expire and offering to sign up the Web addresses with VeriSign. The company also agreed not to send other official-looking notices that appear to be from the current registrar in an attempt to convince people to switch to VeriSign.
The order stems from a suit filed against VeriSign by Go Daddy Software, an upstart registrar that said a few hundred of its customers were tricked by the tactics."

For more info:
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-937985.html

Sweethearts take a back seat

"A recent survey conducted by Media Profile and Toshiba Canada ISG indicates that 55 per cent of Canadians travel with their handheld computers more often than their partner. The Toshiba Pocket PC Etiquette survey, released last month, was conducted as a part of the company's release of its own e310 pocket PC. More than 400 Canadians were asked a series of questions related to 'general handheld computer etiquette,' according to the company."

For more info:
http://www.itworldcanada.com/portals/portalDisplay.cfm?oid=87E9266A-C724-4743-B881D96DCC797A21

Stop Typing And Just Call

"Drowning in E-mail? Chances are you're part of the problem. 'When a message has gone back and forth three times on the same subject, it's time to use the phone,' says Mark Ellwood, author of Cut The Glut Of E-Mail (Pace Productivity Inc., 2002)."

For more info:
http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020607S0016
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POLL of the WEEK

Here are the responses from the last poll:

Do you use a personal firewall (either hardware or software) on your PC?

Yes                 82.42 % (75)
No                  13.19 % (12)
What's a firewall?   4.40 % (4)

Total votes: 91

Visit http://pcin.net/polls/ to participate in the new poll this week:

Do you use voice recognition software (either built-in to Windows or other)?

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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

I have a Sony 24X(Cd-Writer) and 52X CD-Rom. When I write a CD and run from the CD-Rom it says that there is no disk in the cd-drive. But all the other cd's run fine. And that CD run fine on different CD-ROM.
Please suggest me that what should I do?

Response

No Replies Posted Yet

To post a response, visit the Software forum at http://www.pcin.net/help/forum/index.php?board=3 and click on the "CD does not open" subject.

Visit http://www.pcin.net/help/forum/index.php to 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:

Updated Registry Tips (now 142)
http://PCIN.net/help/articles/registry_tips.shtml

New and Improved PCIN.net Links section
http://PCIN.net/links/

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

IT White Papers

Subscriber Pat Clary sent in a link to ITpapers.com and suggested I take a look. What's a white paper? "In the IT community, a White Paper is an informational brief offering an overview of a technology, product, issue, standard, policy, or solution - its importance, use and implementation, and business benefits. With the growth of the Internet as a fast and easy vehicle for distribution of information, White Papers have emerged as the standard way of communicating more in-depth information to IT and business decision-makers in terms of problems solved and markets addressed - the key criteria for product selection." ITpapers.com has a huge collection of these documents. Check it out at http://itpapers.com/

Toggle Caps

I've been using Word for years. I've gotten used to a certain way of doing things, and so never thought of finding an easier way to do this. Occasionally though I come across a tip and say, "Ooooh! I didn't know that!" And so was the case this week when I saw a tip that explained how to capitalize a highlighted selection. To do so, highlight the word(s) that you want all in capitals, and then press CTRL and SHIFT and the letter A. This will change the formatting of that selection to be all capitals.

Recycling an Older Computer

Microsoft obviously wants people to buy their operating systems. Therefore they often have a lot of "propaganda"; information that you have to take with a grain of salt. That being said, there is an interesting article on the Windows XP portion of the site that explains how to upgrade an old computer so that it will run Windows XP. The budget is $300. If you visit http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/columns/honeycutt/02march11.asp and http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/columns/honeycutt/02april01.asp you'll find an interesting article on how to do this.

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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.

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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.

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