ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2002
==== 2427 Subscribers in 57 Countries ====
Welcome to the 199th 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
Andrew is in my arms right now as I type one-handed. He's doing just fine. Lisa and I really appreciate all of the kind words that you sent. Remember that you can see pictures at http://WingFamily.ca/LisaGraham/Andrew/
Last week both Chris and I received a copy of Object Desktop by StarDock. For those of you who don't know, it is a complete suite of programs that let you "skin" virtually every aspect of Windows. It is remarkable! You can totally make your desktop, windows, and icons look like a Mac. Or you can download skins based on your favourite movies, or colours, of other cool things. We'll use it for a few weeks and then post a review. We'll keep you updated.
Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net
MPAA Targets 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."For more info:
http://www.techtv.com/news/internet/story/0,24195,3394325,00.html
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business/TechTV/techtv_piracy020806.html
IBM gives Honda a voice
Can't find a restaurant? Running out of gas? Down to your last dollar?
Tell it to the car.
IBM said on Monday it signed a deal with Honda Motor that will make it easier for drivers to find the closest gas station or restaurant by asking the car's computer for help.
IBM said Honda will offer in its 2003 Accord models, for sale in September, a navigation system that is integrated with voice recognition software and a small touch screen.For more info:
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-946900.html
iVillage to Quit Pop-Ups
Web publisher iVillage (Quote, Company Info) said on Monday that it would cease selling pop-up ads, citing research that suggests its chiefly female audience despises the format.
The New York-based company said a survey conducted on the site by site design researcher Vividence found that 92.5 percent of iVillage's female visitors said pop-ups were the most frustrating feature of the Web.
Additionally, while many in the industry believe that pop-ups generate high brand awareness, iVillage said its study indicated that the formats actually hurts the advertiser's image.For more info:
http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/1434851
Taming 'Occupational Spam'
It's the bane of any modern office worker. After a week of restful vacation away from the job, they come back to a computer littered with literally hundreds of e-mail messages.
Welcome back to electronic message hell - a phenomenon that's hitting corporate workers of all levels.
Christina Cavanagh, a professor of management communications at the Richard Ivey School of Business in London, Ontario, says that the average North American worker now gets almost 50 e-mails a day - a 33 percent increase over the amount of daily messages from just a year ago.For more info:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/CuttingEdge/cuttingedge020802.html
| Return to the top | Recommend PCIN News |
Here are the responses from the last poll:
How many emails do you get a day?
0 0.00 % (0)
1-10 18.48 % (17)
11-20 20.65 % (19)
21-30 10.87 % (10)
31-40 9.78 % (9)
41-50 6.52 % (6)
> 50 33.70 % (31)Total votes: 92
Visit http://pcin.net/polls/ to participate in the new poll this week:
What is the youngest age that your child was able to use the computer?
| Return to the top | Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week |
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
had problem with cpu, sorted it, formatted hard drive to install win98. It will not accept boot disc or cd, the hardrive was successful in being formatted.
Response
Note : unless the cd-rom / floppy you are using is the original disk you cannot be sure that it is bootable. If your CD_ROM or floppy consistantly cannont find a bootable disk this may be why.
If this is the case try the disk on another machine, or borrow a friends disk that you know works.
Also, for the very old cd-roms that run off sound cards you will need a special boot disk before the cd-rom is even usable. These floppy disks mention the acronym DSP in their title.
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 "repairing one of my cpu's" subject.
Visit http://www.pcin.net/help/forum/index.php to post a question of your own.
| Return to the top | Recommend PCIN FreeHelp Forum |
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
Outback Plus 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/outbackplus3.phpMicrosoft Office Keyboard Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/msok.phpVMWare Workstation 3.1 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/vmware31.phpMicrosoft Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/mswie.php
| Return to the top | Recommend PCIN.net Update |
Clear the Clipboard
The Windows clipboard only stores one thing at a time. When you copy something, it is stored in memory and is available in almost any other program that you use. You may find from time to time that after you have copied a large image or a large selection of text that your system is sluggish. This could be a result of what is in the clipboard. If you don't need what is in the clipboard anymore, then copy something else that is much smaller (even as small as a single word on a web page or other document). This will replace the large copied item with the smaller item and may help the performance of your system.
Always Win at Minesweeper
This is from one of the newsletters I subscribe to (I can't remember which one):
"You can configure Minesweeper to display either a white or black pixel on screen, depending on if the cursor is over a mine (black) or not (white) by following these steps:
1. Start Minesweeper.
2. Type xyzzy then press Shift+Enter.
3. Minimize all windows and begin play.
The pixel in the top left-hand corner of the desktop will be black if the cursor is over a mine square or white if the cursor is over a safe square. This trick works on all versions of Minesweeper supplied with Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 3.1."
Use the System Configuration Editor
Last week I shared a tip about the System Configuration Editor (sysedit.exe). I knew that it was available in Win9x, ME, 2K but wasn't sure about WinXP. Subscriber Jack Carlson email to let me know that "Yes, XP has sysedit, and it appears and functions much like Win98." Thanks Jack.
Organizing the My Documents folder
A couple of weeks ago I shared a tip regarding using Windows Find to sort through the My Documents folder and sub-folders all at once. Subscriber Philip Galon sent the following:
"I have/had the same problem, not only with My Documents, but with my email folders, too. Now, just after the first of the year, I create new folders, such as 'My Documents 2001', 'Inbox 2001', 'Sent Items 2001', etc. Then I move all of the documents/mail/whatever for that year into the new folders. They remain easily accessible, but it cleans out the original folders, making it easier to find the things."
| Return to the top | Recommend PCIN Tips and Other Stuff |
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.
- Recommend PCIN to others at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.php 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
Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.netCopyright 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