ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2002
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Welcome to the 206th 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.php
Lots of news about Dell this week. There is even a comparison to Microsoft in the way they are trying to get into all areas of the PC market. Dell makes great products for great prices, but they do seem to be bullying the hardware suppliers.
Have you noticed how nothing exciting has happened in the PC industry for quite some time? CPUs are getting faster, prices are falling, screen sizes are increasing, but there has been nothing new and innovative for too long. Hopefully the R&D departments will get busy!
Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net
Dell Makes Its Move Into Printer Market
"After months of speculation, Dell Computer finally made its move into the lucrative printer market Tuesday, inking an agreement with Lexmark to produce Dell printers and setting up a battle with HP for supremacy in the printer market.
The agreement with Lexmark, the No. 2 printer manufacturer, calls for the company to develop and produce Dell inkjet and laser printers, along with peripherals. The printers will be sold to customers using Dell's vaunted direct-sales model, beginning in the first half of 2003."For more info:
http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/1469101
Also
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/02/09/24/020924hndelllexmark.xml
3Com next to drop Dell as reseller
"3COM terminated a long-standing agreement that allowed Dell Computer to sell 3Com networking gear, becoming the third supplier since July to cancel a reseller agreement with Dell as the PC maker ventures into new markets.
'Dell has made it clear that it aspires to gain market share in networking, and 3Com won't help Dell legitimize its sales offering with 3Com's products or 3Com's channel program benefits,' Catriona Parker, a 3Com spokeswoman, said Monday. Dell was notified on Wednesday and has to stop selling 3Com products as soon as possible, she said."For more info:
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/02/09/23/020923hndellnetworking.xml
Is Dell the Next Microsoft?
"In a business traditionally built on partnerships and cooperation, Dell Computer seems bent on making more enemies than friends of late.
In July, Hewlett-Packard terminated a four-year reseller agreement with Dell that reportedly brought HP as much as US$100 million per year in revenue. The companies, which have long been rivals in the personal computer market, parted ways after word leaked that Dell intended to make and sell its own line of printers and other peripheral devices.
Earlier this month, Dell lost another longtime partner when Cisco Systems announced that effective in October, Dell no longer would be authorized to sell Cisco data switches. Like HP, Cisco acted after Dell announced plans to offer similar products under its own brand name.
Is Dell taking a page from the Microsoft handbook -- one that eventually will see it standing alone?"For more info:
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/19448.html
University students see change in forms of spammers' e-mails
"Adie Ellis '04 gets about 30 spam e-mails per day.
Late last spring she replied to a piece of junk mail asking to be removed from the list. But that only exacerbated the problem.
She has resigned herself to hitting the delete button.
Some schools, like the Iowa State University, are required to sell their lists by state law."For more info:
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2002/09/19/news/5367.shtml
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Last Week's Poll
What steps do you take to backup your data?
Full system backups 17.35 % (17)
Backup important files only to CD or other media 44.90 % (44)
Copy files to another drive on the same computer 15.31 % (15)
I don't do backups 22.45 % (22)Total votes: 98
This Week's Poll
Visit http://PCIN.net/polls/ to vote on the web site rather than from here.
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
Can anyone explain the use of the file MSGSRV32.EXE. It resides in windows\system directory on my Win98SE OS. Every so often my computer slows w-a-y down, and the cursor motion is jerky and the hourglass symbol is blinking. When I do a ctrl/alt/del to check on what's running, I see, among other things, "msgsrv32 (not running)". If I delete it the problem clears up immediately.
Response
This behavior can occur when power management is enabled, and you have issues with programs not responding correctly to power management commands, for example, screen saver programs.
To work around this behavior, use the following steps:
Quit any running programs, and then test to determine if a specific program is causing this behavior. If you quit all running programs and the issue is resolved, one of the programs that was running is the cause of this behavior. If this does not resolve the issue, continue to step 2.
NOTE: This issue is often caused by screen saver programs.
Disable power management. To do so, click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Power.
In the Power Management box, click Off (or click the "Allow windows to manage power on this computer" check box to clear it).
Click OK.
Restart your computer.
If the behavior continues to occur, follow these additional steps:
In Control Panel, double-click System.
On the Device Manager tab, double-click the System Devices branch to expand it.
Double-click Advanced Power Management Support.
On the Settings tab, click the Enable Power Management Support check box to clear it, and then click OK.
Click OK.
Restart your computer when you are prompted to do so.
To post a response, visit the General Software Help forum at http://www.pcin.net/help/forum/index.php?board=3 and click on the "msgsrv file" subject.
Visit http://www.pcin.net/help/forum/index.php to post a question of your own.
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Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
PCIN.net Search
http://PCIN.net/search.phpSome Useful Registry Tips
http://PCIN.net/help/articles/registry_tips.shtmlPCIN.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
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Happy Anniversary Microsoft Access!
"Join us for the 10-year anniversary celebration of Microsoft Access, and the launch of the new Access Development Center on MSDN. Released in November 1992, Access is now the world's leading desktop database solution, used by millions of people worldwide.
Thank you for making Access such a success."
Visit http://www.microsoft.com/office/access/10years/default.asp
Email Options
If you use Outlook as your email client, chances are you don't use a lot of the options that are there. For instance, while composing a message, from the View menu, choose Options. Some of the useful options are:
- Have the reply address different from the from address
- Delay delivery of a message
- Set an expiry date and time for a message
- Set message tracking options
The power and flexibility, as well as the many options, are why I use Outlook at work, and at home.
Enjoy the Weather
Chris and I were talking about what we could use for a third tip. He says that we're halfway through September and there isn't much time left for the good weather, so turn off your computer and go outside!
(not until you've read PCIN though)
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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.
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