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Issue 223 - January 22, 2003
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2003
==== 2047 Subscribers in 56 Countries ====
Welcome to the 223rd 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
CONTENTS
OPENING THOUGHTS
Sorry about sending 2 issues last week. I'm using a Majordomo mailing list
server and there is not a web-based interface for it. All of the commands are
sent through email and I made a mistake in the first one (the yellow one). I've
done that twice now, and I hope not to do it again.
I keep complaining about this... but I wish something new and exciting would
happen in the IT industry. The news is always the same, and the software being
released looks prettier, but still doesn't do anything new. Hopefully some day
soon there'll be something good to write about !
Graham editor@pcin.net
and Chris chris@pcin.net
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The NEWS
MIT Conference Takes Aim at Spam E-mails
It's going to take the best and the brightest to slam the spammers.
Hundreds of programmers gathered Friday at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology to apply their collective brainpower to a problem that has evolved
from annoyance to menace: the rising flood of unsolicited e-mail.
For more info:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Ending-Spam.html
IT in schools fails to raise standards
Government efforts to equip schools with computers and connect them to the
Internet has done little, if anything, to push up standards, according to
a new report commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills.
The study took place between 1999 and 2002 and involved 60 schools in England.
For more info:
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1138036
Web accessibility hits the mainstream
Despite the ubiquitous nature of the Internet and wholesale advances in technology,
the World Wide Web still represents a barrier for people with disabilities.
Numerous studies have shown that at least 10 percent of the online community
uses assistive technologies to access the Internet, while at the same time
95 to 99 percent of all Web sites are functionally inaccessible to the visually,
hearing, and/or mobility impaired.
From a business perspective, the statistics are even more compelling: consumers
with disabilities have an estimated US$175 billion in discretionary income.
This is a chronically under-served online audience with immense buying power.
For more info:
http://www.canadacomputes.com/printer_friendly.asp?item=9826
POLL of the WEEK
Last Week's Poll
Do you think software vendors should stay out of the hardware business?
This Week's Poll
You can also vote online at http://PCIN.net/polls/
PCIN.net FREEHELP
FORUM
Visit the PCIN.net FreeHelp Forum at http://PCIN.net/help/forum/
to post your questions or answer others.
Question
When I run the installation CD on my Win98SE machine it brings a "preparing
to install" box up and then stops. No message. No explanation.
Response
Installations can be stopped if there is a problem with your temp directory.
Empty this out and try again.
To post a response, visit the General Software Help forum at http://PCIN.net/help/forum/index.php?board=3
and click on the "Windows installer terminates abruptly" topic.
Visit http://PCIN.net/help/forum/
to post a question of your own.
PCIN.net UPDATE
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
Paragon Hard Disk Manager 5.5 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/paragonhdm55.php
Object Desktop Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/objectdesktop.php
LG GCE-8400B 40x 12x 40x CD-RW Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/lggce8400b.php
Some Useful Registry Tips
http://PCIN.net/help/articles/registry_tips.php
THE TIPS and OTHER
STUFF
The last tip about Outlook 2000 Holidays (I promise)
It looks like Microsoft has finally fixed the file used to update the Holidays
in Outlook 2000. For those of you who have missed it, Outlook 2000 doesn't
have holidays past 2002. Microsoft had released a couple of different versions
of a fix, but the some of the holidays were on wrong days of the week. The
final fix is at http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/OutlHol.aspx
A real Microsoft ad?
Chris sent this link along to me. Apparently this is a real commercial for
Microsoft Office XP that ran in Switzerland for a short time. It is quite
funny. Check it out at http://www.wopr.com/html/MSOfficeAd.shtml
"A Bunch Of Cool Tips and Tricks"
The title says it all - "A Bunch Of Cool Tips and Tricks". Check
it out at http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/cooltips.html
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://PCIN.net/donate.php
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