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Issue 238 - May 07, 2003
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2003
==== 2205 Subscribers in 61 Countries ====
Welcome to the 238th 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
April showers bring May flowers, or so I've heard. Since the Winter went so
long, our showers have been delayed into this first week of May. But the grass
is growing and everything looks alive. It's beautiful. Things are pretty slow
around the Wing house these days. Andrew is squirming all over the place, but
can't quite crawl forward yet. He's a pro shimmying backwards though :-)
I've mentioned this before, but we should have several reviews for you over
the next few weeks. Both Chris and I are working on a couple of reviews each,
so we should have some things to share soon.
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
The NEWS
Suspected Web Hacker Arrested at Net Security Show
British police have arrested a man suspected of hacking into high-profile
corporate Web sites and defacing them with a distinct digital calling card:
a 'fluffy' pink bunny rabbit.
New Scotland Yard said on Wednesday they arrested 24-year-old Lynn Htun at
a London convention center, the site of InfoSecurity Europe 2003, one of
Europe's largest trade fairs for Internet and computer network security.
Law enforcement and Internet security professionals said they believe Htun
is the mastermind of the 'Fluffi Bunni' hacking exploits, which European
and U.S. authorities have been investigating for over a year."
For more info:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=2661643
Xbox Live update at E3
"Rumours abound that Microsoft is set to announce a major update to
its Xbox Live kit at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Microsoft
is keeping mum, but has admitted to a few 'groundbreaking announcements'
at the most important games show of the year.
Currently the Xbox Live kit allows players to communicate with others via
the headset, but only in-game. It is thought that Microsoft hopes to extend
this concept with chat and locater services. This would allow players to
have their Xboxes act much like ICQ or Messenger, giving a list of known
friends whom they can chat with along with general chat rooms--all without
the need for a game to be running. Anther added feature coming the way of
Xbox is the media center concept, which would allow owners to upload music
and video to the console to watch or listen to whenever they like."
For more info:
http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2003May/gee20030507019882.htm
'Matrix' game company changes name to Atari
"Franco-American video game publisher Infogrames, in an effort to increase
its profile with consumers by reaching back into gaming history, said Wednesday
it is changing its name to Atari.
To mark the new Atari and the new ticker symbol ATAR, Chief Executive Bruno
Bonnell is set to open the Nasdaq on Wednesday.
Infogrames/Atari shares have been on a run of late, rising more than 130%
on the Nasdaq since April 18, when the company said it had completed work
on Enter the Matrix, the hotly anticipated video game companion to the forthcoming
Warner Bros. film The Matrix Reloaded.
The Atari name is the most storied in video gaming, dating back to the early
1970s, when Nolan Bushnell and a team of engineers at Atari created 'Pong'
the arcade video game that was so popular machines sometimes jammed up because
they were overflowing with quarters."
For more info:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2003-05-07-atari_x.htm
POLL of the WEEK
Last Week's Poll
Do you own a DVD Burner?
| Yes |
 |
26.67 % (44) |
| No, I don't need one |
|
19.39 % (32) |
| No, I'm waiting for a standard to be decided on |
|
28.48 % (47) |
| No, they're too expensive |
|
25.45 % (42) |
| Total votes: 165 |
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
My Win 98 os is getting buggy, and I'm planning to switch over to XP.
If I do an upgrade, will I be building on an unstable base?
Would a clean install be better?
Response
No replies yet.
To post a response, visit the General Software Help forum at http://PCIN.net/help/forum/index.php?board=3 and
click on the "XP install - upgrade or clean?" 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:
Logitech Cordless Freedom Optical Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/lcfo.php
Some Useful Registry Tips - Now 171 Tips!
http://PCIN.net/help/articles/registry_tips.php
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
THE TIPS and OTHER
STUFF
Why do you say "Oops!" after hitting send?
"Ever hit 'send' on an email too soon? Or embarrassed yourself by clicking
'reply all' when that snide remark was only intended for the original sender?
You're not alone.
Consumers' habits and styles vary greatly when it comes to communicating
and organizing personal information electronically. We recently commissioned
a survey focusing on the behavior of electronic communicators, and the findings
include noteworthy results. Among results is evidence of how often consumers
send - or forget to send - attachments; an electronically advanced baby boom
generation; and a Mac user passion for sending random and interesting shots.
Answer the survey questions below and see how you stack up against the rest
of America!"
Check it out at http://www.microsoft.com/mac/entouragex/entouragex_main.asp?embfname=survey.asp
Create Outlook shortcuts on your Desktop
To create shortcuts to specific Microsoft Outlook features on your desktop,
right click on the desktop, choose New Shortcut. In the Create Shortcut Dialog
box, put a path to the shortcut with one of the following:
"c:\program files\microsoft office\office10\outlook.exe" /c ipm.note
(New Email Message)
" c:\program files\microsoft office\office10\outlook.exe" /c ipm.stickynote
(New Note)
" c:\program files\microsoft office\office10\outlook.exe" /c ipm.contact
(New Contact)
" c:\program files\microsoft office\office10\outlook.exe" /c ipm.appointment
(New Appointment)
" c:\program files\microsoft office\office10\outlook.exe" /c ipm.post
(New Post)
Substituting the correct path to Outlook and then adding a description
for the shortcut.
Digital Camera Resource
"The Digital Camera Resource Page, founded in November 1997, is designed
to be an unofficial resource for current or future owners of digital cameras.
It is aimed more towards the consumer end, rather than the high end (read:
$20,000) professional cameras. The mission of this site is to:
1. To provide honest reviews of digital cameras, with no sugar coating. If
I think a camera isn't a good choice, you'll know it. Reviews are written
without a lot of technical jargon, so everyone can understand them.
2. Do #1 without shoving ads down the throats of our readers. That means
no pop-ups, pop-unders, interstitials, or any other annoying ads. I also
won't make you scroll through a page of ads to get to the content."
Check it out at http://www.dcresource.com/
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://PCIN.net/ and
follow the appropriate links.
- Recommend PCIN to others at http://PCIN.net/recommend.php and
be entered in a monthly draw.
- There are only 3 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,
you have requested FreeHelp from me in the past, or you have registered with
the FreeHelp Forum.
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I will add it to the subscriber web pages that I have on my site.
- Support PCIN by visiting http://PCIN.net/donate.php
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Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.net
Copyright 1998-2003, 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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