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Issue 245 - June 25, 2003
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2003
==== 2263 Subscribers in 62 Countries ====
Welcome to the 245th 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
As I mentioned last week, Chris and I went to visit the new Niagara Falls
Aviary. I've added the pictures to the AccessNiagara.com site. You can see
these, along with the other Niagara Falls pictures at http://AccessNiagara.com/gallery/
I've also posted some pictures to the family web site. My parents celebrated
their 35th anniversary on Saturday and had a picnic/barbeque for friends and
family. You can see the pictures at http://WingFamily.ca/marshabrian/20030621/
Lastly, the first news item in last week's was about rebates. Joan emailed
me the following:
"Read the article on rebates and thought this might interest you .I applied
for one and received an answer saying that I did not send the proper information
and enclosed was a 48 stamp for my trouble."
I've never heard of that before. I'm sure getting the actual rebate amount
would be better, but it was nice of the company to at least send a stamp to
cover the cost of sending the rebate in the first place.
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
The NEWS
The Feds Love Linux
"Three weeks ago, John P. Stenbit, chief information officer of the
U.S. Department of Defense, issued an agencywide memo that has Linux lovers
rejoicing. The brief outlined the DOD's policy on acquiring, using and developing
open-source software, including the Linux operating system. By creating an
official policy, the DOD is 'outing' open source, a technology that was stuck
in government limbo, neither condoned nor outlawed."
For more info:
http://www.forbes.com/home/2003/06/20/cz_eb_0620linux.html
Fans have the muscle to shape the movie
"When Ang Lee, director of The Hulk, hinted last year that the title
character might not wear his trademark purple pants - or any pants at all,
for that matter - comic book devotees broke into a Bruce Banner-like rage
on the Internet.
They filled up fan Web sites and warned Lee and Marvel studios chief Avi
Arad not to stray from The Hulk's illustrated origins. They threatened to
bad-mouth and boycott the film, which opens nationwide today.
In the final version, the monster does indeed sport purple trousers. He's
in the buff briefly, thanks to some menacing dogs. And although executives
stop short of crediting Web surfers with altering the final product - the
movie breaks from the comic book to alter the Hulk's power source - they
concede that film fans are exerting pressure moviemakers have never seen
before."
For more info:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-06-19-movies-cover_x.htm
Probe finds IRS workers misuse Internet on agency time
"Internal Revenue Service employees using thousands of computers accessed
prohibited Web sites that included personal e-mail, sexually explicit sites
and games. To Treasury investigators, it was a sign that 'significant misuse'
of the Internet continues after a crackdown a year ago.
'Employee abuse of the Internet is still widespread,' the investigators reported.
The results of the Treasury Department investigation disappointed lawmakers
who pushed the IRS to revise its Internet policies and block access to prohibited
sites after a study in 2001 showed IRS employees spent more than half their
workday on the Internet for personal reasons.
'This is a classic case of people getting an inch and taking a mile,' Senate
Finance Committee chairman Charles Grassley said Thursday."
For more info:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-06-20-irs-workers-surf-too_x.htm
POLL of the WEEK
Last Week's Poll
Have you ever purchased an eBook?
| Yes |
 |
21.15 % (22) |
| No |
|
69.23 % (72) |
| What's an eBook? |
|
9.62 % (10) |
| Total votes: 104 |
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
I want to delete everything on my hard drive & start over. I downloaded
a program & it changed all my settings. Could someone please tell me
how to delete every thing & start over?
Response
No responses yet.
To post a response, visit the General Hardware Help forum at http://PCIN.net/help/forum/index.php?board=4 and
click on the "How to delete every thing on hard drive?" 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:
XemiComputers Ltd. DeskLook 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/desklook3.php
Symantec Norton Ghost 2003 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ghost2003.php
Amic Games Email Saver Xe Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/emailsaverxe.php
XemiComputers Ltd. DeskLook 2.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/desklook2.php
THE TIPS and OTHER
STUFF
New Free Network Software
Some time ago I reviewed several software products from Software602, Inc.
One of the products was 602Pro LAN SUITE. I received an email last week informing
me that there was a new version and asking me to review it. I don't have
the setup anymore to do a good review of the software, but I wanted to pass
along the details:
"Software602, Inc. has released the new version of 602Pro LAN SUITE. This
network software includes a secure mail server with anti-virus & anti-spam,
built-in firewall and proxy for controlled Internet sharing. The 5 user version
is still FREE for commercial and non-commercial use.
New enhancements in the 2003 version are: advanced packet filter firewall
with logging provides protection against unauthorized access, built-in BitDefender
Anti-virus engine with scheduler offers up-to-date anti-virus protection
(LAN SUITE Anti-virus Edition) and separate IP filters configurable for the
Proxy, SMTP, WWW and Remote Administration services provides complete access
control."
More information and a free download is available at http://www.software602.com/products/ls/
Monitor Your Computer
Hopefully by now everyone takes precautions with their computer to ensure
they are free from viruses, are defragmented, and run well without any major
complications. However, how many of you monitor your computer for physical
problems. Most of today's hard drives do that automatically using SMART technology
(there may be an additional software monitoring tool to install.) This past
weekend I ran into problems with my system freezing on me. An overheating
CPU was the problem. At this point I am still unsure whether I have done
any damage to the CPU, but I can see damage to the motherboard has occurred.
This could have been avoided with software that reports the motherboard,
CPU and fan speeds of your system. I had used one up until a couple of months
ago that reported fan speed and CPU temperature as well as sent out alarms
when temperature's got too high and would shut down the system when temperatures
were above a user set threshold. Try a search on Google:
http://www.google.com/search?q=motherboard+temperature+monitor
Keep drivers Up to Date
Running Windows Update will help you to maintain an up to date operating
system and will also inform you of many driver updates for your hardware,
but don't forget to check manufacturer's website's as well.
New drivers often fix bugs that exist in prior version and may also contain
new functionality for your hardware. It is a good idea to have a copy of
your existing driver before upgrading though, just in case the new driver
causes more problems than if fixes
PCIN.net AFFILIATED
SITES
Both of us have other sites other than PCIN.net. These are all sites that
we are actively involved in (they aren't client sites). Don't forget to check
them out from time to time for updates:
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.
- 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://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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