PCIN, The PC Improvement News logo

Issue 315 - October 27, 2004

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2004
==== 2001 Subscribers in 58 Countries ====

Welcome to the 315th 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

It still seems like a lot of people aren't getting the newsletter for some reason. Everything seemed correct, so I deleted the original list and recreated it. Hopefully everyone is reading this now. I don't think many (if any) HotMail subscribers received the last 2 issues of PCIN. And since only 14 people have participated in the poll, I can only assume that there are many others who haven't received them. PCIN gets sent out every Wednesday evening. If you ever miss an issue, you can find them all at http://PCIN.net/archive/

Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net

The NEWS

Macs do Star Wars dirty work

"Since 1977 the Star Wars saga has been followed by hundreds of millions of viewers and grossed more than $3 billion.
Now the original trilogy is out on DVD, and the hype for this matched that of the biggest Hollywood premieres.
Far away from the hype there is a back lot in Burbank, California, where a lot of the hard work was done.
The 70 MB per frame of film requires an enormous amount of storage, and fortunately there is an impressive 400 terabytes sitting just down the corridor.
The processing power is quite formidable too. The brains of the facility are 600 Apple G5s, each a dual processor 2GHz machine.

For more info:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/programmes/click_online/3945149.stm

Blue Screen of Death: Why your computer still crashes

"There's nothing like an untimely computer crash to ruin your day - or at least ruin your reputation for keeping cool on a deadline. Crashes can range from moderately frustrating application shutdowns and 'not responding' pop-ups to the fearsome Blue Screen of Death, which brings your entire PC to a complete halt. Even my supposedly robust Mac isn't immune to this sort of fatal system failure. My machine has seized up at least once a week for the past two years, covering the screen with a transparent panel that says 'You need to restart your computer' in four languages."

For more info:
http://slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2107471

Someone Hacked Into Purdue's Computers

"Someone gained unauthorized access to Purdue's computer network, prompting school officials to urge all students, staff and faculty to change their passwords.
'We have confirmed that some computer passwords have been obtained by unauthorized users accessing a number of computer systems,' said Scott Ksander of Purdue's information technology office."

For more info:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1681860,00.asp

Ballmer: We need a $100 PC

"What's one of Steve Ballmer's biggest headaches? It's not Linux or security breaches. It's piracy, the Microsoft CEO said Wednesday.
'The biggest problem we have right now is that people who should be paying for software aren't,' Ballmer told an audience of technology executives at an industry conference here sponsored by market researcher Gartner.
One way to stem piracy is to offer consumers in emerging countries a low-cost PC, Ballmer said. 'There has to be...a $100 computer to go down-market in some of these countries. We have to engineer (PCs) to be lighter and cheaper,' he said."

For more info:
http://news.com.com/2100-1012_3-5419179.html

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POLL of the WEEK

Last Week's Poll

Since not everyone got last week's PCIN, I am continuing last week's poll for another week.

This Week's Poll

How frequently have you had problems when doing computer hardware upgrades?

Never
10% of the time
25% of the time
Half the time
Almost always
Every time

You can also vote online at http://PCIN.net/polls/

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PCIN.net UPDATE

Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:

Album Creator by FirmTools Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/albumcreator.php

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Administrator's Pocket Consultant, Second Edition Book Review
http://PCIN.net/help/books/w2kapcse.php

Remote Task Manager by SmartLine Inc. Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/remotetaskmanager.php

Flash File Recover by PanteraSoft Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/flashfilerecovery.php

Email Saver Xe 2.0 by WinGuides Software Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/emailsaverxe2.php

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

Google Cheat Sheet

I've seen this mentioned on several different blogs and web sites, but just in case you missed it, be sure to check out the Google Cheat Sheet. It shows you all the different searches you can do with various operators (AND, OR, DEFINE:, SITE:, etc.) and examples for each.
http://www.google.com/help/cheatsheet.html

Computer Tips Technical Information Pages

"Welcome to ctips.com
The only stop for technical information related to the PC computer. You will find brief descriptions of each technology, technical information, interface pinouts, signal descriptions and more. We also have a large database with links to most major manufacturers and other related material."
Check it out at http://www.ctips.com/

Happy Halloween!

Here are a few fun and/or useful halloween links:
http://www.halloween.com/
http://www.halloween-online.com/
http://www.pumpkin-carving.com/
http://www.holidays.net/halloween/
Of course you can do a search at your favourite search engine for more sites...

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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:

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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.

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  4. The only way to become a subscriber is by asking. You have either filled out the subscription form or asked me directly.
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Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.net

Copyright 1998-2004, 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.

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