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Issue 320 - December 01, 2004

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2004
==== 2022Subscribers in 58 Countries ====

Welcome to the 320th 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

We're slowing getting all the delivery problems straightened out. SOme of you may be receive 2 copies of the newsletter. Don't worry about it. Just delete one. We'll have everything fixed soon. The reason why it is taking so long is that I only send the newsletter out once a week. So as I fix a problem, I have to wait until the next mailing to see what else there is to fix. We appreciate your patience.

I can't believe December is here already! Christmas is only 24 days away.

I've added some more pictures to the Wing Family web site. You can see some new pictures of Matthew and Andrew.

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

The NEWS

Canadian Inventor Lets Everyone Be an Armchair Spy

"New Internet-based technology could soon turn regular computer users into armchair spies, a Canadian inventor said on Monday.
Vincent Tao, an engineer at Toronto's York University said he has invented a mapping and surveillance tool called SAME (see anywhere, map anywhere), that produces images so sharp that geographic co-ordinates typed into a Web site can reveal the make of a car parked on the street."

For more info:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=6946893

Sony takes on iPod with new hard-disk Walkman

"Sony unveiled its first MP3-compatible, hard-disk Walkman music player on Tuesday in an attempt to recover ground lost to Apple Computer's iPod.
The world's biggest consumer electronics maker aims to reclaim the market for portable and personal music devices, which it helped to launch 25 years ago with its first Walkman."

For more info:
http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-5470462.html

Blazing a new data speed record

"A group of researchers have found a way to quickly transfer huge amounts of data over computer networks, paving the way for greater global scientific cooperation and future commercial uses.
By shuttling data at a sustained rate of 101 gigabits--the equivalent of three DVD movies--per second between Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, the so-called High Energy Physics team shattered a record for data transfer and won the Supercomputing Bandwidth Challenge, a contest geared toward improving network connection speed for grid computing."

For more info:
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-5471325.html

China's Google Block Sparks Media Group's Protest

"The Chinese government is blocking one of Google's (Quote, Chart) more popular sites, the company confirmed Tuesday.
Debbie Frost, a Google spokesperson, told internetnews.com that the company has been fielding reports of outages of the main Google News site from the region for a couple of days.
The search engine also said its Google News China, Spain and other national versions of the site have been inaccessible from China. In a statement, Google said it's aware of the problem and working to 'understand and resolve the issue.'"

For more info:
http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3441781

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

POLL of the WEEK

Last Week's Poll

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

Never 26 % (43)
10% of the time 41 % (67)
25% of the time 17 % (27)
Half the time 7 % (12)
Almost always 8 % (13)
Every time 1 % (1)
Total votes: 163

This Week's Poll

Do you prefer to receive email or read RSS/XML feeds?

I still prefer to receive email
I prefer to read feeds
Either/Or
What is RSS/XML?

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

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

PCIN.net UPDATE

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

Sunbelt Software iHateSpam 4.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ihatespam4.php

Micro Solutions RoadStor Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/roadstor.php

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

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

MSN Messenger Web Version

http://webmessenger.msn.com/
I don't really use Messenger that much, but it is useful to talk with some of the younger people at Church, so I usually have it running. Within the last week or so MSN has launched a web only version.

Search and enjoy: 7 search toolbars reviewed

"If you're still going to the Google or Yahoo home page to do Web searches, you're missing half the fun--and you're unnecessarily exerting your fingers. Toolbar plug-ins for Microsoft Internet Explorer--and now Firefox--make it easy and fast to look up Web references without having to type in another URL."
Check out this review by CNet at http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3514_7-5577625-1.html

Moving Office Toolbar Buttons

The Microsoft Office Toolbars found in Microsoft Office Products are fully customizable. You can add and remove buttons or menu items and consolidate toolbars. To do this, right click on the toolbar and choose customize. Alternatively, you can also hold the ALT key down and move or delete buttons from you toolbars. There are many features in the toolbars that I never use, so I remove those buttons, then consolidate two or more toolbars across a single row to conserve screen real estate.

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

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:

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

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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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.

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