Issue 329 - February 02, 2005
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2005
==== 2027 Subscribers in 60 Countries ====
Welcome to the 329th 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 far as I can tell, Chris has only blogged
about his latest purchase once. In case you missed it, I figured I'd
let you know that he just bought his first home. He got possession of it
on Friday and expects to move in a week or so. He needs to do a few updates
to the wiring before he moves in. I'm sure he'll have some pictures to show
in a week or so.
Happy Groundhog
Day!
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
The NEWS
EU: We could fine Microsoft into submission
"The European Commission on Friday held out the possibility that Microsoft
may be fined up to 5 percent of its average daily turnover unless it complies
soon with a European Union antitrust decision.
Last month, Microsoft lost a months-long court bid to suspend sanctions for
breaking the law and said it would offer a stripped-down version of Windows
and share some protocols with rival makers of servers by early February.
'We obviously expect the remedies to be complied with within a matter of
weeks--measured from last December--rather than months,' EU spokesman Jonathan
Todd said Friday."
For more info:
http://news.com.com/2100-1014_3-5555077.html
AMD wants its name in pixels
"Nobody's going to run spreadsheets on their toaster, but AMD still
thinks there's a lot to be gained by outfitting consumer gadgets with the
same basic design underlying PC chips.
No. 2 chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices is rolling forward with plans to extend
its output of x86--the architecture underneath most PC processors, including
AMD's Athlons--with an extended Geode line of low-power, low-cost processors,
Fred Weber, AMD's chief technology officer, told CNET News.com."
For more info:
http://techrepublic.com.com/5100-10586_11-5560214.html
Government computer blunders are common
"The FBI's failure to roll out an expanded computer system that would
help agents investigate criminals and terrorists is the latest in a series
of costly technology blunders by government over more than a decade.
Experts blame poor planning, rapid industry advances and the massive scope
of some complex projects whose price tags can run into billions of dollars
at U.S. agencies with tens of thousands of employees.
'There are very few success stories,' said Paul Brubaker, former deputy chief
information officer at the Pentagon. 'Failures are very common, and they've
been common for a long time.'"
For more info:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-01-30-federal-computers_x.htm
Bloggers get set for State of the Union
"In the time that it takes to read this story, many blogs will be born.
The popular Web journals have become the hottest tool in the political word
war. A new blog -- short for Web log -- is created every 7.4 seconds, according
to Technorati, a search engine tracking blogs.
Last year's presidential election fueled blogs on either side of the electoral
divide and the commentary will continue tonight during President Bush's State
of the Union address."
For more info:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/02/02/union.blog/index.html
POLL of the WEEK
Last Week's Poll
Do you have anti-spyware software running and monitoring your system constantly?
Yes |
|
59 % (61) |
No, but I run manually scans when needed |
|
36 % (37) |
No, I don't do anything |
|
6 % (6) |
What is spyware? |
|
0 % (0) |
Total votes: 104 |
This Week's Poll
You can also vote online at http://PCIN.net/polls/
PCIN.net UPDATE
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
VMware Inc. VMware Workstation 4.5 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/vmware45.php
PCIN.net Update Blog
http://PCIN.net/update/
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
THE TIPS and OTHER
STUFF
Winroll
Brian sent me this:
"I think winroll (http://www.palma.com.au/winroll/)
deserves a mention. It allows users to do the following: Roll windows, make windows
transparent, minimize windows to tray, and send windows to the pack. All of these
features are added to the title bar and the associated buttons (i.e. minimize,
maximize, close) as additional mouse options. Very easy to use."
PC INSPECTOR File Recovery
This is another great find by Langa.
A subscriber sent him this link:
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/uk/welcome.htm
I haven't tried the software, but apparently it will let you recover deleted
items from an NTFS (used in Windows NT, 2000, XP) partition. Of course it
also can recover deleted items from FAT16/32 partitions as well (used in
Windows 95, 98, ME).
MSConfig
When troubleshooting problems with you Windows installation, a good place
to look is in MSConfig. To access this utility, Press the Start button, choose
Run and type MSCONFIG in the dialog box. After pressing OK, the utility will
start and show you several tabs that allow you to control how your machine
starts up. With it, you can selectively disable certain services and applications
from starting automatically.
You can search Google for help with MSConfig.
http://www.google.com/search?q=msconfig
You can also learn about MSConfig from Microsoft
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310560
Chris' Picture of the Day
http://potd.chrisempey.com/ is
now online and active. I will further refining the design in the coming weeks,
but I will be posting daily photos to the site.
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.
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Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.net
Copyright 1998-2005, Graham Wing. All rights reserved.
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