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Issue 443 - April 11, 2007
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2007
==== 1500 Subscribers in 50 Countries ====
Welcome to the 443rd issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN consists mainly
of news highlights 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.
Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.php
Contents
Opening Thoughts
I hope everyone had a nice Easter. We had a big family dinner at our house.
My mom cooked a huge ham (it was awesome!), and we had lots of vegetables (mmm... Brussels
sprouts and turnip).
April is a busy month as we also have my older sister's birthday (yesterday)
and my oldest younger sister (next week), so we'll all be together again for
another family meal. Sounds (and tastes) good to me!
My memory came in for my laptop, so I'll think I'll give Vista a try. I'll
report back next week.
Chris is on vacation this week, so he hasn't had a chance to get a tip ready.
It will be back next week.
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
News Highlights
Microsoft sued over Vista branding
Microsoft has come under attack for the way it advertises the Vista operating
system.
A lawsuit, filed in Seattle, alleges that the company advertised systems
as "Vista capable," when in fact the systems were not able to run
Vista properly. The suit alleges that the marketing around Vista was designed
to deliberately mislead potential customers.
The outcome hangs on the precise definition of the circumstances under which
a machine is "Vista capable."
Microsoft has allowed PC vendors to put stickers on their systems saying
that they are "Vista ready," when the system could run only Vista
Home Basic, which does not allow many of the core features of Vista to run.
The suit maintains that it was unreasonable of Microsoft to assume that every
person to whom it was marketing Vista could understand the system requirements.
Read the TechRepublic
article...
Leave a comment...
Toy maker strikes gold with Beanie Babies of the online era
First came Google. Then came MySpace, Facebook and Second Life - all created
by hip young techies from California. But the biggest new Internet innovation
comes from an unlikely place: a Toronto-based company best known for cheesy
giftware and stuffed toys.
If you have a kid in elementary school, chances are you've heard of Webkinz
- a line of plush toys made by Ganz Inc. What makes Webkinz possibly the
most sought-after toy ever is that each one comes with a secret code that
gives its owner access to the vast online Webkinz World. There, users can
create an avatar, or online identity, for their pet and "adopt" it.
Ganz's product is revolutionary: It's the first real-world toy that's essentially
just a key to an interactive website. And it has likely created panic at
toy companies the world over as they try to replicate Ganz's success.
Read the Globe and
Mail article...
Leave a comment...
Beating Oprah at the book club game
Tim Spalding was 9 years-old when he had the idea of using his first computer--an
Apple II--to make lists of the books he owned, like the Adventures of Tintin
series and Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective.
Flash-forward to 2007. Spalding is now a programmer, and he's still keeping
lists, but on a far grander scale. A couple of years ago, on a lark, he created
an online version of his original Apple application, one that allowed anyone
on the Internet to post a list of the books in his or her library, compare
it with other online book lists, and talk about literature with people of
similar reading tastes. "I was trying to scratch my own itch," Spalding
admits. That itch became LibraryThing, a social network based not on who
you know but on what you've read. It's already producing a nice revenue stream
for Spalding from the sale of thousands of premium memberships at $10 to
$25 apiece.
Spalding's creation is quietly achieving cult status among bookworms around
the world, creating a network with one of the highest IQs in cyberspace.
Less than two years after it opened its doors to the public, LibraryThing's
users have listed, tagged, or recommended more than 10 million works--a collection
that, were it not virtual, would be the third-largest private library in
the United States, behind those of Harvard and Yale.
Read the CNNMoney
article...
Leave a comment...
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PCIN.net Site Update
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 and Adobe Premier Elements 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/photoshopEL5_Premiere3.php
ExpoDisc White Balance Filter Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/expodisc.php
Paragon Software Group Partition Manager 8.0 Professional Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ppm8.php
Update PCIN.net home page with "Top 10 Most Popular..." features
http://PCIN.net/
Microsoft Digital Image Suite Plus Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/msdimagesuiteplus.php
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Tips and Other Stuff
AutoRuns for Windows
The April 2007 TechNet Magazine highlights
a tool called AutoRuns for Windows.
This utility, which has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting
locations of any startup monitor, shows you what programs are configured
to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the
order Windows processes them. These programs include ones in your startup
folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. You can configure Autoruns
to show other locations, including Explorer shell extensions, toolbars,
browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, and
much more. Autoruns goes way beyond the MSConfig utility bundled with Windows
Me and XP.
The utility was written by Bryce Cogswell and Mark Russinovich of Sysinternals
fame.
Leave a comment...
Spring cleaning for photographers
David Kennedy has a tip on his
blog about Spring cleaning
for photographers:
Spring cleaning applies to photographers too. Every year, it is good to
look at your equipment and see if you need everything on your shelf. Are
you really going to use that old film camera again? Are you going to re-read
that software guide? You will be surprised, however, at how many people
will be interested in your used equipment, software and books.
Leave a comment...
Kijiji
If you are looking for a free classified service in your area, try Kijiji:
Kijiji means "village" in Swahili. Kijiji helps you connect
with your community. It's free and easy to use. You can find everything
you need from housing to furniture, from jobs to new friends and more.
You can charge for things, or offer them free.
Leave a comment...
Free virtual CD-ROM drive from Microsoft
The latest issue of Windows Secrets
newsletter has a nice tip about a free virtual CD-ROM drive:
I recently rediscovered a nifty free tool from Microsoft. You may find
it useful, too. It's the Microsoft Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel... It lets
you mount an ISO file of a CD in one step, without having to burn it to
an actual, physical CD first. You then have access to the full contents
of the CD and can get at any or all of the data. The Virtual CD-ROM Control
Panel also lets you mount several images at once, each with its own drive
letter. I don't know what the upper limit is, but I've had as many as four
ISOs mounted at once, in addition to the two real CD drives in my system.
And, of course, because the ISO files actually reside on your hard drive,
you can access them at normal hard-drive speeds, which are usually much,
much faster than CD drives.
Visit the Windows Secret site for
more details and to find the link to download the utility.
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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and paste.
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follow the appropriate links.
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Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.net
Copyright 1998-2007, 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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