The PC Improvement News

Issue 63 - December 22, 1999

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements (c) 1999

==== 667 Subscribers in 38 Countries ====

There are only 2 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, or you have requested FreeHelp from me in the past.

To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view previous issues please visit
http://www.pcin.net/

Note 1: If any of the links are too long to fit on one line, you may have to
cut and paste.
Note 2: You can only win one contest every 30 days.

Welcome to the 63rd edition of the PC Improvement News. In this newsletter,
I combine news, tips, thoughts, and contests. There is something for
everyone, and if this is your first issue, I'm sure there will be something
for you. I am willing to discuss any computer topics in this newsletter.
Email me at editor@pcin.net with your suggestions.

If you give me two or three issues, I know that you will come back for more!

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SOME OPENING THOUGHTS
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This week's and next week's newsletter will be quite a bit shorter than
normal. I'm sure most people are busy getting things ready for the holidays.
The January 5th issue will be regular length. I was going to include some
Christmas links, but there are plenty on the Contest Results page and I
figured by this time, anyone who wanted to visit Christmas site would have
already found a large number of them.

I just wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas.  It is a wonderful
time of year where it seems that everyone is a little kinder to one another.
Thank you all for being subscribers to PCIN.  It is a lot of fun
corresponding with many of you.

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.

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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
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It takes 20 years to make an overnight success.
          - Eddie Cantor

Thought courtesy of http://www.HappyPublishing.com/
To subscribe to the FREE "Aspire to Something Higher" Thought-Of-The-Day
list, send a blank email to aspire-request@happypublishing.com with
SUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

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THE NEWS
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The Chaos Mirror
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Most new devices that coming out are trying to implement some form of
wireless technology. They use either radio waves or infrared signals. The
problem is that radio waves can be interfered with and infrared signals don'
t go through objects.  Well, Japan Based Advanced Telecommunications
Research Laboratories have developed a mirror that looks like a disco ball.
It spreads infrared signals more efficiently around the office. Since it is
sending the signals from such a high point, it can usually get around
plants, filing cabinets, and other things in the way.


The Dead Speak
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FinalThoughts.com has been getting a lot of publicity lately.  They offer a
service where you can plan for your own death.  When that happens, you can
send emails to people, you can have a list ready of who you want to get
what, and you can fill out an organ donation form.  I don't know how they
know you're dead and I don't know if this is legally binding, but it is an
interesting concept.

For more info:
http://www.finalthoughts.com/


Statistics, Statistics, Statistics
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This week I have a lot of statistics to share. Most of them have come from
the December and January issues of Business 2.0 magazine.

Who's Online?
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
At the end of 1998 95.4 million people were online. Here is how it divides
up by continent:
53.9% North America
1.6% South America
24.6% Europe
14.1% Asia
1.2% Rest of World

Media Penetration
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
What media are people receiving? (US Households)
99% Radio
98% TV
81% Magazines
62% Cable
59% Newspapers
29% Internet

Top Web Sites
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
The first numbers is the # in millions of people visiting the site:
26.8 yahoo.com
23.9 aol.com
23.5 msn.com
15.6 microsoft.com
15.3 geocities.com
14.5 netscape.com
14.3 go.com
11.8 hotmail.com
11.3 passport.com
10.5 excite.com

Speaking English
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Although only 6.2% of the world's population have English as their native
language, 54% of the people on the Internet use English to communicate.


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CONTEST RESULTS
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I had a real hard time deciding if I wanted to make a web page available
with the contest entries. I didn't want to ruin a Christmas surprise for
anyone, but there were also a lot of links and other Holiday greetings from
subscribers to the rest of the list that I felt I should make the page. Just
a warning! If you told me anything that is a secret (gifts your purchased,
cards you sent, etc.) then don't let your friends or family visit
http://www.pcin.net/contests/19991222.shtml as that is where the responses
are.  I would encourage you all to check it out though as there are a lot of
good comments.

Silvan Kuipers and Dean Saba were the random winners. They each won a copy
of Fit-It Utilities 99.

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I NEED HELP
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Will return January 5, 1999

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NEW CONTEST
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Will return January 5, 1999

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
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Cheap Trick of the Week
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**Garbage by any other name**
Your Recycle Bin does not like to be renamed or deleted, and so it does not
offer the Rename or Delete option on its context menu (which you get by
right clicking on the icon).
But you can add these options if you dare fiddle with your Windows 95 or 98
Registry.
To edit your Registry, click on Start and Run, type regedit and click on OK.
This opens the Registry Editor. (See http://www.we-compute.com/registry.html
for more detailed instructions and precautions for editing the Registry.)
Navigate through the following keys:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder.
With ShellFolder selected, double-click on the Attributes value in the right
pane. In the Edit Binary Value window that appears, replace the eight digits
"40 01 00 20" with 70 01 00 20 and click on OK.
Close the Registry Editor and right-click on your Recycle Bin to see your
new choices.

Buy the Little Black Book of Cheap Tricks for only $9.95 Cdn (about $7.00
US)
http://www.pcin.net/help/books/reviewed/cheaptricks.shtml


CPU Scorecard
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John Hills sent this in:
Visit http://www.cpuscorecard.com/cpu_400.htm to see how CPUs from different
manufacturers compare.
Initial observations, ignoring the Mac is that AMD are ahead of the game,
most of the time. I do know a couple of people, with a great deal more
experience than I shall ever have say that if the CPU's are compared when
running heavy 3DFX games with heavy graphics then AMD is not so hot.
Personally, I have always favoured AMD right the way back to 486DX days.
Intel always seem to bring out a CPU with a high spec and high price and
then immediately bring out another model which is cheaper but has the
improvements of the expensive one removed. I think we are too hooked on
these processors because the working difference between a 700mhz CPU and a
400mhz is minimal in every way except the price. Give me stacks of memory
every time for a major difference at a sensible price.


Find your way
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There are lost of map sites out there, but Maps On Us is one of the better
ones.  It provides basic maps, gives you routes to take to your destination,
and lets you look up people along the way. Check it out at
http://www.mapsonus.com/

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PCIN is brought to you by PC Improvements. The opinions expressed are those
of the editor, Graham Wing. PC Improvements and Graham Wing 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
Copyright 1999, PC Improvements and 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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