The PC Improvement News

Issue 62 - December 15, 1999

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements (c) 1999

==== 661 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 62nd 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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I just wrote my last test today so I am done for almost 4 weeks.  For those
of you who don't know, I am a student at a local college enrolled in a
Computer Programmer Analyst program. These last couple of weeks have been
hectic getting things done, but now I can relax. I hope to get a lot done
with the PCIN.net site.

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.

I had several emails sent back to me this week because their mail servers
rejected my message because of SPAM.  I had the words Credit Card in the
subject, and I guess the servers are filtered automatically. I never even
thought of that, but I'll watch out for it next time.

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THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
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Nature gave men two ends -- one to sit on, and one to think with. Ever since
then man's success or failure has been dependent on the one he used most.
          - Robert Albert Bloch

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 HappyQuotes-subscribe@listbot.com

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THE NEWS
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Virus can update itself
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One of the newest viruses out there, W95.Babylonia, can update itself. When
you are connected to the Internet, it would connect to a web site in Japan
and download fixes, patches, or updates.  This is the first virus that has
been able to do this, and it may be signs of things to come.  The funny
thing is that the web site in Japan that it was updating from decided they
didn't want to do it so the virus can't update itself anymore. They said
something like it was against their policy to do those sorts of things. It
makes you wonder why they were doing it in the first place.

For more info:
http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?IWK19991213S0032
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2406408,00.html


Clipboard Computers
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I don't have a web site to refer you to, but I have seen a few articles and
pictures lately of devices that look like clipboards but that are computers.
The screen is built into the face of it and it is designed for inventory
management and other jobs where you need a screen in front of you. They are
very cool looking.


GO loses $1 Billion!
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I am by no means a business major (read opening thoughts), but I've never
understood how companies can lose so much money.  It was reported on Friday
that Disney's GO Network lost $1.06 Billion. I'm not exactly sure what all
this covers, but Disney, ESPN, and Infoseek are all part of the GO Network.

For more info:
http://www.businesstoday.com/techpages/go12101999.htm


DOJ goes after pedophiles
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The DOJ has pledged $3 million to go after pedophiles. Although this is a
welcome announcement (for most people), I do find this a little funny. I'm
sure the Microsoft trial has cost them much more than $3 million and which
group of people is more despicable; people who like child porn or Microsoft?
I know that you can't always compare things like this, but the thought did
come to mind. Just wondering.

For more info:
http://www.cnnfn.com/news/technology/newsbytes/140667.html

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CONTEST RESULTS
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Last week I asked you to tell me what "gizmo" you like to have the most on
their computer and a good web site where they can get them.

Kathleen Kee-Reagle and Bruce Plumb each won a copy of Gizmos98.  See what
Kathleen and Bruce and the rest of the entrants had to say at
http://www.pcin.net/contests/19991215.shtml

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I NEED HELP
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As many of you know, I offer a free help service via email. If you have a
question, you can email me and I will try my best to answer them. I can
answer about half of them. Those are things that I do regularly or have
experience with. There are other things that I have never tired or
experienced so I don't have an answer. I hope to post those questions here
and see if any of the readers have any suggestions. I will include all
reasonable suggestions with credit to you.

These are NOT my own questions and they are NOT my answers. I will NOT check
the validity of these comments. That is up to you. If you do try one of
these tips, please let me know how the suggestions worked out. Did they work
or not? Please send in your results to freehelp@pcin.net

Previous Question 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is a good question for someone who knows about Internet connection
sharing .I have recently added network cards, and can see each p/c in
network. I ran Internet connection sharing but cannot log onto the net with
the second system. Any suggestions, links to useful web sites or help would
be greatly appreciated.

Answers to Question 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No Answer given

Previous Question 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q2) I changed a jumper to blank CMOS so that I could fit a hard drive to an
older ex network diskless machine. And now it is asking for a ROM password
and I do not know a way round it.

Answers to Question 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silvan Kuipers said, "Sometimes there is a similar jumper you should short
circuit to erase this password. If there isn't, It may be an idea to remove
and remount the battery, (yet unfortunately, often the battery is directly
connected to the motherboard, in that case, don't...)"


NO NEW QUESTIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The last couple of weeks have been very uneventful. I haven't received many
requests for freehelp and I when I've posted things in this section, I have
gotten very few responses.  I'm going to exclude this section for the next
few newsletters during the holidays. I think most people are too busy to be
answering these questions.  Look for the I Need Help Section in January.

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NEW CONTEST
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This week's contest is to tell me what place a computer or the Internet has
in your holiday plans? I am interested to know if you are going to (or maybe
already have) purchase anything online?  Are you going to get a computer for
home?  Have you visited any Christmas sites? Have you installed a Christmas
desktop theme? or have you just kept using your computer as normal?

Send your entries to contest@pcin.net

2 winners will receive a copy of Fix-It Utilities 99, which comes with
PowerDesk Utilities 98. This is a fantastic utility suite that does most of
the things that Norton Utilities/SytsemWorks will do for you.  I like it
much more.  Kim Grow of Mijenix/Ontrack generously donated these 2 copies.
For information on Fix-It, you can read the review at
http://www.pcin.net/help/software/fiu99.shtml and for information on
PowerDesk, you can read the review at
http://www.pcin.net/help/software/powerdesk.shtml

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THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
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Cheap Trick of the Week
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**Scrap it**
With Windows 95 and 98, you can save a portion of text or graphics from a
document into a separate file by simply highlighting the text or graphic in
the original file and dragging it onto the desktop. This creates a "scrap"
which you can later drag into another file where it will automatically
insert itself.
This may sound like a roundabout way of copying and pasting between
documents, but the advantage is that you can save multiple scraps this way
and they stay on your desktop until needed - even days later.
Try this with various text or graphics programs.

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


Don't Recycle
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I am an avid recycler, but when it comes to using the Recycle bin on my
desktop, I usually don't use. If you are sure you don't want something, then
hold down the Shift key while you press the delete key (or when you
right-click to choose delete). You'll get a message asking you if you want
to delete the file. It would normally ask you if you want to send the files
to the Recycle Bin.  If you choose yes, then the file is gone.  I don't do
this all of the time, but when I know it is something I don't need (a
duplicate file, old documents, etc.), then I just skip putting them in the
Recycle Bin and then having to empty it.


Help from ZD Journals
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ZD, the publishers of PC Magazine, have monthly newsletters that cost around
$10 a piece. They are filled with helpful information on a variety of
topics.  Each month there is 1 free article from each newsletter (there are
over 20 different newsletter titles).  Bookmark the site at
http://www.zdjournals.com/ and check out all of the different articles.


Useless Knowledge
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This URL has been mentioned in many different newsletters, but I thought I'd
pass it along.  The Useless Knowledge web site has, well, lots of useless
information.  There are quotes, factoids, trivia, word origins, and much
more.  It may all be useless, but you will probably spend a lot of time
checking it all out at http://www.uselessknowledge.com/index.shtml

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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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