The PC Improvement News
Issue 1-42
July 28, 1999

ISSN 1488-3163
Published electronically by PC Improvements (c) 1999
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit
http://www.pcin.net/

Note 1: If any of the links are too long, please cut and paste.
Note 2: You can only win one contest every 30 days.

Welcome to the 42nd edition of the PC Improvement News. In this newsletter,
I have a couple of tips to make your computing life easier as well as
highlights of the past weeks PC Industry News. I am more than willing to
discuss any PC related topics in this newsletter. Just email me at
editor@pcin.net with your suggestions. I would also appreciate it
if you let me know if there is any strange formatting in the newsletter so
that I can fix them.

Give me two or three issues, and I know that you will get something great
out of this!


----------------------------------------------------------------
SOME OPENING THOUGHTS
----------------------------------------------------------------
Only one person sent in a contest suggestion, so I still don't have any
contests for this week. I currently have about 15 prizes all ready, but I
need ideas. Please send in your contest ideas to editor@pcin.net


----------------------------------------------------------------
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can...begin it; boldness has genius,
power and magic in it."
         - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Thought courtesy of http://www.HappyPublishing.com/

To subscribe to the FREE "Aspire to Something Higher" Thought-Of The Day,
send a blank email to HappyQuotes-subscribe@listbot.com


----------------------------------------------------------------
THE NEWS
----------------------------------------------------------------
Microsoft Windows, Millenium, and Neptune
----------------------------------------------------------------
Even though Windows 2000 isn't even ready yet, Microsoft is already working
on the versions of Windows that come after it. The next version code-named
Millenium will be the final version of Windows that is based on the Windows
9x kernel. Microsoft had originally said that Windows 98 was the last of the
9x operating systems, but they changed their mind. It should be ready
sometime next year. The next version of a consumer operating system after
Millenium is code-named Neptune and will be based on the NT kernel. It
should be available in 2001.

Speaking of Windows 2000, it has been estimated that Windows 2000 has cost
Microsoft $600 million, and it isn't even ready yet. Although this seems
like an outrageous amount of money, it is pretty standard. Microsoft spent
$500 million to get BackOffice out, and it earns about 10 times that figure
every year. Windows 2000 will probably do the same.

http://www.upside.com/texis/mvm/larry_magid?id=379dd8910


More Star Wars on the Net
----------------------------------------------------------------
I didn't know whether this was news, or a good web site to visit. I guess it
is a bit of both, but any way, here it is. For you fans of ASCII images
(images made out of characters from a regular keyboard) there is a
full-length version of the original Star Wars (Episode IV) in the works.
Simon Jansen, a software engineer from New Zealand has created a site to
chronicle his efforts. It is pretty funny to see it. I don't know how much
he has done (I didn't watch the whole thing), but there is a lot done.

http://www.asciimation.co.nz/
http://www.wired.com/news/news/culture/story/20945.html


Instant Messenger problem
----------------------------------------------------------------
It was announced earlier in the week that both the Microsoft MSN Messenger
and Yahoo! Messenger could access the 40 million users of AOL Instant
Messenger. AOL wasn't too impressed and said they were going to make it so
no one else could access the database. This has a lot of people upset. They
say that AOL is using monopolistic tactics to stop these other programs from
accessing the users. There would be problem with doing this. It would be the
individual users who chose to use a program other than AOLIM that would be
able to access their friends who do use it.

For more info:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/DailyNews/messaging990723.html


Speaking of Chatting.
----------------------------------------------------------------
From an article in the Philly News:
"Jail time could be a mouse click away for perverts and pedophiles who roam
over the Internet in search of unsuspecting youngsters.
What may seem to be a pretty young girl could actually be an imposing law
official.
The FBI has recently heightened a program it calls "Innocent Images," which
aims to identify, arrest and prosecute Internet predators who seek out
children looking for sex or those who transmit child pornography."

Security and privacy concerns are always brought up in this sort of
situation. Should users be able to chat in privacy? If the FBI will "listen"
in chat rooms, then when will they start "listening" in on Instant Messenger
type programs? None of this bothers me, but it does bother many people.

For more info:
http://www.phillynews.com/daily_news/99/Jul/14/local/FBII14.htm


----------------------------------------------------------------
I NEED HELP
----------------------------------------------------------------
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. I will not check the validity of
these comments. That is up to you.

Previous Questions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q1) In common with many professionals I rely on my notebook PC for my work.
My current one is on its third screen and the keyboard is playing up. Are
you or your readers aware of any comparative statistics on machine
reliability? Notebooks do have a hard life but being without one is a real
pain when you use it all the time and there must be scope to select a
machine on the basis of reliability as well as other features, if there is
any data around.
A1) No suggestions.

Q2) I have a problem with my CMOS battery. Each time I boot up the following
message appear: - CMOS Checksum Error - Defaults Loaded CMOS Battery failed
I have changed the CMOS battery twice, its a lithium ion battery, but the
message/problem persist. My feeling is that the problem is my motherboard,
which is a super 7 motherboard. Please advise.
A2) John Hills said, "Yep. You are right. The motherboard is not charging up
the battery."

Q3) I had installed a "shareware" program and it expired, so instead of
removing it I just put my computer calendar back a month or two so I could
continue to use it. Then I decided to uninstall it, but something strange
happened::::::::::::: every single file on my computer has had a new "date"
assigned to it of 1 January 1980. What happened???????
A3) John Hills said, "Perhaps you should have paid your licence fee. The
date mentioned is the phantom start date of your BIOS ie if you disengage
your CMOS battery the PC will default to that date. This shouldn't normally
affect file dates. But if coincidentally the shareware program was a hard
drive utility then it is possible that as there were no dates available
before 1 Jan 80 and the other dates had not yet been reached then the only
date left was the default date. Also worth checking for a virus."


New Questions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q1) Please answer a question that I asked several times to Microsoft
customer service and AOL with not reply. First let me give you some
necessary information to better assist you. I have IBM Aptiva, using windows
98, AOL as my Internet; explorer 5.0 has my browser, and office 95 version
7.0. I have composed letters in word and I want to cut and paste this
information onto a web page that I found on AOL. I can cut and paste on the
e-mail page and to other pages when I am on office. However, my problem lays
when I try to paste this information to any web page. Why or what do I need
to do to resolve this.

Q2) I'd like to have my computer log on to the Internet each time I turn on
my computer. I've tried putting the Dial-Up Networking shortcut in the
StartUp folder, but that just pops the box up to hit connect. I'd like for
it to log on automatically - without having to put a URL link in my StartUp
folder. My brother tells me that this is possible writing some scripts. I'm
trying to bug my ISP about it, but it seems that most of their support desk
is all new. Well, I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions.

If you have any answers to these questions, please email me at
freehelp@pcin.net


----------------------------------------------------------------
THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
----------------------------------------------------------------
Certified Mail over the Net
----------------------------------------------------------------
Raquel Cacoilo of CertifiedMail.com, Inc. emailed me the following:
Here's a new, free site that your readers should like:
http://www.certifiedmail.com/
It lets you know when your email messages were read, and is great for
sending tech support questions, business documents, party invitations, etc.
The recipient can't say, "I never got your message!" since you have
time-stamped proof that they opened it.


Go For a Check-up
----------------------------------------------------------------
If you do not have a virus checker or any utility suite to keep your
computer in good working order, then visit the McAfee Online Clinic.
You can check for viruses and run a very thorough Y2K tester. Lots of
good features, well worth the visit.

For more info:
http://www.mcafee.com/centers/clinic/start.asp?area=


Online Calanders
----------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Empey of Forced Beat Productions at http://www.forcedbeat.com/ sent in
this tip:
I know to offer your readers tips they can use, and you also mention
software they may find handy. I believe you may have mentioned in a previous
PCI News a utility for printing out a calendar (complete with appointments
if you enter them in) available free from PC magazine. Outlook 98 will also
do this for you. For someone who uses Outlook's calendar (I know you think
Outlook is too big) it is a handy utility.


----------------------------------------------------------------
NO NEW CONTEST
----------------------------------------------------------------
No contest this week. I need to think up some new ones as I still have some
prizes. If you have any suggestions, let me know. No prizes for these
suggestions, but you may win a prize in the actual contest. Email me at
editor@pcin.net with your suggestions.


----------------------------------------------------------------
Lastly, send in your comments, tips and news and you too can be included in
The PC Improvement News with a reference to your name and web site.
Send email to pcinews@pcimprovements.com
----------------------------------------------------------------

Well, that's all for this week. Remember that if there is anything that you
want to learn about, let me know and I will try to accommodate you. Also,
feel free to send any comments about the newsletters and the topics covered.
This newsletter is sent to those who subscribed only. We don't believe in
SPAM, so if you have somehow gotten this and you don't want it, please see
the subscribe/unsubscribe options at the start of the newsletter.

The PC Improvement News 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 (either good or bad) for the results obtained
from trying the tips in this newsletter.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Editor: 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
editor is notified.

PC Improvement News Home Page

PC Improvement News Archives