|
Issue 78 - April 05, 2000
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements (c) 2000
==== 881 Subscribers in 43 Countries ====
Subscribe/Unsubscribe/View Archives at http://www.pcin.net/
Welcome to the 78th issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN
consists of 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
topic. Email me at mailto:editor@pcin.net with any suggestions.
If you give me two or three issues, I know that you will come
back for more!
Recommend PCIN to others and be entered in a monthly draw
(April draw is for Mijenix's PowerDesk) at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml
OPENING THOUGHTS
Congratulations to JoAnn Harkness who won the March draw
for recommending PCIN. She won a copy of StarOffice 5.1.
You can recommend PCIN now for the April draw and win a copy
of Mijenix's PowerDesk. You can enter at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml
One of last week's I Need Help questions was about fixing
a keyboard. There are a couple of funny suggestions. Most
people just said that if you weren't prepared to buy a new
one, then don't try and fix it, because the suggested method
of cleaning it could ruin the keyboard anyway.
April marks the arrival of the first monthly contest. For
you new subscribers, I used to have contests 2 or 3 times
a month, but there wasn't a very good response to it, so I
have changed it to a monthly contest. The first Wednesday
in each month will have a contest.
SMILEYS and ACRONYMS of the WEEK
|:-) 1-Eyebrow person
8^ Chicken
FITB Fill In The Blank
KOTC Kiss On The Cheek
Get the WWW. Smileys & Acronyms book for the PCIN special
price of $7.00 Cdn (around $5.00 US). You can only get this
price by visiting http://www.pcin.net/help/books/reviewed/smileys.shtml
The NEWS
More Microsoft Troubles
I reported last week that Microsoft had lost its position
as the highest valued company. Well, after the Judge gave
another ruling in the anti-trust trial, they lost more ground,
losing $80 billion in market value. Bill Gates himself lost
$12 million.
Of course I'm sure all of you have heard that U.S. District
Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson has ruled that Microsoft did
in fact break some laws. This wasn't unexpected though,
and it could still be several months before his remedies/punishments
are announced. He does want to get this moving though. He
said: "My transcendent objective is to get this thing
before an appellate tribunal - one or another - as quickly
as possible because I don't want to disrupt the economy
or waste any more of yours or my time."
In related news, the European Commission is going to continue
its investigation into Windows 2000.
For more info:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/390940.asp
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/094/business/Brave_New_World+.shtml
http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/04/04/eu.microsoft.idg/index.html
The Internet Changes Everything
The March 24, 2000 issue of Computer World Canada had the
following survey:
The marketing Phrase "the Internet changes everything"
has been hyped to the stratosphere. In your job, what has
been your experience?
12% The Web has changed little or nothing about my job
47% The Internet has made my job easier
12% The web creates management challenges and has made my
job more complex
29% The Internet has caused profound changes - both good
and bad
Bionic Chip
"Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley
have invented what they believe is the first 'bionic chip'
in which a biological cell is part of electronic circuitry.
A biological cell can act in a circuit as an electrical
diode or switch, allowing current to flow through the device
at certain voltages." This can give cells a "door"
that can be opened or closed with precise control, allowing
DNA, proteins, medicines, or other materials to pass freely.
Free Speech on the Internet
Most of the talk about free speech on the Internet deals
with message boards and other sites that allow you to post
messages. In fact, some people have been investigated for
their comments left in guestbooks. In a different story,
an Ohio judge has declared that programming code is covered
under the First Amendment. "A federal appeals court
today cleared the way for a law professor to post previously
banned encryption software on the Internet, finding that
computer code qualifies as speech protected by the First
Amendment. The decision hands the U.S. government yet another
defeat in its efforts to keep intact federal rules limiting
the export of encryption software. Academics and civil liberties
groups have mounted several attacks on the regulations,
winning a similar result before an appeals court in California,
a decision currently under review."
For more info:
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-1641004.html?tag=st.ne.1002-0-1002-0-1641265.1005-200-1641004?st.ne.fd.gif.j
NEW CONTEST
I'm sure you are all sick and tired of hearing this, but
I haven't had many of you email me your opinions. What do
you really think about this Microsoft trial? Did Microsoft
really damage consumers or other competitors? Have they stopped
or slowed down innovation in the industry? Or do you think
we really owe a big thanks to Microsoft for giving us Windows
and changing the way we use our computers?
Send your opinions to mailto:contest@pcin.net and you will have a
chance to win a copy of Microsoft Picture It! 99. I will make
a random draw of all the entrants.
I will send out a short reminder message on Saturday.
I NEED HELP
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 most of them, but there are things that I
have never tried or experienced so I don't have an answer.
I 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 questions or results to mailto:freehelp@pcin.net
Previous Question 1
Soda pop was spilled on my keyboard and subsequently, the
keys are stiff. Is there an easy way to clean it or am I out
of luck?
Answers to Question 1
John Hills said, "I did the same thing to a keyboard
with a cup of tea steeped with sugar. That same week I read
an article in a magazine that informed me there were no parts
that can rust in a keyboard so to sort out spillage problems,
immerse keyboard totally in mild soapy water, scrub and take
out and leave to drain. When most of the water has drained
out, leave it in a warm place for two days to dry completely
and the keyboard will be as good as new.
I did this and it looked as good as new but didn't work as
good as new. In fact it didn't work at all. I had to go and
buy a new keyboard.
I trust this has been of immense help to you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Steve Black said, "Normally, it is easier to buy a new
keyboard... As taking it apart and cleaning the beast can
cause more problems than it cures. But, if you want to take
a chance, I recommend disconnecting it form the PC and spray
it with a general purpose cleaner (nothing too serious...
at work we use Mr. Muscle, but that could be an UK product)
or you can use computer solvent (which is expensive!) and
that may clean it. If at last resort, you can soak the keyboard
in warm detergent for a couple of minutes (making sure it
is not plugged in!!!) and let it dry naturally. This will
either kill or cure..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leeor Geva said, "I'm not a janitor, so I recommend buying
a new keyboard for $10 or even free with those rebate deals.
Or check your warranty on the computer; Gateway2000 replaced
my keyboard for free when the "U" key started acting
up.
Also, I'm guessing you're from Ohio or Canada, cause it's
not POP, it's
SODA :-)"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris Wheatley said, "It's probably a bit late now, but
this has worked for coffee spilt on a keyboard, sea water
and urine- don't ask. Ok - I work in a Hospital; I'm not a
fetish freako! ;->
Do this only if the keyboard is otherwise useless and would
be chucked away; preferably before everything has dried -
especially with urine salts!
1) Unplug the keyboard and loosen the back case screws a little.
2) Plunge to whole thing in a bath of fresh water (Really)
3) Keep the cable out and the plug a sellotaped plastic bag.
4) Rinse the keyboard by gentle rocking to & fro.
5) Remove said keyboard and allow it to drain, then dry a
little while on a pad of towels, changing position to allow
the water to escape - obtain distilled water and repeat stage
two or sluice with copious amounts. (You can buy a gallon
cheaply in a garage supply shop) loosen screws a teeny bit
more if it helps.
6) Use a hair dyer and GENTLY blow warm air over keys for
10 -15 minutes.
7) Place keyboard (keys down) in airing cupboard (UK) or place
with boiler cupboard (US) or a towel drying warm cupboard
or on the porch if in Florida.
8) Wait a few days and make sure unit is dry before tightening
screws and trying the keyboard.
9) Mines a Guinness, (Beer, Stout, Irish - for the US citizens)"
Previous Question 2
I was looking around my computer and I saw a bunch of "class"
files? How do I open them? Do I need them?
Answers to Question 2
Rob said, "If you mean something like *.class, these
are compiled Java. They can be used for various purposes.
You would need a Java Compiler/Decompiler to open them."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leeor Geva said, "Blah.class files would most probably
be JAVA Programming Language files. These files are automatically
downloaded to your TEMP directory when you browse the web
and Java Applets are loaded. To use those files you need to
learn JAVA, or how to make a web page and just use those java
class files. Do you need them? If it's in a TEMP directory
I say no, otherwise, I'd say you may need them."
New Questions
Q1) On startup I am presented with an "Enter Network
Password" dialog box, but I don't have a network? What
is this and how do I get rid of it?
Q2) When I boot up, the screen is ok (in the center). The
'Starting Windows 98' screen comes up and is ok but when the
Windows desktop comes up the whole thing moves over to the
left in one fast move. Windows say's there are no conflicts
and I have tried to reinstall the graphics card's driver.
What's up with this?
If you have an answer to these questions or have a question
of your own, please email me at mailto:freehelp@pcin.net
THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
Cheap Trick of the Week
**Time passes quickly**
QuickTime is a great plug-in that almost everyone has on
their system to run multimedia clips, especially while on
the Internet. If you haven't installed it yourself, some
software that you've used has probably installed it on your
system during its own installation.
But odds are QuickTime is configured too slowly for your
modem - which makes for longer-than-necessary QuickTime
downloads. Or it may be set for a speed that's too quick
for your modem and computer system to handle efficiently.
You can check this in your control panel called QuickTime
or QuickTime Settings. In the control panel, select Connection
Speed from the drop-down menu and click on the speed that
corresponds to your modem.
On four machines we checked it on, Quicktime was set for
28.8/33.6 Kbps instead of 56K to match the modem capabilities.
You can get the Little Black Book of Cheap Tricks yourself
for only $9.95 Cdn (about $7.00 US)
http://www.pcin.net/help/books/reviewed/cheaptricks.shtml
(Please mention that you heard about it from PCIN)
Use Multiple Partitions
Hard drives are getting so big now, that most people have
their hard drive divided into several partitions. You probably
have a C:, D:, E, drive and more, even though you only have
one physical hard drive. It is a good idea to have multiple
partitions because of how the computer and operating system
deals with it. From a data storage point of view, if you
have 2 partitions, data is copied to them as if they are
totally separate drives. It is possible that at some point,
one of your partitions will become corrupted, and you will
need to reformat it. This will not affect the other partitions.
If you have your data stored on another partition, you don't
have to worry about losing it when the original partition
goes down. Obviously the data partitions can still become
corrupted, so you still need to backup. For instance, I
just purchased a Maxtor 20.5 GB 7200RPM hard drive. When
I was setting it up, partitioning it, and installing and
copying, I had PartitionMagic stop on me, and that caused
an error on the first partition. I was able to remove that
partition, recreate it, and my data was still intact on
one of the other partitions. This can be handy any
time you want to reinstall Windows.
The Joystick Mouse
Subscriber John Hills sent me this:
This may be of some use to anyone who has a spot of trouble
using a mouse. This software allows your joystick
to become a mouse. This is probably a personal thing
but it's worth mentioning to anyone who may have difficulty
using a mouse where as a joystick may be a more manipulative
pointing device in some circumstances.
Mouse buddy
http://www.32bit.com/software/listings/nl0323/14376/
Networking Home PCs
Subscriber Nick Massey sent me this:
Hi, I read you newsletter just recently and saw that people
were asking about getting multiple computers connected to
the Internet. I have 4 computers and one laptop connected
at home all using one dialup connection.
I use Wingate 3. It is a wonderful program that will allow
all computers access to the Internet and has all the needed
services for things such as ICQ, Hotline, WWW and even your
ISP e-mail. It's not to bad to configure and works very
reliably. I have only have to reinstall it once in the year
and a half that I have had it running. You would be surprised
at how good the download speeds are with all those computers
accessing the net at once, although all are now downloading
at once all do have ICQ and web browsing at once and I have
had very little complaints from the family.
Also there is a really great FREE program that does the
same thing, but is free and it has a built in DHCP server
for your network so no more assigning IP addresses to the
other computers on the network. It is called SOHO and can
be downloaded free from http://www.download.com/ I have not experimented
with this much but a friend uses it and swears by it.
Live PC Help
Subscriber Judy Wilson sent me this:
I have found the best voice program out there, calling people
on the web. It is called FireTalk and can be found
at http://www.firetalk.com this site is just the
best for voice communications between PC friends all over
the world.
Once you have downloaded and installed this program there
are forums that you can enter that will make the experience
wonderful for you. There is a forum on FireTalk called
PC Tech which is people helping people live which is just
wonderful for people who are having trouble with their computers.
Just thought I would tell you about it so you can tell others.
DISCLAIMER and OTHER STUFF
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.
- If any of the links are too long to fit on one line,
you may have to cut and paste.
- You can only win one contest every 30 days.
- To subscribe another address or unsubscribe, please visit
http://www.pcin.net/ and follow the appropriate
links.
- Recommend PCIN to others at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml
and be entered in a monthly draw.
- 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.
- If you have a web site or run your own newsletter, please
email me at mailto:editor@pcin.net
and I will add it to the subscriber web pages that I have
on my site.
Graham Wing can be reached at mailto:editor@pcin.net
Copyright 1998-2000, PC Improvements and Graham Wing. All
rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced in hole,
or in part, as long as the author is notified and the newsletter
is presented as is.
PC Improvement
News Home Page
PC Improvement News
Archive
|
