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Issue 96 - August 09, 2000
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements (c) 2000
==== 1092 Subscribers in 46 Countries ====
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Welcome to the 96th 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.
The August prize will be Microsoft Word 2000. Recommend PCIN
at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml
OPENING THOUGHTS
You just start getting used to a product, and the next version
seems to be right around the corner. Microsoft Office 10/2002
is already starting its initial beta testing. It is still
very early, but it seems quite impressive.
Only 6 people sent in their thoughts on Napster. I figured
there would be a lot of you with some strong opinions. But
then again, I don't feel too much either way, so why would
you? Anyway, the results of the draw and the comments themselves
can be seen in the contest section later on in the newsletter.
I have added a small bit to the I Need Help section. Under
each question (starting with the new ones this week) I will
put the systems specs that I have been given, hopefully to
help the subscribers better understand what the problem might
be.
Don't forget to recommend PCIN before the end of August (recommend
as many times as you'd like) and win Microsoft Word 2000.
Recommend PCIN at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml
The NEWS
Microsoft Reader Finally Available
From the August 9, 2000 WinInfo Daily Update newsletter:
"Almost 2 years after first demonstrating the technology,
Microsoft has finally released a ClearType-based product
for Windows desktops and laptops. Dubbed Microsoft Reader,
the product delivers eBooks to computers running Windows
95 and later, although you need an LCD screen to take full
advantage of ClearType's display technology. Earlier this
year Microsoft released a Reader version with its handheld
Pocket PC."
Microsoft has deals with Barnes & Noble and other online
book retailers. The reader is free, and there are demos,
information, and converters at the Reader web site.
For more info:
http://www.microsoft.com/reader/
Important Windows 2000 Gains
Within the last couple of weeks, 2 very big announcements
have arrived that show the power of Windows 2000 Server.
Microsoft has been using Unix to run its HotMail free email
service (that is what the servers ran before Microsoft bought
it). They wanted to run it on NT servers, but were never
able to get it to handle all of the traffic. Well, Microsoft
has finally announced that they are moving HotMail over
to Windows 2000. The move will be gradual and there are
currently around 10% of the users who are accessing HotMail
on a Windows 2000 server.
In similar news, Excite has announced that they will use
the upcoming Windows 2000 DataCenter Server to run its search
engine.
For more info:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2610894,00.html
More Stats From The Linux Hall of Shame
I don't remember which newsletter I got this out of, but
it is word-for-word (including the title):
"You know things are tough for the Linux crowd when
the leading distributor of retail Linux products can brag
about selling 28,600 software units during a single calendar
year. That's a number even Be Inc. can chuckle over, but
it isn't stopping Macmillan, which makes the Mandrake distribution
of Linux, from crowing about it. In an industry in which
unit shipments are normally measured in the millions, Macmillan
beat out second-place Red Hat software by more than 5,000
units. I'm sure the Consumer Windows team at Microsoft is
shaking in its boots."
Amazon.com to Sell Cars?
Amazon recently registered several new domain names like
NewCarsAmazon.com, UsedCarsAmazon.com, and SellCarsAmazon.com,
most likely to protect these domains. One would assume that
future plans involve cars.
For more info:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/12464.html
CONTEST RESULTS
As I stated above, only 6 people sent in their thoughts on
the Napster issue. I agree with Dennis who commented that
breaking copyright isn't much of a problem for him since he
can rarely download a complete song anyway.
Congratulations to Kirk who won Kai's Photo Soap 2. As usual,
he can see his and all of the other entries at http://www.pcin.net/contests/20000809.shtml
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 Questions
Q 95-01)
When trying to print a full-page, landscape-oriented
1 page file to my printer, the picture is consistently
scrunched down by what appears to be approximately 50%.
A 95-01)
John Hills said, "This could be for several reasons.
1) You need to check your margins in page setup.
2) You need to try to print the picture from another program
to see if it is a program issue rather than a printer
issue. Some programs like MS PhotoEditor need to be ticked
for pic to be full-page and\or centered. Left unticked
the picture will only take up a small portion of the page.
This setup is under the normal print selection.
There are other reasons but without knowing the program
and\or the printer, I have no more suggestions left."
Ken Berry said, "Make sure you don't have the settings
set to "center" the image on the print paper
(printer setting just before print ok). Also make sure
the image isn't larger than paper size. Also there are
"margins" that the printer won't print on. I
don't know what those sizes are that needs to be considered
also."
Erwin said, "Probably you are using the wrong driver
for your printer. Try to download a newer one from the
site of the manufacturer from your printer. Remove the
old one before installing the new driver."
Q 95-02)
When I send an email to a friend it automatically downloads
into his deleted items. He doesn't have any rules set
up, and I'm the only one who this happens to.
A 95-02)
Erwin said, "It looks like he has set rules in the
message rules in his email program. This must be the reason,
for example you can set the rule "if to contains
people" then delete it. Else he might try to reinstall
his email software."
New Questions
Q 96-01)
My PC stops defragging at 65%. Any suggestions?
(PII-400, Win98)
Q 96-02)
When I switch the computer on it states that it hasn't
been shut down properly and performs scandisk. This message
is intermittent and has just occurred. The computer has
been shut down properly but the message still appears.
(AMD500, 128MB RAM, Win98)
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
**Even up your columns**
In Windows Explorer, are some columns in the right pane
too narrow to display the full information? But others are
wasting space by being too wide?
Of course, you could adjust each column individually, fiddling
with the title tabs at the top of each column until you
get each one just right.
Or...you could simply select any file in the list by clicking
on it once, hold down the Ctrl key and press the plus sign
(+) on your keypad. All the columns will adjust automatically
to fit their widest item!
Open Separate IE Windows When Reading Email
I first heard of this tip in the August 7, 2000 edition
of Brian Livingston's Window Manager email newsletter from
InfoWorld.com:
The first time that you click on a link in an email message,
if a browser window isn't open, clicking the link will open
a new (IE) window. The next link you click on will open
in that same window, rather than opening its own window.
This can be a real pain if you want to open several windows
at a time. A Microsoft support article at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q256/9/53.asp
explains how to set it up so the links open up in their
own window.
Fixing Dial-Up Connection Problems
John Hills sent in this tip:
If you are using a 56k flex or v90 modem you may sometimes
find that either your modem is not connecting as regularly
as it used to or you experience erratic connections. This
is very often caused by a corruption in Dial up Networking
and\or in the TCPIP bit. To get your system working A1 again
try doing the following (Note: No setting or emails or favourites
will be lost in this exercise):
1) Run system file checker. The file SETUPX.DLL will often
be found to be corrupt and in need of replacement.
2) Go into Control Panel and Network Icon and remove Dial
up adaptor and TCP-Dial up adaptor. You will need to reboot
your PC.
3) After reboot, go into Add and Remove and select Dial
up adaptor and reload. This should stick it all back in
but check to see that you have either\and MS Client for
networks or MS family logon protocol. If not add protocol.
If you are still having connection problems then in Dial
Up Networking take a note of all your dial up settings including
any figures in TCPIP and delete it and then create a new
one -WITH A DIFFERENT NAME. Put you info back i.e.
phone number, TCPIP figures. You should only have
two items ticked under the Server tab; Enable software compression
and TCPIP.
Get Your Daily WAV
With the attention span of most people today being about
10 seconds, we have become accustomed to movies and news
providing us with easy-to-remember "sound-bytes."
If you are looking for a WAV file of some of these phrases,
then head over to http://www.dailywav.com/ and look around.
They have WAVs from movies, famous speeches, and more.
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.
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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
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