Issue 148 - August 15, 2001
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements ©2001
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Welcome to the 148th issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN consists
mainly of news and tips. There is something for everyone, and if this
is your first issue, I'm sure there will be something for you.
You can reach me at mailto:editor@pcin.net with any suggestions
or comments. If you give me two or three issues, I know that you will
come back for more!
Recommend PCIN at http://PCIN.net/recommend.shtml
Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.shtml
OPENING THOUGHTS
I went to use my computer last night and when it came back from power
saving mode, my monitor was all green. I don't know what's wrong, but
it is 3 years old and I've already had it repaired once, so I think I'll
buy a new one. Most likely a 19". So I'm doing this at work during
my lunch break :-)
Does anyone know anything about System Restore? I hate Windows ME, and
so don't use it. Unfortunately, a lot of computers come with it preinstalled,
so I often get questions on how System Restore works. If you know enough
about System Restore to write an article, or you have some links to some
good existing articles, email me at mailto: editor@pcin.net
Lastly, who says that Napster (and other file-sharing programs) have
killed the music industry?! Since Napster has been shut down, CD sales
are down. As I mentioned before, I've been listening to live streams from
Live365.com instead of installing any of the new programs. I listen to
one Jazz stream, and because of a song I heard the other day, I ordered
a CD from Amazon.com. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done
this.
The NEWS
AOL's Blue Blitz
From the August 20-27, 2001 issue of The Industry Standard magazine,
PG 17 (by Boris Grondahl):
"AOL may lag behind Deutsche Telekom when it comes to Web customers
in Germany, but the U.S. media giant is No. 1 in marketing chutzpah.
In June, AOL Germany bought the naming rights to the soccer stadium
in Hamburg, Germany, changing it from Volks-parkstadion to AOL Arena.
Then last week, for soccer club Hamburger SV's first game in the renamed
stadium, the national newspaper Die Welt agreed to change the color
of its front page - for one day - to AOL's distinctive blue.
Terms of the deal were kept secret, but that didn't silence the chorus
of media critics. In an op-ed piece in the daily Der Tagasspiegel, journalism
professor Wolf Schneider concluded 'Die Welt must have kissed goodbye
its ambition to establish itself in the small circle of German prestige
papers.' Who says there's no such thing as bad publicity?"
Britons drawn to online porn
"More than a quarter of Britons using the Internet from home visit
pornographic websites, according to new figures.
Around 3.8 million home users visited an adult site in June, said Internet
monitoring company NetValue. It found that 3,879 of the 9,411 websites
visited in the month were pornographic, with Britons spending around
45 minutes a month looking at adult material."
For more info:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1484000/1484003.stm
Don't Eat the Yellow Links
"If you have a popular file-sharing program called KaZaA on your
computer and suddenly start seeing yellow links to obvious ads on some
of your favorite Web sites, this is because a cunning piece of software
called TopText was automatically installed on your computer along with
KaZaA. Many Web site owners are upset with this alteration of their
content. But there is an opt-out procedure (albeit a somewhat cumbersome
one) you can use to keep TopText links from being added to your site,
according to the company that markets TopText."
For more info:
http://slashdot.org/features/01/07/31/2015216.shtml
Best Buy purchases Future Shop in $580 million spree
"Canada's largest consumer electronics retailer announced Tuesday
an agreement to be acquired by Best Buy Co. Inc. for $580 million.
The Eden Prairie, Minn.-headquartered company has offered $17 for each
Future Shop Ltd. share, an increase of a 48 percent on Monday's closing
price on Toronto Stock Exchange. The deal is expected in late September.
Richard Schulze, chairman and CEO, called the acquisition a huge win
for Best Buy and its shareholders and 'will accelerate our plans to
expand into Canada by several years.'"
For more info:
http://www.itbusiness.ca/index.asp?theaction=61&sid=45771
PCIN POLL of the WEEK
Here are the responses from the last poll:
How many computers (desktops or laptops) do you have in your home?
2: 39.19%
1: 24.32%
5 or more: 16.22%
3: 14.86%
4: 4.05%
0: 1.35%
Total Votes: 74
Visit http://pcin.net/polls/ to
participate in the new poll this week:
Have you ever purchased a music CD because of music you heard online
(either using a program like Napster or with streaming radio)?
MOBILE COMPUTING NEWS and NOTES
One Voice Technologies has begun beta testing with mobile phone carriers
for their voice-to-text software for wireless phones. The platform will
allow users to send email, SMS, and navigate the web all by voice.
One Voice says the software "understands words, concepts and phrases
by asking clarifying questions and archiving previous commands".
Brought to you by Shawn Bremner and The Wireless Web ezine. Sign up by
sending a blank email to mailto:wirelessweb-subscribe@topica.com
FREEHELP FORUM
Visit the PCIN FreeHelp Forum to post your questions or answer others.
Each week I highlight a question, and where to go to get the answer.
Question
My [Windows ME] system just reboots after I choose shutdown from the
start menu. Does anyone have a remedy?
Answer
A shutdown troubleshooter is built right into Windows ME. To access
it, click Start | Help. In the window, type Troubleshooting. Click on
the Troubleshooting entry in the menu. Scroll down the new list provided
and click on "Startup & Shutdown Troubleshooter" in Win
ME.
Or try this link: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q273/7/46.ASP
Visit http://www.pcin.net/cgi-bin/forum/index.cgi
and check out the Software Forum to post your suggestion, or to post a
question of your own.
PCIN.net UPDATE
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
FrontX CPX Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/frontx.shtml
PCIN FreeHelp Headquarters
http://PCIN.net/help/
Tips of the Day
http://PCIN.net/help/tods/index.shtml
Support PCIN
http://pcin.net/donate.shtml
THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
Cheap Trick of the Week
**Clear out, docs**
If you find Windows' Documents list useful but would like to clear the
contents every now and then, you can use the following simple tweak
to the Registry to have the list wiped out every time you exit Windows.
(Once again, if you are not used to Registry editing, you can find out
all about it at http://www.WE-Compute.com/registry.html
)
Open the Registry Editor and head to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft\Windows\Current
Version\Policies\Explorer. Click Edit and New DWORD value.
Right-click the value and select Rename. Type ClearRecentDocsOnExit
and press Enter. Double-click the new value and set the value data to
1 (that's the numeral one). Exit the Registry and restart the computer.
Windows will now clear the Documents list whenever you restart or turn
off your PC.
Get your own copy of "The Little Black Book of Cheap Tricks: 2001"
by visiting http://www.pcin.net/lbbct/
Highlight Vertically in Microsoft Word
This is a great tip! I was looking for months on how to highlight vertically
text in Word. By default, when you highlight text, it highlights vertically
across the row you are in, and then up or down to the next row.
Depending on how you have formatted your document, you may have text
at the beginning and/or end of each line. You can delete this text quickly
by holding down the ALT key and then highlighting the text. Give it
a try; you'll see what I mean.
Some Odd Rest Stops on the Digital Highway
"Never underestimate the drawing power of eccentricity, especially
on the Internet. A Web site, even about the most arcane topics, is like
the baseball diamond in the Iowa cornfield: if you build it, they will
come. And since the Web is a great equalizer, those with peculiar interests
can make them seem as compelling as artifacts in the British Museum.
Or not. Just keep in mind that there are no Accuracy Police in cyberspace.
Here, based on uncounted hours of aimless Web surfing, are some good,
bad or ugly - but mostly offbeat - sites devoted to topics related to
automobiles and driving."
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/10/automobiles/10CARS.html
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 1998-2001, PC Improvements and Graham Wing. All rights reserved.
This publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part, as long as the
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Support PCIN by visiting http://www.pcin.net/donate.shtml
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