Issue 143 - July 11, 2001

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements ©2001
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Welcome to the 143rd 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!

OPENING THOUGHTS

Thanks to everyone who sent in their thoughts regarding some of the things Lisa and I went through recently. It was very thoughtful and we both appreciated it.

I recently purchased a DVD player for my computer ($60 CDN) and it is great. My ATI Xpert 2000 has an excellent DVD player and I can have a movie on in the background as I work. Also, many movie DVDs also have PV-only features like games, links, and encyclopedias. I still don't have any data DVDs, but expect to get some soon. The Microsoft Developer Network Library comes on 3 CDs or 1 DVD. It will be nice reduce the number of disks around the house.

I'm heading to Comdex Canada tomorrow in Toronto so hopefully there will be something interesting that I can discuss next week.

Lastly, I've done quite a bit of updating of the PCIN FreeHelp Articles pages at http://pcin.net/help/articles/ so check it out.

The NEWS

Microsoft won't require its Internet browser in Windows

"Further signaling its willingness to settle its antitrust case with the government, software maker Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday said it will give PC manufacturers more flexibility in configuring desktop versions of its Windows operating system.
In response to the ruling, which upheld a lower court's finding that Microsoft had illegally maintained its monopoly power in desktop operating systems, the company said it will now allow PC makers licensing its operating system software the option to remove the 'Start-menu' entries and icons that provide end users with access to its Internet Explorer Web browser."

For more info:
http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/07/11/technology/windows/

Fujitsu to unveil 128-CPU server

"Fujitsu Technology Solutions will announce its new top-end Unix server Monday, a 128-processor behemoth that will put pressure on Sun Microsystems, IBM and Hewlett-Packard.
However, the new Primepower 2000 system is arriving months later than a planned April introduction and will go on sale in a shrinking market for servers that has spurred price-cutting and other aggressive competitive tactics. On top of that, Sun and IBM also have new top-end systems scheduled to debut this fall."

For more info:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,5094011,00.html

NFL.com passes promotions to AOL, CBS

"The National Football League on Wednesday announced agreements with America Online, CBS and CBS SportsLine to promote NFL.com.
As previously reported, the three companies will pay the league a total of $110 million over five years, according to people close to the deals.
The deals highlight how selling sports rights has extended to the Internet. TV networks have long paid professional sports leagues billions of dollars for long-term broadcast rights.
Under the terms of Wednesday's deal, SportsLine will produce NFL.com with its own content and features and will host the site on its servers. SportsLine will take over for ESPN's Internet division, whose contract with the league expired earlier this year."
The former 3-year ESPN contract was valued at only $10 million.

For more info:
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6545394.html

PCIN POLL of the WEEK

Here are the responses from the last poll:

How you ever made an online purchase?
Yes: 90.24%
No: 9.76%

Total Votes: 82

Visit http://pcin.net/polls/ to participate in the new poll this week:

How often do you check your email?

MOBILE COMPUTING NEWS and NOTES

Nokia and Sonera are testing Nokia's MMS, or Multimedia Messaging Services. Expanding upon SMS, or Short Messaging Services, MMS allows mobile phones to email video clips, pictures, and new ring tones that can be installed in the phone.
Also, color displays will be the norm soon; the Sanyo 5000 features "Picture ID", which allows your friend's pictures to appear on your screen when they're calling. (Of course, you need to install their pictures first.)

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

Lately when booting up my machine (Win98, 320MB RAM, 13 GB HD, PII 300, Quantex System) one of the first screens after the memory count is the 1-5 startup options. Always have to choose 1 (Normal) and then it goes along as if nothing is wrong. The system shuts down normally 98% of the time. Any ideas out there as to why this has started? Been doing it now for about the last 20-30 boots or reboots.

Answer

Edit the msdos.sys file that is in the root of your C: drive. This is just a text file and there will be a line that mentions the BootMenu. If it shows =1 then that is why the menu is coming up. Check out http://members.aol.com/axcel216/msdos.htm for more info.

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:

Some Useful Registry Tips (Now 38 Tips)
http://pcin.net/help/articles/registry.shtml

Online Service Stations
http://pcin.net/help/articles/onlineservice.shtml

Transfer LPs and Tapes to CD
http://pcin.net/help/articles/oldmusic.shtml

PCIN Poll of the Week
http://pcin.net/polls/

THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF

Cheap Trick of the Week

**Playing postman**
If you have Outlook 2000, you can uncover and play a cute little hidden game, Open Outlook, type Ren Hoek  (capitals are not necessary) in the Find a Contact bar at the top and press Enter. If you get a message saying no such contact can be found, click OK and continue.
Under the Tools menu, select Macro and then, in the submenu, select Macros. In the Macro Name box, type OL2KROCKS (lowercase is okay) and click the Create button.
When the About Microsoft Outlook window appears, hold down the Ctrl, Alt and Shift keys while clicking OK.
You'll be treated to a game in which you move a mailbox up and down with the Arrow keys to catch envelopes as they fly across the screen bearing developer credits.

Get your own copy of "The Little Black Book of Cheap Tricks: 2001" by visiting http://www.pcin.net/lbbct/

Antivirus Updates

Subscriber Mike has a newsletter with many good things. But one very useful bit of information is a listing of all of the major antivirus vendors and the latest definition updates they have. Check it out at http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/

Another Music Sharing Service

Subscriber Michael sent this:
"With regard to the sad demise of music downloading from Napster. Readers may be interested to know that there is an alternative at KaZaA. In my view this site offers an even better service than old style Napster and seems to be free from restrictions. KaZaA can be found at http://kazaa.com/"

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

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