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.
- If any of the links are too long to fit on one line,
you may have to cut and paste.
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You have either been subscribed by filling out a subscription
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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.
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