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Issue 122 - February 07, 2001
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements ©2001
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Welcome to the 122nd 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.
Recommend PCIN in February and win a copy of Serif 3Dplus
and PrintMaster 7.2. The more you recommend PCIN the more
chances you have to win. Recommend PCIN now at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml
OPENING THOUGHTS
You may have noticed that the Cheap Trick returned last week.
We Compute! Magazine, the authors of the weekly Cheap Tricks,
and the books have their server running again and will provide
weekly tips. They also have a new version of their Cheap Tricks
book, The Little Black Book of Cheap Tricks: 2001, which I
will be reviewing soon. I am in their affiliate program, so
if you want to buy the book, make sure you click the link
that is in each issue of PCIN.
There is a new section this week that will be in every issue.
Some of you may remember a while ago a friend of mine (and
subscriber) Shawn Bremner was providing me with a Thought
of the Week. Well, he works for one of the largest telecommunications
companies in Canada and he has quite an interest in "mobile"
computing. He will be providing the information for the "Mobile
Computing News and Notes" section.
Don't forget about the tentative PCIN summer. If you live
close enough and are interested, then please email me to let
me know that you are interested. I'd also like to hear what
you'd be interested in doing/discussing/seeing while here.
Email me at mailto:editor@pcin.net
Lastly, congratulations to Gene Cote who recommended PCIN
in January and won a copy of the book "The Unauthorized
Guide to Windows ME" by Paul McFedries. Recommend PCIN
in February and win a copy of Serif 3Dplus and PrintMaster
7.2. Recommend PCIN now at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml
The NEWS
From Synagogue to Cyber-Cafe
A couple of weeks ago I shared a newsbyte about using church
steeples for cell phone towers. This kind of goes along
with that line of thinking:
"Plagued by high maintenance costs, the small Jewish
community in Suriname (PARAMARIBO) has rented out one of
the oldest synagogues in the Western Hemisphere for a computer
shop and an Internet cafe.
`We had to do this to save the synagogue,' Jewish community
leader Dennis Kopinsky said.
But some in this former Dutch colony in South America are
unhappy about the 265-year-old Sedekwe Shalom Synagogue's
unlikely transformation.
Nathalie Brunings, an Adventist, compared it to the Bible
story in which Jesus drove merchants out of a Jewish temple
because he found it disrespectful. `If Jesus came here right
now he would get real angry,' Brunings said.
The synagogue, a white wooden building erected by Sephardic
Jews, is a landmark in Paramaribo, the capital. It was built
in 1736, Surinamese historian Andre Loor said - a date that
would make it four years younger than the Mikve Israel-Emanuel
Synagogue on the Dutch island of Curacao, which claims to
be the hemisphere's oldest continuously used synagogue."
For more info:
http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/
0,1643,500306044-500490778-503410093-0,00.html
Microsoft phasing out Windows 95
"For Windows 95, the end is here.
Microsoft has taken steps to ensure that Windows 95 will
become an asterisk in terms of sales. One of Microsoft's
most popular products among both consumers and businesses,
the operating system is still in use at many corporations
today.
The licenses that let most computer makers incorporate the
OS in new computers expired Dec. 31. As a result, Dell Computer
and other computer makers no longer install the OS on new
computers except under special circumstances.
'Beginning January 01, 2001, Dell is no longer licensed
to factory install Windows 95,' states an 'end of life'
notice on Dell's Web site.
In addition, Microsoft is not offering the OS under new
volume licensing agreements that it sells directly to medium-sized
to large businesses, according to company representatives."
For more info:
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-4669756.html
"The Plant" Earns Half Million
"Stephen King, who temporarily closed the book on
his serial novel 'The Plant,' has opened his ledger to show
the world that the online publishing venture was a financial
success.
King shelved the project in December after turning out six
installments. He said on his Web site that the 'fascinating
little adventure' netted $463,832.27.
King's decision to pull the plug on the novel was viewed
by some as a setback for the kind of electronic publishing
in which author and reader deal directly, with no middleman.
But King disagreed.
'In my view, 'The Plant' has been quite successful,' he
said, inviting readers to form their own opinion based on
the story and on the financial data."
For more info:
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4740035.html
Mobile Computing News and Notes
Wireless phones in Japan can download a new color background,
cartoon character, and jingle everyday. Also, some users can
type email without looking, using one hand and walking down
the street.
Brought to you by The Wireless Web ezine. Sign up by sending
a blank email to mailto:wirelessweb-subscribe@topica.com
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 121-01
I purchased some CDRWs. The problem with them is that
if I put them in any computer that has a CDRW or DVD,
they cause the cd drive to get an afl.vxd error. If I
turn off auto run and format the disk then this doesn't
happen. I scanned the disk for viruses and nothing showed
up. If anyone could explain what has happened I would
really appreciate it. I had a really difficult time with
this. I tried reinstalling the disk drives and everything
finally I figured out how to get the drives working again.
I would really like avoiding having this happen again.
I thought it was a problem with my computer but I gave
some people some disk that have never been in my computer
and they ended up having the same problem. I was not very
popular for a while...lol. I would really like to avoid
having this happen again.
A 121-01
John Hills said, "I cannot think of anything other
than the disks you purchased we not formatted correctly
or more likely, not formatted at all."
Q 121-02
I have a problem with Outlook Express. All settings are
as they should be and font size is set to 10 points. I
have uninstalled Outlook Express and reinstalled it to
make sure that default settings are set.
The problem is that the first character typed comes out,
as it should, in 10 point. But the moment the second character
is typed it changes to 12 point. In fact, just a space
will cause the 10 point to visibly click over to 12.
Pulling my hair out on this one.
A 121-02)
No Answers Given.
New Questions
Q 122-01
Is there any way to use a USB mouse in DOS?
Q 122-02
I am told I have bad sectors in my hard disk at the end
of one partition. What should I do to stop them increasing
or affecting my data?
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
** Numbing the NumLock **
Windows 95 and 98 have a nasty habit of starting your computer
with the NumLock key on.
If you want it off from the start, open the System Editor,
which can be found by pressing Start, and selecting Run.
In the Open box, type sysedit and click on OK. You will
then find a program with a few cascading windows. Select
the window with the title C:\CONFIG.SYS in the title bar.
In an open line at the bottom of this page type an extra
line which reads NUMLOCK=OFF and press the Enter key. Save
the file, by selecting Save from the File menu. Then select
File and Exit. The next time you start Windows your computer
should have the Number Lock feature off.
If you later decide that you would like the NumLock back
on, change the line to read NUMLOCK=ON.
Get your own copy of "The Little Black Book of Cheap
Tricks: 2001" by visiting http://www.pcin.net/lbbct
Dragon Naturally Speaking 5
Subscriber John Hills sent me this:
"It does appear that Dragon NSP Version 5 is a massive
improvement, particularly when using Outlook Express. Accuracy
is much improved and Outlook Express can now be used properly
instead of leaping around the top menus. Also the learning
time is greatly reduced. Using the Internet and voicing
links is a doddle.
So for those who have earlier versions, you should try and
get hold of Version 5. Those thinking about using voice
can safely spend their money on version 5 and get quite
amazing results. At present, upgrade versions seem difficult
to get hold of but the full version is readily available.
Note: It is still a good idea to buy a USB headset for using
voice (if you haven't already got one) as this does make
a huge difference to accuracy."
He then added, "I can say that yesterday, I trained
a tetraplegic (quadriplegic in USA) and in thirty minutes
from scratch he was sending emails, and surfing the web
with nigh on 100% accuracy. I have seen reports that say
IBM via talk is better but I do not agree. You can for example
simply say, switch to mail and it goes straight to Outlook
Express with out having to climb the menus. I do think that
it is important to spend a few more pounds on a USB headset,
as this is where the accuracy is built. Also, I notice that
in versions 3 and 4 they recommend a minimum of a 220mhz
processor and 64 MB of ram. I always recommend double this.
But for the latest version 5 is recommends 150meg of ram
but I would recommend 256meg for a seamless and wait free
experience."
Microsoft Internet Explorer Kiosk Mode
This tip came from the Windows 2000 Tips & Tricks UPDATE,
January 29, 2001 issue. It is kind of long, but very cool.
It is really neat the way Internet Explorer looks and if
you do nothing but click on links (you don't usually type
in URLs), then you should definitely give it a try.
"Internet Explorer (IE) has a full-screen mode that
you access by pressing F11; however, the screen still shows
boxes to minimize, resize, or close the window. The KIOSK
mode, on the other hand, hides all buttons. To start IE
in Kiosk mode, from the Run prompt (Start, Run), start IE
with the following command:
iexplore -k [site]
where [site] is
- Blank -- Uses your default start page
- A URL (e.g., http://www.savilltech.com)--Uses
the page the URL specifies
- A local Web page (e.g., c:\folder\page.htm)--Uses the
specified local page
- A remote Web page (e.g., \\server\share\folder\page.htm)--Uses
the remote page
For example, to start IE in Kiosk mode with the Windows
2000 FAQ site as the start page, type the following command:
iexplore -k http://www.windows2000faq.com
Within Kiosk mode, you can use the following commands:
- Ctrl+A--Select all (editing)
- Ctrl+B--Organize favorites
- Ctrl+C--Copy (editing)
- Ctrl+F--Find (on current page)
- Ctrl+H--View History folder
- Ctrl+L--Open Location dialog box (same as Ctrl+O)
- Ctrl+N--New window (opens in non-Kiosk mode)
- Ctrl+O--Open Location dialog box (same as Ctrl+L)
- Ctrl+P--Print
- Ctrl+R--Refresh
- Ctrl+S--Save
- Ctrl+V--Paste (editing)
- Ctrl+W--Close (same as ALT+F4)
- Ctrl+X--Cut (editing)
- Alt+F4--Close (same as Ctrl+W)
- Alt+Left Arrow--Back
- Alt+Right Arrow--Forward
- Esc--Stop
- F5-Refresh"
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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you may have to cut and paste.
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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 whole, or in part,
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