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Issue 130 - April 04, 2001
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements ©2001
==== 1587 Subscribers in 50 Countries ====
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Welcome to the 130th 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 in April and win a copy of PrintMaster Platinum
and Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia. Recommend PCIN now
at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml
OPENING THOUGHTS
A big Thanks! goes out to everyone who sent in their emails
of support for Lisa and I. We had an unbelievable amount of
support from family, friends, acquaintances, and even strangers.
It has helped.
But, life goes on, so here is the latest issue of PCIN. Don't
forget to visit the http://www.pcin.net/help/articles/index.shtml
page to see what pages are new or changed regularly.
Congratulations to Jamie Crowther who recommended PCIN in
March and won a Snappy! 4.0.
Recommend PCIN in April and win a copy of PrintMaster Platinum
and Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia. Recommend PCIN now
at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml
The NEWS
Print, Paste & Hang
From the May 2001 issue of Smart Computing magazine:
"LexJet, a company that manufactures digital imaging
and laminating products, recently unveiled a new product
that should offer some interesting possibilities to interior
design professionals (and, therefore, to homeowners). WallPro
is a new printable variety of wallpaper that comes in blank
rolls and lets designers and graphic arts professionals
print their own colors, designs, and patterns on with thermal
and piezoelectric inkjet printers. WallPro comes in rolls
that are 75 feet long x 36, 50, or 60 inches wide, and once
users finish printing a roll or section they can apply laminate
or spray-on protectant and hang with standard wallpaper
paste.
Because of its size, WallPro is restricted to use with wide-format,
professional printers, and LexJet spokesperson Chris Cudzilo
says the company doesn't currently have plans to create
a narrow-format version for desktop printers. 'However,'
he says, 'the technology creates limitless possibilities,
and as wide-format printers become less expensive, or if
consumer demand becomes great enough, who knows?'"
For more info:
http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?
article=articles/2001/s1205/01s05/01s05.asp
http://www.lexjet.com/
Securities Regulator Tries Scam Game To Prove A Point
"The securities regulator in Ontario, Canada, isn't
saying there's a sucker born every single minute. But it
does say that more than 1,000 of them may have shown up
at a fake investment Web site it operated during the six
weeks it pretended to be an investment scam artist.
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) said today that
it launched its phony investment site - part of en effort
it called 'Project Cyber Scam' - Jan. 22, to demonstrate
the dangers in store for investors who believe everything
they see on the Internet."
For more info:
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/163846.html
Microsoft Wants to Conquer E-Government
"Microsoft may soon have a new ally in its bid for
global domination - of the e-government business, that is.
At the company's 'Government Leaders Conference 2001' here
on Tuesday, the United Kingdom unveiled the 'U.K. Government
Gateway' portal, developed in cooperation with Microsoft.
In a press conference, Andrew Pinder, who holds the title
of 'e-Envoy' in Prime Minister Tony Blair's administration,
said that that country and Microsoft were discussing the
possibility of jointly marketing the intellectual property
that Microsoft helped develop for the U.K."
For more info:
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,23165,00.html
602Pro PC Suite Surpasses A Quarter Of A Million Registered
Users
I received this press release from Premysl Pech, the President
of Software602 (and PCIN subscriber):
"Jacksonville, FL., March 21, 2001 - Software602, Inc.
announced today that more than 250,000 (two hundred fifty
thousands) copies of 602Pro PC SUITE 2000 have been registered.
This Alternative to MS OFFICE was released FREE for commercial
and non-commercial use in June of last year.
'This significant market reaction is a tribute to the customer
demand for an alternative in desktop productivity software.'
said Premysl Pech, President and CEO of Software602, Inc.
602Pro PC SUITE 2000 is available for MS Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000
operating systems. This small 14 MB software suite can be
downloaded from http://www.software602.com/ or purchased
on CD-ROM for only $9.95."
I reviewed the program a while ago. The review is available
at http://pcin.net/help/software/602pro.shtml
There will be a new version ready in May and it too will
be free.
MOBILE COMPUTING NEWS and NOTES
Motorola just launched two new iDEN phones that are Java(tm)
2 Micro Edition Capable. The Java allows users to download
and install software applications on their phones, including
games, calendar programs, and more.
Brought to you by Shawn Bremner and 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 129-01
Problem driving me crazy is that I suddenly cannot download
any file attachment when I receive an email in my Hotmail
inbox. No matter what the attached file name or type (.doc,
.exe, .pdf) I can "view it from its current location,"
but if I click "download now" that attachment's
name changes to "getmsg" and what downloads
is a tiny file that when double-clicked just brings me
back to the Net and the view-or-download dialogue box.
I think I have proved that the problem is specific to
my home computer, because the problem does not exist when
I access the email from my office computer. Since I'm
guessing that it's some setting causing the problem, I've
made sure that my Internet settings in IE 5.5 are all
at "default." Just don't know what else to do.
(PIII 800, 128MB RAM, 6 GB HD, Win98SE, IE5.5)
A 129-01
John Hills said, "I can only suggest that you not
only need to reset advanced options in IE Tools but also
Security where you need to check that downloads are allowed.
Sorry if this is what you have already done."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** said, "Sounds like it is your computer software,
so the next step is try re-installing the software. Start
with re-installing IE, available on the net or on many
computer magazine CD's. Otherwise maybe try using Netscape
(www.netscape.com), or try re-installing windows
(booting from the windows cd and just installing over
the top refreshes all your windows files & keeps your
other programs and data :)"
Q 129-02
Is it possible to "piggyback" 2 graphics cards?
I am using a Monster4 and an Intel i740. Even if these
can't work together, any information on piggybacking would
be appreciated.
(AMD 800, 128MB RAM, 6GB HD, WinME, IE5.0)
A 129-02
** said, "'Piggyback' is a little vague to me so
hope this answer helps, windows ME should have support
for two monitors running from 2 separate PCI video cards
(win98 did). I'm guessing the i740 is built into the motherboard
so that might get a little tricky. If you mean can you
get more 3d acceleration with your set up, I'm afraid
not. You could if you had a few voodoo cards (probably
of the exact same type needed) which all link together.
But there is the key, the cards need to be able to talk
to each other, which most cards cant."
New Questions
Q 130-01
Lately I have been getting this noise over my speakers
that sound like a car motor running. Along with that,
when I move my mouse across the pad, it makes a noise
like severe static. Any suggestions? I don't think the
noise is coming from a fan; however, I could be wrong.
Q 130-02
I have Windows ME and am running a DSL modem. For some
reason, Windows ME will not shut down when prompted unless
the modem is unplugged from the USB port. Is there any
way to go in and reconfigure so that I can stop this problem?
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
**Yes, there is a use for that key!**
Ever wonder what the Pause/Break key on your keyboard is
for?
Well, we still don't know what it was invented for - but
we do know one thing you can do with it.
Hold down the Windows key on your keyboard while pressing
the Pause/Break button.
Your System Properties control panel should open up.
We have no idea what this has to do with Pausing or Breaking,
but it's a nifty shortcut.
Get your own copy of "The Little Black Book of Cheap
Tricks: 2001" by visiting http://www.pcin.net/lbbct
Books Online
Subscriber Chris Empey let me know about this site. If
you visit http://docs.rinet.ru:8083/ you will find
dozens of books online that cover networking, web, and other
topics.
Resuming Downloads
Last week's "Cheap Trick" was a registry tweak
to make the "timeout" period longer when you are
downloading files. Subscriber ** wanted to remind everyone
that "programs like GetRight or GoZilla let you resume
downloads days or months later at whatever point in the
file you got off or just disconnected (assuming of course
that a) the fileserver allows resuming (about 90% + do)
and b) the file still exists)."
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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and be entered in a monthly draw.
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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 1998-2000, PC Improvements and Graham Wing. All
rights reserved.
This publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part,
as long as the author is notified and the newsletter is presented
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