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Issue 133 - April 25, 2001
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements ©2001
==== 1625 Subscribers in 51 Countries ====
Subscribe/Unsubscribe/View Archives at http://www.pcin.net/
Welcome to the 133rd 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
Not much to say this week. There doesn't much to me anything
new in the industry right now. It seems to go in cycles. There
are a couple of months where there is always something to
write about, and then there's a stretch where there is nothing
to write about. We'll see what happens when Windows and Office
XP are released.
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
Microsoft picks FireWire over USB
"Microsoft will not support a budding peripheral-connection
standard in its forthcoming Windows XP operating system,
instead favouring a technology developed by Apple Computer.
The software maker said it will not include support for
USB 2.0, the latest iteration of the universal serial bus
connection technology, in Windows XP, its next-generation
operating system expected later this year. Microsoft will
instead throw its support behind IEEE 1394, also known as
FireWire, which was developed by Apple."
For more info:
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2001/14/ns-22207.html
RIAA wins in Net radio dispute
"The record industry has scored a win with the U.S.
Copyright Office, which published a ruling Monday that radio
broadcasters are not exempt from licensing royalties when
they simulcast their programs on the Internet.
The decision, published in the Federal Register on Monday,
was cheered by Webcasters. They sided with the Recording
Industry Association of America as part of their crusade
to clarify what they say are gray areas of copyright law,
which are impeding their efforts to provide entertainment
on the Web."
For more info:
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-5696833.html
MOBILE COMPUTING NEWS and NOTES
"A wireless phone is simply a credit card with an antenna."
NTT DoCoMo
Information is not the "killer app" with the wireless
web. IMHO, it will be the ability to make & transfer payments
from phone to phone, and from phone to a merchant. It
took a while for buying via debit cards to catch on; I hope
this comes quicker.
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 132-01
Is it possible to change the printer default from "Print
All" to "Print Selection"?
A 132-01
** said, "It depends on the printer manufacturer
on whether you get this feature. But even if you
have this feature not all programs use it automatically.
For example with Microsoft word, rather than pushing the
print icon visible whilst you type, go to the file menu
and manually select print. Using the print feature
within the menu of a program (almost always file->print)
should give you this option. Again here it depends
on how the program was made. If the above fails
you could take the specific piece of text you wish to
print and copy it into another document/file and print
from there."
Q 132-02
I plan on replacing my video card. Is there anything
special I should do? Do I uninstall the old drivers? Do
I just change cards and install the new drivers? Any advice
to make this as smooth as possible would be appreciated.
A 132-02
There were several good suggestions regarding this, and
they were fairly lengthy, so I made a web page for them.
You can read the responses at:
http://pcin.net/help/articles/changegraphics.shtml
New Questions
Q 133-01
What about personal firewalls? Is ZoneAlarm better than
Norton? Any advice or links to web sites with info would
be appreciated.
Q 133-02
I have to change the company name on 2000 PCs with Office
97 due to rebranding. Do you know of a utility that will
allow me to change the company name, as Office 97 does
not respond to registry changes? I believe the name
is written back and encoded on installation.
If you have an answer to these questions or have a question
of your own, please email me at mailto:freehelp@pcin.net
PCIN.net UPDATE
I'm still working on the new look for the PCIN.net site.
I have also worked on a couple of book reviews that will
be shared over the next couple of weeks.
THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
Cheap Trick of the Week
**Screensaver that can't be avoided**
So you use a password on your screensaver to prevent your
family or colleagues from stopping it and accessing your
computer when you're absent.
But then they discovered they can get past this obstacle
by simply pressing the restart button on your computer.
So now you need a higher level of protection: a password-protected
screensaver that takes effect whenever Windows is started.
First find out which screensaver your computer is using.
Most of the default screensavers for Windows can be found
in the C:\Windows\System folder. Screensavers usually have
the .scr extension. For example, if you know you're using
the 3D text screensaver, its filename should read something
like "3D Text.scr". When you find it, right-click
on the file and select Create New Shortcut.
After you have created the shortcut to the screensaver,
move the shortcut to your Startup folder, which can be found
in your main Windows folder under the Start Menu and Programs
sub-folders.
Make sure the screensaver is password protected. You can
do this through the Display control panel on the Screen
Saver page.
From then on, every time someone starts or restarts your
computer, they'll come face to face with the screensaver
and password again.
Line Spacing in Microsoft Word (Correction)
Thanks to Randy Pierce, Chuck Quenzler, and Carol Page
who pointed out that I had made a mistake in the Word tip
I shared last week about line spacing keyboard shortcuts.
Here is the correct tip:
Press CTRL and 1 to format the selected paragraph with single
spacing
Press CTRL and 5 to format the selected paragraph with 1.5
spacing
Press CTRL and 2 to format the select paragraph with double
spacing
Press CTRL and 0 to insert a blank line above the selected
paragraph
Too Many Newsletters?
I personally subscribe to over 20 newsletters that offer
tips and news for computer users. I'm sure if I looked,
I could easily find hundreds of newsletters that I could
receive everyday with this sort of thing in it. The problem
is that many of them are not worth reading. They have no
original content, or aren't enjoyable to read.
Well, Peter Crockett of PuterGeek.com writes a newsletter
(sent approximately once a week) where he does all of the
reading for you and puts it all together in a nice succinct
newsletter of his own. He says:
"This is not like most newsletters available on the
internet. It will not contain very much original content.
The format is very casual and laid back. It will contain
info about PuterGeek.Com, myself, what's going on in my
life, and things that I've learned in the school of hard
knocks.
The bulk of the newsletter will feature articles, quotes,
and snippets of info I've read from all the newsletters
I subscribe to. I've found a large number of people
either don't have the time, or don't wish to take the time
to read multiple email newsletters per week. So, since
I do read them, I take the info I find most interesting
and put it together into a more condensed single newsletter."
Of course I'm flattered that PCIN is one of the newsletter
he quotes from.
You can visit http://www.putergeek.com/newsletter/
to see past issues as well as many resources for computer
users in need of help. Check it out.
"Brand Name" Support Problems
Everyone has their own tech support nightmares. Often people
think that if you buy a brand name product, your support
will be better. I know a lot of you are subscribers to the
Lockergnome newsletters and have read of their problem with
Dell. Well, subscriber Martin Needleman has had some problems
with HP.
"My wife and I (about a month ago) were in dire need
of a computer while the one I am on now was being upgraded.
I had an E-account with HP (bought an external CD-writer)
on line and availed myself of the HP Financing.
On the HP Site there is a toll free number to enable people
to discuss
purchases, financing, etc.
Well, like I said we were in dire need of a computer for
business.
So, I said to my wife lets call the HP-e-Shopping phone
No. a get whatever they can send for next-day delivery.
All was, for the most part, OK. We had decided on a HP Pavilion.
So it came time for "check-out." I said to the
sales representative "Let me give you my HP e-account
No. (credit limit $3,200.00 US) owing HP $150.00 US I knew
I could buy the unit.
The Sales person said, "We can't do that." We
can only take credit cards.
I asked if he was kidding. He wasn't! We were told that
they (HP) could not verify that it was really us unless
we were on line. But, we need a computer to get on line
I said. "Can't complete the transaction" is what
we were told. I asked if my Social Security No. could identify
me. No, was the answer. How about my Mothers' maiden name?
No. Can you call me back at my home phone number to verify
I am me? No, we can't do that.
We were about to spend $1200.00 (US) at 21% interest, but
were told NO.
I contacted HP Customer Service the following day. I was
told that their system is "setup that way." I
contacted HP headquarters in CA. no help there either. More
sympathy though.
We did not by an HP Computer. We have paid our account "in
full" and have closed it.
The end is that we will no longer by from HP."
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.
- You can only win one contest every 30 days.
- To subscribe another address or unsubscribe, please visit
http://www.pcin.net/
and follow the appropriate links.
- Recommend PCIN to others at http://www.pcin.net/recommend.shtml
and be entered in a monthly draw.
- There are only 2 ways to get on the subscriber list.
You have either been subscribed by filling out a subscription
form on any of the pages on my site, or you have requested
FreeHelp from me in the past.
- If you have a web site or run your own newsletter, please
email me at mailto:editor@pcin.net
and I will add it to the subscriber web pages that I have
on my site.
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
as is.
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