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Issue 215 - November 27, 2002
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2002
==== 2240 Subscribers in 56 Countries ====
Welcome to the 215th issue of the PC Improvement News. PCIN consists mainly
of news and tips. There is something for everyone, and if this is your first
issue, I'm sure there will be something for you. If you give me two or three
issues, I know that you will come back for more!
You can reach me at editor@pcin.net with
any suggestions or comments.
Recommend PCIN at http://PCIN.net/recommend.php
Support PCIN at http://PCIN.net/donate.php
CONTENTS
OPENING THOUGHTS
I sure hope that most of you noticed that Chris sent the newsletter out last
week. I was away with Lisa and Andrew for a short vacation. We went to Cleveland
and Kirtland, OH. They are about 3.5 hours away from here. We went to Cleveland
just to see what it was like, and we went to Kirtland to see some historical
sites from the 1830s from our Church.
We had such a good time with Andrew. The highlights of the trip were probably
when we took him swimming with us. The pool was very warm and he loved it. He
would splash occasionally, but most of the time he just sat there staring at
everything around him. He didn't fuss once. He was very cute 8-)
If you are interested in any pictures, you can read about our trip at http://wingfamily.ca/lisagraham/20021118-20021120/index.htm
Finally, on a computer note... I will have a review of Paragon's Hard Disk
Manager 5.5 software next week.
Graham editor@pcin.net
and Chris chris@pcin.net
Return to the top
The NEWS
eBay Takes a Shot at Amazon
"Taking a shot across Amazon.com's bows, eBay launched what it calls
a new 'electronics superstore site' for both consumers and IT buyers, and
introduced free shipping on many items, a first for the auction giant.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company said it is offering access to 'millions
of products' at ebayelectronics.com, including consumer electronics, computers,
peripherals, networking gear, telecom, software, photography equipment and
video games.
And most of this stuff is being offered by top manufacturers and retailers,
not by people cleaning out their closets."
For more info:
http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/1502311
Jury: RIM infringed on patents
"A federal jury determined that Research In Motion infringed on patents
and on Thursday ordered it to pay $23 million to holding company NTP.
RIM, maker of the BlackBerry wireless device, said it disagrees with the verdict
and vowed to appeal. At the same time, the company said it will record a pre-tax
provision of approximately $23 million against potential damages in its third
quarter.
'Today's jury verdict was wrong as both a matter of law and fact,'Charles
Meyer, RIM's chief legal officer, said in a statement. The company said that
if the judge upholds the jury's verdict, RIM will appeal."
For more info:
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-966786.html
Where Is MP4?
"It is a rare day when MP3s are not mentioned in a major newspaper.
The format is not only a technical success, but also the center of a firestorm
of political activity as intellectual property guardians square off against
file-sharing advocates. Is there a follow-up to this audio format that has
taken the world by storm?
As a matter of fact, there is. It is called MPEG-4 -- MP4 for short -- and
a number of companies and projects are already using it."
For more info:
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20021.html
POLL of the WEEK
Last Week's Poll
How often to you visit Windows Update?
| Daily |
 |
3.94 % (5) |
| Weekly |
|
22.83 % (29) |
| Monthly |
|
19.69 % (25) |
| Whenever Windows prompts me |
|
31.50 % (40) |
| I do not visit Windows Update |
|
22.05 % (28) |
| Total votes: 127 |
This Week's Poll
FREEHELP FORUM
Visit the new and improved PCIN FreeHelp Forum at http://www.pcin.net/help/forum/index.php
to post your questions or answer others.
Question
I would like to partition my 20 GHz hard drive. I'm running Windows ME at
present but I'd like to put '98 on as well. Can anyone help?
Response
No responses given yet.
To post a response, visit the Hardware How-To forum at http://www.pcin.net/help/forum/index.php?board=7
and click on the "partitioning hard drive" topic.
Visit http://www.pcin.net/help/forum/index.php
to post a question of your own.
PCIN.net UPDATE
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
Object Desktop Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/objectdesktop.php
LG GCE-8400B 40x 12x 40x CD-RW Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/lggce8400b.php
PCIN.net Search
http://PCIN.net/search.php
Some Useful Registry Tips
http://PCIN.net/help/articles/registry_tips.shtml
THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF
StarDock
Several weeks ago we featured a review on Stardock's Object Desktop product.
In a recent Lockergnome they mentioned ObjectDock. ObjectDock is a Start Menu
replacement for Object Desktop and is currently in Beta, but seems very stable
on my system. I was very happy with my initial use of the product. For those
of you looking for an OS X start menu type application, this is it.
--Chris
eMode
I came across this site recently that has all sorts of fun quizzes. eMode
claims it is "the #1 Destination for Self-Discover." Some of the
tests include The Ultimate Personality Test, The Enneagram Test, Emode's Original
Inkblot Test, True Talent Test, Discover Your Sexual Personality, The Emotional
IQ Test, and Career Personality Test . Visit http://www.emode.com/
to try them out.
The Wing Family Tips
My parents and 2 of my sisters were over tonight. I told them I was having
a hard time coming up with a third tip. Here are their words of wisdom:
Dad
Don't get a web host that lets their system get hacked into and people send
spam from your account (he had this problem)
Mom
Leave early from work if you can't get the computer to work
Andrea
If the monitor is blank, turn your computer on
Brianna
Don't give out your credit card number
DISCLAIMER and
OTHER STUFF
PCIN is brought to you by Graham Wing. The opinions expressed are those of
the Editor, Graham Wing and the Assistant Editor, Chris Empey. Graham Wing
and Chris Empey 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.php
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
editor@pcin.net and I will add it to
the subscriber web pages that I have on my site.
- Support PCIN by visiting http://www.pcin.net/donate.php
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Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.net
Copyright 1998-2002, 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.
Support PCIN by visiting http://www.pcin.net/donate.php
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