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Issue 263 - October 29, 2003
ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2003
==== 2131 Subscribers in 61 Countries ====
Welcome to the 263rd 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
Not much to report on this week. I'm on vacation next week. Lisa and I don't
have any big plans, but it will be nice to have a break. One exciting thing
is that Lisa is going to put on a craft sale. She is very good at making Country
Crafts, and is having what she hopes is her First Annual Craft sale. We're
working on a web site at CountryCraftDreams.com and
you can check it out to see the types of things she can do. Between that and
chasing Andrew around, she's been busy!
Graham editor@pcin.net and
Chris chris@pcin.net
The NEWS
Hackers Get Novel Defense; the Computer Did It
"Prosecutors looking to throw the book at accused computer hackers
have come across a legal defense expected to become even more widespread
in an era of hijacked PCs and laptops that threatens to blur the lines of
personal responsibility: the computer did it.
In one case that was being watched as a bellwether by computer security experts,
Aaron Caffrey, 19, was acquitted earlier this month in the United Kingdom
on charges of hacking into the computer system of the Houston Pilots, an
independent contractor for the Port of Houston, in September 2001.
Caffrey had been charged with breaking into the system and crippling the
server that provides scheduling information for all ships entering the world's
sixth-largest port.
Although authorities traced the hack back to Caffrey's computer, he said
that someone must have remotely planted a program, called a "trojan," onto
his computer that did the hacking and that could have been programmed to
self destruct."
For more info:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=3699875
Don't bet on it!
"Conspiracy theories run rampant in the high-technology industry, and
for good reason. The unexpected often occurs.
Ten years ago, after all, few predicted that a pork-rind-eating grad student
at the University of Illinois would revolutionize world commerce. Finland
to emerge as a leader in wireless communications and operating systems? The
decade of Belgium seemed more likely.
Still, there is a collection of commonly heard predictions that will likely
never come true. Videoconferencing, micro-payments and electronic books were
expected to be big at one time. Had the general public not found them irritating,
they might have been.
Nothing is impossible. In early 2001, Webb McKinney of Hewlett-Packard said
PC mergers don't generally work, while Compaq Computer's Mike Winkler and
others said Compaq would endure. Five months later, HP bought Compaq. Nonetheless,
here's a crop of things that may never come to pass."
For more info:
http://news.com.com/2010-7343_3-5096015.html
Google could go public in online auction
"Internet search leader Google Inc. could go public early next year
and is considering holding a huge online auction of its shares, according
to a report published Thursday.
The Financial Times (FT) said in its online edition that Google executives
met with a number of investment bankers last week to gauge their interest
in an initial public offering (IPO). A decision by the 5-year-old search
giant to go public is expected to create enormous excitement among investors,
the FT said, and the company could be valued at between $15 billion and $25
billion."
For more info:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/10/24/HNgooglepublic_1.html
The Stealth Computer
Mike Chin's eureka moment came in an Ikea store, on a spring day in 2002.
Mr. Chin, a technology writer in Vancouver, British Columbia, had just gotten
a tiny motherboard from a Taiwanese chip maker, and he had been growling
that he could not find a similarly small case so that he could build the
computer he had promised to a friend's daughter.
Then his eyes fell on a blue plastic Ikea breadbox - the "perfect marriage
of cheap modern art, chintziness and utility," he said.
The fully functional breadbox PC that he then built and described on the
Web was among the first to spring from an idea that has become a raging obsession
in a far-flung community of electronic do-it-yourselfers: the stealth computer.
For more info:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/23/technology/circuits/23tiny.html?ex=1382241600&en=03017f1dbd9f4108&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND
POLL of the WEEK
Last Week's Poll
Will you switch to Microsoft Office 2003 in the next 6 months
| Yes, I always upgrade |
 |
5.15 % (7) |
| Yes, I will be switching from a competing product |
|
0.74 % (1) |
| No, I don't use Office at all |
|
33.09 % (45) |
| No, I am fine with my current version of Office |
|
55.15 % (75) |
| No, I will upgrade in more than 6 months |
|
5.88 % (8) |
| Total votes: 136 |
This Week's Poll
You can also vote online at http://PCIN.net/polls/
PCIN.net FREEHELP
FORUM
Visit the PCIN.net FreeHelp Forum at http://PCIN.net/help/forum/ to
post your questions or answer others.
Question
I'm hoping someone can help me with an emailing problem. The thing is,
I am unable to send any messages to AOL. They always get returned to me with
a typical message such as "aol have received a high number of complaints
about this server and is not presently accepting emails from them."
Also, I have received over 500 returned emails from AOL to persons I have
NOT emailed! Is it possible that someone has somehow managed to use my email
address to send spam? I don't know if this is possible, but someone told
me it is (the spammer puts a link in the email for people to contact him,
so I do not receive replies; only undeliverable emails).
Is this possible? It would explain why I can no longer send to AOL addresses
as well as the 500+ emails I've received as undeliverable which I never sent!
Has anyone else had experience of this? How should I deal with it, if that
is what's happened? If it isn't, what other explanation can there be? I am
NOT a spammer.
Response
No responses yet.
To post a response, visit the General Discussion forum at http://PCIN.net/help/forum/index.php?board=2 and
click on the "Emailing problem" topic.
Visit http://PCIN.net/help/forum/ to
post a question of your own.
PCIN.net UPDATE
Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:
Sunbelt Software iHateSpam Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ihatespam.php
Logitech Cordless Elite Duo Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/lced.php
XemiComputers Ltd. DeskLook 3.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/desklook3.php
Symantec Norton Ghost 2003 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ghost2003.php
THE TIPS and OTHER
STUFF
Renaming Special Folders
There are many folders that are considered to be System folders. Windows
handles them differently than most other folders and often won't let you
move them or rename them. Some of the folders are:
My Documents
Recycle Bin
Fonts
Search Results
Scheduled Tasks
Internet Explorer
Printers and Faxes
Network and Dial-up Connections
My Network Places
My Computer
If you would like to rename any of these folders, visit http://www.winnetmag.com/windows/article/articleid/38503/38503.html for
instructions.
What's In A (Search Engine's) Name?
"What's a Google? Should you be wary of Inktomi? Here's a look at the
origins and meanings of the major search engines' names.
Search engine names fall broadly into three categories. Some, like AlltheWeb
and the former Infoseek, are functional names. Others, like Teoma, use words
from non-English languages. In the third category are the services with colorful
or goofy names."
Visit http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3084451 for
some history of where the Search Engines got their names.
Start-up Applications - Do you really need all of them?
"The intention of these pages is to provide a central resource for
PC users and Tech Support staff alike who are concerned about the poor performance
of their PCs due to the number of programs that run at system start-up. The
following information is provided:
Background to the problem
Techniques that can be used to identify and disable start-up programs from
running
A comprehensive list of programs that are loaded at start-up
A request for additional programs or updated information"
Check it out at http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm
PCIN.net AFFILIATED
SITES
Both of us have other sites other than PCIN.net. These are all sites that
we are actively involved in (they aren't client sites). Don't forget to check
them out from time to time for updates:
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://PCIN.net/ and
follow the appropriate links.
- Recommend PCIN to others at http://PCIN.net/recommend.php and
be entered in a monthly draw.
- There are only 3 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,
you have requested FreeHelp from me in the past, or you have registered with
the FreeHelp Forum.
- 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://PCIN.net/donate.php
Return to the top
Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.net
Copyright 1998-2003, 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://PCIN.net/donate.php
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