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Issue 342 - May 04, 2005

ISSN 1488-3163; PC Improvements © 2005
==== 2051 Subscribers in 60 Countries ====

Welcome to the 342nd 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

April showers supposedly bring May flowers. I think we are behind a bit. There are plenty of flowers around, but we are still getting those showers. The forecast is looking better, and hopefully Lisa and I will be out in the gardens soon.

I think the first or second software review I ever did was for a piece of software called ActiveEarth. That was several years ago. Over the years I'm not sure what happened, but the site went offline and I'd have people emailing me with questions/problems. Well, I got an email today from Thaine Norris and apparently ActiveEarth "has changed hands and is dramatically improved!" If you have been looking for info on the product before, the site is back online at http://www.activeearth.com/. I'll review the product in the coming weeks and hopefully get a copy or two to give away as prizes.

I will be changing web hosts over the weekend. This should be seamless to any web site visitors, but if you do have a hard time getting to the site, you know why.

Graham editor@pcin.net and Chris chris@pcin.net

The NEWS

Internet-illiterate parents hold back kids

Parents who lack Internet skills could be damaging their children's education and job prospects, leaving them on the wrong side of the growing digital divide, researchers said Thursday.
According to research by academics at the London School of Economics, many parents lack the skills to guide their children's Internet use. The study surveyed 1,511 young people, aged nine to 19, and 906 parents.
"Now that many young people rely on the Internet for information, homework help and careers guidance, the more it matters that some of them are getting left behind," said Sonia Livingstone, professor of social psychology for LSE's media and communications department. "Not knowing how to best use the Internet may have a negative impact on their education and employment opportunities."

For more info:
http://techrepublic.com.com/2100-22_11-5688826.html

Leave a comment:
http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/04/30/internet_illiterate_parents_hold_back_ki

Microsoft to add 'black box' to Windows

In a move that could rankle privacy advocates, Microsoft said Monday that it is adding the PC equivalent of a flight data recorder to the next version of Windows, in an effort to better understand and prevent computer crashes.
The tool will build on the existing Watson error-reporting tool in Windows but will provide Microsoft with much deeper information, including what programs were running at the time of the error and even the contents of documents that were being created. Businesses will also choose whether they want their own technology managers to receive such data when an employee's machine crashes.

For more info:
http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-5684051.html

Leave a comment:
http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/04/27/microsoft_to_add_black_box_to_windows

IBM to cut 13,000 jobs, take tax charge

IBM said Wednesday it would cut up to 13,000 jobs, principally in Europe, as part of a global cost-cutting plan that will result in a pretax charge of $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion.
IBM, the world's largest computer company, said in a statement it was restructuring its operations to better focus on high-growth markets and to refocus its technical services operations into new areas of business consulting and services.

For more info:
http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/04/news/fortune500/ibm.reut/index.htm

California acts to ban online hunts

Wildlife regulators in California took the first step Tuesday to bar hunters in the state from using the Internet to shoot animals, responding to a Texas Web site that planned to let users fire at real game with the click of a mouse.
The Fish and Game Commission ordered wildlife officials to prepare emergency regulations to ban the practice. A period of public comment will follow.

For more info:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7733258/

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POLL of the WEEK

Last Week's Poll

Do you care if the PCIN.net Polls continue?

Yes 85 % (85)
No 15 % (15)
Total votes: 100

This Week's Poll

What type of polls are of most interest to you?

What type of hardware do you have?
What type of software do you have?
Spending habits online?
Hardware/software wishes?
Frequency of certain activities?

You can also vote online at http://PCIN.net/polls/

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

PCIN.net UPDATE

Check out these new or updated pages on the PCIN.net site:

VMware Inc. VMware Workstation 4.5 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/vmware45.php

PCIN.net Update Blog
http://PCIN.net/update/

Sunbelt Software iHateSpam 4.0 Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/ihatespam4.php

Micro Solutions RoadStor Hardware Review
http://PCIN.net/help/hardware/roadstor.php

Album Creator by FirmTools Software Review
http://PCIN.net/help/software/albumcreator.php

Return to the top Recommend PCIN Poll of the Week

THE TIPS and OTHER STUFF


Microsoft MVPs

I can't believe I haven't recommended this site before...
"This is your jumping off point to a number of interesting offerings being provided for you by a few folks associated with the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) program. Plan to check this page every so often as new subwebs are bound to show up from time to time."
If you want to learn about almost any Microsoft program, this is the place to start.

Leave a comment:
http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/04/30/microsoft_mvps

Tombstone Generator

Kind of a weird idea for a site (and an even weirder domain name), but for some reason you may want to create a tombstone using the Tombstone Generator. Most people would do this for "fun", but I suppose you could use it for real if you wanted to test out something for a departed loved one.
If you like this sort of thing, then don't forget the Church Sign Generator.

Leave a comment:
http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/04/29/tombstone_generator

Audio Software Tips

Subscriber John Mood sent me this:
"I have been using Audacity for a few months. It is a very excellent audio editor! Coupled with Total Recorder, it's a killer combination. Audacity is free, and Total Recorder is very inexpensive to license.
I found both quite on purpose, having an ancient sound file that needed cleaning up (noise, pops, general fuzziness). Audacity can open and edit and apply a wide range of filters and effects (Normalization, echo, and over 20 others). The file was a copy of Orson Wells' "War of The Worlds" broadcast. It did such a good job on "War of The Worlds", I had to undo two layers of filtering just to make it believable. It honestly sounded too good.
It can be found at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/. It's open source, free, and better than some of the professional tools I have used at work. It complements Total Recorder and is now indispensable to me. It's so good, if it went pro/shareware, I'd pay for it. I download and try a lot of shareware, and Total Recorder and Audacity are both worth a look see. I bought Total Recorder about 3 versions ago. Total Recorder grabs anything (even streaming audio - it eliminates the transmission delay silences) sound wise running through your system. Audacity is great for fine 'polishing' sound, music, and speech recording.
Real handy programs. Total Recorder does a super job on webcasts and the like. It can record right off of WinAmp, MusicMatch, and iTunes radio stations, listening for you and saving to MP3 (with the addition of Lame_enc.dll)."
You can reach John by email at john@chipspeaking.com or visit his web site at http://www.chipspeaking.com/

Leave a comment:
http://www.pcin.net/update/index.php/2005/04/27/audio_software_tips

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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:

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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.

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Graham Wing can be reached at editor@pcin.net
Chris Empey can be reached at chris@pcin.net

Copyright 1998-2005, Graham Wing. All rights reserved.

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