Making Computing life Easier

Changing the Shut Down Screen Everyone is familiar with the shut down screen for Windows. What you may not know, however, is that you can change it to display an image different from those lovely clouds. The shut down screen is saved as a file called LOGOW.SYS in the Windows folder. Your paint program can open it up. The picture is actually 320 x 400 and Windows stretches it. To create your own display, make a picture that is 640 x 480. When you're done, set its size for 320 x 400 and save it as LOGOW.SYS in the Windows folder. Be sure that the picture uses no more than 256 colors. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

The Rear Window Messenger This gadget contributes to a nicer decorum on the highway. The Rear Window Messenger is an LED Matrix sign contained in a plastic enclosure that mounts easily on your back window. The system comes programmed with three different messages: "Sorry," "Thanks," and "Help." Just push a couple of buttons on the remote-control unit and up pops your little message for the guy who just let you in. Messages cannot be changed, and we think this is probably a good thing. The Rear Window Messenger runs on the car's 12-volt supply. It retails for $89.95 as item number 60256E at Hammacher-Schlemmer. They can be reached at (800) 543-3366 or on the web at http://www.hammacher.com.

Don't worry, there will an upgrade that changes with any message anyone wants, "up yours", "let me in please" and "don't bother knockin'" will become popular.

*laugh* It is frightening to think what may appear when they become self-programmable!

Keep the Taskbar Out of Sight If you're tired of looking at the Taskbar all the time, just hide it! To enable this feature, from the Start Menu click on Settings and then Taskbar. The Taskbar Options tab will appear and you'll see a box that says "Auto hide." Check that box to hide the Taskbar. To activate it, simply point the mouse at the bottom of the screen and the Taskbar should pop back up. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Lose the Extra Fonts If you have more fonts than you use, you're wasting precious disk space. To find out how many fonts are on your system, open the Fonts Control Panel (Start/Settings/Control Panel/Fonts). There you'll find a list of all your installed fonts. Double-click a font's name to get copyright info and file size, as well as an example of what the font looks like at sizes up to 72 points. Delete any unnecessary fonts and you'll free up a bunch of disk space. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

CNET Microsoft Windows Tip of the Day - Tidy Up the Reg Tidy Up the Registry The Windows Registry is a database of all your system's settings and software. Whenever a Windows 95 or 98 program is installed, removed, or modified, Windows updates the Registry to reflect the change - or at least, that's how it's supposed to work. Real life is less tidy. System crashes, buggy uninstall programs, and plain old bad luck can clutter your Registry, leaving it full of improper associations, bogus lists of installed programs, and all sorts of other junk that can slow down and even crash your operating system. If you really know what you're doing, you can clean the Registry with RegEdit (the Windows Registry editor). For most users, though, we suggest a safer alternative: Microsoft's RegClean. This download hunts down and removes bogus Registry entries automatically. It can also reverse any changes you make and restore your previous Registry if something goes wrong. Most uninstallers, such as CleanSweep, also clean your Registry - and do a better job than the free RegClean. Make a routine of cleaning the Registry and Windows 98 will run faster and more reliably. Download RegClean at this site: http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10106-108-23283.html Read CNET's CleanSweep review by clicking here. http://www.cnet.com/software/0-3757-7-1559622.html

Someone who knows about this, is it safe for me to do???? I need to get rid of junk in there (NEC assistant) and stuff... I'll pass it by David, as well...

Good tip. I've never tried either RegClean or CleanSweep, I'd check some authoritative reviews first. See if there are any caveats before messing with your registry.

I asked my son and he responded The registry is such a sensitive thing, I wouldn't fool with it if stuff is working okay. My machine at home has an intermittent freezing problem that I have been trying to fix. I bought the latest McAffee which came with FirstAid. FirstAid found about 43 problems in my registry in my computer that is 11 months old. It fixed the freezing problem, but caused others. In the course of fixing the other problems, I brought back the freezing problem. Again, if it works, don't fix it! Then I told him of various problems I have starting up and he responded Yuck, what a mess. Well, maybe you should try it then. Good luck! Guess I will try it - it comes from MicroSoft...!

As long as you have a backup machine and are prepared to restore your machine. You might want to use something like a rewriteable CDRom and a program like Nero Burning ROM to make a mirror image backup of your CDrom once you get it to a stable place. then you can always get back to that place.

CNET Microsoft Windows Tip of the Day - Go Easy on Video If your screen redraws slowly or you experience other video glitches, your video card may be working too hard. Some video cards claim to offer screen resolutions and color depths they can't actually support. If you think your card might be maxed out, try bumping down the color depth or screen resolution a notch in the Display Control Panel (Start/Settings/Control Panel/Display) or right-click the desktop and choose Properties. Unless you're a graphic designer, you probably won't notice the difference between 32-bit true color and 16-bit high color, anyway. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

The best I have available is Iomega Zipdisks

That should work ok.

It is just such an intimidating thing to contemplate doing that I am hanging with the status quo so far......*sigh*

Don't Autostart Anything Nothing's slower than having to wait for your computer to launch a bunch of programs each time it starts up. To stop a program from launching at start-up, just open C:WindowsStart MenuProgramsStartUp in Windows Explorer and delete that program's shortcut. Windows 98's System Information tool (Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information) gives you an even more detailed list of autostarting programs. Just expand the Software Environment menu and choose Startup Programs. This will show you any programs that are automatically launched by the Registry. To keep these programs from autostarting, consult each application's help file. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Stop the Floppy Scan When Windows 98 boots up, it wastes time scanning for new floppy drives. You can reclaim these lost seconds via the System Control Panel applet (Start/Settings/Control Panel/System or right-click My Computer and choose Properties). Select the Performance tab, click the File System button, select the Floppy Disk tab, and uncheck the option "Search for new floppy disk drives every time your computer starts." Voila! Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Delete Junk Programs Unused programs clutter your hard drive, robbing you of valuable space and ultimately slowing down system performance. Hard drive clutter also causes conflicts with the useful apps on your system. Our test machines showed significantly faster performance and increased stability when we simply removed a few unused programs. To get your hard drive squeaky clean, use an uninstaller application, such as Norton's CleanSweep Deluxe from Symantec. CleanSweep keeps track of unused files, schedules cleanup jobs, and removes applications more completely than the Windows Add/Remove Programs utility. If you're on a budget and can't afford CleanSweep, try a shareware uninstaller or keep a close watch on the applications you install and remove any that cause problems. To read CNET's CleanSweep Deluxe review, click here. http://home.cnet.com/software/0-3757-7-1559622.html

If you have a Windows NT System, here are some good file system cleanup tips (even though this site has stopped updating). http://personal.cfw.com/~tkprit/files/filesroot.html

Speed Up Reboots If you think Windows 98 takes too long to boot, you can remove the built-in two-second delay in the OS's start-up sequence. Here's what you need to do: 1. Under the Start button, select Find/Files or Folders. 2. Enter msdos.sys in the Named box and C: in the Look In box. Then click Find Now. 3. When the file appears, right-click it and select Properties from the pop-up menu. 4. Click to remove the check marks from the Read-Only and Hidden attributes, then click OK. 5. Right-click msdos.sys, select Open With from the pop-up menu, enter Notepad as the opening program, and then click OK. 6. Under Options, enter BootDelay=0 or BootDelay=1 on its own line. (This represents respective delays of zero seconds and one second, both of which are faster than the default.) 7. Close Notepad and save your changes on the way out. 8. Return msdos.sys to its hidden, read-only state. (Right-click it, select Properties from the pop-up menu, and check the Read-Only and Hidden check boxes. Then click OK.) 9. Quit and restart Windows. Warning: Any time you make changes to your SYS files, it's a good idea to back up your important files and have your original Windows disk on hand in case you need to reinstall. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Control Panel Shortcuts Your Control Panel makes easy work of configuring Windows 98, but if clicking through Start/Settings/Control Panel gets on your nerves, here's a quick fix: Open the Control Panel folder, select the icons of your frequently used applets (hold down Ctrl while you click for multiple selections), then drag them onto your Start button. The Start menu will open, allowing you to place your new Control Panel shortcuts wherever you want. We suggest leaving them in the root of the Start menu and renaming them something unique (go to C:\Windows\Start Menu in the Windows Explorer, right-click the icon, and choose Rename). That way, you can access them with just a click of the Windows key (or Ctrl-Esc if you don't have a Windows key) and the first letter or number of the shortcut's name. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Back Up Your Registry Files To be safe, manually back up the Registry before you make any changes. Go to Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information. Once you've opened the System Information application, click Tools in the menu and select Registry Checker. After a quick scan of your system, Registry Checker will offer to make a backup. Click Yes to replace the oldest backup file with a fresh one. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Real good idea! The registry is a fragile thing.

yup and mine is messed up already, I'm afraid

Thanks for the reminder! Registry backed up today using Norton Utilities. Marcia, did you update your virus protection? (You told me to bug you about it.)

nope - son busy and I really don't want to back up this one as it is.....but it IS better than having it go blank on me and my not being able to restore it. Which reminds me... Alexander reminded you and he has not responded to my email. I am most concerned!

can't get around the NEC assistant problem

I found my problem was the firewall my ISP had. Now I've changed ISP I don't have the problem anymore.

Fascinating. My firewall, though it was tedious to set up, makes my computer much more efficient. It is unobtrusive and is fun to check up on pings.

Yup, no problem with the personal PC firewall program I use, but the ISPs one was a PAIN!

I finally deleted my firewall because it was making other problems on the computer. *Sigh* Access Taskbar Shortcuts With One Click If you want to quickly access an item but don't want to wade through your Start menu categories, make a super-shortcut from your taskbar. Simply right-click the taskbar located at the bottom of your screen. From the pop-up menu, select Toolbars/New Toolbar. From the New Toolbar dialog box, open the Start Menu folder from the Windows directory. You'll find that all items listed on your Start menu are in the Programs subdirectory of this folder. Choose the program or file you want to easily access and Press the OK button. A single-click shortcut should appear on your taskbar bar. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Optimize Your Virtual Cache Do you notice your system periodically stalling while the hard drive thrashes? This phenomenon is often caused by the Windows virtual cache feature. Like onboard caching, this cache is designed to reduce disk access, but it can easily grow large enough to put a dent in your performance. If you've got 32MB of RAM or more, try setting the cache size at a fixed number. We recommend 4MB for systems with less than 48MB of RAM and 8MB for those with 48MB or more. Here's how to set it up: 1. Run SysEdit. (Select Run in your Start menu, type SysEdit in the text box, and press Enter.) 2. Click the system.ini window. 3. Scroll down to the [vcache] section. If you don't see one, type in [vcache] as a new heading. 4. If you have 48MB of RAM or less, enter these two lines: MinFileCache=0 MaxFileCache=4096 5. If you have more than 48MB of RAM, enter these two lines: MinFileCache=0 MaxFileCache=8192 6. Close SysEdit, saving changes on the way out, and restart Windows. Warning: Tweaking the Registry is risky; you're taking your system into your own hands. To be safe, manually back up the Registry before you make any changes.

Hide Your Run Tracks Old DOS heads never poke around in Explorer to click program icons. They just select Start/Run, enter the filename, and start the program without any mouse work. Better yet, they press the Window key-R combo on their 104-key keyboard to launch the Run dialog. The only problem is that Run maintains a history list, which means people can see what you've been running. (The Start menu's Documents list was worse until Windows 98 let you right-click and delete items on it.) Here's how to cover your tracks in the Run dialog box: 1. Back up the Registry. 2. Launch RegEdit by selecting Run from the Start menu and entering RegEdit. 3. Under HKEY_CURRENT_USER, select Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/RunMRU. 4. Find the items in the right hand pane that you want removed from the Run history list. 5. Select the commands you want removed one by one and press Delete to remove them. 6. Save your changes as you quit RegEdit and restart Windows. To remove the entire Run history (the useful entries and the ones you want kept secret) run TweakUI. Select Start/Control Panel and double-click the TweakUI icon. Click the Paranoia tab and select the histories you want to delete. Warning: Tweaking the Registry is risky; you're taking your system into your own hands. To be safe, manually back up the Registry before you make any changes. Click here for more information. http://www.help.com/cat/2/191/192/193/tip/4018.html

Set The Current Date First If you lose all power to your PalmPilot (because of dead batteries, for instance), make sure to set the correct date before HotSyncing your data. If you don't, all the alarms stored in your PalmPilot that have passed will go off at once. This will also happen if you set your PalmPilot to a date before these alarms, then change it back to the correct time. This tip was submitted by PalmGear H.Q.. - Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Rename the Recycle Bin You can rename most anything on the Windows desktop by right-clicking its icon and selecting the Rename option. But the Recycle Bin doesn't have that option and we'd prefer to call it Trash, in honor of the Macintosh icon. Sure enough, both RegEdit and TweakUI make this easy to do. Here's the RegEdit way: 1. Open RegEdit (select Run in the Start menu and enter RegEdit in the text box). 2. Open HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and locate CLSID (the Class ID option). Scroll down to the {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} key and click it. 3. In the right hand window, double-click (Default) and change the name from Recycle Bin to whatever you prefer. 4. Click OK and close RegEdit. 5. To make the new name take effect, click once anywhere on the desktop and press the F5 key. And here's the TweakUI way to rename your recycle bin: 1. Select Start/Settings/Control Panel and launch TweakUI. 2. Under Desktop, right-click Recycle Bin and select Rename. 3. Type in the new name and click OK. Warning: Tweaking the Registry is risky; you're taking your system into your own hands. To be safe, manually back up the Registry before you make any changes. Click here for more information. http://www.help.com/cat/2/191/192/193/tip/4018.html Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Customize the Start Menu Come on--do you really need your Start menu to include the item Log Off [your name]? If you're using a networked or shared computer, maybe. But the rest of us could happily axe the thing. (If you need to restart Windows, just select Restart from the Shut Down menu and hold down the Shift key.) Here's how you do it: 1. Back up your Registry and launch RegEdit. 2. Under HKEY_CURRENT_USER, select 3. Select Edit/New/Binary Value. 4. Name the new entry NoLogOff. 5. Press Enter and set the value to this: 01 00 00 00. 6. Save your changes as you quit RegEdit and restart Windows. Warning: Tweaking the Registry is risky; you're taking your system into your own hands. To be safe, manually back up the Registry before you make any changes. Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Policies/Explorer . Click here for more information. http://www.help.com/cat/2/191/192/193/tip/4018.html Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Palm OS Tip of the Day Attaching Notes To Appointments If you attach a note to the appointment, you can choose whether the note is added to all occurrences of that appointment or just the single appointment you selected. Also, a quick way to attach a note is to use the Attach Note Command graffiti stroke. Do a command stroke (lower left to upper right) and then do an "A". This is universally used in all the built-in applications. This tip was submitted by PalmGear H.Q.. - Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Cool! Always looking for Palm tips.

That is the second one - just signed up for them the other day... For you, of course!

I wish I could find a better browser for my Palm VII. I've looked around. On my Palmphone, the telnet and email apps are awesome. I can really access anything on the net with the Palm Phone.

I'll keep mt eyes peeled for a good browser.. Palm OS Tip of the Day HotSync Time-Out Problems? If you're having a problem with HotSync timing out before it syncs your mail, try this before each HotSync: Hold both the down and up buttons and tap in the upper right corner of the screen. Tap OK in the dialog box that appears. This turns off the "time-out" feature, and your PalmPilot will wait patiently while your mail syncs. This tip was submitted by PalmGear H.Q.. - Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Windows Tip of the Day - Change Your Name Did your PC come with Windows 98 preinstalled? Do people snicker that your Office documents are stamped with an author name like "Valued Gateway Customer," which brands you as a clueless newbie? This can be changed. Here's how: 1. Back up your Registry and launch RegEdit. 2. Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, select Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion. 3. Double-click the RegisteredOrganization or RegisteredOwner options and type in your real name (or an interesting pseudonym, if you prefer). 4. Exit and restart Windows. Warning: Tweaking the Registry is risky; you're taking your system into your own hands. To be safe, manually back up the Registry before you make any changes. Click here for more information. http://www.help.com/cat/2/191/192/193/tip/4018.html Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Fine-Tune Your Searches Fine-tune the way IE 5 searches for information on the Internet by clicking the Search button on the toolbar and selecting Customize. You can specify which search options appear in the window and which sites are used for a range of searches. If you select the Autosearch Settings button, you can alter how an Autosearch is performed and what happens when likely sites are returned.

Beware The Power Of AutoComplete In Internet Explorer, some sites' search fields will retain entries you've made in the past when AutoComplete is active. Try explaining why "divorce law" pops up as a possible match when your spouse uses HotBot for a search of his own. To turn off this part of AutoComplete, choose Tools/Internet Options, then click the Content tab. Click the AutoComplete button in the personal information section and uncheck the Forms box in the AutoComplete Settings dialog. - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com Help.com | Answers for Tech Questions http://www.help.com?tag=ex.em.tip_internet.txt.hp

Palm OS Tip of the Day - Add Custom Info To An Address Book Entry Add Custom Info To An Address Book Entry The Address Book app provides four custom fields that you can rename anything you want. However, renaming a custom field affects all Address List entries using that field. To add custom information for a single entry without using a custom field, attach a note to the entry. Everything in the note will show up in the Address View, just as if you had used a custom field. This tip was submitted by PalmGear H.Q.. - Tip provided by CNET Help.com Help.com | Answers for Tech Questions http://www.help.com?tag=ex.em.tip_palm.txt.hp

Don't Play Favorites As if the Windows Start menu weren't already cluttered enough, IE 4 and later versions add a cascading menu to the Start menu that displays the Favorites folder. Too much! Luckily, the cascading menu is easy to remove. Here's how: 1. Back up your Registry. 2. Launch RegEdit (select Run from the Start menu, type RegEdit in the text box, and press Enter). 3. Under HKEY_CURRENT_USER, select 4. Select Edit/New/DWORD value. 5. Change the default name to NoFavoritesMenu. 6. Press Enter and change the contents of the Value Data to 1. 7. Save your changes as you quit RegEdit and restart Windows. The Favorites menu will still be available from windows in Explorer, but it won't be cluttering your Start menu. Warning: Tweaking the Registry is risky; you're taking your system into your own hands. To be safe, manually back up the Registry before you make any changes. Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Policies/Explorer

Remove Add/Remove Items So you uninstalled a program the Windows way--using Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs. And yet, the listing is still there and when you try to uninstall it, you get an error message. Or, perhaps you want to prevent someone from uninstalling a program somewhere down the line. One Registry hack can take care of both of these contingencies: 1. Make sure you have a current backup of the Registry. 2. Launch RegEdit. 3. Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, locate Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Uninstall. 4. Under Uninstall, locate any keys you don't want and press Delete to remove them. 5. Save your changes as you quit RegEdit and restart Windows. Sure enough, Add/Remove Programs now doesn't list the item or items you've deleted. Warning: Tweaking the Registry is risky; you're taking your system into your own hands. To be safe, manually back up the Registry before you make any changes. Click here for more information. http://www.help.com/cat/2/191/192/193/tip/4018.html Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Open Files Quickly You can open any file on your computer without opening Explorer using IE 5's desktop integration. Right-click the Taskbar and choose New Toolbar in the Toolbars menu. When the window pops up, choose My Computer and click OK. When you minimize the new toolbar, you can access any of your disk drives, or even the Control Panel and Dial-Up Networking, right from your Taskbar. - David Henderson - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com

Hide Annoying File Extensions Like any command line fan, we like to see the extensions of files we're exploring. But with some file types, such as icons, cursors, and (in some cases, when they've been changed) bitmaps, you don't need to see the extensions. Luckily, it's possible to suppress file extensions in some types of files, while all the others stay intact. Here's how: 1. Pick the file extension to suppress, then back up the Registry. 2. Launch RegEdit. 3. Under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, locate the file extension you want to suppress. 4. Right-click the extension name and select New/String Value. 5. Name the string value NeverShowExt and don't change the Data value. 6. Save your changes as you quit RegEdit and restart Windows. Warning: Tweaking the Registry is risky; you're taking your system into your own hands. To be safe, manually back up the Registry before you make any changes. Click here for more information. http://www.help.com/cat/2/191/192/193/tip/4018.html Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Get A Window On History Hitting Ctrl-H in Netscape Communicator brings up the History window, which has a record of all the sites you've visited. You can sort and search the URLs or site titles and link back to any pages you forgot to bookmark. To sort the History list, select the View menu and any of its options: By Title, By Location, By First Visited, By Last Visited, By Expiration, and By Visit Count. The menu also lets you sort any of these views in ascending or descending order. To search the list for a site or sites, select Edit/Search History List, choose from the drop-down boxes, and fill in the text box to define your search. To include an And parameter in your search, click the More button and fill out the second set of boxes that appears. Right-clicking And changes it to an Or parameter. - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com

Terry I can't find where you put your palm pilot program so here goes the hint for the day: Get A Window On History Hitting Ctrl-H in Netscape Communicator brings up the History window, which has a record of all the sites you've visited. You can sort and search the URLs or site titles and link back to any pages you forgot to bookmark. To sort the History list, select the View menu and any of its options: By Title, By Location, By First Visited, By Last Visited, By Expiration, and By Visit Count. The menu also lets you sort any of these views in ascending or descending order. To search the list for a site or sites, select Edit/Search History List, choose from the drop-down boxes, and fill in the text box to define your search. To include an And parameter in your search, click the More button and fill out the second set of boxes that appears. Right-clicking And changes it to an Or parameter. - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com

Use a Bitmap Image as a 16-Color Icon To use a bitmap image as a 16-color icon, rename the .bmp file to a file with an .ico extension. To do so, follow these steps: 1. In Windows Explorer, click Options on the View menu. 2. Click the "Hide MS-DOS extensions for file types that are registered" check box to clear it and click OK. 3. Locate the .bmp file you want to use as an icon. 4. Use the right mouse button to click the .bmp file and click Rename on the menu that appears. Rename the file with an .ico extension. Windows automatically recognizes that you want to use the bitmap image as an icon. The image is resized to icon size and converted to 16 colors. To use the .ico file as an icon for a shortcut, follow these steps: 1. Use the right mouse button to click the shortcut and click Properties on the menu that appears. 2. On the Shortcut tab, click Change Icon. 3. Type the name of the .ico file in the File Name box or click Browse and locate the .ico file. 4. Click OK and then click OK once more. This tip was submitted by Microsoft. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Boot to a Command Prompt by Default To configure Windows to boot to a command prompt automatically, follow these steps: 1. Restart your computer. For Windows 95, when you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and choose Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu. For Windows 98, press and hold down the CTRL key after your computer completes the Power On Self Test (POST) and then choose Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu. 2. Type the following lines. Press ENTER after each line: attrib -s -h -r msdos.sys edit msdos.sys 3. Change the line that reads BootGUI=1 to read: BootGUI=0 4. Save the msdos.sys file and close the editor. 5. Type the following line and press ENTER: attrib +s +h +r msdos.sys 6. Restart your computer. When the computer restarts, it automatically boots to a command prompt. To load the Windows graphical user interface (GUI), type win at the command prompt. This tip was submitted by Microsoft. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Have FTP Both Ways Downloading files from FTP servers via Netscape Navigator is nothing new, but Communicator allows you to upload files as well. The syntax for FTP is ftp://user:password@site.com/directory/. If you leave out just the password but do put in the username (ftp://username@ftp.site.com), you'll be prompted for a password. This lets you bookmark the site so that no one else will have access to it. If you leave out the username and password, you use the standard anonymous FTP login, so it's ftp://site.com/. While connected to an FTP URL, you can drag and drop files from your desktop to the Navigator window to upload them to the server (assuming you have the proper permissions). - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com

Walk Through Multiple Windows You can cycle through all open Navigator, Mailbox, and Discussion windows by repeatedly pressing Ctrl-Tab. This shortcut doesn't work in Composer, as it is not supported by a Mac. - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com Help.com | Answers for Tech Questions http://www.help.com?tag=ex.em.tip_internet.txt.hp

Enable Support for Multiple Languages in Windows To install multiple language support in Windows, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel. 2. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs. 3. Click the Windows Setup tab. 4. Click the Multilanguage Support check box to select it. 5. Click OK. To enable support for a specific language after doing the above, follow these steps: 1. In Control Panel, double-click Keyboard. 2. On the Language tab, click Add. 3. Click the language you want to use and then click OK. 4. Click OK. This tip was submitted by Microsoft. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Wow, I always use alt tab. Control tab is like lightnin'

Start Disk Cleanup With a Command Line Disk Cleanup helps free up space on your hard drive by searching your drive, and then listing the temporary files, Internet cache files, and unnecessary program files that you can safely delete. To start the Disk Cleanup tool and specify the hard disk to clean by using a command line, use the following steps: 1. Click Start and then click Run. 2. In the Open box, type the following line and then press ENTER: c:\windows\cleanmgr.exe/[drive] Where [drive] is, type the drive letter of the hard disk you want to clean. This tip was submitted by Microsoft. Tip provided by CNET Help.com Help.com | Answers for Tech Questions http://www.help.com?tag=ex.em.tip_windows.txt.hp

Verify Faster To avoid having to reload a cached document, Navigator stores retrieved Web pages in memory caches and disk caches, and checks each newly requested document against both. This approach can save time if Navigator finds a document, but it can waste time if the program checks the caches too often. To avoid this delay, select Edit/Preferences from the main menu. Next, click the plus sign (the triangle on Macs) next to the Advanced category, then click the Cache category that appears. Under Document In Cache Is Compared To Document On Network, check either the Once Per Session or the Never option. - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com

Install and Run Clipboard Viewer The Clipboard Viewer is not installed by default in Windows. To install Clipboard Viewer, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel. 2. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs. 3. Click the Windows Setup tab. 4. Click System Tools and then click Details. 5. Click the Clipboard Viewer check box to select it and then click OK. 6. Click OK. To run Clipboard Viewer after you install it, click Start, point to Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and click Clipboard Viewer. You can use Clipboard Viewer to view the contents of the Clipboard. This tip was submitted by Microsoft. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Office 2000 has a multiple clipboard which saves 10-12 items, but it becomes a hassle at a time like the little moron that runs around the screen getting in your way.

Is he worse than paper clip man on Word???

Verify Faster To avoid having to reload a cached document, Navigator stores retrieved Web pages in memory caches and disk caches, and checks each newly requested document against both. This approach can save time if Navigator finds a document, but it can waste time if the program checks the caches too often. To avoid this delay, select Edit/Preferences from the main menu. Next, click the plus sign (the triangle on Macs) next to the Advanced category, then click the Cache category that appears. Under Document In Cache Is Compared To Document On Network, check either the Once Per Session or the Never option. - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com

Take Control Of Your Appearance To set Netscape Communicator to display your choice of text and background color for the Web pages you view, pull down the Edit menu and select Preferences/Appearance/Colors. On the right side of the dialog box, select a text color and a background color (you can also select colors for unvisited and visited links). If you select the Always Use My Colors overriding document check box, you will see your colors in place of those specified for the Web page. - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com

Create A Custom Toolbar Netscape Navigator 4.0 includes a new personal toolbar that makes it easier to manage the bookmarks folder. (The Mac version of Navigator doesn't include the personal toolbar.) The personal toolbar displays the links from the toolbar folder of the Bookmarks file. To see it, select View/Show Personal Toolbar from the main menu; if the toolbar is currently minimized, click its small horizontal bar to display the bar. To add the current Web page to the personal toolbar, move the cursor over the Page Proxy icon next to the Netsite box in the Location toolbar. When the cursor turns into a hand, drag the Page Proxy icon onto the Personal toolbar. To move an existing bookmark into the Personal toolbar, click the Bookmarks icon, select Edit Bookmarks from the drop-down list, select the appropriate bookmark, and drag it into the Toolbar Folder. It will immediately appear in the personal toolbar. You can even add your Messenger Inbox or a desktop folder to your customized toolbar. Just drag and drop its icon onto the toolbar. - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com

Fun With Folder Content Columns When examining a folder's contents in the Details view, all you see is columns! Mix it up a little by dragging column dividers to adjust column widths. If you're feeling really crazy, you can drag a column header (title) to another horizontal location to switch the order in which the columns display. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Kill Your Mouse Did you know Opera can be run exclusively from your keyboard? F8 takes your cursor to the Address field, while F9 makes normal navigation possible. Type 1 or 2 to switch between open windows. Esc works like the Stop button to stop the current document from loading. Ctrl-F2 opens your Hot List (similar to Favorites in Internet Explorer or Bookmarks in Netscape). These are only the most frequently used keyboard commands and shortcuts. Hit Ctrl-B to see the entire list. Click here to download Opera http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10058-100-1889857.html

Stop Squinting Too young for reading glasses? Opera has the easiest zoom features of any browser around. Just click the arrow at the lower right corner of the screen, next to where it usually says "100%." This will open a small menu where you can select a zoom setting from 20 to 1,000 percent of the original page, with instant results. You can also zoom in and out by hitting the plus (+) and minus (-) keys on your numeric keypad; hitting the multiplication key (*) defaults back to 100 percent. Opera will open all windows with your favorite setting by default. Just go to the Preferences menu, select Document Window, and adjust the default scaling. Click here to download Opera http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10058-100-1889857.html

Lighten the Load With Disk Cleanup Windows 98 stores files in the Recycle Bin and in temporary directories for easier access. However, Windows saves so many files that eventually the waste can outweigh the ease. Speed up your computer and free some hard drive space with Disk Cleanup. From the Start button, select Disk Cleanup from System Tools in the Accessories menu. A pop-up window will appear to ask which drive you want to clean. Disk Cleanup will then quickly scan your hard drive to analyze the drive's wasted space. Once it finishes, the Disk Cleanup window will display the amount of wasted space for each file type that can be cleaned out. Check the boxes next to each file type you want to erase and press OK. The program will prompt you for deletion confirmation and clean your machine. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Cut and Paste Keyboard Shortcuts Make cutting and pasting in Windows 98 a snap with keyboard shortcuts. To quickly use the copy command, press Ctrl-C. To easily cut text or graphics, press Ctrl-X. To paste from the clipboard, press Ctrl-V. To quickly highlight the text you want to cut or copy, place the cursor at the start of the first character you want to select and depress the Shift key while using the arrow keys to highlight the selection. You can also quickly navigate through text moving one word at a time by depressing Ctrl and the arrow keys. To undo any command, press Ctrl-Z. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Stop Splashing Me! Tired of seeing that splash screen every time you start up Opera? Now you can make it stop. Open Notepad or any text editor, and edit the file in your Windows directory called opera.ini. There should be a section called [USER PREFS]. If not, go ahead and add one. Then enter (or edit) the following statement: SHOW SPLASH SCREEN = 0 Save your changes and Opera will never splash you again. Click here to dowload Opera http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10058-100-1889857.html - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com

Make Opera Support Java You can give Opera the Java support it needs! Download and install Sun's Java at http://www.operasoftware.com/support/operate.htm#35003, then copy the file named NPJava32.dll from C:\java plug-in\bin to C:\program files\opera\plugins. That's all there is to it. Click here to dowload Opera http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10058-100-1889857.html - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com

Use the Caps Lock and Num Lock Key Alerts Perhaps the capitalization and number lock keys are among the most useful keyboard keys, allowing the user to toggle between upper and lower case or between numbers and arrow keys on the numeric keypad. But they can also impede productivity when accidentally hit, changing case or function. Don't let yourself be caught in the wrong mode unawares. You can change your settings so that you're alerted whenever the Caps Lock or Num Lock key is hit. A mild, high-pitched tone will indicate that Caps Lock or Num Lock has been turned on, and a slightly lower tone will indicate that one of these features has been turned off. To activate these alerts, select Settings/Control Panel from the Windows 98 Start menu. Double-click the Accessibility Options icon. From the Accessibility Properties window, select the Keyboard tab. Under the ToggleKeys section, check the box labeled "Use ToggleKeys," click the Apply button, and then click OK. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Fill in Web Forms With Ease If you want Opera to fill in Web forms it encounters with your personal information automatically (such as e-mail address and phone number), go to the Preferences menu and select Generic/Personal Information and fill in your details. From now on you will be able to copy those details into any text box or form you come across as you surf the Web. When you find a form, right-click in the text field and select the appropriate text to insert from the context menu.

Using the Windows Key Use your Windows key to open a variety of commands quickly. The Windows key, denoted by the Microsoft symbol on recent keyboards, will access the Start menu when it's pressed. You can also depress the Windows key and press the letter E to launch Windows Explorer. The Windows-F combination will launch the File Finder. To minimize all windows, press the letter M while holding down the Windows key. Conversely, you can maximize all windows by depressing the Windows key and pressing Shift-M. To access the Start menu's Run command, simply hold down the Windows key and press the letter R on your keyboard.

Manage the Size of the Recycle Bin If your Recycle Bin looks less like a bin and more like a dumpster, keep your trash manageable by setting its hard drive space. Make sure the percentage of disk space your Recycle Bin uses is small. To do so, right-click the Recycle Bin from your desktop. From the pop-up menu, select Properties. Click the Global tab from the Recycle Bin Properties window and select the radio button labeled "Use one setting for all drives." Next, move the slider labeled "Maximum size of Recycle Bin" to control the percentage of hard disk space the Recycle Bin can occupy. Move the slider to the left so that the Recycle Bin occupies less space or move it to the right to increase maximum hard drive percentage.

Customize Your Cache Sometimes a browser's method of caching seems illogical. At times, pages visited recently have not been cached, while older pages remain cached. However, you can call the shots, and decide which pages you wish to cache and how often. Explorer users can do so by setting up an Internet Explorer subscription. To do so, when adding a site to your Favorites list, check the box labeled, "Make available offline." Then, simply click on the Customize button to begin the Offline Favorite Wizard. First, decide whether you want subpages to be cached as well by choosing the "Yes" or "No" radio button and clicking Next. You can then decide how often you wish the page to be cached in the next step, by selecting "I would like to create a new schedule" and selecting the Next button. Decide how often you would like the page to be cached by specifying number of days, and a time to synchronize, and press Next. As most sites do not require a password, you can usually press Next to bypass the last step. Explorer will then cache the page according to your specifications. Netscape users can access Preferences from the Edit menu. Navigate to the Advanced/Cache directory from the Preferences window. You can then specify how much disk and memory space you wish to occupy with cached pages. You can also specify to which folder you wish to save cached pages. In addition, you can decide how often pages are compared to their cached copies, and then updated. Under the heading labeled, "Document in cache is compared to document on network," select the radio button for "Once per session," "Every time," or "Never," according to your preference. Click OK to save changes.

Discover A Site's Details With WHOIS By using the WHOIS command, you can find out the registered name, server addresses, and e-mail of the registrar of a specific domain. Most UNIX users can generally access this command by simply prefacing a domain name with the WHOIS command. Other users can access the WHOIS service online. Keep in mind, however, that oftentimes this information can be outdated. Also, it is considered bad etiquette to overuse or abuse information obtained by this service. - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com

Change Your Language Settings Make Windows speak your language by customizing your settings to a tongue other than English. To do so, click the Start button and select Control Panel from the Settings submenu. Double-click the Keyboard icon and click the Language tab from the Keyboard Properties window. Next, click on the Add button and choose the language you want to use from the pull-down menu. Click the "Set as Default" button to make the highlighted language your default language. You can switch languages easily with the keyboard by selecting one of the hotkey options listed under the "Switch Languages" heading. Select the radio button of the hotkey you wish to add and press that key sequence anywhere in Windows 98 to switch languages. By checking the box labeled "Enable indicator on the taskbar," you can access a system tray icon that will switch your language for you. Once all settings are to your liking, click the Apply button to effect changes. Click the OK button to close the Keyboard Properties window. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Customize Your Telnet Colors Turn your Telnet terminal technicolor by customizing your hues. Select Preferences from the Telnet Terminal menu. From the pop-up dialog box, click the Background Color button. Click the background color you want in the pop-up palette and click the OK button. Once you return to the Terminal Preferences dialog box, click the Fonts button. From the Font dialog box, select the font color you want from the Color pull-down menu under the Effects heading. Click OK twice to save your settings. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

CRT has this and a lot more.

Yeah, I know!!! Silence Line Noise Sometimes, when accessing the Internet, you might encounter trouble logging on, surfing, or the appearance of extra characters as you attempt to use UNIX-based features. This is caused by "line noise," or interference in your phone line, caused by faulty wiring, moisture, or other factors. You can test for line noise by picking up the telephone receiver (when you are not connected to the Internet), and listening for line static, or crackling noises. You can cut down on line noise by using shorter phone cords to connect your computer to the telephone jack. If all else fails, you can always contact your local telephone provider, and ask that a technician be sent out to analyze your line quality. - Internet Tip Provided by CNET Help.com

Create a Printer Shortcut Print anything you want in a snap by creating a printer shortcut. Select Settings/Control Panel from the Start menu. Double-click the Printers icon. Once you're in the Printers folder, drag your printer icon onto the desktop. A prompt window will appear confirming that you want to create this shortcut. Click the Yes button. You can now drag any file onto your new printer shortcut, and the print job will begin immediately. Tip provided by CNET Help.com

Today's Windows 98 Tip: Fun With Folder Content Columns When examining a folder's contents in the Details view, all you see is columns! Mix it up a little by dragging column dividers to adjust column widths. If you're feeling really crazy, you can drag a column header (title) to another horizontal location to switch the order that the columns display. If you've got Windows 98 tips of your own that you'd like to share, submit them here. Get more Windows 98 how-tos and tips here. Get answers to your Windows 98 questions here. Looking for more help with Windows 98? Try our Windows 98 Help Directory, a complete listing of books, tutorials, online courses, and more.

Today's Windows 95 Tip: Get Fast Access to Your Screensaver To have instant access to your screensaver, simply create a desktop shortcut pointing to the desired SCR file (usually located in Windows\System). This tip was submitted by Barry Kortekaas. If you've got Windows 95 tips of your own that you'd like to share, submit them here. Get more Windows 95 how-tos and tips here. Get answers to your Windows 95 questions here. Looking for more help with Windows 95? Try our Windows 95 Help Directory, a complete listing of books, tutorials, online courses, and more.

There must be a LINUX topic but I could not find it so... let me know and Iwill eamil it to you. There are too many greater than signs in it to allow posting. Today's Linux Tip: How Do I Update (For Example) the System's Perl Documentation? Because program source and documentation files accumulate on machines that have been in operation for a long time (like McGee's closet), it's a good idea to get acquainted with the *nix way of doing things (really, no sarcasm intended), to make sure that you know what's on your system. In short, let the computer do it for you in the background. The following BASH shell script uses the programs find, egrep, and sed to search directory hierarchies for the text string "=head1" that signals the start of a Perl POD (plain old documentation) module. It then constructs and executes a shell script to generate the formatted documentation from those files. The programs that do the actual formatting are pod2man and pod2text. They are Perl scripts that call Perl library modules. The programs pod2latex and pod2html can also be added to the script, if they're present on the system. Place the shell script below in a file called makepods, then make the file executable with the shell command: chmod +x makepods Remember to run chmod +x to make this shell script executable as well. This is an example only; it is not the only way that cron jobs can be configured. Please consult your local documentation. YMMV (your mileage may vary). The author assumes no responsibility for its use, misuse, or abuse, and so on. This tip was submitted by Linux FAQ. If you've got Linux tips of your own that you'd like to share, submit them here. Get more Linux how-tos and tips here. Get answers to your Linux questions here. Looking for more help with Linux? Try our Linux Help Directory, a complete listing of books, tutorials, online courses, and more.

Today's Printers Tip: What's the Bottom Line? The price tag shouldn't be the only cost you consider when shopping for a printer. You should also factor in the costs of special paper needs, special input trays, ink cartridges or toner, printer drums, and how often you will need to replace these items during the life of the printer. If you've got Printers tips of your own that you'd like to share, submit them here. Get more Printers how-tos and tips here. Get answers to your Printers questions here. Looking for more help with Printers? Try our Printers Help Directory, a complete listing of books, tutorials, online courses, and more.

This Week's Shareware Dispatch 1. PC File of the Week CHOICECASTER Nothing beats streaming videos over a fast Internet connection, but launching multiple video players for different file formats can be a real chore. Fortunately, ChoiceCaster can help. This all-in-one, customizable media player supports QuickTime, RealPlayer, and Windows Media Player formats, provided you have the proper plug-ins installed on your system. You can launch the supported audio and video files from a single control panel, search online using its integrated Web browser, and find content online using a media guide that lists live events, Webcasts, and more. The guide even includes a library feature that scans your disks for supported files. FACT FILE: Version: 1.0 Size: 2,040K Developed by: eSynch Corp. License: Freeware Requirements: Windows 95/98/NT/2000 Mediate your multimedia: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evM0BxpGx0p0D84k ______________________________________________________ 2. Recent Additions to the Shareware.com PC Library ADVANCED DISK CATALOG Version: 1.31 Size: 1,730K Developed by: Elcom Ltd. License: Shareware ($20) Requirements: Windows 95/98/NT/2000 Build a searchable catalog of hard disk and CD-ROM files: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evM0BxpGx0p0D85l CHRIS UNINSTALL MANAGER Version: 1.0 Size: 340K Developed by: Christophe Bertrand License: Freeware Requirements: Windows 95/98/NT/2000 Replace the Windows Add/Remove Programs utility: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evM0BxpGx0p0D86m CUTERIP Version: 1.20 Size: 1,240K Developed by: YuanSoft Corp. License: Shareware ($20) Requirements: Windows 95/98/NT/2000 Create your own MP3 files from audio CD tracks: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evM0BxpGx0p0D87n INSTACROPPER Version: 2.0 Size: 840K Developed by: UtahSoft License: Freeware Requirements: Windows 95/98/NT Crop scanned images and automatically eliminate white space: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evM0BxpGx0p0D88o INTER FAX Version: 7.0 Size: 1,320K Developed by: UK Software License: Freeware Requirements: Windows 95/98/NT/2000 Send faxes anywhere using your PC and an Internet connection: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evM0BxpGx0p0EAA8 ______________________________________________________ 3. Mac File of the Week PEPPER There are many development-oriented text editors available for the Mac, but Pepper offers a few powerful benefits over its competition. First, it has a clean editing interface, with no obnoxious pop-ups or complicated toolbars. It also incorporates full support for Perl syntax searches, includes useful coding templates, and can store commonly-used code snippets in its Accelerator Editor. Pepper even features low memory requirements, despite having multiple levels of undo/redo capabilities. In addition to Perl, it supports C/C++, HTML, Java, Oberon-2, Pascal, Python, Rez, Shell, and TeX. This version adds a strong online Help system. FACT FILE: Version: 3.0.1 Size: 1.3M Developed by: Hekkelman Programmatuur License: Shareware ($45, site license available) Requirements: PowerPC processor, System 8.6 or better, 2.5M free disk space Pepper up your text: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evM0BxpGx0p0EABA ______________________________________________________ 4. Recent Additions to the Shareware.com Mac Library PRESIDENTS3000 Version: 1.01 Size: 908K Developed by: Ken Winograd/Space-Time Associates License: Shareware ($20, site license available) Requirements: PowerPC processor Know your presidents in this basic hangman puzzler: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evM0BxpGx0p0EACB DATEPASTER Version: 1.01 Size: 391K Developed by: Satinder S. Sidhu License: Freeware Requirements: Should work on any Mac Copy and paste long-form dates without consulting your calendar: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evM0BxpGx0p0EADC MORTGAGE MAKER Version: 2.2 Size: 297K Developed by: Nick Parlante License: Freeware ($10 for professionals, site licenses available) Requirements: Should work on any Mac Check out your mortgage and loan options: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evM0BxpGx0p0EAED SLIDER Version: 1.0.4 Size: 206K Developed by: RavenWare License: Freeware Requirements: PowerPC processor Have slippery fun with a multi-level geometric game: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evM0BxpGx0p0EAFE WORLDS APART Version: 2.1 Size: 1.6M Developed by: Suzanne Britton License: Freeware Requirements: System 7 or later, QuickTime 3.0 or later, 2.5M free RAM Play along with this "interactive fugue" for the Mac: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evM0BxpGx0p0EAGF

Tweak Freak Dispatch A newsletter from CNET Help.com http://www.help.com/ August 23, 2000 ----------------------------------------------- This Week on Tweak Freak: Find and Fix Finicky System Files ----------------------------------------------- Never run into a corrupted file or a system conflict in Windows 98? Lucky you. Fortunately, there's a tool for those of us (or the majority of us, to be more precise) who are all-too-familiar with the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. The Windows 98 System Information utility lets you diagnose conflicts and repair corrupted files through a variety of individual tools for Internet Explorer, DirectX, and other Windows components. You can open System Information by clicking the Start menu, then selecting Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information. Here's how to operate some of the more useful tools to keep your system running smoothly and swiftly. Note: It's a good idea to shut down other programs while using the System Information tools to avoid conflicts. ** KEEP YOUR SYSTEM FILES IN ORDER Use the ever-handy System File Checker to verify the integrity of the files in the Windows\System folder (among others) and replace corrupted system files. To open the System File Checker, select it from the Tools menu in the System Information window. To begin, make sure the radio button in front of "Scan for altered files" is checked and then click the Start button. If nothing's wrong, you'll see a dialog box that says the System File Checker has finished. Click the Details button if you'd like to see how many files the Checker scanned and any changes it noted; otherwise, click OK. If you'd like System File Checker to notify you if any system files have been changed or deleted, click the Settings button in the main window and then in the Settings tab, check the boxes in front of "Check for changed files" and "Check for deleted files." The next time you run System File Checker, it will notify you of results in either category. ** DIAGNOSE DIRECTX PROBLEMS DirectX, the application program interface that enables your system for audio and 3D video, can often get a little gimpy over time. The tests in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool allow you to find out if everything's running smoothly. Select DirectX Diagnostic Tool from the Tools menu in the System Information window to open it. Click any of the tabs at the top, from DirectX Files to Display to Network, and check the Notes section at the bottom. This area will let you know if there are any problems found in this segment of DirectX. The Display, Sound, Music, and Network tabs allow you to run tests on different aspects of DirectX to ensure that each one is working properly. For example, click the Display tab and then click the Test Direct3D button to examine your system's 3D graphics handling ability. The Diagnostic Tool will render a spinning cube in both software and hardware and ask you if it displayed on your screen. If you run into any problems during your tests of DirectX (they'll be marked in the Notes section), click the More Help tab at the right. If the Restore button is visible, you can click it to have DirectX reinstalled. If this doesn't work, try solving your problem with the Windows DirectX Troubleshooter. Just click the Troubleshoot button. Still having problems? You can always download the latest version of DirectX from CNET Download.com. ** REPAIR, AUGMENT, OR ROLL BACK INTERNET EXPLORER The Internet Explorer Repair Tool can be used to add components to an existing installation of Explorer, repair Internet Explorer, or return to a previously installed version of IE. Select Internet Explorer Repair Tool from the Tools menu in the System Information window to open it. Check the radio button in front of "Add a component" and click OK to expand IE's features. The IE setup program will run, and you'll be able to select the component(s) that you'd like to add from a list. To fix current problems with IE, check the radio button in front of "Repair Internet Explorer" and click OK. The Tool will fix any problems it finds with Explorer and then require you to reboot your system. To return to a previous version of IE that you had installed on your system, check the box in front of "Restore the previous Windows configuration." Click the Advanced button to see what versions you will be able to return to or click the OK button to automatically restore the previous version of Internet Explorer.

Get the Scoop on Web Services: We are constantly updating our site to make it a better place to find the right ISPs, Web Hosts, and Developers for your Web Services needs. Do you have suggestions for development? Are we missing features that would be helpful? If you have suggestions for our listings please send suggestions, comments and feedback our way at: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evg0BxpGy0t0DMKz This Week: Safe surfing: How to protect your child online Kids are logging on to the Internet more than ever before, playing games, chatting with friends, and getting help with schoolwork. But the Web can be a perilous place, and no one is more at risk than children are. From being stalked in chat rooms to stumbling across porn and hate sites, your kids may run into someone or something that's more than you bargained for. http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evg0BxpGy0t0C5rF News of the Week in Web Services: Excite@Home, the nation's largest high-speed Internet service, said Wednesday that it has topped 2 million subscribers, a number that is closing fast on the largest dial-up ISPs. http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evg0BxpGy0t0EA6T Seeking to respond to a growing market segment, Sprint PCS has unveiled new products and services for business customers that include faster connectivity and the ability to link with a corporate intranet. http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evg0BxpGy0t0EA7U Want faster Net access at a cheaper price? Some new kids on the telecommunications block are taking on the Baby Bells by offering businesses Net connections that are both faster and cheaper than services from old-line telecom providers. http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evg0BxpGy0t0EA8V A significant "digital divide" still separates America's technological haves and have-nots, but the have-nots are catching up fast, according to a new survey. http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evg0BxpGy0t0EBAf Web Services Tip of the Week: 10 Questions on E-Commerce Interested in buying or selling online? Get answers to ten key e-commerce questions. http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evg0BxpGy0t0EBBg *************************************** advertisement ****** The Complete Internet. Entirely Wireless. OmniSky introduces the infinite possibilities of wireless web access. Send email, shop online, view robust content- it's the entire Internet for your Palm V. OmniSky-Think it. Do It. http://ph-ad19.focalink.com/SmartBanner/page?85.383 ************************************************************ Writing On the Wall, Latest User Reviews See who is receiving all the ratings in the Web Service's categories this week. 1. Internet Access Big Planet in Dialup Access Average User Rating Value - 5 Quality - 5 Features - 5 For More Information: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evg0BxpGy0t0CHnU 2. Web Hosting HiSpeed in Dedicated Servers Average User Rating Value - 4 Quality - 3 Features - 3 For More Information: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evg0BxpGy0t0DqUl 3. Web Developers BestAuthor Web Site Design Studio in Web Developers Average User Rating Value - 5 Quality - 5 Features - 5 For More Information: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evg0BxpGy0t0C8sJ *************************************** advertisement ****** mySimon.com - Compare Products and Prices on Lots of Stuff mySimon compares products and prices on a vast number of things you may be interested in buying online, including books, music CD�s, VHS and DVD movies, appliances, toys, health and beauty items, jewelry, clothing, gifts and MORE! http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=evg0BxpGy0t0CTI4

CorelDraw Tips Newsletter A newsletter from CNET Help.com http://www.help.com/ August 24, 2000 *************************************************************** Today's CorelDraw Tip: Try the Page Curl Effect The Page Curl effect gives the impression that a corner of an image has rolled in upon itself. You can select which corner of the image, the orientation and size of the curl, and its transparency level. You can also select colors for the curl and for the background that becomes visible when the image curls away. To apply the Page Curl effect, first select the image, then choose 3D Effects/Page Curl from the Bitmaps menu. Select a Page Corner button, then customize your curl by selecting Vertical (to begin the curl at the top or bottom edge of the image) or Horizontal (to begin the curl at the left or right edge of the image). Move the Width and Height sliders to set the curl size--higher values result in a larger, wider curl; lower values result in a smaller, tighter curl. Adjust the color from the Color drop-down color picker menu. If you've got CorelDraw tips of your own that you'd like to share, submit them here. Get more CorelDraw how-tos and tips here. Get answers to your CorelDraw questions here. Looking for more help with CorelDraw? Try our CorelDraw Help Directory, a complete listing of books, tutorials, online courses, and more. *************************ADVERTISEMENT********************** Today IT service providers will bid against each other online to solve your problems. Today you will find solutions you never knew existed. Today ePeople opens the doors to an incredible new online marketplace. www.ePeople.com *************************************************************** ALSO IN CNET Quicken 2001 Deluxe Beta v. Money 2001 Deluxe Microsoft and Intuit are just about ready to release the latest versions of their veteran money management apps. You may be surprised to find out which app you should use. Curious? Get the full scoop in CNET Software's reviews.

Paint Shop Pro Tips Newsletter A newsletter from CNET Help.com http://www.help.com/ August 25, 2000 *************************************************************** Today's Paint Shop Pro Tip: Paste to Size When you have a large image to paste into part of another image, you can reduce the size of the portion you're pasting as you do it. Select the area in the target image into which you want to paste the clipboard contents and paste them by selecting, Edit/Paste/Into Selection. You can also paste into an irregularly shaped selection if you choose it using the Freehand tool first.

Today's Windows 98 Tip: Can the Animation If you're bothered by Windows 98's animation, which you see when selecting menus, moving files or folders around, or selecting items from drop-down list boxes, you can turn it off. Right-click the desktop, select Properties from the pop-up menu, and click the Effects tab. Under Visual Effects, click to remove the check marks next to Use Menu Animations and Show Window Contents While Dragging. (While you're there, select Smooth Edges of Screen Fonts; this process, called antialiasing, makes small text easier to read.) Then click OK. If you've got Windows 98 tips of your own that you'd like to share, submit them here. Get more Windows 98 how-tos and tips here. Get answers to your Windows 98 questions here. Looking for more help with Windows 98? Try our Windows 98 Help Directory, a complete listing of books, tutorials, online courses, and more.

Today's Scanners Tip: Handheld Headaches A handheld scanner may seem like the ultimate mobile tool for business travelers: it can scan quick bytes of information as needed, and it fits in a bag. But the reality is often a bit messier. In addition to being monochrome only, handheld scanners can scan a mere few lines at a time. Though high-end models have special software functions for straightening and stitching together scanned blocks, fixing scanned documents line by line is still a hassle. What's more, a handheld scanner worth owning will cost you at least $500. Unless mobility is a must, it's better to buy a nonportable scanner and wait until you get home. If you've got Scanners tips of your own that you'd like to share, submit them here. Get more Scanners how-tos and tips here. Get answers to your Scanners questions here. Looking for more help with Scanners? Try our Scanners Help Directory, a complete listing of books, tutorials, online courses, and more.

Today's Norton AntiVirus Tip: Did System Colors Change After Installing Norton AntiVirus 2000? (Norton AntiVirus 2000) Check the Windows Display properties to see if system display settings or color schemes have changed. 1. Right-click the Windows desktop, then click Properties. 2. Check the settings on the Background, Appearance and Settings tabs to make sure your colors and settings are set up properly. This tip was submitted by Symantec. If you've got Norton AntiVirus tips of your own that you'd like to share, submit them here. Get more Norton AntiVirus how-tos and tips here. Get answers to your Norton AntiVirus questions here. Looking for more help with Norton AntiVirus? Try our Norton AntiVirus Help Directory, a complete listing of books, tutorials, online courses, and more.

WinFiles.com WinFile Update (1) Will Windows Me pricing confuse consumers? Windows 95 users will have to pay $30 more than their Windows 98 counterparts to upgrade to Microsoft's new consumer operating system, in a promotional strategy that could end up confusing customers instead of simply rewarding them. Microsoft announced earlier this month that it will sell its new operating system for home PC users for $59 through January. This promotional pricing represents a new strategy for the software maker, which typically sells upgrades to its operating systems for $89. In a break with its own tradition, Microsoft has confirmed, it will sell the upgrade under the name Windows Me Promotional Step-Up for $59 to people who have Windows 98 or Windows 98 Second Edition. Windows 95 users will have to pay the full $89 for their upgrade to Windows Me, or Millennium Edition. After January, everyone will pay the full price. But the company's decision to sell the promotional upgrade under a separate name could cause confusion among consumers over possible differences--if any--between the $59 and $89 upgrades, according to Paul Thurrott, editor of the WinInfo newsletter, which tracks Microsoft software news. "When a customer walks into a store, they will see three different boxes for Windows Me," Wooster said. Microsoft insists that the versions of the upgrades are exactly the same, except for a "compliance checking mechanism" in the promotional OS that locks out Windows 95 users. Microsoft spokeswoman Laura Wooster confirmed that the Step-Up edition will work only with Windows 98 and Windows 98 SE systems. "It's a way to thank our customers who have upgraded to Windows 98," Wooster said, noting that the upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows Me is more complicated than the upgrade from one of the Windows 98 products. The number of people who will miss out on the promotion is unknown, but it may not be too many. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0DPLa (2) Tech giants slam Napster injunction A broad coalition of technology and Internet companies are filing legal briefs Friday that are bitterly critical of last month's court decision against Napster, saying it could threaten the future of much of the technology industry. The parties involved, including the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the Digital Media Association (DiMA) and NetCoalition, are careful to say that they are not explicitly supporting either side in the high-stakes lawsuit. But each group's separate arguments go a long way to support Napster in its battle against the Recording Industry Association of America. The CEA includes giants such as Sony Electronics, Apple Computer, Cisco Systems and hundreds of others across the industry. DiMA is composed of many of the leading online music companies, such as Listen.com and EMusic. NetCoalition is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group that includes Yahoo, America Online, Amazon.com and Excite@Home, among others. Several of the trade associations contend that federal Judge Marilyn Hall Patel misapplied copyright law that protects technologies with "substantial non-infringing uses." If her decision is used as precedent for other cases, it could threaten development across the consumer technology sector, they say. Patel's decision late last month sided with the record industry and said it is likely Napster was at least partly liable for massive copyright infringement on the part of its members. She ordered that the music-swapping site prevent copyrighted material from being traded via its technology. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0DQ6F (3) AOL previews shortcut to sign-in online America Online is quietly testing a new software feature that allows its customers to use their AOL screen names and passwords as sign- ins for other affiliated Web services. Dubbed "Screen Name," the feature provides a shortcut for Net surfers who register for online services by, for example, storing personal information commonly requested by Web sites, such as names, ZIP codes and email addresses. The feature lets AOL members enter their screen names and passwords to complete the registration process, according to an AOL preview site describing the service. An AOL representative declined comment on Screen Name and said the company plans to take down the preview site. A source close to AOL said the company is testing the service but has no definite time frame for launch. The source added that AOL will eventually increase features to make it easier to purchase products online and is negotiating partnerships with third- party online merchants. Most Web sites require customers to fill out registration forms indicating name, age and other personal information to qualify for premium services. The arrangement lets sites gather demographic information from consumers to better target advertisements or pitch products relevant to their interests. In return, the companies offer people more control over what they see and additional perks on their sites. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0DPBQ (4) Intel unveils new chip design for handhelds, cell phones Intel Wednesday announced the successor to its StrongArm chip architecture. Dubbed XScale, the design will power future generations of handheld computers, mobile phones and the backbone of the wireless network. Although Intel demonstrated a prototype XScale-based chip running at 1 GHz, the company did not unveil specific chips, saying those announcements will come later in the year. At 1 GHz, an XScale chip would consume 1.5 watts of power. The processor also could be run in the tens of milliwatts, albeit with a hit in performance. Ron Smith, the Intel vice president who heads the chip giant's wireless efforts, said the new design will enable entirely new types of wireless devices that can be powered by a single AA battery. "It's really going to open up a whole new range of applications on a handheld," Smith said in a briefing with reporters at the Intel Developer Forum in San Jose. Intel executives said the company already has more than a dozen agreements to put the chip in next-generation wireless phones, handheld computers and devices that are something in between the two. In addition to creating higher performance levels, Intel has made several improvements to the design of the processor core with XScale. A dynamic voltage management technique, similar to the SpeedStep function on mobile Pentium III processors, allows chips using XScale architecture to adjust their power consumption based on the task being performed. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0DQ7G (5) Intel execs: Napster-like sharing will transform businesses The peer-to-peer technology popularized by Napster could usher in the next wave of the Internet and, in the process, save companies billions of dollars by using computing power already in place, Intel executives said Thursday. "Peer-to-peer is what we think is possibly the next computing frontier," Pat Gelsinger, chief technology officer of the Intel Architecture Group, said in a speech at the Intel Developer Forum here. In peer-to-peer networking, individual computers talk to one other, allowing computing tasks to be managed among those computers instead of or in addition to using a centralized network. The chip giant estimates that there is two-and- a-half times the computing power in individual computers at a typical large business than is available from its servers. By harnessing the power of each computer to power the network and distribute computing tasks, Intel executives said companies can save billions of dollars. Intel knows from whence it speaks, having used peer-to-peer networking to manage the complicated task of designing chips since 1990. Gelsinger said the company has saved half a billion dollars during the past decade by shipping simulations from active computers to faraway systems that had been underused. Gelsinger said that before Intel started the program, it was "buying mainframes like candy" even though it was only using about 30 percent of the computing power of its workstations and 50 percent of its server power. Now, about 70 percent of its workstations' muscle is being tapped and servers are running at about 80 percent. To help get other businesses thinking along these lines, Intel announced the formation of a peer-to-peer working group with 19 initial members, including IBM and Hewlett-Packard. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0DPCR ******************************************************************* 4. LAST WEEK'S NEWEST SHAREWARE - sponsored by CNET Notebooks Sick of being strapped to your desk? Check out CNET's reviews and price comparisons on the hottest new notebooks on the market: http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0CXJf Following is the top rated shareware that was updated on the WinFiles.com Web site over the past week. For all the newest shareware, visit: http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0klR WINner Updates: IN AUTOMATION UTILITIES: Updated ServiceMill 3.1.36 for WinNT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0BV1D IN GRAPHICS EDITORS: Updated Paint Shop Pro 7.0 Beta 5 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0yZN IN FTP AND ARCHIE CLIENTS: Updated FTP Voyager 7.2.1.0 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0kaG IN GRAPHICS VIEWERS: Updated ACDSee 3.1 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0pBo IN INTERNET CLIENT SUITES: Updated Netscape Communicator 4.75 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0DQ8H GETIT Updates: IN CD PLAYERS: Updated Quintessential Player 3.0 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0BHq2 IN MAIL SERVER TOOLS: Updated Mercur Mail Server 3.2 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0DRAR IN AUTOMATION UTILITIES: Updated Schedule 3.4.27 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0kRz IN BACKUP AND COPY UTILITIES: Added Outlook Data Backup Utility 1.0.2 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0kQy IN FILE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR UTILITIES: Updated SuperDIR 2000 8.12 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0BgCm IN MULTI-PURPOSE PLAYERS AND EDITORS: Updated WaveOut Lite 5.0 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0yYM Added RealJukebox Basic 2.0 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0yYM IN DIAL-UP NETWORKING DIALERS: Updated DigitalWeb Ras+ Dialer 2000 1.5 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo03Q3 IN NETWORK INFORMATION TOOLS: Updated NetInfo 3.8 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0o8d IN HTML AND LINK VERIFICATION TOOLS: Updated CSE HTML Validator Professional 4.50 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0kW5 TRYIT Updates: IN SYSTEM ANALYSIS UTILITIES: Added SysId 1.4a for Win95/98 on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0tN5 Added PassMark Performance Test 3.0 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0tN5 IN ACCESS CONTROL UTILITIES: Added WinGuard Basic 2.0 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0yWK Added AdjustCD 2000 5.0 for Win95/98 on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0yWK Added Hack Tracer 1.2 for Win95/98 on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0yWK IN WALLPAPER TOOLS: Added Aladdin Sundial 3.0 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0DRBS IN SEARCH AUTHORING TOOLS: Added Check & Get 1.5 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0DRCT IN DESKTOP TOOLBARS AND LAUNCHERS: Updated Hidden Menu 1.4 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0C4RD IN ANTI-VIRUS UTILITIES: Updated NetSpyHunter 1.2 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0yXL IN NEWSREADER TOOLS: Added TuneZilla 1.0 for Win95/98 on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0kZ8 IN GRAPHICS EDITORS: Updated imageN 1.2s for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0yZN IN MPEG AUDIO PLAYERS AND EDITORS: Updated Helium 1.5 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo03My IN DISK ANALYSIS UTILITIES: Added FATBuster 3.0 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0BKt8 IN FILE CATALOGING UTILITIES: Added Advanced CATaloguer 1.0 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0kV4 IN COOKIE AND CACHE MANAGERS: Added AnalogX CookieWall 1.01 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0DRDU IN TEXT CHAT CLIENTS: Updated Yahoo! Messenger Beta, Build 814 for Win95/98/NT on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0kPx CE Updates IN AUTHORING AND PROGRAMMING TOOLS: Updated PocketC (for Windows CE) 3.0 for WinCE on http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0DMrB ******************************************************************* 5. SHAREWARE SPOTLIGHT (1) Register Online with WinFiles.com! If you're a shareware lover, you can take advantage of WinFiles.com's new Shareware Registration system simply by clicking on the green "Register Now!" button included in the listings. If you're an author who wants to find out how to include your software in our shareware registration system, you can get more information at the site below. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0keK (2) Netscape Communicator 4.75 - Freeware - 19.0 Mb Netscape Communicator is an open email, groupware, and browser suite that provides the complete set of tools you need to easily communicate, share, and access information on your intranet or the Internet. It integrates open email, groupware, editing, and browsing tools into one powerful application. Communicate using Netscape Messenger and Netscape Navigator, create documents using Netscape Composer, and collaborate using Netscape Collabra and Netscape Conference. This release also contains Winamp 2.6, Macromedia Flash 4.0, RealPlayer 7.0, and more. Communicate more efficiently with Netscape Communicator 4.75. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0DQ8H (3) FTP Voyager 7.2.1.0 - Shareware: $39.95 - 2.4 Mb Back when FTP clients were command line only, memorizing all of the necessary commands to transfer files across the Internet was a terrible chore. But now, with FTP Voyager, you can perform FTP operations in the same way you normally perform Windows file operations. Features include a scheduler, queue, server-to-server transfers, drag and drop, auto-resume downloads, and multiple windows. Transfer files easily with FTP Voyager 7.2.1.0. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0kaG (4) SuperDIR 2000 8.12 - Shareware: $19.95 - 0.5 Mb Many people still prefer to use the command line to accomplish many day-to-day file management tasks, and SuperDIR is an advanced but easy to use directory lister. It completely replaces the familiar DIR command issued at the DOS prompt and features a huge array of other useful DIR commands as well. For more powerful command line options, try SuperDIR today. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0BgCm (5) Paint Shop Pro 7.0 Beta 5 - Shareware: $99.00 - 28.6 Mb Paint Shop Pro 7.0 beta adds a multitude of new features, including the ability to automatically adjust color, vbrightness, and saturation for professional results. In addition, you can remove red-eye with one-click, as well as noise, scratches, dust, or specks. This version also adds an Adjustable Histogram and more. Paint Shop Pro is an award- winning image-editing tool that supports more than 30 image formats and includes several painting and drawing tools. Included are dockable toolbars, enhanced selection options, built-in special effects filters, RGB color separation, support for new image formats (Progressive JPEG, Mac PICT, and PNG with transparency), resampling, and masking options. Download the best image manipulation software available today: Paint Shop Pro 7.0. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0yZN (6) Service Mill 3.1.36 - Shareware: $125.00 - 0.3 Mb Service Mill takes any program and allows you to run it as a Windows NT service quickly, easily, and without a lot of fuss. You can assign startup parameters, specify application priority, etc. Service Mill also allows you to run batch files, 16-bit or DOS executables, and custom applications securely as a service--without the need for a user session. You can run custom applications developed using Visual Basic, PowerBuilder, Delphi, Java, and more, and you can also specify application priority. Run programs as NT services with Service Mill 3.1.36. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0BV1D (7) NetInfo 3.8 - Shareware: $25.00 - 1.5 Mb NetInfo is an excellent set of diagnostic utilities for gathering various information about any IP connected network. NetInfo allows Internet users to: check local host and Winsock data, ping a remote host, trace the route to a remote host over the network, look up domain names by IP addresses, find IP addresses by domain names, finger one or more users at a remote host, obtain information on names from the Network Information Center, obtain a precise time value from a remote time server, synchronize the local system's clock with the clock of a remote time server, scan all hostnames under one IP address, and more. NetInfo also includes IPMonitor to monitor the up/down status of IP connected computers. Get all of the Internet information you need with NetInfo 3.8. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0o8d (8) DigitalWeb Ras+ Dialer 2000 1.5 - Shareware: $17.00 - 1.6 Mb You can use Ras+ Dialer 2000 to connect to the Internet with as many DUN connections as are available. Its phone cost- scheduling capability allows you to set up multiple rate schedules based on time and day of the week. Ras+ Dialer 2000 can also keep redialing until connected, automatically reconnect after a timeout, and log all connection activity. You can schedule connections, run up to five programs once a connection is achieved, and even schedule a program or system event at a specific time each day plus much more. Simplify your DUN with DigitalWeb Ras+ Dialer 2000 1.5. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo03Q3 ******************************************************************* 6. BUGS AND FIXES Microsoft Excel REGISTER.ID Security Update A vulnerability has recently been discovered in Microsoft Excel 97 and Excel 2000. If an Excel worksheet containing the REGISTER.ID function references a malicious DLL (Dynamic Link Library) it can potentially cause code to run on a user�s computer without their knowledge. The code executed on the affected user's computer can perform any action that the user could perform on the machine. he Microsoft Excel REGISTER.ID Security Update eliminates the vulnerability that could be exploited using the worksheet tools of Excel 2000 to do malicious acts, such as deleting and overwriting files without the user's input or verification. This update protects against harmful code that could be executed from a worksheet by disabling the REGISTER.ID function. Note: To use the Excel 2000 REGISTER.ID Security Update, you must have installed Office 2000 SR- 1 or Office 2000 Service Release 1a. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0BHr3 ******************************************************************* 7. TIPS AND TRICKS Adding Commands to the Recycle Bin Menu To add commands or programs to Recycle Bin's right-click menu: 1) Open REG Editor and find HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081- 101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\Shell, 2) Create a new key with anything you want in it and create another key inside this key named "Command", 3) In the right panel, double-click on "(Default)" and put the path of the program or command that you want to add. http://update.winfiles.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e2h0BBFIH0Bo0BV4G *******************************************************************

Windows 95 Tips Newsletter A newsletter from CNET Help.com http://www.help.com/ August 29, 2000 *************************************************************** Today's Windows 95 Tip: Easy Icons You can easily create your own icons in Windows 95. Simply select a BMP file that you find suitable, and change the extension from .bmp to .ico. That's all there is to it. This tip was submitted by Johannes Hansen. If you've got Windows 95 tips of your own that you'd like to share, submit them here. Get more Windows 95 how-tos and tips here. Get answers to your Windows 95 questions here. Looking for more help with Windows 95? Try our Windows 95 Help Directory, a complete listing of books, tutorials, online courses, and more.

http://www.help.com/cat/1/21/602/hc/?tag=dd.hp.cdrcdrw-text-5775.txt.hc Today's CD-R/CD-RW Drives Tip: Burn MP3s as Data (CD-R/CD-RW) If your hard drive is getting too full for all your MP3s and you want to back them up without having to convert them, be sure to choose data CD, not audio CD, as the style of burning. Remember, you're creating a CD of MP3s to play on your computer, rather than an audio CD.

Printers Tips Newsletter A newsletter from CNET Help.com http://www.help.com/ August 30, 2000 *************************************************************** Today's Printers Tip: Little Printer, Big Footprint Carefully inspect an ink jet's dimensions and design before you buy. Most of the smaller ones use L-shaped paper paths, where the paper is loaded vertically and ejected horizontally. Such designs demand as much as half a foot of airspace above the printer, and up to a foot of space in front--not very feasible if you want to put the printer on a shelf, or you have a cluttered desk. Some larger printers actually use less space, depending on the input and output designs.

CNET | CatchUp.com Dispatch What's New And What's Hot August 30, 2000 Vol. 1, No. 8 Another day, another update...CatchUp constantly strives to provide you with all the latest updates, upgrade, fixes, and patches. Our goal is to find you a new update every time you use our suite of CatchUp services. If you haven't had time to come back to the site, try it out now and see what's new. Enjoy! Nate Saal (nates@cnet.com) Director, CNET CatchUp Click here to run CatchUp: http://2.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e270BBFIG0Eq0CIuO

1. PC File of the Week MYEXPLORERBAR In a perfect world, Windows Explorer would be able to learn your file management routine and make interface changes on- the- fly to better accommodate your needs. In reality, however, your best bet for a better Windows Explorer is to download an interface enhancement such as MyExplorerBar. This useful download integrates nicely with Windows Explorer, adding a nested toolbar with file selection filters and shortcuts to programs and folders. The program makes it very easy for you to add or customize existing functions, and it can turn mundane chores into simple procedures. Other MyExplorerBar features include the ability to track your most often accessed folders and launch your favorite Web sites. FACT FILE: Version: 1.02 Size: 760K Developed by: Pitrinec Software License: Shareware ($7) Requirements: Windows 95/98/NT/2000, Internet Explorer 4.0 Save time on your file management tasks: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewL0BxpGx0p0EHJP ______________________________________________________ 2. Recent Additions to the Shareware.com PC Library ACTVSURF Version: 1.0 Size: 430K Developed by: Neil Rosenbaum License: Shareware ($10) Requirements: Windows 95/98 Teach your PC to surf the Web unattended: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewL0BxpGx0p0EHKQ ICON3D Version: 2.10b Size: 1,400K Developed by: Pentad Resources License: Shareware ($15) Requirements: Windows 95/98/NT/2000 Launch your favorite programs from a 3D desktop shape: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewL0BxpGx0p0EHLR MAIL PREVIEW Version: 1.80 Size: 850K Developed by: Top Software License: Shareware ($15) Requirements: Windows 95/98/NT/2000 View email messages before downloading them to your PC: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewL0BxpGx0p0EHMS MORPHMAN 2000 Version: 1.0 Size: 3,140K Developed by: Stoik Software License: Shareware ($49) Requirements: Windows 95/98/NT/2000, Microsoft DirectX drivers Seamlessly transform one image into another: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewL0BxpGx0p0EHNT SMART WINDOWS Version: 1.0 Size: 340K Developed by: Skylex Software License: Shareware ($15) Requirements: Windows 95/98 Control multiple open windows with greater precision: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewL0BxpGx0p0EHOU ______________________________________________________ 3. Mac File of the Week PLUNK! This simple-to-play, highly addictive game is a great stress reliever for anyone looking for a mindless desktop distraction. The object of Plunk! is to remove as many tiles from the board as possible, as long as you remove two or more at time. Sure, it sounds simple in theory, but once you try it, you'll immediately get hooked on its simplicity. Plunk! even has different themes, including offbeat interfaces that resemble everything from slot machines to hamburgers. FACT FILE: Version: 1.0 Size: 3M Developed by: Black Magick Software License: Shareware ($19.95) Requirements: Should work on any color Mac Things that go Plunk! on your Mac: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewL0BxpGx0p0EHPV ______________________________________________________ 4. Recent Additions to the Shareware.com Mac Library MAIL FORWARD Version: 1.1 Size: 571.6K Developed by: System Support Products License: Shareware ($12) Requirements: PowerPC processor, System 7.6.1 Forward your mail with this email utility: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewL0BxpGx0p0EHQW QUOEDIT Version: 0.7 Size: 941K Developed by: Lyomei Sakai License: Freeware Requirements: System 7.0 Jot it down or code software with this basic text editor: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewL0BxpGx0p0EHRX THE ERASER PRO Version: 2.7.0 Size: 380K Developed by: Yellowsoft License: Shareware ($10) Requirements: System 8.0 Securely erase your sensitive files: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewL0BxpGx0p0EHSY TYPE SAVER Version: 1.0 Size: 361K Developed by: John V. Holder License: Shareware ($10) Requirements: 68020 processor, System 7.0 Record your keystrokes with this simple utility: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewL0BxpGx0p0EHTZ **************************************** advertisement ************ Whether you want the newest speed demon system to hit the market or an economic second to add to the home network, CNET Shopper can help you find the right deal. Stop by today and shop from over a hundred different online stores at once. http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewL0BxpGx0p0CEEF *******************************************************************

Tweak Freak Dispatch A newsletter from CNET Help.com http://www.help.com/ August 30, 2000 This Week on Tweak Freak: Hack Into Your Start Menu ----------------------------------------------- Tired of being a slave to your Start menu? We don't blame you. For some reason, Windows 98 is incredibly picky about the tweaks you can make to the Start menu. Sure, you can pick off items in your Documents menu one-by-one, and you can remove icons from the Programs menu. If you're looking for wholesale changes, however, you're out of luck. Nonetheless, we've got a collection of hacks that'll let you (to a small extent, mind you) shake off the Windows Start menu hammerlock. ** PUT YOUR CONTROL PANEL INTO THE START MENU Want to access the Control Panel quickly by integrating it into your Start menu? No problem--just follow these steps: 1. Right-click the Start button and select Explore from the pop-up menu. 2. Click the right pane of the Exploring window and select New/Folder from the File pull-down menu. 3. Enter "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" as the folders name (without the quotes). 4. Press the Enter key after naming the folder; it should appear simply as "Control Panel." Now you can access your Control Panel settings from the Start menu shortcut. ** CHECK YOUR BROWSER HISTORY FROM THE START MENU If you liked adding your Control Panel to the Start menu, get a load of this. You can also access your Web page History in a flash from your Start menu. Here's how to do it: 1. Right-click the Start button and select Explore from the pop-up menu. 2. Click the right pane of the Exploring window and select New/Folder from the File pull-down menu. 3. Type "Web History.{ff393560-C2A7-11CF-BFF4-444553540000}" as the folder's name (again, without the quotes). 4. Press the Enter key and a folder called Web History should appear. You can then access your browsing history from the Start menu shortcut, categorized by date. ** EDIT THE DOCUMENTS MENU There's a danger in assuming you can completely delete your old documents. (Just ask Ollie North.) But to throw people off the tracks, it's nice to remove lines from the Start menu's Documents listing. The simplest way is to right-click a Documents item and select Delete. But to disable the feature so that no recent documents ever show up in the Start menu, you need to hack around the Registry like this: 1. Back up the Registry. (Click here to find out how.) 2. Launch RegEdit. (Select Start/Run, type in regedit, then hit Enter.) 3. Under HKEY_CURRENT_USER, select Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Policies/Explorer. 4. In the right hand pane, double-click NoRecentDocsHistory. If there is no such value, create a new binary value with that name (select Edit/New/Binary Value). 5. Edit 00,00,00,00 to read 01,00,00,00. 6. Locate or create the NoRecentDocsMenu value. 7. Edit 00,00,00,00 to read 01,00,00,00 there, too. 8. Save your changes as you quit RegEdit and restart Windows. Warning: Tweaking the Registry is risky; you're taking your system into your own hands. To be safe, manually back up the Registry before you make any changes. If you mess with the Registry before backing it up and run into problems, don't say we didn't warn you! *************************************************** Looking for more speed tweaks? Click here to indulge your need for speed. ***************************************************

This week's Browser tip: Stop Jerky Browsing (Internet Explorer 5) Smooth out long pages that scroll slowly or jerkily. To iron out your browsing, simply select Internet Options from the Tools menu. From the "Advanced" tab listed under Browsing options, select the box labeled "Use Smooth Scrolling." Click OK to save changes. However, if you happen to encounter layout problems with Smooth Scrolling, you might want to uncheck this option. Get more Internet Explorer 5 how-tos and tips: http://2.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e3N0BBFIE0Qo0DUBI Get Netscape Communicator how-tos and tips: http://2.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=e3N0BBFIE0Qo0B8Cm

Get the Scoop on Web Services: We are constantly updating our site to make it a better place to find the right ISPs, Web Hosts, and Developers for your Web Services needs. Do you have suggestions for development? Are we missing features that would be helpful? If you have suggestions for our listings please send suggestions, comments and feedback our way at: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewT0BxpGy0t0DMKh This Week: What do you think about Web Services offering listing services for the "small to medium office" and if so, what would those be? ATM, Frame Relay, T1, Managed Hosting and Fixed Wireless are just some of the options we're considering. Please send your comments to "comments@webservices.cnet.com" Thanks! News of the Week: In the wake of AltaVista's well-publicized failure to deliver its promised flat-fee Internet access in Britain, managing director Andy Mitchell is out. http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewT0BxpGy0t0EHi8 AT&T dials up free service for cable phone customers. The telecommunications giant reportedly plans to offer free local and long-distance service to those who subscribe to its cable telephony service. http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewT0BxpGy0t0EHjA IBM, Microsoft and Ariba plan to be the first to propose a Web standard and a new initiative next week that will serve as a giant online Yellow Pages for companies looking to conduct business online, sources said. http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewT0BxpGy0t0EHkB Web Services Tip of the Week: You may want to become a Web host, but you don't want to invest the money in hardware and a dedicated Internet connection. Look at the resell hosting plans offered here: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewT0BxpGy0t0CMWs Writing On the Wall, Latest User Reviews See who is receiving all the ratings in the Web Service's categories this week. 1. Internet Access NorthPoint Communications in DSL Average User Rating Value - 4 Quality - 4 Features - 4 For More Information: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewT0BxpGy0t0EHlC 2. Web Hosting Dialtone Internet in Dedicated Servers Average User Rating Value - 4 Quality - 4 Features - 4 For More Information: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewT0BxpGy0t0Ddrj 3. Web Developers BizWebPro in Web Developers Average User Rating Value - 4 Quality - 5 Features - 5 For More Information: http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=ewT0BxpGy0t0EHmD

Today's CorelDraw Tip: Change the Resolution of a Special Fill CorelDraw's special fills are beautiful, but they are actually bitmap fills and are therefore resolution dependent. To change the resolution of a special fill to 72 dpi for the screen, for example, or 300 dpi for printing, open the Special Fill docker, click the Edit button, and click the Options button. You can also set the tile size in this dialog box.

Today's MP3 Tip: Read It and Weep File this one under inessential-yet-pretty-darn-cool MP3 tricks. Afficionados of books-on-tape will tell you all about how relaxing it is to listen to a novel while looking out the window of a train, rather than trying to read as the thing bounces around. And there are lots of reasons why it might be cool to turn text into an MP3, from putting the news on your player to making a spoken word track for your Shoutcast to radio show. TextAloud is a shareware program that can--you guessed it--turn any text file into an MP3 by using Microsoft's Text-to-Speech engine. There are a few reverb effects, like Hall or Space, and additional voices can be downloaded.

Now there's a cool idea with a lot more applications, you could turn news and websites into mp3's. There's a lot of potential here.

Today's Paint Shop Pro Tip: Burn the Edges of Your Images Create a burned edge effect with Paint Shop Pro. To do this, create a new layer consisting of the background color you want to use. Cut and paste the image onto the background layer using the Paste/As New Layer command from the Edit menu. Use the Freehand tool located on the left toolbar and draw a jagged edge (including the area of the image you want to delete). Press the delete key when you've made your freehand selection so that the background color shows through. From the Image menu, select Effects/Drop Shadow. In the pop-up window that follows, set your Color to black and adjust your Opacity slider to 100 percent. Also, make sure your Blur slider is adjusted to a value of about ten and your Horizontal and Vertical offset values are a low positive number. Click the OK button to complete the effect.

Today's Windows 98 Tip: Access Taskbar Shortcuts With One Click If you want to quickly access an item but don't want to wade through your Start menu categories, make a super-shortcut from your taskbar. Simply right-click the taskbar located at the bottom of your screen. From the pop-up menu, select Toolbars/New Toolbar. From the New Toolbar dialog box, open the Start Menu folder from the Windows directory. You'll find that all items listed on your Start menu are in the Programs subdirectory of this folder. Choose the program or file you want to easily access and Press the OK button. A single-click shortcut should appear on your taskbar bar.

Today's Scanners Tip: Scan Straight Often your photo or document will slip and skew when you close the lid of a flatbed scanner. For this reason, keep a Post-it note handy. Use it like tape to hold the item flush against the edge of the scanning area. Unlike tape, it won't leave any adhesive behind to soil the surface of the glass.

*************************************************************** Today's QuickTime Tip: Reorganize, Delete, or Rename Your Favorites Don't like the order of your Favorites in the sliding tray? You can reorganize them by selecting Favorites/Organize Favorites. Just click and drag a channel to change its order in your Favorites tray. If you want to delete a Favorite, just select it and click Delete. To rename a Favorite, select it and click Rename.

Today's Norton AntiVirus Tip: Initiate a Higher Degree of Virus Protection If you want absolute maximum protection against viruses, start Norton AntiVirus, click Scan For Viruses, select Options in the main toolbar, and click Norton AntiVirus. Scroll through the options to set the level of protection that you feel is right for you. Under File Types To Scan, be sure to click "All files" and "Scan within compressed files."

Is anbody reading these things I post? It would be a shame for me to continue to incur charges from Terry's servers and Yapp suppliers just to post things which are not being read... Speaking of which, there is a whole lot of really stupid stuff being posted in Drool, and if they do not support Spring commensurate with their usage, I am gonna be all over them like white on rice!!!

Today's Printers Tip: Balance Your Colors (Photo Printers) Some ink jet photo printers won�t let you replace a single-color ink cartridge. If you run out of green, you also have to replace the blue and red. With these printers, it�s important not to use too much of any one color in your printouts, especially if you�ll be printing a long run of a single graphic. Too many blue skies or the same color text can quickly deplete your ink reserves. To save on ink costs, try to break up a solid color background or print several different colored versions of the same long run printout.