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.