TNPC Newsletter - Volume 3 Issue 04

The Naked PC - http://www.TheNakedPC.com What You Need to Know about All Things PC Publisher: Lee Hudspeth and T.J. Lee Editor in Chief: Dan Butler Contributing Editor: Al Gordon This issue is for Thursday, February 17, 2000 - Vol. 3 No. 04 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Table of Contents ** 01. Letter from the Publisher ** 02. Going Virtual: Part 3 (by T.J. Lee) ** 03. Tips and Tricks for Archiving Your Email (by Lee Hudspeth) ** 04. A Palm Opinion Poll (by Al Gordon) ** 05. Dan Is Coming To Cleveland! (by Dan Butler) ** 06. Windows 2000 - How Low Have the Mighty Fallen (by Al Gordon) ** 07. Featured Web Site - WUGNET ** 08. Featured Product - SiSoft Sandra Professional ** 09. Featured Book - "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling ** 10. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff ** 11. We Get Mail - Comments and Tips from TNPC Readers ** 01. Letter from the Publisher Welcome each and every one of you TNPCers, over 47,000 strong! It's been a very busy two weeks since the last issue so let's get started. Several astute readers questioned Al's description of the Radio Shack TRS-80 as a laptop in TNPC #3.03, insisting that "their" TRS-80 was a desktop. The answer, folks, is that Al, and our readers, are ALL correct. Or wrong depending on how you look at it. Tandy used TRS[Tandy Radio Shack]-80 as a brand name for its line of personal computers years ago, both desktop and portable. The primitive laptop Al remembers, and was referring to, was officially the TRS-80 "Model 100" (and the later Model 102). The entertaining thing is that like Al, everyone who wrote remembers his or her model as a "Trash 80." Speaking of astute TNPC readers, a number of you pointed out that in the last issue the Featured Web Site in the table of contents (DLL Archive) did not match the actual Featured Web Site (Insure.com). The DLL Archive was featured in TNPC #2.06: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/backissues/v2i06.html We've received a number of requests to reprint TNPC articles so it's appropriate to rebroadcast our reprint policy. Any article from TNPC may be reprinted in another newsletter providing that the article is reprinted in its entirety, and includes the author's byline, excerpt, and subscription information. For example: Going Virtual: Part 3 by T.J. Lee (This article originally appeared in The Naked PC newsletter #3.04, subscribe at http://www.TheNakedPC.com) You'll find this reprint information at the bottom of each article on our Web site. So now you know. As always, reader support is what keeps TNPC free, so please pass a copy of TNPC on to co-workers and friends (no spam please!) and always say "I saw it in TNPC!" +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ Store Your Files Online For FREE! Get X:drive Today! Leave your Zips, Floppy Disks, and Laptops at home! With X:drive You Can: - Store, Share and Access Up to 100MB of Files Online. - Retrieve Your Files Instantly from Any Computer, Anytime. - Secure Your Documents & Keep Your Files Safe and Private - Share Your Docs, Presentations, and Photos with Friends. X:drive Delivers FREE Anywhere-Anytime File Access! Get Yours Today at: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?sponsor1 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 02. Going Virtual: Part 3 (by T.J. Lee) It's been quite a while since I last discussed the subject of the virtual employee (see TNPC #2.19 and #2.20). Yet hardly a week goes by that I don't get at least one email from someone wanting to know how they can go virtual. There's no clear-cut answer, I'm afraid. Going virtual, where you perform your job without leaving your home, depends on a number of very different factors. First, you have to work at a job where your physical location is not required at your place of employment in order to perform your function. You can't install aluminum siding, fix heavy machinery, or perform appendectomies from the spare bedroom of your house. But here in the USA we have an information economy and that means that a growing number of jobs are not dependent on punching a time clock and sitting in the third cubicle from the left. Second, you have to work for an employer who's willing to relinquish control over your physical whereabouts. This is something that a lot of bosses and managers are wrestling with. As Rebecca Rachmany, the manager of TECH-TAV Documentation Ltd., said in #TNPC 2.20, "I'll never forget the look of shock and horror on my colleague's face when I explained that I typically see my workers once every six months or so." Companies have to still manage the work and see that it gets done in a timely manner and exercise the necessary quality controls. Most firms are simply not set up to do this with virtual employees. Managers are used to being able to observe the work process in real time. Physical interaction is easier. Well, not easier so much as if you're managing by crisis you can get everyone together with less planning if they're all in the same building. There's the cost involved with getting the necessary equipment installed at the virtual employee's house. The computer, line conditioners, telephone lines, Internet connections. Not only the cost but also the ongoing maintenance is an issue since the IS department is going to resist the idea of making house calls. These concerns are very real to employers. The recent flap caused when a Federal government bureaucrat for OSHA said that employers would be held to OSHA safety standards for any employee home offices probably set the virtual employee concept back years even though the statement was recanted within days. Of course, there's a third possibility when it comes to going virtual. From my correspondence with TNPCers who have written to me on this topic, a lot of people are willing to dump the commute even if it means giving up the steady paycheck. They're becoming contractors and consultants, often doing the same job they were doing before but from their office at home. And there are a number of resources on the Web that they're using to find contract work. If you want to try your hand at doing administrative work online, translating and transcribing, do consulting for a particular software program you can both hang out your virtual shingle as well as search the contract job sites on the Internet. Keep in mind that I'm not suggesting you tell the boss to take a hike and that all is paved with gold in the independent contract world out on the Internet. But it does raise some interesting possibilities for those of you who want to become virtual. eLance is a site that has sections for both contractors looking to market their skills as well as employers looking for bids on specific jobs. Want to knock out a press release and related article for a small business concern? Build some Web pages? Jobs are grouped into categories and then split into those asking for a "request for proposal" (RFP) and those that are fixed price. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?elance Free Agent has job listings as well as a number of discussion groups where you can chat with others in various industries and ask questions and pick up tips on the ins and outs of being a contractor for hire. They offer email services and an easy portfolio page creator so you can have your own bio and experience page on the Free Agent site. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?freeagent Similar to Free Agent is Guru.com, a site dedicated to matching up independent contractors and those wanting to hire them. You can post yourself as a skill for hire or if you're looking for a contractor you can post the job you have. Guru.com also offers advice to help virtual employees with their questions and to help virtual bosses manage their hired gurus. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?guru ICPlanet is a newcomer to the virtual job market and their site is still in beta as we go to press. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?icplanet There's an article about the founder of ICPlanet, Douglas Carlston, founder and former chief executive of Broderbund Software, on CNet: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?icplanetcnet Is going virtual easy? No, not at all, especially if you're looking to remain a full time virtual employee working for one company. But it's becoming a reality that employers have to come to grips with. And there's a large and growing market for freelance contractors using the Web to find jobs and earn their livings. You can reach T.J. Lee at: mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ Invest in YOURSELF this year! EXPLORE the world of Web LEARNING. Value priced packages available that cover these topics: Microsoft Office (incl. Office 2000), Personal Financial Planning, A+ Certification, Time Management, MCSE Certification, SAT Preparation, HTML, QuickBooks, Photoshop, and many more. Enjoy the CONVENIENCE of learning in your living room and learning on YOUR schedule. Come visit us at: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?sponsor2 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 03. Outlook Email Archiving Tips and Tricks (by Lee Hudspeth) Are your email inboxes bursting with email? If the answer is yes then not only is your email repository's bulk slowing down your email client, but you need to get organized. The first step to organization is cleaning up, followed by intelligent archival of your messages. In this article I'll explain my system for keeping my Microsoft Outlook email repository tidy and how to archive old email for safekeeping. Even if you don't use Outlook, you can generally apply these same principles to whatever email client you do use. Furthermore, with Outlook you can archive any data type except Contacts. The key is Outlook's AutoArchive feature. This feature allows you to control its behavior on two levels. First, you can turn AutoArchive on or off on an Outlook-wide basis, select an archiving interval (in days), and choose where the archived data should go. Second, on a folder-by-folder basis you can turn AutoArchive on or off (for that specific folder), specify how old an item must be to qualify for archival, and where to send it. The archival destination you specify for a folder can be different from the destination specified in the dialog controlling Outlook-wide settings, should you need to do this, but I don't advise it. Also, for any folder you can choose to permanently delete old items instead of archiving them. NOTE: The steps discussed in this article work for both Outlook 98 and Outlook 2000. 1. To globally configure Outlook's AutoArchive feature, select Tools, choose Options, click the Other tab, click the AutoArchive button, and implement the settings you prefer. I like the cleanup to occur weekly, and to be told it's about to run before it does. I also like to collect archival data into one archive (Archive.pst), then as the quarters roll by I manually move data from Archive.pst into quarter-specific archives. I recommend these global settings: * ON: AutoArchive every 7 days * ON: Prompt before AutoArchive * OFF: Delete expired items when AutoArchiving (e-mail folders only) * Default archive file -- Archive.pst (path will vary) 2. To set an individual folder's AutoArchive properties, right- click on the folder, choose Properties, click the AutoArchive tab, and implement the settings you prefer. Remember that you'll have to repeat this process for each individual folder you want to archive. I recommend: * ON: Clean out items older than 1 Month * ON: Move old items to -- Archive.pst (same file as above) 3. Outlook may have already set some values for your folders, even some you might not want to be archived. So when working your way through step #2, do so for ALL your folders just in case one of them has archiving on (or off) and you want it set the other way round. I've also seen cases where Outlook pointed a specific folder's archives to a PST file other than the one set globally. Once you've walked through all your folders this way, you won't have to do so again. 4. Every quarter, do a bulk move of the *prior* quarter's email records from Archive.pst to a quarter-specific archival file. Use the following steps. 5. Create a quarter-specific file named consistently like this: "Archive yyyy Quarter n.pst" For example, "Archive 1999 Quarter 4.pst". This way your archive files sort nicely when you view them in File Open dialogs or in Windows Explorer. To create a new PST file, select File, choose "Personal Folders File (.pst)", select a folder, type in the name, and click the Create button. Use a consistent description, which may as well be the same as the filename, "Archive 1999 Quarter 4". Enter this text in the "Name" field. I leave the remaining options in the "Create Microsoft Personal Folders" dialog set to their default values and click OK. The new PST is now listed in your Outlook Bar (or Folder List), and contains just one empty folder: Deleted Items. 6. When moving data, I strongly recommend you ALWAYS DO A COPY FIRST. Then if the copy is successful you can safely delete the source material. This is because moving--or even copying--large amounts of data will suck your system resources dry very quickly. Once that happens you'll get the dreaded "Low Resources" warning message, and any operation that occurs thereafter is highly suspect. As an example, say you want to move all of the email you sent during October-December 1999, and you're moving it from Archive.pst into "Archive 1999 Quarter 4.pst". Create a standard Sent Items folder in "Archive 1999 Quarter 4.pst". Go back to Archive.pst and select your Sent Items folder. Manually select the first October 1999 message in the message list, then Shift+Click on the last message in December 1999; this selects all messages in between. Right-click anywhere on the selected list of messages, drag the list and drop it on the "Archive 1999 Quarter 4.pst" file's Sent Items folder, then choose Copy from the popup menu. If you want to double-check yourself, look in the archive's Sent Items folder to verify the contents. (If you do this you'll have to re-select Archive.pst's October-December 1999 sent messages before taking the next step.) Now CAREFULLY delete your Archive.pst's October-December 1999 Sent Items email. 7. More on copying... I only copy in blocks of 200-300 records at a time, anything else risks triggering the "Low Resources" warning message. 8. Once a given quarter's PST has been created and there's no new data coming in, you may want to strip out any attachments (or not, at your discretion), and verify there are no records in the Deleted Items folder. To open an archival PST, select File, choose Open, choose "Personal Folders File (.pst)", select the desired file, and click OK. By the way, you don't need to have these archival PST files explicitly open unless you're actively moving data into them. To close an open PST, right-click on it in Outlook's folder list and choose Close. (The popup menu's command will actually be labeled "Close " as in "Close Archive 1999 Quarter 4".) 9. Once you've gotten this far, it's time to compact the PST. To do so, first close any other running applications, which includes pausing Task Scheduler. Then right-click the PST in Outlook's folder list, click the Advanced button, then click the "Compact Now" button. Compacting may take some seconds or even minutes, depending on the size of the archival PST, so DO NOT INTERRUPT IT. When done, click OK to clear all the dialogs then close the PST. Now you can un-pause Task Scheduler. 10. Routinely make sure your Archive.pst doesn't get bloated. My rule of thumb is to compact it but ONLY if it's less than 80 MB. Anything larger and I don't trust the compact operation, instead it's time for manual pruning. For more information about Outlook, see our book "Outlook Annoyances": http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?outlook If you have archiving tricks up your sleeve for Outlook or any other email client, I'd like to hear about them. You can reach Lee Hudspeth at: mailto:leehudspeth@TheNakedPC.com ** 04. A Palm Opinion Poll (by Al Gordon) Ordinarily, TNPC is about our providing you with information. But in this case I'm looking for some input from you, our readers. I colorfully documented in this space a short time ago about how my Palm V organizer blew up my PC. Since then, I have managed to wipe out a Palm IIIx, and I had a Handspring Visor go bad as well. Since the latter was a much-used review unit, I am not sure that much can be extrapolated from that. I suppose I am making progress of a sort here. The Palm IIIx killed itself rather than my PC. However, I am beginning to wonder whether I am Palm- compatible. There has been one common thread: the demise of each unit has occurred when there was a static electric discharge when the organizer was being placed into its synchronization cradle. Now, before I get 1,000 "duh" emails; I know, I know. But the point is that you're supposed to be able to put a Palm organizer into its cradle without problem. And besides, the occasional static shock in my office has had absolutely no effect on any other electronic component--including the innards of my PC--other than the Palm. So, am I just unlucky? Or have any of you also cooked a Palm? Let me know. You can reach Al Gordon at: mailto:algordon@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ STOP SNORING TONIGHT Finally...A Real Solution For A Real Problem The Original Snore Formula was developed and clinically tested by Dennis H. Harris M.D. with proven results!!! Thousands already enjoy complete relief from snoring. Snoring is more than just an Annoyance If you snore, you have a much higher risk of heart attacks, high blood pressure, strokes, anxiety and fatigue. For more information and a special TNPC 10% discount click here: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?sponsor3 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 05. Dan Is Coming To Cleveland! (by Dan Butler) Many of you work for yourself or run a business on the side. Others want to start a business of their own but are not sure how to go about it. If this is you then mark your calendar for March 4, 2000, and head for Cleveland, Ohio. Why Cleveland? That's where the "Net Guerrilla Internet and Marketing Bootcamp" is going to be. I'll be at this one day conference representing TNPC and giving a presentation as well. I'm excited about this conference. If you have a business or are thinking of starting a business you should be too. The speakers all have real world experience in doing business both on and off the Internet. Look at what will be covered: * Promoting your business without breaking the bank. * Networking - in ways that will surprise you! * Market trends - how to spot and profit from them. * Using email - not spam - to increase your business. * And much, much more. In addition you'll get books, software, consulting services, reports, and more just for attending. All in all it's a great value. I expect to make back many times the cost of this seminar and you should too! For full details about the seminar check here: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?seminar I want to tell you up front that the letter is pretty enthusiastic, and for good reason! The speakers at the conference know their stuff. Each speaker will give you ideas to increase your business and decrease your frustration. If you have questions, or are thinking of attending, write me: mailto:danbutler@TheNakedPC.com ** 06. Windows 2000 - How Low Have the Mighty Fallen (by Al Gordon) In stark contrast to the excessive hype that surrounded the release of Windows 95 and even Windows 98, Microsoft has encountered unusual skepticism regarding today's release of Windows 2000. Most recently, a report that said Windows 2000 had something like 63,000 bugs got widespread national attention. Long-time Microsoft customers might be inclined to react, "So few?" The fine print of the stories was that this was a very broad definition of "bug." Everything from feature requests to actual technical glitches are encompassed in the internal company memo that was leaked. In truth, the situation with Windows 2000 is exactly the same as for any other Microsoft software release: there will be bugs, and if you don't want to be bothered, wait for the first service pack. Same as Windows 95/98. Same as Office 97. Same as Office 2000. What's changed is that Redmond's image has taken a major bath in recent months. New generations of software products are always a juggling act between time gained from feature enhancements as against time lost from new release bugs. In future issues of TNPC, we'll report on experiences with the actual released retail code of Windows 2000. For now, a rule of thumb is this: if you are running Windows NT4, there is no compelling reason to upgrade immediately unless you need USB support. Similarly, if you have a PC that's short on processor power or disk space, forget about Windows 2000. However, if Windows 98 is your current operating system and you are pulling your hair out because of repeated crashes, Windows 2000 can bring some relief. Remember, as with previous NT systems, multi-booting is built in, so you always have the option of running Windows 2000 in addition to your existing operating system--and that's a very good idea. You can reach Al Gordon at: mailto:algordon@TheNakedPC.com ** 07. Featured Web Site - WUGNET Don't know how many TNPCers go way back to the dawn of the Windows age, but for over 10 years the Windows User Group Network (WUGNET) has been renowned for their world-class technical support forums, discussion boards, and file libraries on CompuServe in the areas of Windows, Computing, and Developer Support. But did you know they also have a much-heralded Web site? WUGNET received the Shareware Industry Conference "Shareware Hall of Fame" award in 1998 and the site is the home for the very popular Microsoft & WUGNET Shareware Pick of the Week (SPOW). A free SPOW newsletter alerts you to each weekly pick that meets the highest criteria possible for application development. The site also offers Windows news, several free computing newsletters, a free news headline service, and free daily computing tips and software reviews. Beginning in April WUGNET's CompuServe forums will be fully accessible (and free) to everyone via wugnet.com. Enter the World of Windows at http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?wugnet ** 08. Featured Product - SiSoft Sandra Professional This product isn't named after a person, but if it was we'd really like her! Its name is derived from the phrase "System ANalyser, Diagnostic, and Reporting Assistant." We're using Sandra Professional extensively for our latest book (more on that topic this spring). We also recommend Sandra in our current book "The Underground Guide to PCs." Sandra is a must-have tool. Sandra comes in two flavors. The Standard version is FREE shareware; it includes 50 reports (which it calls modules). The Professional version -- being reviewed here -- costs a worthwhile $29US and includes more than 70 reports. The user interface for these reports is similar to the appearance of the applets inside your Control Panel. Double-clicking a module displays a dialog box for the chosen component(s). Sandra's modules are full of documented and undocumented information about your PC and its components. You'll be amazed at how much low-level information Sandra can pry from your system. For example, say you want to know exact model information for your CPU. Go into the CPU & BIOS Information module and, among other things, Sandra reports that this PC's CPU is a P6K Katmai Pentium III 450-700 2V, revision/stepping 7/2, stepping mask kB0, and that the CPU fan is currently rotating at 4018 RPM, among literally dozens of other tidbits. Cool! Curious to know the manufacturer's name and version number of your motherboard? Mine is a Pronix (Epox) model "06/02/1999 For i440BX/ZX AGPset," the serial number is displayed, along with the motherboard's current temperature--105.8 degrees Fahrenheit--and 70 other values. Great stuff! And you don't have to take off your chassis and get out a dentist's mirror! Numerous tips at the end of each module give suggestions that apply specifically to your system. Sandra's Create a Report Wizard can generate printed, file, or fax reports on any or all of its modules. Sandra provides graphic bar chart benchmarking statistics inside its information dialogs. For example, it will compare your CPU performance against four CPU configurations. You can use the CPU, drives, CD-ROM/DVD, and memory individual benchmarks to help burn in your system. We use the Create a Report Wizard to run all enabled informational and testing/diagnostic modules, then gather all that data into a single list. What's more, the Wizard's output can be in one of five formats: standard (text), hierarchical (report), Web HTML, Web XML, or CIM (SMS/DMI) format. The Standard version's 2.2 MB FREE download is available here: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?sandra You can buy the Professional version (downloadable) for $29 here: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?sandrabeyond ** 09. Featured Book - "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling What does Harry Potter, the fictional star of the hot new kids' book, have to do with computers? Nothing at all! But if the Pokemon craze caught you clueless and you have kids in your life, better catch up on this amazing series of books by J.K. Rowling. While the Harry Potter franchise is big now, it's nothing compared to what it's going to be. There are three books in the series currently in print (the first having spent 42 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list) with a promised total of seven. Book four (possibly titled "Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament") is due out in early July. Warner Brothers has purchased the movie rights (rumored to be trying to get Spielberg to direct) and is looking at a 2002 debut, Hasbro is doing the complete line of Harry Potter toys (due out this fall), there's a Saturday morning TV cartoon show due any minute, and I only wish I owned stock in the fair J.K. Rowling. I've been reading the first book to my four kids and it holds them all in rapt attention (ages 4 through 12) as the story unfolds of an orphan boy who at age 12 finds out he is not only a wizard, but the famous heir to a magical family of wizards and witches. In the Sorcerer's Stone Harry is accepted into the most prestigious Wizarding school in England where he meets other young wizards and witches and begins his education in the magical arts. Needless to say there are adventures aplenty but what I found most interesting about all the Harry Potter books is that I never knew what would happen next. Something totally new and unexpected on every page made me think that either the author has an imagination to be envied or that children's tales in England are very different than those over here in the USA. I also like that each book, while part of a series, is a tale in and of itself without cliffhangers (I still remember how unhappy I was with the film "The Empire Strikes Back" and how long I had to wait for the ending). Be warned that there is a growing controversy swirling around the Harry Potter books, with several conservative groups taking the position that these stories promote the "use of witchcraft" and occult activities. I did not find this to be so but opinions vary. I particularly like that the books lend themselves nicely to reading aloud (if you don't read to your kids, start soon) so as to let me give vent my repressed theatrical leanings. Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1) http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?stone Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?chamber Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?azkaban Doomspell Tournament (Book 4 - preorder for July delivery) http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?doom For prior book recommendations check out the TNPC Library page: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/tnpcbooks.html +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ WANT TO GET YOUR WORD OUT? Classified ads in The Naked PC can be yours for the ridiculously low price of $40 per issue. Get your message out to over 47,000 TNPC subscribers. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/tnpcadvertising.html?v3i04 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ ** 10. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff *-* Were the high-tech cat herders on the right track with their 2 million Super Bowl spot or were they barking up the wrong sagebrush? Cringely takes a look at Super Bowl advertising madness and explains the inner workings of what it takes to make an e-business succeed. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?news1 *-* Corel and Inprise/Borland have merged and will focus on the opportunities in the Linux market. Corel is acquiring Inprise/Borland for approximately $2.44 billion. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?news2 *-* eBay has been trying to block shopping bots from its Web site. These bots let users comparison shop for deals across not only eBay but several other auction sites at the same time. The DOJ is now investigating eBay's attempts to block these bots as a possible unfair business practice. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?news3 *-* The upcoming Office 2000 Service Release will force you to register Office or it won't run. A new Registration Wizard will require you to register via e-mail, phone, snail mail, or fax by sending a 16-digit code and the country in which you live to Microsoft. MS then sends you an 8-digit code that lets you install Office on up to two machines. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?news4 *-* In what is a huge boon to Hewlett Packard, Ford Motor Company has agreed to underwrite home computer purchases for every one of its 350,000 workers worldwide. They get a PC, a color printer, and unlimited Internet access for $5.00 a month. Distribution will start in the U.S. in April, with service in the rest of the world starting in the next 12 months. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?news5 *-* Read what Alan Cooper, the "Father of Visual Basic," has to say about Microsoft's innovation ability and why technology is so hard to use in this interesting question and answer interview. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?news6 *-* And be sure to check the PRIME Update page regularly: http://www.PRIMEConsulting.com/update/ ** 11. We Get Mail - Comments and Tips from TNPC Readers TNPCer Bob A. writes, "Thanks for the ten-spot! TNPC is the only newsletter I've ever gotten that pays me to read it. I signed up for PayPal, requested they send me my $10 sign up fee and in six days the check showed up in the mail." PayPal was mentioned in TNPC #3.02 -Ed. http://www.thenakedpc.com/articles/v03/02/0302-03.html TNPCer Dick K. checked in to let us know that ZoneAlarm 2, the Featured Product in TNPC #3.03, is not compatible with WordPerfect 9. http://www.zonelabs.com/ Be sure to stop by the Letters to the Editor page for more: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/letters/index.html **PLEASE SUPPORT TNPC BY VISITING OUR ADVERTISERS** +++----------------------- classifieds -----------------------+++ The Unofficial Guide to PCs Read what readers like you are saying about our latest book: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?class1 After you read what others are saying be sure to take a look at the top ten reasons NOT to buy a copy of TUGPCs: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?class2 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ >> ********** Who have you been trying to find? ********** Background Investigations, Criminal Records, Vehicle Ownership, Military Records, Business Directories, Adoption Resources If you're looking to find them or find out about them this is the tool you can't do without! http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?class3 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ Save TIME big time with PRIME DocLauncher! You're never more than two short clicks away from your favorite documents or applications. Work on a file then have it zipped and attached to an email message with only two clicks of your mouse. All you ever wanted in a shortcut bar and more. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?class4 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ AMALGAMATED BINARIES Custom Programming - Web Site Development & Enhancement Services Proud Home of "Software that Promises Nothing... and Delivers!" AMALGAMATED BINARIES, St. Louis, Missouri, Makers of Virtual Fly http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/304/tr.cgi?class5 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ DISCLAIMER Personal computers are individual machines with performance that can vary with components, software, and operator ability. The Naked PC is not responsible for the manner in which the information presented is used or interpreted. 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Volume 3 Number 03