What You Need to Know about All Things PC
Volume 3 Number 17Click here to return to the back issues page.Click here to return to the main newsletter page.
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, August 17, 2000 - Vol. 3 No. 17 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Table of Contents ** 01. Letter from the Publisher ** 02. How Can I Learn This Real Fast? (by T.J. Lee) ** 03. Iomega Zip 250 USB: An Excellent Removable Media Drive (by Lee Hudspeth) ** 04. Windows 2000 3rd Party Utilities (Security): Part 7 (by Al Gordon) ** 05. Featured Web Site - Deja Vu: the Web as We Remember It ** 06. Featured Book - "How to Lie with Statistics" (by Darrell Huff, illustrated by Irving Geis) ** 07. Featured Tip - Internet Connection vs. Network Speed ** 08. For Recent Subscribers ** 09. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff ** 10. We Get Mail ** 01. Letter from the Publisher There was a huge response to Lee's article on identity theft in TNPC #3.14. Identity theft is very real; an estimated 500,000 people a year are victims of this crime. Web sites will provide you with an individual's Social Security number for a small fee if you provide a name and address. Scary stuff! Surfing the Internet or having your wallet stolen are not the only ways your identity can be compromised. Ever think about how much of your personal information you toss out in your trash? Offices are buying shredders by the gross these days to make it harder for dumpster-diving identity thieves to get anything useful. We'll be talking about this growing problem in future issues. If you've had a problem with identity theft, drop an email to Lee. (Thanks to those who have written in to date; we'll present more identity theft prevention tips in a future issue.) Dan's in-depth review of Photon Micro-Lights was also a big hit with readers and even Jim broke down and bought one for his wife. They're really awesomely cool. Speaking of Jim, training is on his mind as he wonders why everyone is looking for the quick fix when it comes to learning how to use a software program. He hasn't got a quick fix but he's got some solid advice. Lee has a product review this issue on the 250 megabyte ZIP drive that connects via the USB port. Gotta love the convenience of USB! Al Gordon checks in with Norton's new unbundled security packages for Windows 2000 (which also support Win95, Win98, and NT). If all you need is a firewall, Al can save you a few bucks. As always, reader support is what keeps TNPC free, so PLEASE help us and pass a copy of TNPC on to co-workers and friends (no spam please!) and remember to always say "I saw it in TNPC!" +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ >> NEW GREAT PRICES ON THE TOP NAMES IN UPS SYSTEMS!! In order to give you even better prices on the top brand names in UPS systems we've listed a few of our products on eBay! Check out our great deals today at eBay under the seller name: pei-ups If you are looking for a new or refurbished UPS for your system PEI offers some of the best prices around on APC, Best Power, and Powerware. Stop Losing Data! Protect your computer from power surges, spikes, sags, & brownouts. Call toll-free: 877-492-6408 or visit us today at: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?sponsor1 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 02. How Can I Learn This Real Fast? (by T.J. Lee) As you might imagine I get to talk to a lot of people about software and its uses. Magazine editors, book editors, clients, potential clients, new computer users, old computer users, and people who have gotten old by using computers. One common question is, "How can I learn xyz real fast?" where xyz is some software package. It might be a software program I know really well, it might not, but the person asking thinks I have some magic formula that will get them up to speed in a hurry. Perhaps a book title I can refer them to or a Web site I can send them to... something that will make it all quick and easy. I haven't got an answer for them. Oh, I can refer an inquiring mind to a book. If they want help on a Microsoft Office application or about something on the Web I can refer them to a book I've co-authored. But there's a catch. They'll have to read it. Actually pick up the book, crack the spine, and bend the pages. Then they'll have to sit down at the computer, fire it up, and start pounding on the keys. Work with the software program and make mistakes. But not many folks seem to want to do this. I think the Internet has increased the perceived "immediacy" of problem solving. Throw a computer at a problem and it should instantly be resolved. Maybe it's me, but I don't think it works that way, as much as we'd all like that to be the case. I got into a serious discussion with one of my editors who was trying to explain the problem with my last book project, a problem he was going to resolve. I'm paraphrasing here, he said, "Your book was all wrong. A person had to read page 1 before they read page 2. It's too linear and no one reads books that way anymore. You have to write it so every page stands on its own, so you could keep it in the bathroom and every time you come out you'd know something new." The guy was serious and I don't write for that publisher anymore. The scary part was that maybe he was right, maybe the classic way of teaching someone to do something doesn't work in a world of quick-cut TV editing and double mocha java supremes. But I've taught and lectured tens of thousands of computer users around the world and I haven't found a workable replacement for the linear approach. Here's a linear idea, and one that you've heard me espouse before in TNPC: if want to be more productive, learn to type faster. If you work with a word processor, generate content, or build Web pages, anything that results in words in a row, you should become a red-hot touch typist. But, you have to make an effort to get a result. Just hunt-and-pecking day after day will not turn you into a typist. Get a training program and work with it. If you're trying to learn a software program, know the difference between what a program does and what it lets you do. Huh? Take Word and Excel for example. Word is a word processor and Excel is a spreadsheet (number processor). I can't tell you how many times I've sat down with the "powers that be" within some company that was rolling out these two applications to figure out a training schedule. Always the same amount of time (the bare minimum if not less) was to be devoted to each application. And usually less time to Excel than to Word, which was just silly. Word "does something." Word generates documents. Excel doesn't "do something," it does many very different things limited only by the knowledge and expertise of the user. Word is an application; Excel is a development platform. Word generates documents but Excel doesn't have this common output, no "document" that you ultimately create (because a spreadsheet is really a mathematical model, not a document with static content in the traditional definition). Teaching these two very different software programs takes two very different approaches to be effective and it was very difficult to get those honchos to allocate the training resources to do the training right. Because to do it right takes more effort. The other day someone asked me how to learn Excel in a hurry. I told them to build something. Doesn't matter what, just roll up your sleeves and start building something. A laundry list, balance your checkbook, do something. Same for Word. Start a journal, start writing letters, recipes, write something. Want to learn how to build tables in Word? Start building them. Want to use conditional statements in Excel formulas? Start building them. Doesn't matter what application you're trying to learn, stop looking for a quick fix and start using the program. Sure you should get a book, heck, get one of ours, but get one and don't just slide it under your pillow and figure the knowledge will magically seep into your head whilst you sleep. Read it. Linearly, from one page to the next. Maybe one day computers will be true appliances like a television set. You don't have to know anything about a TV to use it other than how to turn it on. But until them be prepared to invest time and effort into learning your computer and the programs that run on it. You can reach T.J. Lee at: mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ Earn a $400 Shopping Spree Ever wish you had a dollar for every time you were asked questions about computers and the Internet? Build your own technology-based business. Work on a part time or full time basis. Get paid to help your neighbors and friends make the best technology choices. Over 10,000 professionals have stopped wishing and started getting paid for what they know. Visionary management team you can trust from top of Dell and CompUSA. Energized Enabled eCOMMERCE! The Market Opportunity is colossal. Even get a FREE DirecTV system while supplies last. mailto:nakedpc@allnyte.com (800) 246-8761 http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?sponsor2 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 03. Iomega Zip 250 USB: An Excellent Removable Media Drive (by Lee Hudspeth) Over the past year we've been recommending CD-RW (ReWritable) drives for use in backing up and archiving files, exchanging files, maintaining digital photo albums, serving as 650 MB removable drives, and so on. However, recordable/rewritable CD discs aren't the only removable media game in town although they are the cheapest on a media cost (per MB) basis. Shown here in media-size order (excluding tape drives) along with drive and media cost (cents/MB): Drive Capacity Media Cost ------------------------ -------- ---------- Traditional floppy 1.4 MB 28.0 cents Iomega Clik! PC Card 40.0 MB 35.0 Iomega Notebook Zip 100 100.0 MB 13.0 Iomega Zip 100 100.0 MB 13.0 Imation SuperDisk LS-120 120.0 MB 7.5 Sony HiFD 200.0 MB 7.5 Iomega Zip 250 250.0 MB 7.2 CD-R/RW 650.0 MB 0.3-0.6(1) Iomega Jaz(2) 2.0 GB 6.3 Castlewood Orb 2.2 GB 1.3 Notes: (1) 0.3 cents/MB for CD-R, 0.6 cents/MB for CD-RW. (2) Jaz 1 GB version is no longer manufactured, but is still supported. (3) Cost, portability, interface, and throughput are the other criteria for choosing a drive, but a technology-wide discussion is beyond the scope of this article. Be aware that you may, in such a drive's lifespan, spend as much or more on media as you did on the drive itself. With that in mind, look at the table and see how relatively expensive the traditional floppy is when compared with other removable media. All this analysis got me yearning for an Iomega Zip 250 USB external drive. Pros: affordable ($180 street; the bundle I bought included one 250 MB Zip disk which is an $18 value), excellent cost/MB ratio so you won't go broke every time you need a new disk ($18/disk), the external USB version is portable to any PC (or Mac) with a free USB port, it's relatively fast (0.9 MB/second), hot- swappable, supports Plug and Play, comes bundled with plenty of software, and is equally compatible with USB-ready Macs and PCs. Cons: none on the unit but software help is thin, more on this in a moment. I bought one. I needed the drive, in addition to my existing Acer CD-RW drive, in order to accommodate our clients who use Zip drives and are more comfortable with Zips than CDs. I had a choice between the Zip 100 or the Zip 250 drive. Although a 250 MB Zip disk can't be written to or read from by a Zip 100 drive, a Zip 250 drive is backward compatible. Meaning, you can shove a 100 MB Zip disk into a Zip 250 drive and it will write to it (albeit more slowly than to a 250 MB disk) and read from it. This USB device was quick and painless to install. The drive itself is a deep blue color with gray accents, ergonomically designed to fit right into your hand when you grab its sides, a sleek 0.75" thick by 6.75" long by 4.5" wide, weighs only 9 ounces, and can be mounted vertically on the provided stand. It's quite svelte. Folks, notice the size and weight on this unit: only 9 ounces and three-quarters of an inch thick! Even when you add the power brick and USB cable you're still under a pound: 15.3 ounces... perfect for TNPC road warriors. There's an optional PCMCIA card/cable bundle that eliminates the need for the power supply ($39.95 list). The drive's printed documentation, including the Quick Install pamphlet, is well done. Other device manufacturers, take note. I don't think it would be possible to make a mistake during setup if you follow their instructions. You can optionally install the user's manual from CD, and I suggest you do so (the "Zip Tips" section is useful reading for anyone new to Zip drives). A second pamphlet, printed on hard-to-miss orange paper and labeled "Read me first!" contains useful tips on getting software updates and a list of USB do's and don'ts. (Windows NT 4.0 users, I STRONGLY recommend you read this pamphlet before proceeding.) I LOVE this drive, but I'm quite not so ebullient about the bundled software. Here's a run-down. These tools can be accessed via the traditional Start menu or desktop icon techniques, or via IomegaWare's user interface that's configured to start whenever you start Windows (you can turn this off). I'm reviewing IomegaWare version 2.2.1 here. IomegaWare's interface offers all these tools plus access to help files and allows you to Open, Explore, Find, Eject, Format, Protect, and examine the Properties of any Zip drive. You can also perform these operations from inside Windows Explorer. Iomega QuikSync will automatically back up the contents of one folder to a Zip drive. You can set how often the folder is to be checked for any changes, and whether a file--once changed--is to be backed up to the Zip drive on top of itself or with incrementing filenames, like Testing.(1).doc and Testing.(2).doc. Too bad it's limited to a single folder in the bundled version. You can upgrade to QuikSync 2, a version that does support multiple source folders, but it'll cost you $19.95. Download a free 30-day evaluation copy at: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?zip1 Another annoyance: QuikSync's "Browse for folder" interface doesn't display backup source folders in alphabetical order. Iomega 1-Step Backup is designed as a quick way to select multiple folders to back up. You can name/save backup jobs, turn compression on/off, select files from a traditional "check box for each folder" tree view, and turn password protection on/off. There is a comparable 1-Step Restore tool. A full-featured backup tool is called Iomega Backup The Works, or just The Works for short. In addition to 1-Step's features, The Works supports a backup scheduler, full user control over all backup types (full, archive, incremental, differential), restore and compare, and a Librarian. The Librarian may be a useful tool but the documentation on it is limited to two sentences, "The Librarian catalogs all the backups according to volume and file name. If you don't know what disk your file is on, the information in the Librarian will be extremely valuable." Iomega Copy Machine is a Wizard that lets you copy a Zip disk to a second Zip disk even if you only have one Zip drive. I find the Iomega Zip 250 USB external drive a pleasure to use, but the documentation for the bundled software is disappointingly thin. A recently-released IomegaWare upgrade to version 2.5 is available at: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?zip2 Amazon currently has this drive/bundle for $179.95: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?zip3 You can reach Lee Hudspeth at: mailto:leehudspeth@TheNakedPC.com ** 04. Windows 2000 3rd Party Utilities (Security): Part 6 (by Al Gordon) Symantec has re-launched its Norton Internet Security 2000 suite with Windows 2000 support, a choice of packages, and a price hike. NIS Version 2 now comes in three flavors: "Personal Firewall" -- safeguards against being hacked, provides cookie controls, and prevents surreptitious access to your personal information. The "Internet Security" edition adds advertising blocking and Norton Antivirus to the Personal Firewall version. The "Family Edition" adds parental controls to the Internet Security version. Norton's product formerly was WRQ Inc.'s AtGuard, which was a TNPC featured product (TNPC #2.15). I found the NIS firewall to be relatively easy to set up, lower maintenance than Black Ice Defender, and it tested well on Steve Gibson's "Shields Up" site. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?util1 You set the security levels you want and it pretty much takes care of itself. As new Internet connections are made on your system, Norton brings up a wizard to assist you in setting up a "rule" to govern that connection. I found it particularly helpful in blocking Web site and HTML-formatted emails that were trying to access my email address and like information. The good news is that Personal Firewall is a straightforward solution for users who already have Norton AntiVirus and don't feel like paying for it twice. Likewise the kid-safe features were unbundled into a separate package. Tom Powledge, Symantec's IS product manager, said that the company's research showed that nearly half the expected purchasers for the software did not have kids and did not want to have blocking features on their systems. The bad news is that in unbundling the different components into three separate products they've hiked the price. Personal Firewall will cost you a little over $40. That's about what you paid for the entire Version 1 NIS package, which had all the features of the new Family Edition. The new Family Edition will set you back around $70. Given that Zone Alarm is free to individual users, Symantec may be charging a higher price than many user will want to pay. Powledge, in any case, was a refreshing spokesman for his product. He acknowledged that the software's interface had some kinks and that the Help files were weak. These issues are being addressed in the 2001 version. For now, he said, the priority was to get Windows 2000 support on the market, and when asked if owners of Version 1 gained anything from Version 2 other than Win2K capabilities, he said no, and advised users not to upgrade. Let's hear it for a software manager with genuine candor. [Norton security products are only being shipped within the USA] Norton Personal Firewall 2000 2.0 http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?util2 Norton Internet Security 2000 2.0 http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?util3 Norton Internet Security 2000 2.0 Family Edition http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?util4 Zone Alarm: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?util5 You can reach Al Gordon at: mailto:al@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ >> ********** FIND OUT ANYTHING ABOUT ANYBODY ********** 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/317/tr.cgi?sponsor3 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 05. Featured Web Site - Deja Vu: the Web as We Remember It Relieve those exciting days of yester year. Deja Vu is, to put it simply, a timeline history of the Internet with a special focus on the World Wide Web (WWW). All of the major developments are chronicled. What sets Deja Vu apart are the browser emulators. Not only do you read about the old browsers (and the famous Browser Wars) but you can actually launch an accurate replica. See the original NCSA Mosaic with the "What's New on the Internet" page, the first portal page ever. After viewing some vintage home pages enter the URL to your favorite page and see how it would look back in 1993. All in all a fun and historical (hysterical?) look at how far things have come in just over seven years. Hey, I kind of like that HotJava browser. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/317/tr.cgi?fsite ** 06. Featured Book - "How to Lie with Statistics" (by Darrell Huff, illustrated by Irving Geis) Originally printed in 1954 and now into its umpteen jillionth printing, this timeless classic was reminded to us by TNPCer Mike L. It's been said that there are "lies," "damned lies," and "statistics." This is the book that lays out how facts with figures can be used to pull the wool over your eyes and "prove" a totally biased point. Faster than a crooked roulette wheel Huff points out ways to warp the sample study, trick with the tabulation method, or intrigue with the interview technique. If you ever thought that statistics were being used to prove up is really down (and in an election year here in the USA who hasn't?) you'll get a lot out of this book. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?fbook We appreciate all of our readers who make their purchases on Amazon through our links and thereby help support TNPC and keep if free. ** 07. Featured Tip - Internet Connection vs. Network Speed Tweaking the TCP/IP settings of Windows can help speed up your Internet connection over a modem or high-speed phone line and there are a number of utilities that let you optimize these settings. Unfortunately those same settings, tuned to maximize your Web browsing can seriously degrade the performance of your locally networked computers. Dan had experienced very slow response times on his local home network when simply copying files from back and forth to his server ever since he first set it up. He tried everything he could think of and finally a discussion on The Naked PC Annoyance Board pointed him to the iSpeed utility. iSpeed, a utility for tweaking your TCP/IP settings, will let you easily reset your systems settings to their default values or tweak them until you get the results you're looking for. What makes it nice is that you can save multiple sets of values and use iSpeed to test the performance of the different settings. Dan reset all of the TCP/IP settings using iSpeed and after a quick reboot the increase in throughput on his network was dramatic! Dan had originally tweaked his settings when he was trying to maximize the speed of his Internet connection, first with a modem and later with his ISDN line. Turns out that Windows doesn't like to the settings tweaked if you are running a local TCP/IP network. Some of the Internet speed booster programs like NetSonic or TurboSurfer can make changes to these settings even without your knowing. Watch out, you might get bit like Dan did. He'd done it so long ago he forgot he'd ever changed them in the first place. Before you install a local network to connect your computers to one another, reset your TCP/IP settings to their default values. This will keep performance good on your local network and your Internet connection. Extra special thanks to Lester over at the Annoyance Board for getting everyone pointed in the right direction! http://www.PrimeConsulting.com/annoyanceboard/ Download iSpeed at: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?ftip +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ WANT TO GET YOUR WORD OUT? Classified ads in The Naked PC can be yours for ridiculously low prices. Get your message out to over 55,000 TNPC subscribers. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/tnpcadvertising.html?v3i17 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ ** 08. For Recent TNPC Subscribers TNPC has been adding nearly 1,000 new subscribers to our readership list every issue, so many of our current readers may not be aware of all the articles that have appeared in past issues. Here is a quick recap of some past articles that you may find interesting if you missed them the first time around. *-* Does Your System Have Warts? (Motherboard Monitors) (TNPC 1.11.03) Newer motherboards can provide you with a lot of diagnostic information in real time with the right software. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?recent1 *-* Lynx: A Must-have, Screamin' Fast, Free, Vastly Underrated Browser (TNPC 1.01.03) Need a browser that can fit on any system, is blazingly fast, and free? The text-only Lynx browser is great for Web research where graphics are not a consideration. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?recent2 *-* Does Your System Have Warts? (IE Image Toggler PowerToy, Swap File Optimization, and Low Resources redux) (TNPC 2.04.02) Get your system working smoother with free utilities you can use to fine tune your system and remove some of the operational "warts" that can drive you crazy. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?recent3 ** 09. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff *-* It appears that Microsoft may be dropping support for Windows 95 in the next version of MS Office. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?news1 *-* Uncle Sam goes postal! The United States Post Office is seriously thinking of going into email big time by creating an email address for every regular mail address in the United States. This way Uncle Sam can send you tax bills, driver's license renewals, in short all the stuff that governmental bodies now send by regular mail. What really has the Post Office salivating over this idea is the money they could make by charging mass mail marketers for sending spam to your "official" government inbox. That's right, the Post Office is going to profit from email spam. Hey, in my opinion, if they stopped the spam that comes in the regular mail they could cut the size of the postal service in half. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?news2 *-* If you're following Linux you should check out the Gnome Foundation that vowed to provide a workable alternative to Windows/Office on the PC desktop. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?news3 *-* WinInfo guru Paul Thurrott says he has had reports of incompatibilities between Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 and Maxtor SCSI and IDE hard drives that could result in data loss. He also says he has first-hand knowledge of problems that result from installing Windows Media Player 7 on Windows 2000 systems that have already had Adaptec EZ CD Creator installed. He says everyone that has had this problem has had to reinstall Windows 2000. Ouch! http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?news4 *-* Microsoft has decided to drop unlimited free technical support for Office and the 90 days free technical support for Windows and instead go to a "2 free incidents" model where a caller gets two shots at tech support (two problems which may or may not require more than two phone calls) after which you pay $35 for the privilege of having someone tell you why your Microsoft program doesn't work. Oddly enough the director of global support at Microsoft said this was because "most customers use fewer than two support incidents." Does this mean if users were all calling tech support all the time they'd have kept up the free support programs? Somehow I just don't think so. But take heart because the good folks at Microsoft say support is not a profit center for the company. Sort of takes all the sting out of it, no? http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?news5 Hey! Have you come across something newsworthy? Drop us a line: mailto:hottips@TheNakedPC.com ** 10. We Get Mail *-* TNPCer Mike C. was looking over our prior issues and had this to say about our Featured Web Site from TNPC #2.04. "Tim Higgins' Practically Networked site is great! Tim's step-by-step walk through of setting up a shared Internet connection using dial-up or cable/DSL modems is absolutely terrific." http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?mail1 *-* Are you bugged by pop-up browser windows that are really no more than ads? Sure you can block banner ads but when you leave some sites another browser window pops up with an ad. Or a survey. You close that window and another appears. TNPCer Sharon M. says these things are driving her crazy and would like to find the cure. AtGuard can block java caused pop-up windows but there may be other utilities or ways around this problem. Any of our readers have the answer to stopping these annoying ads? *-* TNPCer Andrew G. wants us to remind readers that Iomega normally only warrants their drives to be free from defects for a period of one year from your date of purchase. But that if you have a Click of Death related problem with your Iomega drive they will extend the warranty period and replace dead drives whose warranty has expired. Thanks Andrew! *-* TNPCer Peter H. found our productivity tip in TNPC #1.11 about typing to be very useful. But he has trouble finding the tiny nubs on the F and J home keys that a touch typist uses to orient themselves without looking at the keyboard. His solution? "I went to Home Depot and got some of that stickyback sandpaper- type stuff that people put in bathtubs so they won't slip. I used an ordinary office paper punch to cut out a bunch of neat little black dots. I put one dot on my F, J, 4, 7, Ctrl, Alt, and down- arrow keys. I use these constantly to orient myself." Great tip! 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 -----------------------+++ **NEED INK? SAVE 40-70% OVER RETAIL!** High Quality Inkjet Printer Cartridges, JetPaks, Refill Kits. Super Prices! Your Satisfaction Is Guaranteed. * FREE 3 Day / 2 Night Vacation Certificate! * MaxPatch Ink Supplies http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/317/tr.cgi?class1 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ GET YOUR DOG TO LISTEN TO YOU, ANYWHERE YOU GO! Even If He's Distracted By Food, Cats Or A Tennis Ball! Now you can learn the Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer. Click below, now! http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/317/tr.cgi?class2 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ NEED ADDITIONAL RESOURCES? I'm offering professional services for contract work in the areas of documentation, end user application and Web site review and project management. If interested contact Rolston Resources via email at: robin@rolston.com +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ PRIME Consulting Group (owned by the folks that publish this newsletter) provides computer consulting and custom Windows, VB and VBA development services. Utilities to complete application development, we CAN solve your problem. Drop us a line at: mailto:info@primeconsulting.com +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ 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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