What You Need to Know about All Things PC
Volume 3 Number 22Click 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, October 26, 2000 - Vol. 3 No. 22 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Table of Contents ** 01. Letter from the Publisher ** 02. Indispensable Windows Utility - WinRescue (by Al Gordon) ** 03. Announcing the TNPC Store (by T.J. Lee) ** 04. Tips on Handling Internet Downloads (by Dan Butler) ** 05. eScrip Online: How to Easily Register and Support Your Child's School (by Lee Hudspeth) ** 06. Featured FAQ - "Prompted for Password When Connecting to Windows NT (Q139592)" ** 07. Featured Web Site - Kerbango Tuning Service ** 08. Featured Product - MailSpy ** 09. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff ** 10. We Get Mail ** 01. Letter from the Publisher Woe to the unwary writer. Seems that we offended a small but vociferous group of eBayers when we wrote articles praising not only eBay but PayPal as well. Silly us, for thinking that just because we think highly of both these services we could actually get away with saying so. The tempest in the teapot had to do with PayPal's recent establishment of "business" accounts. Seems that a few people who have quit their day jobs to buy and sell on eBay don't understand why they should be considered businesses (hint: it's the old profit deal). The gist of the one fellow who appeared to be screaming loudest was that TNPC must be in PayPal's pocket and was probably paid (we wish) to write anything nice at all about PayPal. For the record: we have never been paid to write any articles in TNPC. Being a glutton for punishment, Dan is still putting the finishing touches on a follow-up to last issue's PayPal piece. Look for it next month. In the meantime he shares a practical way to get a handle on your Internet downloads in this issue. Lee provides his experience with the electronic version of paper scrip, something you'll run into sooner or later if you have school-age kids here in the USA. Al has some good things to say about WinRescue and Jim announces a new facet of TNPC, the manifestation of an idea that we've playing around with almost since TNPC's inception. 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!" To make this easy we've provided a handy referrer page: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?refer So now you know. +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ PHOTON-MICRO LIGHTS NOW AT THE TNPC STORE! That's right, the BRIGHTEST light for its size in the WORLD, weighing only 5.5 grams and about the size of a quarter can now be purchased in the TNPC Company Store. Happy owners say, "so small and so lightweight that it's incredible how much light they produce" and "I bought the white model and I'm amazed how bright it was, [then] I bought three of the blues for family members and they are even brighter than the white." Read the Micro-Light FAQ and find out what's so awesome about these amazing lights. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?sponsor1 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 02. Indispensable Windows Utility - WinRescue (by Al Gordon) Some software reviews are remarkably easy to write. For WinRescue, you can pretty much do it in three words, "Go buy it." Ray Guide's Super Win Software makes a number of useful utilities, including versions of WinRescue tailored to each of the several Microsoft Windows operating systems. Price is $24.95 for each, but if you own WinRescue for one version of Windows, you can get WinRescue for another version at $10 ($15 for Windows ME). Guide says he did not try to create one omnibus solution; rather he did separate versions so that he could optimize performance for each flavor of Windows. Besides, he said, the file size for a one-size-fits-all product would have been ridiculous. This is in the best tradition of good shareware: a well-focused, well- executed, simple program. WinRescue will back up your Windows Registry. For 95, NT4, and 2000, that alone is an essential because there is no such utility shipped with the operating system. Windows 98 and ME do have a Registry backup, but WinRescue has more flexibility. I have learned from hard experience over the years that when a software installation goes wrong, the uninstall program doesn't always undo the damage. However, restoring the Registry will provide the fix most of the time, allowing you to avoid more time-consuming repairs. Plus, it does a lot more. WinRescue will back up your personal profile (your shortcuts, favorites, etc.), which make your Windows installation truly yours. You can always reinstall your software, but these personal touches can get lost forever if not backed up and you suffer a crash. You can also set it to include any other files you desire in the backup package. For example, I make it a point to backup my Normal.dot and Personal.xls, along with some other key files. The software also allows you to schedule backups at regular intervals. I have it do so daily. You have the choice of multiple levels of compression, and incremental as well as full backups. WinRescue creates boot disks, and you can create Windows shortcuts to run specific backup jobs with one double-click. There's also the requisite wizard for those so inclined, which walks you through the various processes. And, of course, WinRescue will restore what it has backed up. It's a must-have utility for all Windows users. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?al1 You can reach Al Gordon at: mailto:al@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ COMPUTER SHOPPING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON? "BUYING A COMPUTER - MADE EASY!" is just the book for you! It is packed with all the details you need to know NOW in an easy-to- read format. No "geek-speak" here. SAVE yourself a lot of TIME, money and aggravation. This book will teach you what to do before you ever leave for the store, how to translate a sales ad into meaningful information, and MUCH MORE! Get your copy on sale now at: http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/322/tr.cgi?sponsor2 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 03. Announcing the TNPC Store (by T.J. Lee) And now a word from our sponsor... us! Despite our dedication to the truth, justice, and electronic computers, just like you we have to pay the bills, buy the groceries, take the cat to the vet, and otherwise make a living. We've never been shy about trying to make a buck with this newsletter while keeping it a free publication. And making a dollar on the Internet is a tough trick these days. Just look at the way high-flying "new economy" business sites are crashing and burning. That's why we carry the ads you see in every issue. That's why we use Amazon and Beyond links, because the revenue generated by these links helps defray the not inconsiderable cost of sending 60,000 or so emails out to our friends (that's you) every other week. A great many of our readers already know this and help support TNPC by making their Amazon purchases via our links even when picking up something we haven't recommended (like a DVD copy of the "Nightmare Before Christmas"). And we APPRECIATE it too! In fact, now that I think about it, that's a pretty good movie: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?amazon1 To that end, we had been kicking the idea around here at the Underground Labs about having a TNPC "store." There we could sell official TNPC coffee mugs or mouse pads or other such drek. It seemed like a fun thing to do but we couldn't decide on what to do with the idea. Lee balked at the idea of putting a T-shirt silk-screening machine in his garage and while the idea of a coffee mug with a cartoon naked guy sitting at a computer sounded funny, would you really like to have one sitting on your desk? Us neither. So the idea just lay on the shelf gathering dust. Cut to TNPC issue #3.16, wherein Dan wrote an in-depth review of a gizmo the size of a twenty-five cent piece called a Photon Micro-Light as the Featured Product. He badgered me into getting one for my wife, who is taking night classes, so she could have a personal flashlight on her key ring when going to her car in the parking lot after dark. So I got one. Then I got several. I took our Cub Scout Pack on a night hike with the local Boy Scout Troop and let the kids "field test" a set of these lights. The results of this outing you can find on the Micro-Light FAQ page of the Store but suffice it to say that I felt we'd found something that we could put in our newsletter "store" that was a darn sight better than a coffee mug with a cartoon on it. And that brings me to the official TNPC Store. When you buy stuff there, you help support TNPC. Right now all we have for sale are Micro-Lights. (Available in seven amazingly bright colors; honestly, these things are too cool to be believed.) If we come across anything else useful, fun, or destined to tickle the gizmo lover in us all, we will put that (whatever it may be) in the store as well. Know that whatever you purchase at the TNPC Store helps support the newsletter and helps keep it free. Oh, if you've already bought a Micro-Light be sure to stop by the Store and get a Super Value Micro-Light Accessory Kit. Anyone who purchases something from the TNPC Store between now to Thanksgiving will receive a free copy of the "Official TNPC Screen Saver." http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?store You can reach T.J. Lee at: mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.com ** 04. Tips on Handling Internet Downloads (by Dan Butler) Do you download files only to find two days later you have no idea what they are? The filename doesn't help and you don't really want to run the installer just to find out. So you delete it. Or you are checking for the latest driver for your printer; problem is, the filename for the new driver is the same as the old one so which one do you use? If you're like me you just download the file again. Then there's the problem of where you stored the file on your system. You'd search for it--if you could remember the name--which brings us back to where we started. Sound familiar? If so, here is a simple system to put some sanity and time back in your life. In a nutshell: * Create special folders to hold your downloaded files. * Use a special naming convention as you download files. Here is exactly how I do this on my computer. First I use two special folders. The first folder is named "Install Files." It will hold install files, program updates, and driver updates for existing programs on my system. Some of you will subdivide the "Install Files" folder into folders for drivers, updates, programs, etc. I just drop all the files in one folder. For me it's faster to look through one folder when I need to reinstall something. The key is to use what works for you. The second folder is called "Interesting Stuff". The "Interesting Stuff" folder holds everything else I download. This could be ebooks, Web pages, saved search engine searches, or programs to investigate. Name your folders with a name that will catch your eye later. Also make sure you create your folders on a drive with plenty of free space. For quick access you may want to create a shortcut on your Desktop to these two folders. Now you are good to go. Next time you download a file choose the proper folder then give the file a meaningful name. Here is the naming convention I use. The program I'm downloading is Graph Paper Printer. The file name is gpaper.exe. So the name I gave it is: GraphPaperPrinter4.21(gpaper).exe Notice the full name tells me exactly what program this is and the version number. The parenthesis contains the original file name. So when naming files just ask yourself two questions: * What does the file do? * What is the original file name? Often I need to reinstall an update with deadlines looming. When that happens it's so much quicker to find my files than slogging through a support site to find the file and download, losing my train of thought in the process. The time this simple system saves is wonderful. More importantly, someone not familiar with your computer can still understand what each file does. A couple of notes on renaming the files. Many downloads will ask where to download the file. That's the time to rename the file. Otherwise wait for the download to finish, pick the file, and rename it. Either press F2 or right-click on file and choose "Rename" from the popup menu. Press "Enter" when you are done. To see some screen shots of this on my system go here: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?dan1 I hope you find this system as useful as I have. You can reach Dan Butler at: mailto:danbutler@TheNakedPC.com ** 05. eScrip Online: How to Easily Register and Support Your Child's School (by Lee Hudspeth) One of the things I worked on this summer was getting ready for my older son's entrance into the fascinating realm of elementary school. It's important to our family to support his school, so we thought at length about fundraising issues. I first learned of eScrip from his school's "back to school" packet. Here are some tips I discovered along the way. First, what is eScrip? Here in the USA it's a common system by which schools for children raise money. It's an electronic variation on the "paper scrip" system where you purchase coupons for cash, and then use them to buy groceries and some other commodities, usually at local businesses; somewhere between 2% and 5% of the face value gets channeled back to the school. eScrip is a paperless version of the above system, and has the potential to raise more money for the school since you can register multiple credit cards (more on this in a moment). Besides, there's no paper to hassle with, and you know from my past articles how much I yearn for a paperless office. eScrip is intended to benefit schools and organizations that support children and children's programs. There's an annual fee of $10 to support one organization, and you can support up to three (another $5 fee per organization beyond the first). Many participating grocery stores offer a $10 coupon for their club card members who enroll in eScrip (my local Vons store did), so for the first year your eScrip enrollment is effectively free. My trail began at my local Vons grocery store, but they didn't have registration forms and could only provide a phone number to call: 800-801-9003. I called that number on a weekend when the office was closed, and the message directed me to the eScrip Web site: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?lee1 When I went there I was able to read about the program in great detail. Even without being registered, you can use the Web site to look up participating merchants by category, for example, Apparel, Books, Grocery, Restaurant, and many others, as well as by region. Without being registered you can look up an organization's Group ID number. This Group ID number is one of the keys to the whole deal. By registering yourself with this number as the supported organization, a fraction of your purchases flows to your school. For example, with Vons purchases the contribution is 2% on monthly purchases from $0 to $200, 3% on $200 to $300, and 4% on $300 and higher. Another key is that you must use your grocery club card for a grocery purchase to be tracked for contributions. Your purchase can be by cash, check, or credit card, but you *must* swipe your grocery club card too. (For our family it's a VONSCLUB card. The other three cards they link up to during your online registration process are Safeway Club Card, PAVILIONS ValuePlus Club Card, and Joey Franco's PW Markets.) You can register online, any time that is convenient for you. It involves six easy steps, and took me about five minutes. Have your grocery club card and primary credit card handy. Note that you only have to enter one grocery club card per family. The site states, "The merchant's system will connect multiple cards from within one household." At the end of a successful online registration, you'll see a page that reads, "You have successfully registered as a supporter of the eScrip program." It goes on to show your supporter identification number along with the group(s) being supported; information about yourself (address and so forth); and the grocery store club cards, bank cards, and proprietary merchant cards you registered (last four digits only). That's all there is to it. You'll soon receive an email from eScrip confirming your registration information and status, followed in about three weeks by a paper packet via snail mail. Once a month has whizzed by you'll be able to view monthly statements of your eScrip activity online. ESI, the firm behind eScrip, has a strong privacy policy, "ESI has made a firm commitment to protect the privacy of all customer information. ESI will not sell or rent any personally identifying information about eScrip participants to any third parties." Get yourself signed up, and encourage an extended family member or friend to sign up, too! To view some supplemental information about eScrip, go here: http://www.thenakedpc.com/lee/escrip_p1/index.html Lee Hudspeth can be reached at: mailto:leehudspeth@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ Get UCmore Today - It's FREE Cut through Web clutter with UCmore, the FREE "anti-search" tool! Want to find more of what you're looking for and have it be hassle-free? Download UCmore and watch it make your life simpler by categorizing related site information into easy-to-understand, clickable links, right in your browser window! Slaughterhouse's Pick of the Day and what users have described as "the best download in a year." Download UCmore for Internet Explorer today! http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?sponsor3 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 06. Featured FAQ - "Prompted for Password When Connecting to Windows NT (Q139592)" Lee was recently attempting to connect a Windows 98SE PC on a peer-to-peer network to a Windows 2000 Professional PC (no domains). He kept getting an annoying "You must supply a password to make this connection" message. Fortunately, the Microsoft Knowledge Base provided a very simple answer. One of the most common causes of this error message is a disabled Guest account. By default on Windows 2000 the Guest account is disabled. Ouch. The article provides the simple steps for enabling the Guest account, and he was immediately able to connect to the Windows 2000 PC. This FAQ applies to problems connecting not only to Windows 2000 but also Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95, and Windows for Workgroups. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?ffaq Go here to search the Microsoft Knowledge Base online: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?ffaqa ** 07. Featured Web Site - Kerbango Tuning Service Over 5,000 streaming audio sites can be accessed through the Kerbango Tuning Service. Music, news, talk, sports, entertainment, public radio, religious, scanners, and more. Catch the BBC, CNN World News, download the current versions of Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, RealAudio, and Windows Media Player. The real gem on this site is the set of old time TV shows available for free streaming. The Andy Griffith Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, funny TV commercials from the 60s, Bonanza, the Nixon-Kennedy debate, One Step Beyond. Old radio broadcasts as well. Hear the original 1938 radio broadcast of the Mercury Theater "War of the Worlds," the original radio broadcast of the Hindenburg disaster, May 6, 1937. Hear the radio episodes of Sherlock Holmes, The Shadow, and Captain Midnight. Who knows what evil lurks... http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?fsite ** 08. Featured Product - MailSpy MailSpy by SaberQuest is a free email utility that works with Windows 95/98/NT. It runs in the background and polls your mailbox at your ISP and lets you know if you have mail. It can be set to automatically launch your email client software, notify you with a message box or by playing a sound. Set it to check your mailbox at regular intervals and you can still force it to check whenever you want with a few mouse clicks. Set the system tray icon to visually indicate when you have email. Small, unobtrusive, and very handy. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?fprod +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ 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 60,000 TNPC subscribers. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/tnpcadvertising.html?v3i22 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ ** 09. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff *-* Windows ME users are finding that their super-fast DSL connections are incompatible with the new operating system. Typically, Microsoft is taking the position that the DSL providers should update their drivers to support ME. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?news1 *-* Get the latest scoop on how the Microsoft Office 10 beta is progressing. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?news2 *-* Dell Computer Corp. is continuing the recall it began two weeks ago of 27,000 batteries that shipped in several of its Latitude and Inspiron notebook models. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?news3 *-* Disney is "unlocking the Walt Disney vault" and plans to offer some phenomenal memorabilia for auction in an exclusive deal with eBay. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?news4 Get more Newsworthy bits on the TNPC Web site: http://www.thenakedpc.com/newsworthy/ Have you come across something newsworthy? Drop us a line: mailto:hottips@TheNakedPC.com ** 10. We Get Mail *-* TNPCer Roger in Houston is pretty happy with his Micro-Light. "Ordinary flashlights are too big and cumbersome to use. I keep the Photon on my keys and it has become the envy of our work group [for crawling] under desks to work on PCs and connections where it is too dark to see anything. If I hadn't seen them mentioned in TNPC I wouldn't have gotten one. Your credibility is that high with me." See Dan's review of Photon-Lights at: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?mail1 *-* TNPCer James D. let us know that the UCmore folks have been posting newer versions of the UCmore add-in for download as they become available. If you've had any problems with UCmore, or just want to get the latest version, download the program again. It'll install right over the old version. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?mail2 See more readers comments on UCmore at: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?mail3 *-* TNPCer Neal C. was checking out our back issue page where we discussed things to do with old CD discs and floppies. "I am the Scout Master of BSA Troop 146. In our troop we suggest the boys use them as emergency signal mirrors. If they get too badly scratched, a replacement is never very hard to come by." Great tip, Neil! *-* The recent discussion about auctions prompted a TNPCer to write to us in part, "It's great to check out the facts about a seller before bidding on an item, but how about the product? I constantly see items going at auction at places like eBay and Ubid for more than they retail for!" Check out this most interesting letter on our Letters to the Editor page. 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 Printer Utilities! * MaxPatch Ink Supplies http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/321/tr.cgi?class1 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ My Home Based Business Success Story. I made $795.00 last week from my living room table. Read my success secrets in turning your computer into an automatic money machine selling personalized candy bars from home. http://www.thenakedpc.com/t/322/tr.cgi?class2 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ >> "Find out THE TRUTH about ANYONE" 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/322/tr.cgi?class3 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ pcReminder is FREE! NEVER FORGET AGAIN! Let FREE pcReminder send you a reminder via email. Birthdays, anniversaries, appointments, you name it! One-time events, recurring items, let you computer do the remind you automatically and for FREE. Send reminders to yourself or family, friends, business Associates - to any email address. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/322/tr.cgi?class4 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ 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. Also, although we work hard to provide you with accurate Internet links in The Naked PC, we are not responsible for Internet links herein that represent sites owned and operated by third parties. We are not responsible for the content, accuracy, performance, or availability of any such third-party sites. Sigh, no one got the bumper sticker last issue. So Jim will send a sticker to whoever sends him the best tip on how you use a low tech solution to solve a high-tech problem. REDISTRIBUTION POLICY We encourage you to forward this newsletter to your friends, associates, and colleagues for their review and enjoyment. However, please do so only by sending it in full, thereby keeping the copyright and subscription information intact. We do request that, once they've reviewed an issue or two, they subscribe independently rather than continue to receive issues from you. This helps TNPC grow and prosper, thereby funding its continued publication. Also, if you wish to post this newsletter to a newsgroup or electronic discussion group, you may do so if you preserve the copyright and subscription information. Thanks. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe, surf on over to: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/subscribe.html To make comments or suggestions, surf on over to: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/tnpfeedback.html or send email directly to: mailto:tnpc@TheNakedPC.com Get back issues from our Mailbot by sending email to: mailto:mailbot@TheNakedPC.com WEB BULLETIN BOARD Check out our 24x7 Web bulletin board. If you've got a technical question about PC issues, or suggestions of your own, this is the place to hang out: http://www.PRIMEConsulting.com/annoyanceboard/ ADVERTISING To advertise in TNPC go to: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/tnpcadvertising.html Mail services provided by Blue Horizon Enterprises, one of the very few "Mom and Pop" operations left on the Web: http://www.bhorizon.com Copyright (c) 2000, PRIME Consulting Group, Inc. and Dan Butler. All Rights Reserved. The Naked PC is a trademark of PRIME Consulting Group, Inc. ISSN: 1522-4422 TNPC Hot Tips:
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