What You Need to Know about All Things PC
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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 22, 2001 - Vol. 4 No. 4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Table of Contents ** 01. Letter from the Publisher ** 02. Our First TNPC e-Book: Part 2 (by Lee Hudspeth) ** 03. UCMore Now Available for Netscape Navigator 4.x (by T.J. Lee) ** 04. Featured Book - "T.E.T.: Teacher Effectiveness Training" by Dr. Thomas Gordon (reviewed by Lee Hudspeth) ** 05. Featured Product - Responsive Time Logger 4 (by Al Gordon) ** 06. Featured Web Page - Tips for Avoiding Being a Victim of Computer Crime ** 07. Featured Office Tip - Outlook's Spam Filtering (by PRIME Consulting Group, Inc.) ** 08. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff ** 09. We Get Mail ** 01. Letter from the Publisher Our e-book production machinery is working furiously 24x7; for the details see the first article of this issue for an update on "TheNakedPC.com presents: The Book That Should Have Come with Your Computer." Our all-time favorite browser add-in UCMore is now available for Netscape Navigator users, and Jim gives you that heads-up. Plus our usual assortment of Featured items and intriguing news. This time around we cover a book on being an effective teacher, Al Gordon's favorite billable time tracking program, a Web page for folks who insist on using their home phone number as a password (don't!), and a detailed tip about Microsoft Outlook's spam filtering. 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!" http://www.TheNakedPC.com/refer/ So now you know. +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ EASY HANG UP by Phonex Corporation As seen in the pages of The Naked PC newsletter, now you can get the Ultimate Anti-Telemarketer Device! Don't let your dinner get cold while you try to stop some telemarketer's sales pitch long enough to say NO! Just press the button on the Easy Hang Up and let this marvelous device tell the telemarketer that your phone number does not accept sales calls and put them on notice to remove your phone number from their call list. This small device plugs into your phone and when you get a sales call just press the button and hang up! It's that simple. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?sponsor1 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 02. Our First TNPC e-Book: Part 2 (by Lee Hudspeth) Many thanks to everyone who has ordered a copy of our e-book "TheNakedPC.com presents: The Book That Should Have Come with Your Computer." Our trek into the realm of mass-producing CD-ROMs has been fraught with many exasperating, maddening side trips. (Are any readers out there in the CD replication business or know anyone you could recommend?) One problem we ran into was the massive number of pre-orders we had from last issue's announcement. We quickly learned the difference between duplication (CDs are burned in quantities up to 500) and replication (CDs are stamped out like license plates). We had to scrap our original production schedule when the vendor couldn't handle the increased quantities it became apparent we would need. Nonetheless, we anticipate shipping CDs shortly. For folks who haven't ordered yet, the delays we've suffered are your boon because the e-book is still available for our pre-production discount price of $19.95, which includes shipping here in the U.S.. Once the CD starts to ship, the price will go up to $29.95. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?tugpc2 For those of you who may have missed the announcement in TNPC #4.03, our book "The Unofficial Guide to PCs" (by T.J. Lee, Lee Hudspeth, and Dan Butler) found itself a book without a series title. The publisher allowed it to go out of print, so we took matters into our own hands and have resurrected what we feel is a must-have book. It's now an e-book renamed to "TheNakedPC.com presents: The Book That Should Have Come with Your Computer." Here are some quotes filed by satisfied customers... Lockergnome says, "It's amazing how much stuff you'll find on the care and feeding of your system in this book. From purchasing proper hardware to finding software that suits your needs--the authors cover every issue very well. The opinions expressed are unbiased and (more importantly) straightforward. Put together your own system without a second thought!" Cheryl H. says, "I want to tell you how much I am enjoying reading your book, the 'Unofficial Guide to PCs.' It's very readable and straightforward, with a conversational feel to it. [Your book] has cleared up a lot of questions that I have had for awhile about my home system. I like the various tips, and the shareware/freeware packages that are mentioned. I have dog-eared many a page for later reference. Worth its weight in gold, but I'm glad that wasn't the cover price!" David S. says, "This is such a great book I hope the authors keep it under revision to update the technology. I found the content easy to use and keep it as a ready reference. Any computer sales person in their right mind will have this within reach if they really want to help a customer make a sound decision on 'Unbiased' technical information." An Amazon.com reviewer says, "The idea of your NEAT box for a home PC is brilliant, and worth the price of the book by itself. I'm making one up for mine now. Great book." The three of us poured all of our accumulated consulting, field, and system expertise into this book. You deserve all of it. If you are tired of fixing, configuring, and updating your computer then our e-book will remove that drudgery and show you how to have fun with your computer again. You can find out more about this e-book or order your $19.95 early bird copy on CD-ROM here: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?tugpc2 ** 03. UCMore Now Available for Netscape Navigator 4.x (by T.J. Lee) Dan wrote an excellent review of the UCMore add-in for Internet Explorer in TNPC #3.20. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?ucmore1 UCMore is the utility with the unlikely name that gives you instant access to sites that relate in some useful way to the site you're currently viewing. It does this unobtrusively, automatically, and nearly instantly, making it an "anti-search" tool in that you don't need to bone up on Boolean logic strings to find great sites that relate to what you're currently looking at. I've found UCMore to be handier than a pocket on a shirt when doing Web research on a short deadline (do editors know of any other kind?). I go to a site that's relevant and before I read through the first paragraph of text, UCMore gives me a neatly categorized index of related sites. The only negative thing mentioned about UCMore in Dan's review was that it only installs on Internet Explorer. Well, that is no longer the case. UCMore now has a version specific to Navigator 4.x (like so many people I know it won't work with Navigator version 6), and like it's IE-compatible version, it rocks. UCMore's operation is simple and automatic. When you display a Web site the UCMore database is searched using the page you're on as the criteria. A new toolbar displays a series of pull-down menus that categorize the related sites. Dan put together a simple but illustrative example of how UCMore works, with screen shots, here: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?ucmore2 Probably the most amazing thing about UCMore is that it's a FREE download. You can find the Navigator and Internet Explorer versions of UCMore here: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?ucmore3 You can reach T.J. Lee at: mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ PHOTON MICRO-LIGHTS! Our Photon Micro-Lights continue to be a best seller beyond our wildest expectations! Reader comments pour in: "I bought 3 [and] am now ordering 4 more and the Accessory Kit to give away as gifts" "Liked the first 2, and decided to get 6 more" "very bright - they're GREAT!" Micro-Lights are the BRIGHTEST flashlights for their size in the WORLD. Reliable, incredibly bright light for any situation. These LED marvels produce light in your choice of Red, Orange, or Yellow; superbrights: Green, Turquoise, Blue, or White. Shipping is FREE in the USA! http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?sponsor2 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 04. Featured Book - "T.E.T.: Teacher Effectiveness Training" by Dr. Thomas Gordon (reviewed by Lee Hudspeth) We are all teachers. I don't mean just Al, Dan, Jim, and me. I include you, dear reader; I mean all of us. Employers teach employees, parents teach children, spouses teach each other, friends teach friends. This book is a quintessential handbook for teachers. It has a very specific goal: how to become a more effective teacher, thereby offering one's students more time for learning and less time wasted on conflicts, arguments, resistance, or plain old boredom. It is true that this book uses as its main context the teacher- student relationship, where the student is in elementary through high school. However, I personally find it to be an excellent guide to the universal skills of active listening, understanding and resolving problems and alternate points of view, and offering new content--be it the most efficient way to close a zip-lock baggie or the ideal way to debug an Excel macro--to an eager audience. Jim and I teach at seminars where there are several hundred people to engage and keep interested. On a different scale, we are often in situations where we're presenting a software engineering solution to a handful of project team members. The techniques I garnered from this book are of great help in all these situations. To quote Dr. Gordon, "In each chapter we will introduce a new set of [teaching] skills; each will have the effect of enlarging what we call 'teaching-learning time'--periods where teachers are permitted by their students to teach ('do their thing') and students are motivated by their teacher to learn." Since its inception in 1966, the T.E.T. program has been taught to tens of thousands of teachers in every state of the U.S. (There is a parallel "Parent Effectiveness Training" or P.E.T. program.) The program is not about abstract ideologies, it is about giving teachers specific, practical skills that address the goal of enlarging teaching-learning time. The chapter titles provide a useful roadmap for the book's journey. 1. Teacher-Learner Relationships: The Missing Link 2. A Model for Effective Teacher-Student Relationships 3. What Teachers Can Do When Students Have Problems 4. The Many Uses of Active Listening 5. What Teachers Can Do When Students Give Them Problems 6. How to Modify the Classroom Environment to Prevent Problems 7. Conflict in the Classroom 8. The No-Lose Method of Resolving Conflicts 9. Putting the No-Lose Method to Work: Other Uses of Method III in Schools 10. When Values Collide in Schools 11. Making the School a Better Place for Teaching You can order this book here: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?fbook You can contact Lee Hudspeth at: mailto:leehudspeth@TheNakedPC.com ** 05. Featured Product - Responsive Time Logger 4 (by Al Gordon) One of our favorite discoveries last year was Responsive Time Logger 3, a nifty program for professionals who are "on the clock" to record and bill their time (see TNPC #3.08). Developer Alan Macy now is back with an improved Version 4, $89 full price; $49 upgrade; free upgrade for users who bought version 3 on or after June 1, 2000. The new edition has all the virtues of the last one, plus some very solid enhancements. -- An updated interface that not only is better looking but more efficient. Controls and functions are more accessible and Responsive Time Logger makes very effective use of color to make it easier to find records. Example: the taskbar icon for a timing stopwatch now blinks yellow when paused. Simple, but very valuable, as version 4 thereby alerts you to the crucial fact that you are not generating (or are failing to log) billable hours. -- Beefed up import and export functions that make it easier to transfer data to other programs, e.g. Excel or QuickBooks, should you need to massage your data there. Version 4, though, remains capable of working as a self-contained program, creating its own invoices, bills, and reports. -- The stopwatch dialogs now have calendar and clock face interfaces to simplify manual date and time settings. There also are more linkage features so that you can, say, tie a billing rate of $X per hour to Client A and $Y to Client B. -- My personal favorite changes are the new ability to have up to four stopwatches running simultaneously and the new resume/start new copy feature. If you ever juggle more than one project at once, the value of the multiple stopwatches is self-evident. For ongoing projects, you now can choose whether to "resume" a previous record, in which case Responsive Time Logger erases the old record and loads a stopwatch that shows the prior elapsed time without the original start/stop times. Or you can create a blank copy, which will leave the old record in place. The former, useful when you only need to track elapsed time rather than actual times of day worked, produces a tidier database; the latter captures a full timeline. One major change in version 4 is a switch from .dbf to Microsoft Access format (.mdb) for the database. I am not thrilled about adding Access's complexity. But Alan notes that his customers asked for the change so that version 4 data can be easily plugged into Access reports. And as we all know, the customer is always right. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?fprod You can reach Al Gordon at: mailto:al@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ BUY OUR LATEST BOOK! "T.J. Lee and Lee Hudspeth's Absolute Beginner's Guide to PC Upgrades" has garnered five-star reviews across the board. Here's what folks are saying. "If you only have time to read one book on PCs, read this." "The authors... have managed to crack that difficult problem of writing in a style that makes a potentially complex subject seem easy. They actually make you feel that they have written the book specifically with you in mind, and if things do get tough, there are lots of sidebars and an excellent glossary and index to fall back on." "Whether you're a novice or semi-literate PC user with the desire to either figure out how your system works or desire to upgrade, this book is perfectly simple to read and understand." http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?sponsor3 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 06. Featured Web Page - Tips for Avoiding Being a Victim of Computer Crime How do you select a secure password? Don't use your home telephone number, or your mother's maiden name, or any of a dozen other often-used but easily determined values. Dr. Ronald B. Standler's great Web page covers obvious passwords to avoid, rules for selecting a good password, and other rules for staying one step ahead of prying eyes. Oh yes, please don't just reverse your home telephone number; an obvious value backwards is still too easy to crack. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?fpage ** 07. Featured Office Tip - Outlook's Spam Filtering (by PRIME Consulting Group, Inc.) Outlook 2000 and 98 include features that build on the idea of rules for automatically handling junk email (more commonly referred to as "spam") based on certain conditions being met. When the junk email feature has been activated and configured, you can highlight any email message you receive and designate its sender as either an "Adult Content Sender" or "Junk Sender" and cause any future messages from that source to be deleted, flagged, or moved to a specified folder, among other possible actions. In a nutshell, you can establish rules that inspect almost any message characteristic, and the actions rules take can be as aggressive or permissive as you want. First let's cover the "out of the box" junk email filters provided by the Organize tool. 1. Select the Inbox facility and choose Tools, Organize. In the pane that appears, click on the "Junk E-Mail" button. 2. From the drop-down lists, pick the actions you want taken for messages that meet the criteria for Junk and/or Adult Content messages. 3. Click the "Turn on" button(s) to activate the junk email feature. Once you have activated junk mail formatting/handling rules using whichever interface you prefer (see sidebar "Automatic formatting rules vs. the Rules Wizard" at the end of this article), you can designate a sender whose address you want blackballed. Just right-click on a spam message, and from the pop-up menu you can click on the "Junk E-mail" option and designate the message as having come from a Junk Sender or an Adult Content Sender. Outlook will then perform whatever action you have defined on any new messages from that sender. Outlook also filters your incoming message (assuming you've activated the junk email features) against the text strings listed in a file called Filters.txt (typically in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office). Filters.txt contains the text strings often found in spam messages. There are separate sections for general, commercial spam and the adult stuff. You can edit this file in any text editor and add your own spam traps if you are so inclined. If you're a cautious soul, set up your junk filters to move messages to a custom folder so you can look over the types of messages Outlook deems spam before you delete them. That way you can fine-tune Filters.txt if you find it is declaring some messages as junk that you don't want deleted. Nor is moving messages to the Deleted Items folder or a custom folder your only option. You can change the color of a suspect spam message instead of moving it (see sidebar). To tweak your junk options after they've been set up, open the Organize pane and click on the underlined "click here" part of the sentence "For more options click here." This gives you access to a number of options: you can manually edit the names you've added as junk or adult senders, or even access updated filters made available on the Microsoft Web site. For the former option, you can also use the Rules Wizard interface to accomplish the same effect. (begin sidebar "Automatic formatting rules vs. the Rules Wizard") The Organize tool's "Junk E-mail" options represent a friendly interface on top of two separate features: (1) a rule-based automatic formatting feature that changes *only* a message's font and color, and (2) rules stored in the Rules Wizard that act on messages by moving them, deleting them, or taking some action. You can lift the hood on the automatic formatting feature like this: select View, Current View, Customize Current View, then click on the "Automatic Formatting" button. In the ensuing dialog you can turn junk email formatting on or off by checking or clearing the built-in rules related to spam. You can also customize the font and color for these rules, refine their conditions, or create your own formatting rules. You can also use the Rules Wizard for spam filtering. If you've already activated the "move" features of Organize's Junk E-Mail then you'll see an "Adult Content Senders" rule and a "Junk E- mail Rule" rule checked in the list. You can modify the former built-in rule, but not the latter. (end sidebar) Note: If you have a Microsoft Office consulting project, development idea, macro quandary, or are just plain stuck trying to get something--easy or hard--done with Microsoft Office, WE CAN HELP YOU! This is what we do for a living: handle Office projects of all shapes and sizes. You can reach our consultants by email 24x7 at: mailto:code@PRIMEConsulting.com or you can call us in the U.S. at 310-318-5212 (someone's usually on hand Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific time). +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ 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 63,000 TNPC subscribers. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/tnpcadvertising.html?v4i4 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ ** 08. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff *-* So far, customer reaction to Microsoft's announcement about Windows XP is lukewarm at best. As in, "Who needs another desktop upgrade?" So, is Windows XP cool? Maybe. But does it really reduce the cost of PC ownership, operate more reliably and securely, or get you home to your private life any sooner than Windows Me or 2000? eWEEK reports that customers aren't biting the XP bait just yet. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?news1 You can see some screen shots of Windows XP here: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?news1a *-* Psst... hey pal, is your house hot? The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a case on appeal wherein the police did a thermal scan of a person's house. The house was hot, not stolen but literally hotter than the houses around it, so they checked electricity records and eventually got a search warrant. Inside they discovered more than 100 marijuana plants growing under high- intensity lights. The lights were heating up the entire house. The high tech question is, can the police use technology like a thermal scan or does that invade privacy and constitute an illegal search? http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?news2 *-* The information technology Renaissance Man Robert X. Cringely thinks there's a $15 PC in our future. Listen up. His musings on industry transitions, like the one that affected 15th century English yeomen, and the one that may be looming for semiconductor companies like Intel and AMD, make good reading. Enter Rolltronics and a technology that prints an entire computer on a thin sheet of plastic. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?news3 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 ** 09. We Get Mail Referring to the recent articles on electrical power and your computer, TNPCer David S. points out that the most common cause of power quality problems is that the grounding system is not code-compliant. 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 -----------------------+++ YES! YOU *CAN* HIRE THE GUYS WHO PUBLISH THIS NEWSLETTER PRIME Consulting Group, Inc., owned by the publishers of "The Naked PC" newsletter, provides computer consulting, custom VB and VBA development, WordBasic-to-VBA conversion, and installation scripting services. From macros to utilities to complete application development, we can solve your problem. The principals, Lee Hudspeth and T.J. Lee, are also available for speaking engagements. Email us at: mailto:info@PRIMEConsulting.com +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ **NEED INK? SAVE 40-70% OVER RETAIL!** High Quality Inkjet Printer Cartridges, JetPaks, Refill Kits. Super Prices! Your Satisfaction IS Guaranteed. NEW! We now offer High Quality Remanufactured Toner Cartridges Save 30-40% * FREE Printer Utilities! * MaxPatch Ink Supplies http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/404/tr.cgi?class1 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ 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/404/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/404/tr.cgi?class3 +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ 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. No laboratory rats were harmed in producing this newsletter. In fact, we couldn't even get the rats to read it. Hopefully, this is due more to the high illiteracy rate found in laboratory rats and not any critical assessment of the material on the part of the rats. 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 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) 2001, 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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