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, March 22, 2001 - Vol. 4 No. 6 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Table of Contents ** 01. Letter from the Publisher ** 02. Superlative and Smart Switchboxes (by T.J. Lee) ** 03. High-speed Internet Connection: What To Do When Yours Goes Down (by Lee Hudspeth) ** 04. Norton Utilities 2001 (Diagnostics, File Compare): Part 2 (by Lee Hudspeth) ** 05. Featured Product - Message Vault (reviewed by Al Gordon) ** 06. Featured Book - Top Non-Computer Books in The Naked PC ** 07. Featured Web Site - WindowsMedia.com ** 08. Featured Office Tip - Getting Started with MapPoint 2001 (by PRIME Consulting Group, Inc.) ** 09. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff ** 10. We Get Mail - First-hand Experience with Foot-mice? ** 01. Letter from the Publisher First a hearty "thank you" to everyone who ordered our book on CD "The Book That Should Have Come with Your Computer." Also please make a note that credit card charges for merchandise from The Naked PC Store or PocketFlashLights.com will show the company name "PlanB Group." That is Dan's company name and he's handling the merchant banking for credit card orders. We've just about gone through the first 1,000 CD pressing so if you haven't purchased your copy of this underground bestseller head over to: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/a/tr.cgi?tugpc2 This issue starts off with an alliterative flair as Jim sings the praises of smart switchboxes. Lee relates his recent withdrawal symptoms (from his high-speed Internet connection) and turns it into a checklist for what to do when your DSL or cable connection fails. Lee also continues his series on the ubiquitous Norton Utilities 2001 tools. Featured items this fine Thursday include Message Vault for cleverly archiving your email client's bloated data backlog, WindowsMedia.com for all you Media Player 7 users out there in streaming content land, and a discourse on getting started with Microsoft MapPoint 2001. 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 -------------------------+++ "The Book That Should Have Come with Your Computer" Get this electronic book today and get the upper hand on your computer. Written by T.J. Lee, Lee Hudspeth, and Dan Butler, this is the electronic version of "The Unofficial Guide to PCs" delivered to your door on a CD-ROM disc in fully searchable PDF format. If you use computers you need this book! "This is undoubtedly the most informative and readable book on PCs I've read." "Great book, full of good sound advice and gives a clear explanation of PC's in an easy readable format." These are just a few of the comments we've received on this book. Check it out! http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/a/tr.cgi?tugpc2 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 02. Superlative and Smart Switchboxes (by T.J. Lee) Something as simple as a switchbox may seem a bit outdated given the ease with which we network even our home computers these days. But simple mechanical A-B switches that used to let you share one printer between two computers have given way to electronic marvels. At my workstation I have at least two (sometimes more) computers hooked up to a single monitor, mouse, and keyboard at all times. I use a "smart" switchbox that lets me easily switch from one computer to another using keyboard commands. This lets me test something (usually beta software) on one computer while writing about it on the other. If you own more than a single computer you should consider a switchbox. The new switchboxes are called "smart" because they can fool all the computers hooked up to them into thinking each computer has all three components (monitor, mouse, keyboard) plugged into it at all times. The big savings for me is space. Unlike Dan who has room for two monitors on his desk hooked to a single PC, I have very limited monitor space. A switchbox for monitor, keyboard, and mouse makes perfect sense. Switching can be done mechanically by pressing a button on the switch, or by a simple keyboard command. These switches are called "KVM" switches (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) and I've used several types over the years, going all the way back to the mechanical turn-the-crank models. Two of my modern favorites are the Belkin OmniCube and the Black Box ServSwitch Spectra. Both are small devices that take up very little desk space. One thing I don't like is that once you hook up two sets of cables running to each computer (more cables if you have more than two computers) plus a set of cables to your actual keyboard, monitor, and mouse, the weight of the cables tends to pull the switch off the side of the desk. I stabilize things by mounting the switch to a length of 1x6" board. The ServSwitch has a feature that the OmniCube lacks. In addition to switching the keyboard, monitor, and mouse, it lets me have one set of speakers that get switched between computers along with everything else. That one feature was enough to get me to try this nifty switch. You can even control which computer gets the speakers through keyboard commands. That way, if I'm playing a CD or MP3 on one computer and I switch to the other computer the speakers can be switched along with everything else or just keep on playing. The ServSwitch is pricier than the OmniCube but in addition to dealing with speakers (the OmniCube does not) the ServSwitch does not require a separate power supply. It draws its power from the PC connections and means I have one less thing to plug into my UPS which I like. The trick in setting up a switchbox for your systems is to be sure you have cables that will work between the switchbox and your computer. Your best bet is to buy a set of cables just for this purpose (both Belkin and Black Box sell cables to go with the switchboxes). There are hydra cables that let you hook the three primary devices (keyboard, monitor, and mouse) using a single cable that has three connectors at each end. While I like the Black Box ServSwitch Spectra (it's what I'm currently using) let me tell you a story about Belkin that makes the firm a very serious contender as far as customer service goes. About two years ago I purchased a Belkin Omnicube. Fast forward to the present; one day my OmniCube gave up the ghost after many hard hours of switching back and forth between various computers. I thought two years probably put me outside the warranty but I figured I'd check the invoice for the exact purchase date and review the accompanying documents to see if I was still covered. Well, since I purchased the switchbox I've moved my entire household and office from Southern to Central California and despite being somewhat of a packrat the paperwork on the OmniCube was not to be found. Without even an invoice I called Belkin's customer service number and explained my problem, that I'd had the device for at least two years, no paperwork to prove it, etc. Only to find out I had no problem at all. The Belkin customer service representative faxed me an RMA number along with instructions on where to ship the broken switchbox. I sent them the broken unit and Belkin sent me back a new one, no discussion, no hassles. Yeah Belkin! Belkin OmniCube http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?tjl1 Black Box ServSwitch Spectra http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?tjl2 You can reach T.J. Lee at: mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.com ** 03. High-speed Internet Connection: What To Do When Yours Goes Down (by Lee Hudspeth) I've got DSL at my office. My DSL provider is Verizon/GTE. Since its installation a year ago, I had only experienced one partial day's interruption in service due to a DSL hardware problem (some equipment located at the GTE Central Office that covers my neighborhood had to be reset, something the engineer was able to do over the phone in a few minutes while I waited). Last week, Friday March 9th to be exact, my connection failed in the morning and wouldn't come back. The problem wasn't resolved until Monday the 12th at 5:00 PM when the engineer who came on site tested the company-provided router/modem, found it to be belly-up, and replaced it. I learned some things about the reliability of my Internet connectivity backup plan during those long four days. I thought I had a bomb-proof backup plan: use NetZero for free dial-up. NetZero is a package you can install on your PC to get a free dial-up Internet connection. It's free because the connection you get harasses you mercilessly with advertisements. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?netzero Note that there is also a 40 hour per month ceiling, as explained by very fine print on NetZero's site, "Free access limited to 40 hours per household per month. Free access may not be available in all areas... If you exceed 40 hours in any given month, you will have the option to purchase a NetZero Extended Access Pass for $9.95 (US). This will give you unlimited surfing for the remainder of that month. Your free service starts again the first day of the next calendar month. If you prefer not to purchase the Extended Access Pass, you'll have 40 free hours of surfing beginning again the next month!" My backup plan was to have NetZero installed and keep my old 56.6 Kbps modem handy along with enough phone cable to reach an alternate phone line's RJ-11 jack. Monster Cable Ultra-High-Speed RJ11 Internet Phone Cable (25'): http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?lee1 (Note that I happen to have multiple PCs so I use an aging Wintel box as the dial-up PC, so I don't have to spend any time re- calibrating the same PC from a high-speed connection to dial-up and back.) I had even tested this plan, successfully, about six months ago. But when I tried it this time, NetZero surprised me. Although the package connected me right away, it quickly informed me through the browser that it could only link me to a download site for an updated version of NetZero, nothing else. I downloaded the upgrade (to NetZero's ZeroPort v3.1.2), installed it, and from then on was unable to get connected. I tried every trick in the book, no go. So I strolled down to the local newsstand, bought the latest issue of "Computer Shopper," kept the freebie AOL CD-ROM, and tossed the magazine in the recycle bin. Eight minutes later AOL version 6.0 was installed, happily talking to my modem, and I was connected to the Internet. AOL offers an "up to 700 hours free for a month" come-on, so this was all free (well, not counting the $4.31 I spent on the magazine). To avoid one month's membership fee of $21.95 against my credit card I'll have to cancel the new AOL account before 30 days tick by, but that's easily done. If you can't find a magazine with an AOL disc included, you can go here to download AOL v6.0 (this assumes your connection isn't already down or you have a friend whose PC you can borrow for the task). http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?lee2 Since Verizon/GTE's SMTP (outgoing) and POP3 (incoming) email servers weren't affected at all by my hardware problems, I could use the AOL connection to run a browser then use my ISP's Web- based email interface to send and receive email. Very simple. If you use this approach, all you need is your email user id and password. You don't have to have an email client installed or calibrated for your account. Web-based email is a feature that allows you to send and receive email from any type of computer-- Wintel, Mac, Linux, you name it--anywhere in the world, as long as it has a Web browser. If your ISP doesn't offer this feature, you should find and switch to an ISP that does. Why didn't I just set up an email client on the PC running the AOL connection to talk directly to Verizon/GTE's email servers? Answer: customer service paranoia. When I initially switched from being a GTE dial-up to DSL customer, several engineers warned me not to ask the Customer Service folks to have my account set up for both states. They warned of potential problems, problems that I admit I didn't take the time to have them explain. Maybe since then things have changed and there aren't any such problems, maybe there never were any, but I find it's easy enough to rely on Web-based email for a few hours (or even days) while leaving my account in its "pure" DSL-only state. (I still tried connecting directly to my ISP's email servers over a dial-up connection, but my userid/password was rejected.) Your mileage may vary, depending on your ISP. Whenever you deal with a service provider or manufacturer's technical support personnel, follow our guidelines for getting the maximum benefit in the least amount of time. Our book "The Book That Should Have Come with Your Computer" includes an entire chapter on this topic: "Taming Technical Support." Especially salient to my DSL experiences is our eight-point "Using the Phone to Get Help" checklist on pages 360-361. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?lee3 I used our checklist item 4 to avoid the run-around, "In the case of a relatively simple problem and if hold times aren't too long, call three times to get three opinions." During one of my calls the rep said, "Your [repair] ticket is still open but the timeframe for correction is unknown." I wanted more details, and to verify that progress was being made, so I called the next group up the chain of command, Verizon's National Customer Service Center. An engineer there promptly informed me that the ticket number I had been given was actually inactive, so she opened a new one that would get an engineer to look into the problem, and gave me a guarantee of resolution by no later than Monday at midnight. Bingo. Who knows how long I would have been without a connection if I hadn't used the techniques from our checklist? If you've got a clever plan you implement whenever your high- speed Internet connection takes a dive, I'd like to hear from you. You can reach Lee Hudspeth at: mailto:leehudspeth@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ PHOTON MICRO-LIGHTS! Micro-Lights are the BRIGHTEST flashlights for their size in the WORLD. Reliable, incredibly bright light for any situation. Comments from Micro-Light owners pour in: "We received our lights, and are they COOL!" "I am using a RED light every night when I walk my dogs." "...last night we were having a romantic dinner in a very dark restaurant where I couldn't read the menu without one. Micro-light to the RESCUE!" 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/a/tr.cgi?pocketflashlight +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 04. Norton Utilities 2001 (Diagnostics, File Compare): Part 2 (by Lee Hudspeth) In this article I continue to examine tools included in Norton Utilities' "system information" category. In the opening article in this series I focused on the System Information tool: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?nort1 First, Diagnostics. This tool leaves me unimpressed. Yes, it does test most of your system's components; the fixed list it checks includes CDROM, keyboard, keypad, memory, modem, mouse, PC speaker, PCMCIA, printer, serial port, sound card, system board, and video. But it doesn't look for devices that aren't on this list, e.g., satellite serial ports provided by a USB hub. Also note that this isn't a hard disk diagnostics tool, for that you'll need to use other tools in the Norton Utilities ("NU") arsenal. When you select "Do All Tests" it finishes testing in under a minute and a half (on a PIII/450). The results appear in a tree control with the traditional + and - signs marking items you can expand or not. You can also choose to test only one component at a time. Summary: you can use this tool for a quick, minimalist diagnostic run. But if you want more thorough component diagnostics you'll need to selectively use other NU tools. You may also wish to consider a competing product such as SiSoft's Sandra, Smith Micro's CheckIt, Network Associates' PC Medic, Ontrack's Data Advisor, Peter Gebhard's Dr. Hardware, among others. Second, File Compare. I really like this nifty tool. You can compare any two text files to identify their differences and selectively undo changes. Remember that lots of file types are really text files: INI, HTML, batch, bootup (like Autoexec.bat and Config.sys), etc. File Compare is not limited to files with a TXT extension. Differences are color-coded in a side-by-side window. There are plenty of comparison and display settings you can tweak; you can search by matching block, non-matching block, or for regular text; you can show only differences; and you can edit directly from File Compare. Special tree-like displays are available for INI files and REG (Registry export) files. Summary: the right tool for the job when tracking down text file differences, plus it's a good companion to NU's Registry Tracker because it allows you to compare "before and after snapshot" INI or REG files, and quickly undo unwanted changes (more on Registry Tracker in a future article). Thanks to readers who have written me with NU tips, tricks, and comments. If you have more, keep them coming. I try to reply to everyone but it's not always possible. Towards the end of this series I'll include all the best reader tips. You can reach Lee Hudspeth at: mailto:leehudspeth@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ **OUT Of INK AGAIN? DON'T PAY RETAIL! SAVE 40-70%** Did you know You can refill your own ink cartridges? BIG Savings! We provide JetPak Pre-paid Mailers and Easy Refill kits! Satisfaction IS Guaranteed! Unsurpassed Customer service. BizRate.com Customer Certified 4.5 Stars! FREE Printer Utilities! We now offer High Quality Remanufactured TONER Cartridges! Save Now! MaxPatch Ink Supplies Has What You Need! * MaxPatch Ink Supplies * http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/a/tr.cgi?maxpatch +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 05. Featured Product - Message Vault (reviewed by Al Gordon) Does this sound familiar? Your Outlook personal folder (.pst) file has climbed past the 100 MB mark, and you decide that it is time to reclaim disk space. So you invoke Outlook's archiving feature, move your old items to the archive file, and then move that file to a backup medium. And then the very next day, you need to follow-up on a message you just archived. Do not despair. There is an excellent solution: Message Vault from ComAxis Technology, $39. You install the software on your PC in a quick setup process, then launch it and follow an easy to use Wizard-like procedure to create a database and then import messages from your mailbox files. This is a handy utility for taming your emails, and not just for Outlook. It works with most major email and messaging packages. You can, in fact, use Message Vault to combine email from multiple mail packages into one database. (It is not a tool for migrating from one email app to another; however, ComAxis makes another utility, UniAccess, for that purpose.) When it imports data, Message Vault allows you to set a limit on the size of file attachments. Those under the limit go into the database; those above get saved as separate files in a folder you designate. Message Vault substitutes a cross-reference "stub" in the message body. Attachments are the space hogs in your message files. Pull them out; put them on a CD with your burner, and the size of a message file can drop to a fifth or less. I reduced more than 600 MB of Outlook archives to under 35 MB. Furthermore, having attachments pre-extracted is handier than keeping them locked inside your mail files. Message Vault has extensive indexing and search capabilities. You can set a list of key index words, then search by that list, message content, or correspondent. Or you can write a custom filter that applies multiple criteria. Messages can be copied to the clipboard, of course, and you can password protect your databases. In use, I typically was able to find the message I needed in one search. Message Vault is a time-saver and a space-saver. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?al1 You can reach Al Gordon at: mailto:al@TheNakedPC.com ** 06. Featured Book - Top Non-Computer Books in The Naked PC In the previous issue Dan reviewed John Cassidy's exceedingly fun (believe us!) "The Unbelievable Bubble Book." There were so many hits on that link that we decided it would be helpful to share with you the four most requested books we've reviewed since January 1, 2001. They are: #1: "The Unbelievable Bubble Book" (Cassidy) http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?fbook1 #2: "How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk" (Faber & Mazlish) http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?fbook2 #3: "Words That Change Minds: Mastering the Language of Influence" (Charvet) http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?fbook3 #4: "T.E.T.: Teacher Effectiveness Training" (Gordon) http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?fbook4 ** 07. Featured Web Site - WindowsMedia.com The WindowsMedia.com home page is a great place to learn about Microsoft Media Player 7. You can explore topics like getting started, making a playlist, populating the Media Library, transferring content between various portable devices, tips and tricks, skins, Internet radio, and more. Plus up-to-date sections on music, movies, radio, and entertainment. The site also sports media news, a powerful artist/entertainment search tool, artist biographies, scads of samples (of course), and lots of links to content providers of every flavor. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?fsite ** 08. Featured Office Tip - Getting Started with MapPoint 2001 (by PRIME Consulting Group, Inc.) Microsoft MapPoint 2001 is a powerful mapping tool, complete with built-in demographic data, data import/linking wizards, and exquisitely rendered driving directions. MapPoint also includes a rich programmable object model that's useful to developers like us for building custom geographical information systems for clients. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?ftip Here's how to get yourself up to speed with a common type of business map: a pushpin map of your customers. Select the File menu, choose New, select "Import Data Wizard" in the list, and click OK. Looking at the "Import Data Wizard" dialog's "Files of type" control, select your data source file type. (MapPoint currently supports Excel, Access, Outlook Contacts, text (various flavors), Microsoft Data Link, and Streets and Trips 2000 Pushpins.) Now browse to the source file and click Open. Accept the default field associations and click Finish. MapPoint displays a progress meter as it works. If MapPoint has a problem with a particular record, it gives you a chance to pick a matching location, or skip it and deal with it later. In the "Choose the type of map to display" panel choose "Pushpin Map" and click Next. In the "Name your Pushpin set and choose a symbol for it" panel, accept all the defaults and click Finish. MapPoint zooms to the best (most "close-up") view of your data. This view may be global, country, regional, state, etc. depending on how your customers are distributed. What if you are storing contact information in Outlook and want to quickly import only a subset of your Outlook contacts? After all, not all of your contacts are likely to be customers. The answer involves copying the customer contacts to another file or folder altogether. Using a second .pst file avoids cluttering up your main .pst file with duplicate data, so that's what we strongly recommend and that's what our steps explain in this article. However, if you want to take the risk of having duplicate data in your main .pst, you could copy the 100 records into a new folder inside that file. Assumptions: (1) your main Outlook personal folders file is named "Outlook.pst" and (2) it contains 1,000 contacts and of those, 100 are live customers. Here are the steps for plotting them. In Outlook, select the File menu and choose "New Personal Folders File (.pst)". Supply any name you want (let's use HotClients.pst), click Create, enter "HotClients" again in the Name field, and click OK. If you don't have Outlook's folder list turned on, turn it on now: View, Folder List. Select HotClients in the folder list, select File, New, Folder, type Contacts, in the "Folder contains" field select "Contact Items", and click OK. Select your primary personal folders file (it is usually named "Personal Folders"), then select its Contacts folder. Select the 100 customers, select Edit, choose "Copy to Folder", select the HotClients file's Contacts folder, and click OK. When you run MapPoint's Import Data Wizard, point it to the "Microsoft Outlook Contacts ()" file type. When MapPoint displays the tree view, select the HotClients file's Contacts folder. 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 software 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, or leave us a voice mail anytime). ** 09. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff *-* On March 19th Intel announced a 1 GHz mobile Pentium III processor. That's right folks, a 1 Giga-Hertz (think 1,000 MHz) processor sizzling inside a five-pound laptop. Intel says over 20 new notebooks are forthcoming from mobile PC manufacturers like Acer, Compaq, Dell, IBM, Sony, and Toshiba. And now for a little trip down memory lane... Intel's first mobile microprocessor--the Intel 386SL--was released in 1990. It jogged along at 20 MHz, operated at 5 volts, and had 855,000 transistors, and was based on 1 micron process technology. A typical mobile PC in those days sported a 20 MB hard drive, 8 inch 2-color screen, weighed 8-13 pounds, and cost up to $8,000. The mobile Pentium III processor at 1 GHz is 50 times faster than its ancestor, operates at 1.35 volts (in Battery Optimized Mode), packs 28 million transistors, and is based on 0.18 micron technology. A leading-edge mobile PC hosting this processing has a 20 GB hard drive, 128 MB RAM, 15 inch color screen, weighs 4.5-6 pounds, and may be priced below $2500. I'll take three. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?news1 *-* Anti-spam legislation seems to be going nowhere fast. A bill sponsored by Reps. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., and Gene Green, D- Texas, has cleared the House Commerce Telecommunications Subcommittee. But a similar bill was squashed flat last year in the Senate even after passing the House by a vote of 427-1. Supporters say... consumers, not marketers, rule and consumers want junk mail to s-t-o-p; anti-spam law is long overdue, and needs to be brought up to the same or similar standard as junk fax law. The opposition says... the bill will empower ISPs to individually and uniquely set anti-spam standards that then evolve into standards outside the arena of government; there will be a flurry of lawsuits attacking email senders who unwittingly violate the legislation's broad constraints; the "deputized" ISPs will be able to use differing, inconsistent standards to judge what qualifies as spam; First Amendment concerns. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/tr.cgi?news2 *-* Microsoft wants you to trust the firm with your phone book, calendar, and other personal information as part of their new HailStorm initiative. But it's okay because Microsoft officials say they won't mine, sell, target, or publish any of the HailStorm data. If this is not scary enough, Bill Gates has said, "No Microsoft software is required on any client or server that accesses HailStorm." Be afraid, be very afraid. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/406/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 ** 10. We Get Mail - First-hand Experience with Foot-mice? We've given plenty of coverage to repetitive stress injuries ("RSI"), the best known being carpal tunnel syndrome. It's a topic that interests anyone who uses a computer as part of their everyday jobs because RSI can have a devastating, debilitating impact on a worker. I was speaking with TNPCer Barbara D. the other day and we were discussing some of the things a person can do to avoid RSI. She asked me about an alternate mouse that could be operated with one's foot and did such a beast exist? After some quick research on the Internet, I found that there are a number of foot mice available. At first blush it appears that some are pretty hokey and prices are all over the landscape. Since I have no first-hand experience with a foot-mouse I thought I'd ask you, our readers, for advice that we can pass on. Do any of you use a foot-mouse? What has your experience been? Like it? Hate it? Drop me a line and let me know. You can reach T.J. Lee at: mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.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 -----------------------+++ ZoneAlarm Pro 1.0 NEW! ZoneAlarm Pro provides powerful security for individual and networked PCs in a small or home office environment. Built on the award-winning ZoneAlarm, key new features include: Password Protection, One-click NAT/ICS Configuration, and much more. ZoneAlarm Pro is compatible with Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/a/tr.cgi?zonealarm +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ GREAT DVD VALUE! 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