What You Need to Know about All Things PC
Volume 4 Number 19Click 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, September 20, 2001 - Vol. 4 No. 19 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Table of Contents ** 01. Letter from the Publisher ** 02. Here's the Hot Tip: Computer Tips Compendium (by T.J. Lee) ** 03. PGP (Pretty Good Privacy): Part 3 (by Dan Butler) ** 04. Pocket-Sized Software (by Al Gordon) ** 05. Norton Utilities 2001 (Various Tools): Part 6 (by Lee Hudspeth) ** 06. Featured Web Page - Case Cooling Guide ** 07. Featured Book - "Nonviolent Communication" by Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D. (reviewed by Lee Hudspeth) ** 08. Featured Survey/Drawing - Just Say No to Telemarketers ** 09. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff ** 01. Letter from the Publisher WOW! The Naked PC now has over 77,000 subscribers. We extend a hearty handshake and a warm welcome to the few thousand or so new folks who signed on since last time, and a "hello, good to see ya again" to those who've been with us for a while. Although we mentioned this in our previous issue, here's a feature of our Web site that we use all the time: our article listing page. Browse there and you'll see an alphabetical listing of all articles we've ever published, by title, since our very first issue. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/articles/index.html This issue includes Jim's announcement of our new ebook "TheNakedPC.com Presents: Computer Tips Compendium" (he'll finish up his series on migration in the next issue). Dan's series on Pretty Good Privacy is pretty good :-) and right on target for those of you interested in encryption. Al checks in with plenty to offer about Pocket PC software. Lee concludes his multi-part series on Norton Utilities. Many TNPCers are also Lockergnome readers. Chris Pirillo, Lockergnome's publisher, was planning the Gnomedex conference in Iowa last week but had to reschedule it due to the grounding of all commercial airline traffic here in the USA. Well, we're pleased to pass along the good news that Gnomedex has been rescheduled for October 12th & 13th, 2001. The price is still an amazing $39 for the two-day conference. Be there! You can get more information at: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?gnomedex CONGRATULATIONS to Rebecca L. out on the left coast and Pamela B. in the Yukon far reaches, the winners of our The Naked PC "Back to School Blues" drawing. They have each won a Photon Micro- Light, in the color of their choice. The drawings continue with this issue's "Just Say No to Telemarketers" drawing. It's an easy way to earn a chance at a free Easy Hang Up, so check it out in this issue's "Featured Survey/Drawing" article. Reader support is what keeps The Naked PC free. To this end you can help us by passing a copy on to co-workers and friends (no spam please). We even make it easy to refer people to The Naked PC... check out our Refer page: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/refer/ +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ Don't WAIT until the last minute! The BRIGHTEST flashlights for their size in the WORLD make great Christmas presents! Great for giving to friends, family, employees... give the gift of light that fits in any purse or pocket, a Micro-Light is small enough to clip to your key chain. With a Micro-Light you will never be caught in the dark! HOLIDAY SPECIAL: Get an EASY HANG UP for FREE when you buy two or more Micro-Lights and an Accessory Kit! A $19.95 value... yours at no additional cost! The Easy Hang Up makes a GREAT stocking stuffer. SHIPPING IS FREE IN THE USA! http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/a/tr.cgi?pocketflashlight +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 02. Here's the Hot Tip: Computer Tips Compendium (by T.J. Lee) A tremendous amount of the computer information you use every day falls into bite-sized chunks we call "computer tips" like... where to find out how much your neighbor sold his house for last month, what's the keyboard shortcut for bypassing Autorun when inserting a CD, what's the program that stops pop-up windows, what's the trick for managing dozens of passwords, the list goes on and on. We know tips. We've been writing books and articles--for computer magazines, newsletters (printed and electronic), and Web sites-- for many years. We've logged thousands of hours teaching folks about computers and technology, speaking at conferences, preparing courseware on computers, and helping friends, family, and neighbors. Basically, we're awash in tips. The problem with tips is, there are too many useful tips to remember them all. So the trick is being able to find the one particular tip you need, when you need it. That's a problem we think we've solved rather neatly. Now you can get your own copy of "TheNakedPC.com Presents: Computer Tips Compendium" on CD-ROM for the early-bird price of $19.95. Once we start shipping the price goes up to $24.95, so order early and save $5.00. "Computer Tips Compendium" is a fully searchable PDF file that contains over 470 of our favorite and most useful computer tips. Tips on individual software programs like Word, Excel, Outlook, as well as programs from Symantec and PowerQuest and hundreds of others. Internet tips on surfing, browsing, downloading, privacy, shopping safety, fraud, controlling displayed text size, transferring Favorites and Bookmarks between computers, eliminating page backgrounds, again the list just goes on and on. Tips on buying the right memory for your system, locating drivers, where to find hardware advice, customizing tweaks, setup options, you name it there's probably a tip for it in "Computer Tips Compendium." Another problem we've solved is what to do about Web page addresses that change over time (and we're talking about Internet time here when you blink, a Webmaster somewhere has changed that page's address). Our ebook gives you special access to a private section of our The Naked PC Web site. Here we list all the URLs, by tip number, and post updates to the links as we become aware of them. This means a tip doesn't go out of date when the original linked page is moved or renamed. We'll also be posting new tips to this private member's section; both tips we come across and tips that readers have sent in to us. Check out the information on the "Computer Books Compendium" (including the Table of Contents which lists the hundreds of tips contained in the electronic book) on this page: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/a/tr.cgi?comptips You can reach T.J. Lee at: mailto:tj_lee@TheNakedPC.com ** 03. PGP (Pretty Good Privacy): Part 3 (by Dan Butler) PGP continues to be a popular topic. Here are a few more pointers for everyone interested. If you missed the first installments of the series find them here: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?dan1 There are two locations to download the free version of PGP. If you are inside the United States use the MIT site: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?dan2 Inside or outside the US you can download from PGP International: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?dan3 Just remember, the free version of the program is for non- commercial use only. Any other use requires the purchase of the commercial version. If you are upgrading from the free version to a commercial version do not uninstall the freeware version first. Instead let the install of the commercial version handle the uninstall of the previous version and the migration of your data. This can save you many headaches. Also revisit my warnings on which parts of PGP to install, and which to avoid. Those warning were in the first article. Now to the heart of this article: why I recommend PGP over other systems like certificates. When I research a system to recommend to others I look for what I call "universal procedures." Basically these are procedures that work the same no matter which application you are using. An example would be the simple shortcut keys for copy (Ctrl+C) and pasting (Crtl+V) data inside Windows. These work almost everywhere, including places where no menus or icons are present. Dialog boxes for instance. So when I work with clients who need some encryption I always go to PGP. The first task is usually some encrypted email. Later they want to encrypt a file on their system. "Good news," I tell them, "just do the same thing you do when you encrypt email." Same keystrokes, same procedure. Had I chosen certificates or some other non-universal system I would be researching possibilities, explaining the benefits, and training my client how to use this new system. That may sound like a consultant's dream! But I prefer to teach my clients efficiency even though it generates fewer billable hours (read dollars) for me. Next issue I'll give you a couple of practical ways to use PGP in your day to day computing routine. You can reach Dan Butler at: mailto:danbutler@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ "The Book That Should Have Come with Your Computer" "This book should come with every PC - it has become MY BIBLE." "I find information in this book that I can't find anywhere else." These are just a few of the comments we've received on this book. The hard copy version went OUT OF PRINT over a series title issue with the publisher, but WE BROUGHT IT BACK in this book-on-a-CD-ROM searchable PDF format! Written by the same guys who bring you this newsletter, T.J. Lee, Lee Hudspeth, and Dan Butler tell you what every computer user needs to know. If you use computers you need this book! Check it out! http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/a/tr.cgi?tugpc2 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 04. Pocket-Sized Software (by Al Gordon) The remarkable change in the Pocket PC world in the last year hasn't been the hardware--basically, we've just seen some bells and whistles get added onto platforms announced in early 2000-- but rather the explosion in software. When I started this series, I quoted Ashley Walker of Handango, a leading vendor of products for handhelds, "When Handango launched into the Pocket PC software realm, we had approximately 30 pieces of software and now we have over 800, that is a 2500% increase in a little over a year. The Pocket PC platform has demonstrated an average monthly growth rate of over 20% for Pocket PC software sales." http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?al1 And, believe me, I have been seeing that growth. This piece has been delayed for weeks because I was waiting for "one more" new release. On top of that, Microsoft has just unveiled its new Pocket PC 2002 operating system. So, herewith a caveat: this is my survey of the Pocket PC software scene as of the week prior to publication. There are no warranties, implied or expressed. Your mileage may vary. More links, more details, more items, and screenshots are on my supplemental page: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?al2 *Pocket Office Additions* Unlike the version of Pocket Office that ships on larger Windows CE devices, the one on Pocket PCs does not include Pocket Access or Pocket PowerPoint, so third-party vendors have filled the void. These are brave souls since at any moment Microsoft could take their market away from them. However, at least through the new Pocket PC 2002, they are okay. -- abcDB Database from Pocketsoft, $19.89, is the easy winner of the Access surrogate award. Fully relational, abcDB is a heavy- duty database, with support for forms, queries, and SQL query language. It even uses Active Sync's Access conduit to synchronize files with your desktop. In other words, if you like Access, you will like abcDB, and it is the easiest way to port Access data to your Pocket PC. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?al3 Another option to consider is HanDBase, $25, from DDH Software, Inc. It is a flat file type database that is simple to set up and use. It syncs via its own desktop application, which can then import or export in CSV, Excel, Word, and HTML formats. But the really big deal is that HanDBase is a Palm OS application that now supports Pocket PC. As a result, it offers database users cross-platform compatibility plus the libraries of pre-fabricated databases available in the Palm world. -- Competition in the PowerPoint presentation category has been brutal, as a series of new software releases during the course of this review kept the outcome in doubt. But in the end, Pocket Slides from Conduits Technologies, Inc., $39.95, emerged as the top choice. Dragging a PowerPoint presentation on your desktop to the handheld via Active Sync or Windows Explorer triggers a conversion applet that will set the image sizes and options for the conversion to Pocket Slides format. Transition effects from your presentation are preserved on the handheld, or other effects can be added. Presentation slides can be modified on the handheld, new presentations created, you can use your PDA stylus to mark up your slides during a presentation (such as drawing a circle around a key point), and Pocket Slides is capable of working with presentation video cards for the Compaq iPAQ. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?al4 I initially thought the idea of PDA presentation software to be more of an "isn't this cool" toy for showing off. But a presentation slide, if you think about it, is basically high- visibility, high-emphasis text and graphics; something that is intended to leap off a screen, including one on a Pocket PC. Moreover, with presentation graphic cards available for the iPAQ (and additional products likely to be coming along), the Pocket PC allows you to give a presentation without having to manipulate a laptop. SIDEBAR: Productive on the Palm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile, let's not forget the thousands of Palm users looking for enhanced ways to exchange data with their desktop applications. DataViz has released Documents to Go Professional 4.0, $60, a major enhancement to its popular application for transferring Microsoft Office documents to the Palm. In addition to support for Word and Excel (plus an add-on for Adobe Acrobat files), version 4.0 adds PowerPoint presentations to the mix. It will transfer the text from the slides by default, and you can also sync small or large graphical versions of the slides. Another add-on allows you to read email attachments in the supported formats. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?al5 Basic formatting in Office, such as text sizes, italics and boldface, and so forth, carry over to the Palm. Originally only a reader, Documents to Go's "Professional" series added the ability to edit the files on your handheld and sync them with your desktop so you can update your documents while on the run. The program is a must-have for Palm users. Cutting Edge Software's Quickoffice, $39.95, consists of the Quickword word processor and Quicksheet spreadsheet application, the latter bundled with the self-explanatory Quickchart. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?al6 The programs have formatting capabilities that will carry over to your PC when synced. Macros on your desktop for Word and Excel allow you to sync from inside those programs as well as from a Quickoffice desktop module. A free Quickdata add-on lets you integrate your data with HanDBase (see above), and a Quickoffice MultiMail Plug-in lets you send and receive Quickoffice email attachments via Palm's popular email app. One important point: Quickoffice and Documents to Go are not competing clones. DataViz's product is ideally suited for users who will be creating their documents on the desktop and want to take them along on their Palms. Cutting Edge's software, on the other hand, is a better choice for users who plan on creating content on their Palm. You can reach Al Gordon at: mailto:al@TheNakedPC.com +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ PRIME for Office Utilities CD If you use Microsoft Office, and by that we mean Office 97, Office 2000, or Office XP, then you need to read this! From the Publishers of The Naked PC newsletter come the ultimate utility sets for Office. On one CD you get PRIME for Word, PRIME for Excel, and the amazingly useful PRIME DocLauncher for Office utilities. Hundreds of features! And now you get the utilities plus our ebook "How To Save Time with Office" that will show you how to use each and every utility to unlock the true potential of your Office applications. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/a/tr.cgi?pcgcd3 +++------------------------- sponsor -------------------------+++ ** 05. Norton Utilities 2001 (Various Tools): Part 6 (by Lee Hudspeth) This article concludes a series on Norton Utilities ("NU"), and covers Rescue Disk, Registry Tracker, Registry Editor, Integrator, and the DOS-based Disk Editor. (Note: Of these tools, only Integrator is Windows 2000 compatible.) Rescue Disk can produce two different types of disk sets. A "basic rescue set" is a set of floppies, at least one of which is bootable to a DOS prompt, that also includes tools to help you investigate and repair whatever problem has caused the PC to need rescuing. A "Norton Zip rescue set" writes data to an Iomega Jaz or Zip cartridge, along with one bootable floppy. A Norton Zip rescue set will boot you back to Windows (not MS-DOS), at which point the Rescue Recovery Wizard starts automatically. Personally, although I make a basic rescue set whenever I upgrade NU (that's maybe once a year), I don't take Symantec's advice to keep my rescue set updated. I don't even bother to make a Norton Zip rescue set even though I have a nice Iomega Zip 250 drive. Why? If a PC is so out of whack that it can't boot, in my opinion it's time for a scorched-earth reformat/reinstall (note that I *do* keep all my data religiously backed up; otherwise of course I'd be inviting misery by not at least trying to do a rescue). Registry Tracker monitors changes that either programs or you make to your PC's Registry keys, INI files, startup files (like autoexec.bat and config.sys), and data files and folders. (Registry Tracker can't show you the exact changes made to data files but it can keep snapshots of them so you can restore from a previous version.) If you elect to track a folder, the tool takes a snapshot whenever the folder contents change so you can see what files were added or deleted. I find Registry Tracker's user interface very awkward and confusing. To me, it does not makes sense to tie up system resources with this type of tool constantly monitoring the Registry et al. I don't install suspect applications on my system, and if for some reason I have to, I do that on a test PC (or a test partition on my production PC) that I can quickly and easily delete and recreate. What do I do if a program really wrecks a PC under my care? I roll back to the previously known- good version of the Registry using the free, built-in Windows Registry Checker. For more information on using the Registry Checker to roll back the Registry, see pp. 321-323 of our ebook "The Book That Should Have Come with Your Computer." http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?lee1 Norton Registry Editor offers two conveniences not provided by Windows' own built-in Registry Editor tool (Regedit.exe). First, Norton's version has an interface for making a backup (select File, Backup Entire Registry, enter a filename, Save). Second, Norton's version supports bookmarks so you can mark your most frequently visited Registry keys. Unfortunately this feature is not name-based so you can't assign your own names to Registry bookmarks. Instead there is a tree-style listing of all the bookmarks you've created. It's easy to traverse the list if you only have a few bookmarks but with more than about 10 the list can quickly become overwhelming. I'd prefer that NU offer a name- based system so that I could bookmark the key "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook\Today" with the name "Outlook_Today_Disable". Integrator is just a fancy wrapper interface for all of NU's tool. It is a helpful control panel, and that's all there is to say about that. Disk Editor is a tool for advanced users. It allows you to view and edit a hard disk down at the sector and byte level, from inside a DOS window. You can *really* get yourself into trouble with this tool, but it can occasionally come in handy, say, if you wanted to study the binary file structure of a Word document. Not something any of us are likely to do on a daily basis, but you never know. I've enjoyed reviewing NU in this series of six articles. Overall I give NU a thumbs-up. Even though I consider the package as a whole to be indispensable, in cases where I don't like or use a feature, I have explained why in my articles. It's up to you to determine if you find a specific feature useful. As always, I welcome your comments. I have some additional information about NU for which there isn't room here, including a table with each tool's name (19 in all), its category (find/fix problems, system maintenance, etc.), direct links to The Naked PC article that reviewed each tool, and a Yes/No column for Windows 2000 compatibility. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?lee2 You can reach Lee Hudspeth at: mailto:leehudspeth@TheNakedPC.com ** 06. Featured Web Page - Case Cooling Guide This is a three-page series by Robert Richmond, SysOpt.com's Associate Editor for Hardware, on how to optimize all aspects of the interior of your PC's case to reduce heat and noise, and increase the lifespan of your components. Robert's first wake-up call is important to many of us, "Perhaps the worst examples of case cooling can often be found with smaller retail system integrators, as these companies generally are not required to meet AMD or Intel specifications when building systems." I prefer a quiet environment; even small but constant noises really irk me. So I was especially interested in Robert's comments about noise levels. Getting a larger case fan with a lower RPM (revolution per minute) rate can often reduce the fan's noise level. He favors the Sunon 80mm fan with the capacity of 39 CFM (cubic feet/minute) that operates at a low 32 decibel rating (at 2900 RPM); this model is available for under $10 retail. This article provides case fan installation tips and covers placement, use of foam filtering, and explains the pros/cons of different fan types: case fans, card fans, Nidec-type blowers, slot coolers, and bay coolers. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?fsite ** 07. Featured Book - "Nonviolent Communication" by Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D. (reviewed by Lee Hudspeth) This book's full title is "Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Compassion." It was brought to my attention by the founders of my sons' school, and for that I thank them. This book explains Rosenberg's philosophy and model for communicating with others in a compassionate, nonviolent way. It explores the profound subtleties of the messages behind the words we use, and examines how to listen, truly listen, to the messages being sent to us by the people we communicate with, as well as the messages we are sending. In Chapter 1 Rosenberg begins, "Believing that it is our nature to enjoy giving and receiving in a compassionate manner, I have been preoccupied most of my life with two questions. What happens to disconnect us from our compassionate nature, leading us to behave violently and exploitatively? And conversely, what allows some people to stay connected to their compassionate nature under even the most trying circumstances?" The Nonviolent Communication ("NVC") model's main precept is to train oneself to focus carefully on words as they're received, and to examine the speaker's feelings and needs, along with one's own, in a nonjudgmental way. The model is comprised of four components: observation, feelings, needs, and request. The next level of engagement involves expressing oneself honestly using the four components, and receiving empathically using the four components. I'll leave the details for your reading pleasure; Rosenberg does an excellent job of walking through the model, its theory and history, its application, and its potential for profound and positive change. His writing style is engaging, friendly, straightforward, and sincere. He relates his own experiences as a youth, a clinical psychologist, and his many world-wide efforts to promote nonviolent resolution of disputes and conflicts, thereby providing a good balance between theory and examples of NVC in action. Rosenberg's NVC model works in both directions of human communication: us listening compassionately, and us speaking compassionately. NVC can be applied in any communication scenario, whether with a child, significant other, sibling, parent, business partner, client, neighbor, stranger... anyone and everyone you communicate with. I highly recommend this book to you. The NVC tools and Rosenberg's insights assist me every day, and have profoundly enriched my interpersonal communications. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?fbook You can reach Lee Hudspeth at: mailto:leehudspeth@TheNakedPC.com ** 08. Featured Survey/Drawing - Just Say No to Telemarketers Another issue, another survey question. For folks new to our e- zine, or who haven't entered one of our drawings yet, here's how it works. You go to a Web page on The Naked PC site, answer one survey question (something like "Would you like to see The Naked PC delivered in HTML format?"), and enter your email address. To encourage readers to participate in the survey, we have a drawing from the email addresses of those who participate in each survey and we give away something really cool. This time we're giving away two of the Easy Hang Up anti-telemarketing devices that we sell in The Naked PC Store. Now, obviously we already have your email address or you wouldn't be reading this, but this drawing for prizes will only include those folks who answer this issue's question (entering a prior drawing doesn't count for this one). We'll only use the email addresses we collect for the purpose of notifying who won the prizes, nothing else. On September 26th we'll pick two entered names at random and give away an Easy Hang Up to each winner. How easy is that? http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?fdrawing ** 09. Newsworthy - a potpourri of current events and interesting stuff *-* Hopefully you've kept up on the latest patches and fixes for your Microsoft products so the Nimda virus/worm did not get a foothold on your system. There's a ton of misinformation going around about this nasty infection which fools Outlook and Outlook Express into running it by masquerading as a wave file. For solid information on Nimda go to the Symantec page: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?news_a *-* PowerQuest announces version 7.0 of its popular PartitionMagic dynamic disk partitioning tool. In addition to its standard features of creating, resizing, merging, and converting partitions on your hard drive, version 7 has these new features: supports Windows XP, merge NTFS partitions, large drive support (up to 80 GB), access/partition external USB drives, and undelete a deleted partition from rescue disks. MSRP is $69.95 and the upgrade price is $49.95. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?news1 *-* HP announces that it is introducing new PCs loaded with Microsoft Windows XP starting Monday, September 24. HP is also following Gateway's lead in accepting pre-orders for custom systems starting September 21st (with Microsoft's blessing). This is about one month before Microsoft's announced October 25th launch date for Windows XP. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?news2 *-* Ever wonder how many email boxes there are in the world today, or how many there will be in four years? An IDC study shows there were about 505 million in 2000, and predicts there will be 1.2 billion by 2005, which is a compound annual growth rate of 138%. Ready for a few more email statistics? By 2005, IDC expects that the average number of person-to-person emails sent worldwide every day will be 36 billion. By 2003 it is predicted that more than 50% of all email access worldwide will be conducted by a Web browser not a PC-based email client. And if you've got $3,000.00 US burning a hole in your pocket, you can buy IDC's study. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?news3 *-* Paul Thurrott has an in-depth review of the upcoming Microsoft Windows XP operating system up on the SuperSite for Windows. "Put simply, it's hard for me to not get excited about Windows XP. I've been covering the Windows world for many years, and though this will read like a sound bite from a tired marketing campaign, Windows XP is quite literally the most exciting Microsoft product to come down the pike since Windows 95. In fact, it might be worthwhile to remember what a change Windows 95 was, when compared to the DOS/Windows 3.x world that preceded it, because Windows XP offers the same level of obvious improvement over its predecessors... If you're using Windows today--any version of Windows--you're almost definitely going to want to upgrade (this isn't true of corporate rollouts, however, I'm speaking purely to the individual here). If that means getting a new PC or upgrading your hardware, then I recommend going for it: Hardware is cheap, and the improvements in Windows XP will literally make your life easier and your day-to-day work more productive." http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?news4 *-* As repugnant as it may be, there are scammers who are spamming emailboxes with calls for donations for disaster relief in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks. The "relief" that the con artists want you to contribute to is their own pockets. If you want to donate money, make out a check to the Red Cross and give the check *directly* to that organization. Or donate from the Amazon.com or PayPal.com home pages. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?news5 Get more Newsworthy bits on The Naked PC Web site: http://www.TheNakedPC.com/newsworthy/ Have you come across something newsworthy? Drop us a line: mailto:hottips@TheNakedPC.com **PLEASE SUPPORT THE NAKED PC BY VISITING OUR ADVERTISERS** +++----------------------- classifieds -----------------------+++ PROTECT Your PRIVACY with Anonymizer! Sign up and use our proxy server to stay 100% anonymous! Convenient and effective privacy protection -- no one can see where you surf. Blocks Cookies, Java, JavaScript, and other tracking methods. Cookie Encryption - lets you safely access and use Web sites that require cookies. URL Encryption - encrypts your page requests so your ISP can't log them. http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/419/tr.cgi?anon +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ HALLOWEEN IS COMING! Don't wait until the last minute and pay outrageous prices for your Halloween masks, costumes, and scary props. Start planning your MONSTROUS good time NOW! Check out the best selection of masks, robes, costumes, hoods, capes, wigs, beards, make-up, and decorations! 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This is the tool you can't do without! http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/a/tr.cgi?netdetect +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ **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/a/tr.cgi?maxpatch +++-----------------------------------------------------------+++ 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. 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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 The Naked PC 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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