[abcomputers] ABC~All 'Bout Computers, Vol.9: Chad's Olympics Predictor and MORE
- From: Linda Johnson <linda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ABCfreelists <abcomputers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 03 May 2002 22:04:19 -0400
ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers
Volume 9; January, 2002 - mailed to 1786 subscribers
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO CLICK THIS LINK
AND RATE THIS EZINE:
http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/rate/default.ldml?rate=3Dra21981
If you would prefer to read the online Web-azine, which includes
pictures and screenshots and is, basically, more user-friendly, follow
either of these links: http://personal-computer-tutor.com/ABC.htm
(frames) http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol9.htm (no frames)
or, scroll down to the Contents where you can click on over to any
individual article
For definitions of any terms you do not understand, visit the GeekSpeak
Translator: http://personal-computer-tutor.com/capn3.htm
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My subscriber list is NOT made available to other companies or
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These will have to be copied and pasted into your web browser's Address
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CONTENTS
(all links below these items take you to the non-frames Online versions)
(items with *** behind them include pictures and are viewed better
online)
1. Important How-To Message From Linda
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol9.htm#HowTo
2. Linda's Thought of the Month
(and animated GIF) ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol9.htm#thought
3. Linda's Soapbox ~ THE TRUE MEANING OF "INPUT"
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/linda9.htm
4. What's New at Linda's Computer Stop ~
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/newabc9.htm
5. Subscribers' Exclusive Tip ~ Tweaking Windows XP
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/newabc9.htm#tip
6. GeekSpeak Translation from the Cap'n
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/capn3.htm
PLUS -- A SPECIAL DEFINITION OF ARRAYS
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/capn9.htm
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7. THIS MONTH'S FEATURE
Chad's Macro Mania ~
USING ARRAYS TO PREDICT THE OUTCOME
OF THIS YEAR'S OLYMPICS ~
(and a special Olympic gift offer from Chad) ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/chad9.htm
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8. Vic's Registry RoundUp & DOS Den ~=A0
RUN BOX SECRET=A0
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vic9.htm
9. Parker's Mailbox ~=A0
(Note from the editor: Parker sends his greetings and apologies. Real
life got in his way this month, so no article. But, click here for the
archives of his previous articles and catch up on what you missed.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/ByAuthor.htm ) (Also, if you are
interested in joining my Outlook Class at Eclectic Academy, click here.
http://www.eclecticacademy.com/business.htm#outlook )
10. James's Database=A0
~ NAMING CONVENTIONS=A0
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/james9.htm
11. Chas' Word World ~ STYLES IN MS WORD ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/chas9.htm
12. Tina's FrontPage News ~=A0ADDING FUNCTIONALITY TO
YOUR WEBSITE USING FRONTPAGE 2002 ~=A0
Part I: Tables of Contents ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/tina9.htm
13. The Internet Connection by David Coons ~
A PROFILE OF INTERNET SCUM http://personal-computer-tutor.com/dave9.htm
14. Fred's Safety Belt ~ HISTORY OF COMPUTER
VIRUSES
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/fred9.htm
15. Steve's Ravin' Reviews ~
SENDTO
STARTUP CONTROL PANEL ***
JV16 POWERTOOLS ***
SHOOTING STAR
CLIPMATE ***
(and a great pasta recipe) http://personal-computer-tutor.com/steve9.htm
16. Hal's Hardware Haven ~ MOTHERBOARDS & PROCESSORS
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/hal9.htm
17. GuitarMan's Outlook Express Tips ~=A0
HIDING EMAIL ADDRESSES USING BCC
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/gman.htm
18. Spamming The Internet ~ Are YOU the next Victim?
by Guest Author, Debbie Solomon
19. Subscription Management
20. Contact Information
*** includes pictures in the online version
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If you find this newsletter and/or my website at all helpful and would
like to give me a hand here, I am now accepting donations through
PayPal. To make a donation, go to Linda's Computer Stop and look for
the PayPal link in the left sidebar.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
Thanks in advance to all who do this!!
(NOTE: no one receiving this should feel obligated in any way to do
this.....this is a FREE newsletter!) Linda, editor
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(1.) IMPORTANT HOW-TO MESSAGE
If you decide to go to the Online "Web-azine" version, go here first for
navigation instructions:
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol9.htm#HowTo
If you are reading this plain text issue, maximize your email window for
best viewing and WATCH FOR ANY LINKS THAT WRAP TO MORE THAN ONE LINE!
These will have to be copied and pasted into your web browser's Address
Bar as one line in order for you to access them.
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(2.) LINDA'S THOUGHT OF THE MONTH
With new operating systems coming out so often, I went on a search for
one that is truly "solid" and look what I found!
http://www.geocities.com/rcwoolley/
And here's this month's animated gif from my buddy, Frank G:
HAPPY GEEK VALENTINE'S DAY!!
CLICK HERE FOR THIS MONTH'S ANIMATED GIF:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/vol9.htm#thought
(just rightclick on the gif and choose "Save Picture As...")
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(3.) LINDA'S SOAPBOX
~~Linda F. Johnson, Editor
THE TRUE MEANING OF "INPUT"
Last month I pleaded and groveled for input for the Fleet on what types
of articles you readers would like. Chad Welch even offered money for
suggestions. Well, we got lots of mail, but were they suggestions for
articles? Nope. What were they then? Requests for free technical
support and troubleshooting...and we got a bushel full!!
Now, it's not that we are not sympathetic to your problems,
nor is it that we don't want to help others for free. But, when we do
this, we choose to do it through email support groups at a time that is
convenient for US. Since most of the Fleet make their livings doing
what you are asking them to do for free, I could hardly ask them to do
this for you. Don't they do enough by writing these terrific articles?
Do we really need to suck them dry so they don't even want to help us
anymore?
Not over MY dead body! ;-)
So, since most of you were looking for technical help instead of
suggesting how-to tutorials, which is what this newsletter is supposed
to be all about, I am going to give you some resources where you CAN get
this info for free.
You can join any of the following email groups for free and post all the
questions you want. These groups are owned, moderated, and/or
contributed to by Fleet members, therefore I feel completely confident
in recommending the advice you will get there...just watch for Fleet
members posting and listen to what they say:
Microsoft Office questions:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MicrosoftOffice/
Windows/Hardware/Internet/Email questions:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WinTips-Tricks/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PCTechTalk/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HnF_ctipsNnews/
Windows XP questions:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WinXPHelp/
FrontPage questions: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AccessFPList/
Home Networking questions: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/networkinghelp/
Virus questions:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freds_virusinfo/
And if these groups aren't enough for you, try searching through Yahoo's
Group Home Page for the group you want. http://groups.yahoo.com/
Also, a bunch of the questions you sent me have already been addressed
in previous issues of ABC, so you might want to check our archives:
Archives by Issue
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/abcomputersarchives.htm
Archives by Author http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/ByAuthor.htm
And, finally, you DO know this newsletter has a Lounge where you can
enter the Puter Chat Forum and help each other out, right? Go here and
post your question and see if one of your fellow subscribers can help
you out.
ABC's Lounge
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/lounge.htm
Yes, there are indeed many ways to get free help. But, you
need to use the proper channels.
Good Luck and I hope you get your problems solved.
Linda
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Linda Johnson is a college instructor of all of the Microsoft
Office=A0Programs, as well as Adobe PhotoShop and Windows. She also
teaches online distance learning classes in Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint,
Publisher, and Word at Eclectic Academy.
http://www.eclecticacademy.com/index.htm
She has=A0worked helpdesk and teaches and lectures at many
local businesses and tech schools in her area. Support
this newsletter by checking out Linda's website
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/
and her ebook series, MS Word MAGIC!
Part I: Fonts, Fun & Formats http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic/?buntah
Part II: Table Wizardry http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic2/?buntah
AND, HER NEWEST EBOOK:
How To Get Started As a Software Trainer
http://dreamjobstogo.com/titles/djtg0036.html?10456
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LINDA HAS ANOTHER EBOOK!!
Yes, LINDA JOHNSON has published another eBook and
this one is called HOW TO GET STARTED AS A
SOFTWARE TRAINER http://dreamjobstogo.com/titles/djtg0036.html?10456
DO YOU LOVE PLAYING WITH SOFTWARE AND WANT
TO TRY MAKING A CAREER OF IT?
That's just how Linda started out and this book she tells you exactly
how she did it and how YOU CAN DO IT TOO.
No need for a college education!
No need for professional certifications!
No need for expensive classes!
READ THIS BOOK TO LEARN HOW TO TRAIN AND
PROMOTE YOURSELF. http://dreamjobstogo.com/titles/djtg0036.html?10456
Or, MAYBE HARDWARE IS MORE YOUR BAG?
Check out HOW TO BREAK INTO COMPUTER REPAIR
By Richard S. Harris http://dreamjobstogo.com/titles/djtg0019.html?10456
Or if you have ANY DREAM JOB in mind, check out
DREAMS JOB TO GO
http://dreamjobstogo.com?10456
All eBooks are written by been-there/done-that authors
and sell for only $12.95, with a full money back guarantee.
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Free Tutorials, Free eBooks, Free Courses, Free Guestbooks, Free
Autoresponders, Free Newsletter, Free Affiliate program and FREE
MEMBERSHIP. Wow! Did I mention it was Free? Newbies and Oldbies alike
are buzzing about the NEW Newbie Club. It's the most exciting Newbie
Site ever to hit the Web.
Join now - it's FREE!
http://newbieclub.com/?buntah
editor's recommendation:
They also have an online PC Clinic now where you can receive Computer
and Internet Technical problem solving advice 24/7 for only $29.80 a
year! I tested the service for them with some pretty tough questions
and they found the answers every time.....some took 3 or 4 emails back
and forth, but they DID solve it and they DID respond to each of my
mails within 6 hours.
I recommend this one!
http://newbieclub.com/clinic/?buntah
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(4.) WHAT'S NEW at Linda's Computer Stop
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
First new thing:
I have added one more class to my list of online classes at Eclectic
Academy! Starting on March 3rd, I will be teaching Outlook classes, as
well as my usual Excel, Publisher, PowerPoint, and Word classes. Check
it out here. http://www.eclecticacademy.com/index.htm
Also, since my course load is getting really heavy, I turned over my
Access class to Fleet member, James La Borde, so he will be teaching
Intro and Intermediate Access classes there in March also.
And, in May, I will begin teaching Intermediate Excel and Word.
So, come on over to Eclectic Academy and join the fun.
How can you go wrong? Twenty bucks for a six week class
just cannot be beat, in my opinion!
Next new thing:
I've added a couple new ebooks to my Library collection of favorites.
One is a great new one by those dependable people at The Newbie Club.
This one's called EMail for Newbies and it is FULL of great info. The
second one is a freebie called eBook Authors Interviewed. Download it
for free and browse through the interviews to see if someone out there
has written the eBook you have been waiting for.
check out The Library http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/library.htm
Another new thing:
I've added some great Windows XP links at my Windows page.
Check them out! http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/windows.htm
Last new thing:
Some new links on my Internet Favorites page. Look for the revolving
N's. And if you like mystery games, don't miss Stickman Murder
Mysteries. What fun these are!
Internet Links http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/internet.htm
If you have any suggestions for stuff you would like to see included at
my site or in ABC, drop me a line at linda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
All suggestions are welcome!
Linda
http://personal-computer-tutor.com
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******************STATION BREAK***********************
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DO YOU WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL WITHOUT LEAVING
THE HOUSE?
It's the latest rage and it's called Distance Learning. Most colleges
now offer Distance Learning classes because they know some people work
hard and just can't fit a classroom into their busy lives. But,
sometimes you don't want to enroll in a full program; you just want to
take one class.
ECLECTIC ACADEMY IS YOUR ANSWER!
http://www.eclecticacademy.com/index.htm
Eclectic Academy offers a large range of classes to suit
many needs. Go there now and check out their curriculum and roster.
Classes are only $20 for 6 weeks. HOW CAN YOU BEAT THAT?
Here's a sampling of what they offer:
*Art Courses, both digital and traditional
*Business Courses, including all of the MS Office Programs
(many taught by none other than Linda Johnson herself) *Graphics
Courses - Flash, PhotoShop, Paint Shop Pro & more *Website Development
Courses - FrontPage, Dreamweaver,
ASP, DHTML, Website Promotion, and on and on and on *Eclectic
Classes - Computer Maintenance, Writing Workshops,
Feng Shui, Eating Safely - just about anything you can think of
Go to Eclectic Academy now and sign up to be notified when classes are
added or ENROLL NOW in the class of your choice. January Enrollment is
closed, but go there now to enroll in the next set of classes beginning
in March. ONLY $20 FOR A SIX-WEEK CLASS!
http://www.eclecticacademy.com/index.htm
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(5.) Subscribers' Exclusive Tip of the Month:
TWEAKING WINDOWS XP
Are you new to Windows XP and wondering how to make it
work the way YOU want? There's a great download called
Tweak XP which has over 300 tweaks in six different
categories covering almost every aspect of the operating system.
Already have it? Well, the Newest version, 1.26, is now available for
download here http://www.tweakxp.com/tweakxp/
and here's what it includes:
** new 'System-Monitor' added to the System-Information
section - can be displayed as a small, additional window
** new tweak added to the Auto-Logon section: users can be hidden from
the LogOn screen now
** deleting unnecessary files moves the files to the recycle bin instead
of deleting them
** new Pentium III-M tweak
** updated pop-up blocker list
** updated language files
** some internal changes and improvements
If you are using XP, you don't wanna miss out on this one!
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(6.) THE GEEKSPEAK TRANSLATOR
~~Cap'n Patt Meara
ARRAYS
Hoo Boy!
That's an old southwestern expression dating back to my
Santa Fe days.
Every now and then someone throws me a curve ball that
kinda slides by on the inside corner. Usually it would be a called
strike, but I'm gonna take a swing at this one. If I miss I'm going to
take a walk and you're next up at bat. (and I don't even like baseball.)
Chad from Chad's Macro Mania dropped this one on me and
it's going to be the whole shebang this month.
Chad wanted me to define "Arrays". Now Chad knows
perfectly well what an array is but, you see the guy isn't into "Geek
Speak" he's into programming and he knows that would confuse a bunch of
us so he asked me to kind of iron the kinks out. That's simple, Chad.
Simple in the extreme: "Arrays" are two or more "Array"?
NOT!
Arrays are sneaky, they can have a single dimension, in which case they
are called a "Vector." Or they can have two or more dimensions and
change their name to "Matrix."
Arrays - Is a term commonly used in programming and refers
to a group of objects that are all the same type and size. The catch is,
what the heck is an "Object?" Objects - Generally speaking - can be any
shape or picture that you can select individually from an array,
manipulate and produce on a visual display. Or it can be a
self-contained group which contains both data and the means for
manipulating that data. That one should muddy the waters a bit, but read
on.
Like I said, "Hoo Boy!"
O.K. Let's get on with it. The "Objects" in an "Array" are called array
elements. An array can contain "Integers," which are simply whole
numbers: no decimals, no fractions. Or, they may consist of
"Characters". Although the term usually refers to letters, punctuation,
etc., all you Geek Speakers out there know a "character" is any symbol
which requires one byte of storage space. And then there are Data Types.
Like I said, in an array all elements must be of the same size and type
of data. Data Type - That is. You and I, well at least you, can look at
an object and know if it is a cat, a dog, or a tree. You check out the
characteristics and say, "Yup, 'at there is a dawg." You just know by
its characteristics what kind of thing that is. Computers can't do that
- Yet. When you are programming you have to tell that machine whether it
is looking at a NUMBER WITH A DECIMAL POINT
(floating-point) a CHARACTER (readable text) or an INTEGER (whole
number) and those are all different types of data. Once you have a box
full of any one of those things you have yourself an ARRAY. And Chad,
that was more fun than I've had since my last trip to the dentist.
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Visit the Cap'n's Official GeekSpeak Database at
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/capn3.htm
If the word you need defined is not there, just write to me at
ABComputers-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and I will pass it on to the Cap'n.
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ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A RELIABLE DOMAIN HOST
FOR YOUR WEBSITE?
Hands down, I think the one I use is the very best (Hal Cardona's been
using them for over 3 years and he turned me onto them over a year ago).
*My site has NEVER been down for more than 3 minutes!
(except once late on a Saturday nite when it was being
worked on and they warned we well in advance).
*Their tech support are the greatest and I have never had
to wait more than an hour for a good answer to any question
or problem I had!
*If you use FrontPage for your webcrafting, they are excellent with
those pesky FP extensions!
*And, the email server is non-failing!
Obviously, I am a big fan of theirs.
Their name is HOSTWAY and I believe if you try them, you will never
regret it. http://hostway.onweb.cx/
And, if you sign up, tell them you were referred by
linda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
That will help fund this newsletter because they give me a free month of
service for everyone I send to them :-)
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(7.) FEATURED ARTICLE OF THE MONTH
CHAD'S MACRO MANIA ~
ARRAYS AND THE OLYMPICS
Light the Fire Within
This month the world is coming to my home town. Things
sure are shaping up here in Salt Lake City, Utah. Lately it seems that
I am eating and breathing Olympics, and this month=92s article is no
exception. We=92ll discuss arrays and random numbers and, of course,
bring in the Olympic spirit!
ARRAYS
First off, what are arrays? www.dictionary.com defines an array as an
arrangement of memory elements in one or more planes. WHAT!?! Cap=92n
Patt explains them a whole lot better above or here:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/capn9.htm
For example: suppose I have some sports (luge, curling and
hockey) stored as variables in memory. Arrays offer a way
of grouping those values. Now I can refer to that array and perform
actions on all elements. I can order the elements; I can count the
number of elements in the array; etc. Of course, the same things can be
done without arrays but not nearly as efficiently.
Arrays are used the same way as other variables except that arrays also
have an index. When declaring the array, indicate in parentheses the
number of values that will be stored in the array:
Dim Sports(3) As String
Now each value can be referenced using the index:
Sports(0) =3D =93Luge=94
Sports(1) =3D =93Curling=94
Sports(2) =3D =93Hockey=94
Notice that the index begins at zero and ends one less than
the number of indices declared. Unlike most programming languages,
Visual Basic allows us to change where the index begins. Insert the
line =93Option Base 1=94 before any of the sub procedures in your module =
and
you can reference the variables in a more intuitive way:
Sports(1) =3D =93Luge=94
Sports(2) =3D =93Curling=94
Sports(3) =3D =93Hockey=94
Random Numbers
Now that we understand the way arrays are used, lets look at
a practical way to use them. To illustrate lets use random numbers. A
random number is generated by calling the built-in function Rnd(). The
random number generated is a floating point number between 0 and 1,
non-inclusive.
However, we want a random integer number from 1 to 3 so
that we can find a random sport in our array. To do that, we will
multiply the random number by 3 to find a number between 0 and 3,
non-inclusive. Now if we store that result in an integer variable we
have a number 0, 1 or 2. Add one to that and we have a number 1, 2 or
3:
Dim rndNumb As Integer
rndNumb =3D Rnd() * 3 + 1
Now we can reference the random sport:
rndSport =3D Sports(rndNumb)
Are They Truly Random?
One thing you may notice: if you run your code and find a random sport
then close the application. Open it again and run the code again, you
will have the same random sport. It doesn=92t matter if your array has 3
elements or 300,000 the result will be the same.
Doesn=92t seem very random does it? To produce different
random numbers call the Randomize() function in your application before
running the code. Now your code will produce different values each time
the application is opened and run.
Sample Code
Now lets put it all together and use a couple of different arrays and
random numbers to predict the outcome of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.
If you feel that your computer is psychic and produces psychic numbers
rather than random numbers you may even want to use this code in your
gambling circles or take it to Las Vegas. Just remember, my
responsibility is contingent upon your earnings. You lose =96 I=92m not
responsible; you win =96 I claim responsibility and get half of the
earnings!
This code is application independent. It will run in Word, Excel,
Access, or etc.
Option Base 1
Sub Arrays_and_Randoms()
Dim Countries(5) As String
Dim Sports(5) As String
Dim Gender(2) As String
Dim rndCountry As Integer
Dim rndSport As Integer
Dim rndGender As Integer
Countries(1) =3D "Australia"
Countries(2) =3D "Brazil"
Countries(3) =3D "Canada"
Countries(4) =3D "England"
Countries(5) =3D "United States"
Sports(1) =3D "biathlon"
Sports(2) =3D "luge"
Sports(3) =3D "super-g slalom"
Sports(4) =3D "ice hockey"
Sports(5) =3D "freestyle aerials"
Gender(1) =3D "men"
Gender(2) =3D "women"
Call Randomize
rndCountry =3D Rnd() * (UBound(Countries) - 1) + 1
rndSport =3D Rnd() * (UBound(Sports) - 1) + 1
rndGender =3D Rnd() * (UBound(Gender) - 1) + 1
MsgBox "I Predict that the " & Gender(rndGender) & _
" from " & Countries(rndCountry) & " will win " & _
"the gold in " & Sports(rndSport) & ".", _
vbOKOnly + vbInformation, "Light the Fire Within"
End Sub
Good luck to each of your country=92s athletes! Enjoy the
games, I know I will!
Last month I offered $5.00 to anyone who sent me an idea
to use in Chad=92s Macro Mania. This month, because of the winter =
games,
I am offering the Olympic pin shown here.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/chad9.htm
Please send your idea to chad@xxxxxxxxxxxxx by Feb 24
(the closing day of the Winter Olympics). If you are the
first to send me the idea and I use it, I=92ll send you the pin! I=92ll =
even
pay postage.
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Chad K. Welch works as a technician/enabler in Utah. He is available
for consulting or application programming with Microsoft Office and VBA.
Contact him directly for more information at chad@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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(8.) VIC'S REGISTRY ROUNDUP & DOS DEN
~~ Vic Ferri, Windows Tips & Tricks
RUN BOX SECRET
Something I learned through trial and error back when
Windows 95 was the latest Microsoft OS. However, it
applies to all Windows systems that use a
Dos Run box (Start>Run)
Did you know you can create your own Run box " *.exe"
path to any program or folder on your computer?
We're not talking about shortcuts here, but creating your
own real application paths for the Windows shell. For example, you can
make a path simply named S that, when entered in the Run box, would open
the Advanced Start Menu folder. Or, you could use the letter X or any
other letter or word to launch Explorer. You can customize the Run Box
commands completely
- it's all up to you - choose any word to open any folder or
application. And the app name you choose will also be recognized in a
batch file or at the Windows DOS prompt when used in conjunction with
the Start command, ie: using the above example of associating the letter
S with the Start menu, you would just enter Start S in a batch file or
at a dos prompt to open the Start menu. And it's very easy to do, once
you know the secret which is stored in this Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths
When Windows starts an application (via the Run Box), it
will look at this key and associate the application to the folder or
program referenced. For example, using the S example again, when you
type the letter S in the Run box and click OK, Windows will look at the
above Registry key for S.exe and launch the program that has been
associated with it. Each application name is a sub key of the AppPaths
key. Knowing this, it becomes possible to edit these pointers, create
your own or just add alternate ones to existing paths.
So here's how to make your own application path - I'll use
the Start Menu example for this:
1. Click Start>Run, type in regedit, click OK and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths
2. Right click the AppPaths key and choose New>Key
and name it S.EXE
3. In the right hand pane for your new S.EXE app, double
click Default and for the value enter: C:\WINDOWS\startm~1
4. Exit the Registry, refresh your computer, and you're done.
Now test it out - Click Start>Run, type in S (the exe extension is not
necessary) and click Ok. The Start Menu should open. Note, that I used
the MS DOS short name format for the path, but you don't have to.
Entering C:\Windows\Start Menu would work as well. The only difference
is that with the DOS short name convention, entering startm~1 in the Run
box, would open the Start Menu without having to enclose the name in
quotations as in "Start Menu". But since, in this example, a simple S is
being used to open the Start Menu, it really makes no difference which
format you use.
You can also set your own application paths for programs or edit
existing ones (the S example was to open a folder, not launch a
program). To do that you also have to create a new String value named
Path and enter the path. The best way to learn this is to just look at
the existing entries. It is very easy. For example, the app path for
Internet Explorer is IEXPLORE.EXE. By default, IEXPLORE.EXE is located
in "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer". That is the path. Assuming you
wanted to create a new path that would launch Explorer in the Run box by
just entering X, you would simply create a new sub key named X.EXE and
for the default value
enter: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE
or C:\PROGRA~1\INTERN~1\iexplore.exe. Then you would
right click in the right hand pane and create a New>String Value named
Path and enter: C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer OR
C:\PROGRA~1\INTERN~1 as the value. You can just copy and paste those
values from the existing ones entered in your own IEXPLORE.EXE key if
one exists on your system.
If you like using the Run Box, go ahead and use your imagination to
create any new app path keys you want. This type of reg hacking is safe
and harmless.
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
Vic Ferri owns the very popular WinTips and Tricks email group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WinTips-Tricks
and his website which accompanies it.
http://www.angelfire.com/on3/vxdoin2/windows.html
He is also in charge of the Printing Tips page at
Linda's Computer Stop.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/printing.htm
ans also the Registry Tips page.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/vic4.htm
**********************************************************
******************STATION BREAK********************
**********************************************************
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**********************************************************
(10.) JAMES' DATABASE
~~James La Borde
NAMING CONVENTIONS
"What is a Naming Convention and why is it important to me
as a database designer?"
A naming convention is a uniform method of naming objects within a
database. There are many naming conventions out there and we will
address some of them. The important thing is not which one you use, or
why you choose to use it, it is simply that you use one.
Why is a naming convention important? Simply put, it helps
you better organize your database. Let's start very simply.
The most basic aspect of a naming convention is in naming
your tables, queries and the like. As your database grows,
you may end up with a fairly large number of tables. By using the simple
convention of adding a prefix to your table's name, you can more easily
locate the table you are looking for; it also helps avoid confusion
between names of tables and names of queries, since Access considers a
table and a query to be the same type of object. In fact, in the
original release of Access, all tables and queries actually appeared in
the same list. A common convention is to add "tbl" to the beginning of a
table name, "qry" to the beginning of a query, "frm" to the beginning of
a form, and so on. You can also differentiate between main and
sub-objects (such as reports and forms) by adding "s" to the beginning
of the original prefix. Thus, "sfrm" would indicate a sub-form, "srpt"
would indicate a sub-report. This extra step helps ensure that all of
your sub-objects appear in the list together.
Now that the simple part is out of the way, we will attack the true
intent of a naming convention. In the strictest sense of the phrase, a
naming convention applies primarily to the code within your database.
According to Developing Applications with Microsoft Access97, a naming
convention "standardizes the structure, coding style, and logic of an
application." What does that mean in plain English? It means that if you
start developing an application (database) and end up shelving it for a
year, you can go back and pretty much know what is going on in the
database. You will easily be able to figure out and find your data and
object types.
When getting into the code aspect of a database (once you start using
VBA) the most prominent naming convention is the Leszynski Naming
Convention (LNC). In LNC, all variable and procedure names are made up
of three parts: a prefix, a body, and a qualifier. The prefix is always
in lower case and denotes object or data type ("tbl" or "frm"). Next,
the body is in a mix of upper and lower case to eliminate the use of
spaces. It should be as descriptive as possible ("EmployeeNames"). The
qualifier simply defines what the procedure is doing or regarding.
Qualifiers are most often used in functions or procedures, so they don't
necessarily need to be part of your table, form, or query name. For
instance, you might call a procedure "intGetRecordLast". "Last" would be
your qualifier.
There are many advantages to using naming conventions. They make team
development much easier. If all members of a team are using the same
conventions, one can pick up another's code and add to or modify it from
where the first person left off. By using the same naming convention,
all aspects of the work integrate much more easily. Using a naming
convention also makes troubleshooting (also known as de-bugging) easier.
By consistently naming objects in your database and code, it is easier
to determine what each object is supposed to do. Finally, it makes it
easier to re-use your code in future applications. If you find that you
need to create your own function, by using a naming convention you can
readily adapt it to the new application rather than rewriting the
function from scratch.
I recently came across an anecdote in Access 97 Expert Solutions. In the
anecdote Tod Nielson, a General Manager in Microsoft's Access Business
Unit, relates a story of hiring a contractor to help write some code for
him. When he went back to look at the code and troubleshoot it, he
discovered that the contractor had named all of his variables after
cartoon characters. This really had me going as one of the first
experiences I had with writing code, I actually named my variables after
Peanuts characters. (Hey, I was working at an amusement park who had the
Peanuts gang as mascots.) Now, whether you find this amusing or not, it
definitely brings to light the importance of being consistent. Who knows
what Snoopy refers to as a variable six months after they have written
the code?
As I said early on, the importance of using a naming convention is not
in which one or why but simply that you find one you are comfortable
with and stick with it. Most people I have talked with have created
their own from a mix of what they see as the best of others. No matter
which one you use, it will make your programming much more efficient,
more readable and structured.
I am still looking for ideas for future articles. I want to know what
everyone wants to read about. Send me your questions, please. If I don't
get a compelling question to write about, next month's article shall be
on Union Queries!
**********************************************************
James La Borde works in the computer department at a Credit Union, where
he uses Access, SQL Server, VBA, and ODBC daily.
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
EDITOR'S NOTE: It is recommended that you read the online version of
the following article which includes pictures and tables and might make
this clearer for you. http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/chas9.htm
*********************************************************
**********************************************************
(11.) Chas' Word World
~~Charles Kyle Kenyon, J.D.
STYLES IN MICROSOFT WORD
For a while this column will shift its emphasis to Word fundamentals.
Those who want to read ahead are welcome to look at the Intermediate
Users Guide to Microsoft Word on my site.
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/index.htm
If you do read ahead, and you have questions,
please send them to me so that I might be able to answer
your questions in this column.
Chas_ABC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As usual, you can skip to Chas' keyboard shortcuts of the
month by clicking here.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/chas9.htm#Keyboard
Styles Overview
Styles are arguably the most important feature in Microsoft Word. Why?
Because everything that you do in Word has a style attached. The
definition of a style is two-fold. First, you can think of a style as a
set of pre-defined formatting instructions that you can use repeatedly
throughout the document. Let's say each heading in a document must be
centered, uppercase, bold, and a slightly larger font size. Each time
you need to apply formatting to the heading, you have to go through the
entire process to get the text the way you want it. If you store the
formatting commands in a style, you can apply that style any time you
need it without having to do all of the reformatting.
Possibly more important however is that styles are used to "tag" or
identify parts of a document. An example of this is whether text is part
of a heading, a footnote, a hyperlink, or body text. These are all
examples of styles in Word.
If you're concerned about whether or not you need to learn styles, we
can put it rather simply: you do. Styles are the architecture upon which
Word is based. Just about everything in Word is style-driven. In fact,
many people in the industry refer to Word as a "style-driven" program.
Styles allow for quick formatting modifications throughout
the document and can be tied into numbering to make working with outline
numbered lists easier.
TIP: For long documents, documents that are likely to be heavily edited,
and documents that may form the basis for other documents, follow the
basic rule that to change formatting use Format =3D> Styles... Do not
apply direct formatting. You will save yourself, and others, untold
hours of hair-tearing. For shorter one-use documents, direct formatting
is OK; you'll only regret not using styles about one time in six, on the
other five out of the six, you'll save a bit of time.
If you create document templates with direct formatting,
you deserve what will happen to you when someone finds
out (and it won't be nice). In my opinion, using direct formatting in
document templates intended for use by others rates the words malicious
and/or incompetent. If the templates are for your own use, you deserve
the loss of days, months, even years from your life that you'll spend
fighting with Word and trying to figure out why your documents look so
bad.
More on templates here:
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm
Trying to use Word without understanding and using styles is like
pushing on a string. I resisted learning and using styles for years and
now regret every day of those years because although that string was
still very hard to push, it kept getting longer and longer, and had some
very important projects tied to it! Once you understand styles and the
Word concept of organizing things into Chinese boxes everything falls
into place and instead of pushing a string, you can push a button that
turns on the very powerful text processing machine known as Microsoft
Word and it will start doing your work for you instead of running around
behind you trying to undo what you just thought you did.
TIP: Microsoft recommends that you use numbering
linked to styles to get the best result.
NOTE: This should be worded much more strongly! As in:
Do not use automatic numbering in Word unless you are doing
it through styles linked to numbering. See Word's Numbering Explained by
John McGhie.
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Numbering/WordsNumberingExplained.htm
There are several reasons for using styles in a document:
* Consistency =97 When you use styles to format your document, each
section is formatted the same and therefore, provides a professional,
clean-looking document.
* Easier to Modify =97 If you use styles in your document consistently,
you only need to update a given style once if you want to change the
characteristics of all text formatted in that style.
* Efficiency =97 You can create a style once, and then apply
it to any section in the document without having to format
each section individually.
* Table of Contents =97 Styles can be used to generate a
table of contents quickly.
* Faster Navigation =97 Using styles lets you quickly move to different
sections in a document using the Document Map feature.
* Working in Outline View =97 Styles allow you to outline and organize
your document's main topics with ease.
* Outline Numbering =96 Numbering, when linked to styles,
allows you to generate and update consistent outline
numbering in your documents, even ones with complicated numbering
schemes.
* Efficiency of Word =97 Files which are predominantly
manually formatted are less efficient than those which have formatting
that has been imposed by styles: manually formatted files, such a
converted documents which have been File, Opened, are bloated in file
size (bytes) and do not render to the screen efficiently when you scroll
through them. This is because Word is a styles-based application: it
first reads the attributes of the underlying style, then has to
broadcast anything contrary (e.g. manually formatted on top of that). As
such, a lengthy document that has been predominantly manually formatted,
will behave sluggishly because Word has to work harder at managing it.
Additionally, the print formatting processes are equally labored as
opposed to using styles.
* HTML AND XML =97 What lies ahead? A fully structured,
styled document will move into HTML and XML incredibly
well.
Styles are an essential part of Microsoft Word. In fact, everything you
type into a document has a style attached to it, whether you design the
style or not.
When you start Microsoft Word, the new blank document
is based on the Normal template, and text that you type uses the Normal
style unless you have changed this setting in that template. This means
that when you start typing, Word uses the font name, font size, line
spacing, indentation, text alignment, and other formats currently
defined for the Normal style. The Normal style is the base style for the
Normal template, meaning that it's a building block for other styles in
the template. Whenever you start typing in a new document, unless you
specify otherwise, you are typing in the Normal style.
Paragraph vs. Character Styles
There are two types of styles in Microsoft Word; character
and paragraph. (In Word 2002, there is also a hybrid
"character and paragraph" style that I won't be discussing
in this article.) Paragraph styles are used more frequently than
character styles, and they are easier to create. It's important to
understand both, however, since understanding styles is so important.
Character styles can be applied to individual words =97 even
(you guessed it) single characters. Character formatting is built from
the formatting options available from the Format menu, by selecting
Font; settings from the Tools menu, by selecting Language, and then
selecting Set Language; and in certain cases from the Format menu by
selecting Borders and Shading, and looking on the Borders and Shading
tabs of the Borders and Shading dialog box. The following table shows
the formatting that can be in a style.
A paragraph style contains both font and paragraph
formatting which makes it more flexible than a character
style. When you apply a paragraph style the formatting
affects the entire paragraph. For example, when you center text, you
cannot center a single word. Instead, the entire paragraph is centered.
Other types of paragraph-level formats that styles control are line
spacing (single-space, double-space, etc.), text alignment, bullets,
numbers, indents, tabs and borders.
Formatting - Character Style? - Paragraph Style?
Font - Yes -Yes
Tabs - No - Yes
Border - Yes - Yes
Spacing - No - Yes
Alignment - No - Yes
Indents - No - Yes
Shading - Yes - Yes
Language - Yes - Yes
Numbering - No - Yes
Viewing Styles
Styles are listed in two places: the Style drop-down box on
the Formatting toolbar and from the Format menu by choosing Style. They
are also available in the styles panel when you are in normal view.
View Styles with the Style Box
The Style box is at the far-left side of the Formatting toolbar. It can
be activated by clicking the drop-down arrow to the right of the words
in the box, or by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+S on the keyboard.
TIP: Keyboard users can press CTRL+SHIFT+S and then
click the up or down arrow keys on the keyboard to move
through the list of available styles. Pressing F4 on the keyboard once
inside the Style box activates the drop-down list, which you can then
traverse with arrow keys.
NOTE: If you're using Word 2000, the default is for the Standard and
Formatting toolbars to share one row. For this chapter, you may find it
helpful to turn off this feature. From the Tools menu, choose Customize
and select the Options tab. Uncheck Standard and Formatting toolbars
share one row and click OK.
View Styles Using the Format Menu
You can not only view but also modify styles using the Format Styles
dialog box under the Format menu. We will discuss this dialog box more
in the next column.
View Paragraph Styles Using Normal View and the Styles Pane
One of the simplest ways to track styles in use is to view your document
in "Normal" view. The "normal" view can be selected under the View menu
or by clicking on the left-most icon among the views icons on the bottom
left corner of your Word screen. You can set normal view to display the
styles pane using Tools =3D> Options =3D> View tab.
(See the online version of this article for an example of a document in
"Normal" view with the styles pane set for a width of 1")
Note that the styles pane only displays paragraph styles while the
styles window on the formatting toolbar displays both paragraph and
character styles. The paragraph marks shown at the end of each
paragraph are there because I chose that option. (In the illustration
the blue markings have been added, they are not something that is
usually on the screen.)
Next month: Changing the Default Font in Word
* This article is based largely on the tutorial "Understanding Styles"
which, itself is based on the Legal Users Guide to Microsoft Word.
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/styles.htm
The original Legal Users Guide was not written by me but
rather by a team of experts gathered by Microsoft. This
article uses screen shots from Word 2000 but the methods
and distinctions discussed hold true for versions of Word
from Word 95 through Word 2002.
Keyboard Shortcuts of the Month for Word
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/chas9.htm#Keyboard
**********************************************************
Chas Kenyon is a trial lawyer concentrating in criminal defense with a
long interest (obsession?) with making word processing work well in the
law office. His websites are: http://www.addbalance.com/index.htm
http://members.aol.com/~marspd/index.html
**********************************************************
******************STATION BREAK***********************
**********************************************************
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**********************************************************
**********************************************************
EDITOR'S NOTE: It is recommended that you read the online version of
the following article which includes pictures and might make this
clearer for you. http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/tina9.htm
*********************************************************
**********************************************************
(12.) TINA'S FRONTPAGE NEWS
~~Tina Clarke, AccessFP Resource Centre
ADDING FUNCTIONALITY TO YOUR WEB PAGE
USING FRONTPAGE 2002
Part I ~ TOC - Table of Contents
Every site needs a table of contents or site map; some people call it an
index. It not only lets visitors know what's on your web but also lets
them know just where to find it.
There are two different ways of making a TOC
1. Based on the navigational structure of your site
2. Based categories assigned to your pages
Either offers lots of scope with added extras.
Creating a Table of Contents based on navigation structure:
You can either use the Wizard to create a TOC:
File | New | Page or Web and the 'New page or list' box
springs up on the right hand side from there you can choose under 'New
from Template' - 'Page templates' and select the 'Table of Contents'
page from the 'Page Templates' Dialog box.
This creates a page with links to every document in your web, displayed
in an outline format.
Or you can choose to insert a web component:
In page View, position the cursor where you want to produce
the TOC on your page.
Go to Insert | Web Component and the 'Insert Web
Component' Dialog box springs up, choose 'Table of Contents' from under
the left hand pane of 'Component type' and on the right hand pane click
'For this web site' and click Finish.
Having used the wizard, all you need to do is double click the web
component to bring up the Table of Contents Properties box in order to
customize it. If you inserted the component, the box is now ready and
waiting.
Customizing the Table of Contents:
PAGE URL FOR STARTING POINT OF TABLE - This
specifies the URL from where you want the TOC to collect
it's information. You could specify a page in a folder but then it
would only index the pages within the folder. To cover the entire web,
you need to enter the file of the homepage.
HEADING FONT SIZE - This adjusts the size of the heading
the smaller the number the larger the text and vice versa.
When you change the heading number, the phrase 'Table of Contents
Heading page' will change it's text size in FrontPage and the homepage
or the first page you inserted will replace this text when the page is
next previewed in the browser. If you are creating a TOC on the same
page as the starting point (homepage or index.htm), you should avoid
creating a link that connects a page to itself, so click None in the
'Heading Font Size' box.
SHOW EACH PAGE ONLY ONCE - This allows you to get
FrontPage to display each page only once if your pages are l inked to
multiple hyperlinks.
SHOW PAGES WITH NO INCOMING HYPERLINKS -
selecting this option includes pages that are not pointed to by any of
the hyperlinks in your web from the homepage.
RECOMPUTE TABLE OF CONTENTS WHEN ANY OTHER
PAGE IS EDITED - This allows FrontPage to automatically
edit and reconfigure your TOC when any page in your web is edited. It
can take time, so the better option is to keep it unchecked and just
save the page which recomputes it manually.
Click OK to insert the Table of Contents.
Is there anyway to tweak the TOC further?
Not without an add-in called Menu Plus.
http://www.frontpagecommerce.com/menuplus/menuplus.htm
This is available (at the moment) for $9.95. Normally the
price is around $25. This allows you to specify a wide range of
options, including the maximum levels to show and whether to start from
the web root, the current page or some other page you specify. For each
entry, as well as the link itself, you can choose to include descriptive
text which comes from the contents of the Summary tab in Navigation View
page properties. You can choose whether or not to include
bookmarks: these appear as children of the containing page.
A neat feature (which needs the page to have a theme
applied in order to work) is that you can adjust the "spread"
- i.e. how far each level is indented - by means of a slider ranging
from 'Narrow' to 'Wide'. I would check it out at that price now.
Creating a Table of Contents based on Page category:
By using this feature you can categorize pages from the
Folders view and FrontPage keeps track of all the files that belong to
the same category, and by using the Table of Contents Components Based
on 'Page Category' Selection, you can display pages of like categories
in a table of contents.
Firstly we need to categorize some pages in order to create
the TOC. Click the folders button on the View bar and right click the
page you want to assign to a category, click properties, which will open
the 'Page Properties' Dialog box. Click the 'Workgroup' tab; in the
'Available Categories' box click the category you want to assign to this
page.
You can select multiple categories so that a single page can appear in
multiple categories on your site map.
NOTE: If you want to add or remove a category, click the Categories
button on the workgroup tab, you can enter a new category then click the
add button or select a category and click the remove button in the
Master Category List Dialog box that springs up. Click the OK button to
return to the 'Page Properties' Dialog box.
Click the OK button and the category is assigned, repeat
these steps for each page that you want to assign a category.
TIP: If you want to select a bunch of pages for the same category you
can use the reports feature. Click View | Reports | Categories or choose
Categories if the Reporting toolbar is active. When the Categories
report appears, click the 'Type' column header and select htm.
You can select files either by clicking the first one you want and
holding down SHIFT and then clicking the last file you want and this
selects all files in-between or holding down the CONTROL key and
selecting individual files here and there. Once you have your selection
just right click on any selected file and choose properties and follow
through as above.
When you have your categories selected you can now create
a TOC. Open up the page you intend to insert the component
in. Type the name of the category (for example, "FrontPage
Resources") as a heading for the list of files in that category.
TIP: The heading doesn't have to be the same as the category name. For
example, if your category is "FrontPage Resources," you can type a
heading such as "FrontPage Resources Section."
Next select Insert | Web component, the 'Insert Web
Component' Dialog box appears. In the left pane, click the Table of
Contents and in the right pane click 'based on Page Category'. Click
the Finish button and the 'Categories Properties' Dialog box opens. You
can then select the categories whose pages you want to appear in your
table of contents. These selected categories will appear in the
'Selected Categories' box.
In the 'Sort files by' drop-down box, you have two options:
1. To sort the list alphabetically, select 'Document title'
2. To sort the list by file date, select 'Date last modified'
Under 'Include the following information', click the check boxes if you
want to display the Date the file was last modified or any comments
added to the file. Repeat the steps above for each category list that
you want to include on your site map. Click the OK button and your TOC
appears in Page View.
NOTE: Click Preview in Browser to test the site map. Your
site map will be updated automatically whenever you add or remove files.
**********************************************************
Tina Clarke is the Webmaster of AccessFP - FrontPage Resource Centre
http://accessfp.net/ and an editor of "AnyFrontPage Bytes Ezine".
Subscribe to the FrontPage ezine and get FREE FrontPage E-Books upon
joining. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AnyFrontPageBytes
**********************************************************
******************STATION BREAK***********************
**********************************************************
Do you want to know the latest on FrontPage? Do you want Tips, news,
articles, links and ebooks on FrontPage? Well the AnyFrontPage Bytes
Ezine is the best place for your FrontPage and web crafting needs, join
up at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AnyFrontPageBytes
Are you looking for resources for FrontPage? Want to know where all
the best FP links are? The hosts, the lists, the forums? Use AccessFP -
FrontPage Resources Centre as the start site for your FrontPage
Information facts. http://accessfp.net/
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(13.) THE INTERNET CONNECTION
~~by David Coons
A PROFILE OF INTERNET SCUM
INTRODUCTION
Imagine this...
You have spent your entire company's earnings setting up a seminar to
attract people to buy your products. You paid for the hotel. You paid
for the food. You paid for the advertising. You put it all on the line
because you know your products will sell. On opening day, the turnout is
great. As you watch the happy customers entering your room, you smile at
the thought of your sales success. After awhile, you decide to check on
your sales booths and are shocked at what you find. A competitor's
salesperson is standing just inside the entrance to the room,
approaching customer's and selling THE COMPETITION'S products to them.
The customers are not even making it to your sales people. In some
cases, the competing salesperson even poses as one of your employees to
make the sale.
Sound unbelievable? It's not.
This is the same practice that is going on all over the Internet.
Unethical businesses are introducing software that is designed to put
their sales information on other people's web pages or to redirect
traffic from one site to another. Although it is presently legal, this
software is nullifying the hard work done by honest, hard-working
designers and business people worldwide. These deceiving applications
have been collectively labeled as SCUMWARE by the opposing forces all
over the Internet.
Still not convinced? Let's look at example...
GATOR.COM
At face value, the application offered at GATOR.COM looks
like a great product. It is a free interface that helps users remember
logins and passwords easily, as well as filling out entire forms with a
'click n drag' interface. Who wouldn't like to use this tool, right? In
actuality, GATOR.COM is one of the most visited websites on the net
because of this application.
But if you look deeper into the site, you will see why Gator offers this
product for free. Basically, it targets advertisers who are seeking a
sure-fire way to get their ads in front of QUALITY potential customers.
For a modest beginning price of $25,000, advertisers can
have their ads automatically popping up in front of users no matter
where they are on the Internet. The types of advertising can be
categorized into a few distinct types:
POP-UP ADS and POPUP SLIDERS take a prominent position
on top of the page you are visiting, possibly misleading visitors into
believing they were placed there by the webpage designers and are
therefore related to the webpage.
COMPANION POP-UP BANNERS put banners on top of the
page that you are visiting and although GATOR refutes
charges of trying to 'steal' traffic, the examples on their website show
the banners appearing on top of pre-existing banner ads. This is a
deliberate attempt to confuse or mislead the viewers and to counteract
the existing advertisers.
BACKPAGE POP-UPS are less-intrusive and bring a page up
BEHIND the page that you are viewing. This gives them the opportunity to
be in front of your face when you close the existing window.
The thing that probably upsets me more than the product
itself is the attitude and intention behind it. GATOR markets the fact
that advertisers CAN get business off of their competitor's sites.
FROM THE GATOR WEBSITE:
Expression of Purchase Intent (EPI)? The GAIN EPI engine delivers
real-time access to the most receptive prospects in your category.
Shopping on any site...even your competitor's site
Searching for your product or category on a search engine
Comparing Prices
Researching product features & reading product reviews
WHO IS REALLY TO BLAME?
One important aspect needs to be considered though: Who
is responsible for the success of these SCUMWARE packages? Actually,
there are two groups that are keeping GATOR and similar companies alive.
First, it is the users who are downloading the software and installing
it on their systems. I would almost guarantee that most users have no
idea how the advertising on the back end is set up, nor do they care.
They find a good tool. They download it. They use it.
The second group of supporters are the advertisers who are becoming part
of the SCUMWARE advertising machine. If they stop showing interest, the
SCUMWARE companies may feel the heat as well.
SO WHAT CAN I DO?
There are a few things that you can do to try to keep this infestation
from growing. Some things are basic ... some are not-so-basic....
1. DE-SCUM your computer so that you are no longer using
these types of applications. There are instructions for this DE-SCUMMING
process at scumware.com. To become a crusader, you have to first stop
supporting the enemy. http://www.scumware.com/user3.html
2. INFORM your friends and family about this practice, evangelizing to
them of the deceit and poor business practices that are involved.
Encourage them to join the crusade and complete step #1 as well. :)
Inform SCUMWARE advertisers of your discontent regarding their
affiliations. Threaten to boycott them altogether. Perhaps they will
reconsider things when the bottom line is affected.
3. EDUCATE yourself on which products install SCUMWARE
on your system., Many times, the download is piggy-backed on top of
another application. For example, kaZaa, the next generation Napster
product downloads several SCUMWARE applications every time a user
installs its program. TopText, one of the SCUMWARE products installed
with KaZaa, actually changes the links on a webpage to redirect traffic.
You can see this in action here. http://www.scumware.com/wm2.html
Check the resources below to find sites where you can get
more information.
Together, we can start to turn the tide related to these
types of predatory business practices. If you have any questions about
this article, please feel free to email me at
david@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Until next time,
David
RESOURCES:
General Scumware Sites
http://www.scumware.com/
http://www.stopscum.com/
http://www.thiefware.com/
http://www.unwantedlinks.com/
http://www.merchantboycott.com/
Scumware Resources
Disable scumware on your website http://www.scumware.com/wm5.html
Search the database for scumware advertisers
http://www.scumware.com/advertisers/search.html
DeScum your computer
http://www.scumware.com/user3.html
Scumware Application Resources
Gator
http://www.gator.com
TopText
http://www.scumware.com/wm2.html
Surf+
http://www.scumware.com/wm2a.html
SmartTags
http://www.unwantedlinks.com/Whatisit.htm
**********************************************************
Editor's Note: For more information on kaZaa, see my rant
"Who Owns My Website, Anyway?" in Linda's Soapbox, ABC, Vol. 4
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/linda4.htm
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
David Coons is a freelance writer and web designer from the suburbs of
Atlanta, Georgia. When not spending time with his wife and three
daughters, he maintains several websites, including his current
missions-related shopping site, MyFutureMall.com. =A0
http://www.MyFutureMall.com
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
EDITOR'S NOTE: Some of the links in the article below are extremely
long and will not work when you simply click on them. If you cannot
access the web site by clicking, I suggest you go to the online version
of this article where the links will work fine.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/fred9.htm
*********************************************************
**********************************************************
(14.) FRED'S SAFETY BELT
~~ Fred Arshoff
Before going on to my article, I would like to thank Paula W very much
for her great help in doing some research, as well as editing the
article for me. Without her help this article wouldn't have been what
it is. Thanks so much Paula. I'd also like to thank our publisher,
Linda, for allowing me to write the security column, so I can help
others learn about computer viruses and how to avoid them.
HISTORY OF COMPUTER VIRUSES
Before going into the history, I will say that the first viruses were
not as dangerous as today's viruses. They were more like pranks that you
got from sharing floppy disks with family members or friends, or taking
work home from the office computer to finish on your home computer.
Those early viruses didn't affect the REGISTRY, as there was none back
then. In those days we used either DOS (disk operating system) or
Windows 3X (3.0 to 3.11). Those versions of Windows used INI FILES to
have the computer know your settings, and each program usually set up
its own INI FILE. Those first viruses didn't even corrupt INI FILES.
Some children (and even some
adults) would have a giggle with the viruses such as the PING PONG
VIRUS. What that virus did was have a ping pong ball move around your
screen. When you were working on your computer, it could make you have
problems focusing on your work, but at least you didn't loose data, or
have to reformat your hard drive, or reinstall your operating system.
Your AV (antivirus program) was able to detect this virus and remove it
very easily. For more information on this virus go to these URLs and
read about the variations of it. Personally, I haven't seen this virus
in years, but then again, most AV will detect this one right away and
give you a warning. This is one of the reasons I do highly recommend we
all have an updated AV program installed on our computers
http://sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/yankee.html
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/ping.pong.html
http://antivirus.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww=
.
viru
slist.com%2Feng%2Fviruslist.asp
After that came along more pranks such as THE STONED.
Of course, if you were a teenager (or even an adult) on drugs, this
would have also given you a laugh as you normally would have gotten a
message "I'm stoned". In those days there was really no damage to your
hard drive, or need to reinstall your operating system. This usually was
received in the same way as I mentioned about the Ping Pong virus. Below
are URL's to read up more on this virus and its variations.
http://sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/newzealand.html
www.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/stoned.standard.html
After these came viruses that were more sophisticated and
set trigger dates. Due to this, many computer users knew in advance that
the virus was going to have its (destructive) payload on a certain date
and make sure their AV data file was up to date to detect and remove the
virus before it hit. One of the first of this type was the Michelangelo
virus. Of course, the date this virus goes off is on Michelangelo's
birthday.
http://www.totse.com/en/viruses/virus_information/michelan.html
http://www.cnet.com/software/0-7760531-8-7383657-2.html
How does the Michelangelo virus crash the hard drive of your computer on
his birthday and how does it work?
The Michelangelo virus was first reported in April, 1991 in Sweden and
the Netherlands. The Michelangelo virus, as well as some other computer
viruses, gets on your computer by booting from an infected floppy disk.
The Michelangelo virus hides in special and important places on disks,
the boot sector and partition areas. The boot sector is the region of
the disk that contains system information and is the first sector to be
read when your machine starts. The Michelangelo virus becomes memory
resident the first time the system is booted with a Michelangelo
virus-infected disk. Even if the disk is not a bootable floppy, but just
infected in the boot sector, the Michelangelo virus will become memory
resident. Once the Michelangelo virus is memory resident, it will infect
diskette boot sectors of diskettes as they are accessed. This is how the
virus spreads itself to other disks. If a Michelangelo virus-infected
disk is booted on March 6, it will activate and erase important parts of
the hard disk, in particular the system area of the hard disk. The hard
disk will no longer boot and will need to be reformatted to make the
drive work again. Like a biological virus, computer viruses need hosts
to survive and reproduce. In this case the host is your computer. If you
trade or exchange disks with other people, you should always run a virus
check before you run any programs from possibly infected disks. If you
have a hard drive, never turn on or reset your computer with a floppy in
the drive. That is how the Michelangelo virus, and many others, infects
computers. If you have the Michelangelo virus infecting your hard drive,
it will infect disks as you access them and spread itself. (David S.
Lapointe, Ph.D., Computing Resources, UTHSCSA)
Of course there are many other viruses with specific payload dates. To
find out what virus strikes at what date go to this URL:
http://antivirus.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww=
.
viru
slist.com%2Feng%2Fviruslist.asp
Then came viruses that stay in memory. Those where harder
to remove as they were written in such a way that, if the
virus detected you were running an AV program to delete the virus, it
jumped from one place on your hard drive to another. When you get a
virus that does stay in memory, the easiest way to get it out of memory
is to shutdown your computer properly (using "SHUTDOWN" and not just by
turning the power off) and keeping the computer turned off for five
minutes or so (if in doubt, longer is always better).
Question: Every time I turn on the computer I get a message that I have
a memory virus and should shut down and restart. What is a memory virus
and what can I do to correct it?
Answer: A memory virus is constructed to load itself into your
computer's memory and to lurk there until it can pounce and infect a
program passing by.
Memory viruses vary in their virulence, but one, the Chernobyl virus,
which was written in Taiwan, is particularly vicious. It is designed to
destroy all the data on the hard drive. And that is just for starters.
The Chernobyl virus will also try to get into your BIOS - the file that
sets up and controls your PC's hardware - and short circuit it, in
essence crippling the computer until you can replace the BIOS.
To get rid of a memory virus, arm yourself with an antivirus program.
Symantec, Network Associates and Sophos are among the firms providing
sound antivirus software.
But, before you install an antivirus program, read the manual carefully,
particularly the section that details how you should proceed if your PC
was infected before you bought the program.
Next came Trojans.
What these do is allow the person who makes this virus
(Trojan) to have complete access to your computer: add
stuff to your hard drive, or worse yet, steal things from
you such as your SIN (social insurance number), credit card number, etc.
Some people do use Trojans to administer other computers. They do this
instead of buying software themselves. One such software that does this
is PCAnywhere and there are many others.
Having a Firewall up and running will tell you if someone is breaking
into your computer to steal your valuable information. There are many
firewalls available, so read what each does before deciding on the one
that you will purchase. These type of viruses do make changes to your
registry, and before you try to remove them always read the full
instructions from your AV vendor to make sure you delete only the
correct lines. Before editing your registry I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU
BACK IT UP to floppy disk or CD (in case you delete the wrong line, you
can restore the registry and then try again to remove the correct line).
For more details on Trojans go to this URL
http://antivirus.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww=
.
viru
slist.com%2Feng%2Fviruslist.asp
If you do get a Trojan here is a site that will give you step-by-step
instructions for removing Trojans.
http://sophos.com/support/faqs/trojan.html
Below is a URL for information on one of the newest
Trojans to come out:
http://sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/trojpalukka.html
Around the same time came Macro viruses that mostly infect
MS office programs and, in particular, Word and Excel. I
won't go into too much detail about this type of virus, as it will be
the topic for next month, but will tell you a few things now. Any
program which allows autoexec macros is a potential target for macro
virus writers.
Word macro viruses:
Documents in Microsoft Word can contain macros, which
are preset action sequences usually invoked by a single keystroke. A
document can also contain an autoexec macro, which automatically runs
whenever the document is opened, or which replaces a menu item. These
macros can be used to conceal viruses! Word macro viruses replicate by
inserting copies of themselves in any Word document which is saved while
they are running. They do this by capturing the
File>Save command. Word macro viruses are very new and
fortunately not widespread.
Here are some examples:
CONCEPT: The original Word macro virus, this one only
tested the macro virus concept. It is a benign virus with no virus
payload.
WAZZU: This one scrambles occasional lines of Word
documents and inserts the word "wazzu" at random places
within your document.
NUCLEAR: writes "End French Nuclear Testing in the Pacific"
on the end of any document which is printed during the last
4 seconds on the minute. It also launches a regular code virus which
does the same thing.
Last but not least is the Worm:
These are the email viruses that send themselves to people
in your address book and perhaps inbox without your knowledge. These are
usually in attachments, and the best way to avoid getting them is not to
open an attachment unless you were told to expect it and it is the same
size you where told it was. Here are some URL's about some popular worms
Badtrans
http://antivirus.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww=
.
viru
slist.com%2Feng%2Fviruslist.asp
Explore.zip
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/worm.explorezip.
c.ht
ml
Melissa
http://sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/wm97melissa.html
http://search.symantec.com/custom/us/query.html
This will give you a choice of what variant of this worm you wish to
read about.
Until next month, lets all stay virus free and be careful of what
attachments we open to avoid getting a computer virus. They can be much
more costly then a virus we humans can catch.
I do hope you enjoy reading my column as much as I enjoy putting it
together for you and helping you learn about computer viruses.
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
Fred Arshoff is self employed in the computer industry where his
favorite thing is troubleshooting security and virus issues. He runs two
Yahoo groups: Fred's Findings
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HnF_ctipsNnews/
and Fred's Virus Info. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freds_virusinfo/
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
EDITOR'S NOTE: It is recommended that you read the online version of
the following article which includes pictures and might make this
clearer for you. http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/steve9.htm
*********************************************************
**********************************************************
(15.) STEVE'S RAVIN' REVIEWS
~~Steve Mills
Something old and something new =96 I=92m proud of this collection. =
These
are programs I use every week =96 most daily. Check them out.
I haven=92t exactly decided about next month, but we=92ll move a little
graphical, I=92m sure. Your suggestions are welcome and encouraged.
(steve@xxxxxxxx)
Take Care=85..
Steve
This Month's Coverage:
SendTo ... 5 geezers
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/steve9.htm#sendto
Startup Control Panel ... 6 geezers
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/steve9.htm#startup
jv16 PowerTools ... 6 geezers
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/steve9.htm#jv16
Shooting Star ... 5 geezers
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/steve9.htm#shoot
Clipmate ... 4 geezers
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/steve9.htm#clip
##################################
Program: SendTo
Version and Date: 1.2 12/15/2002
Author: Trogladite Software
Web Site
http://www.trogsoft.org/downloads/download.shtml?id=3D3
License: Freeware
Rating: 5 Geezers
This is sort of an advanced version of the Microsoft Power
Toy which does a similar function. It=92s one of those items
that I forget is an add on and not a part of windows. If you manipulate
files, at all, grab this.
SendTo is a tool which places itself in your Windows SendTo right-click
menu. When installed, you will be able to right click on any file,
select Send to, followed by Any Folder. Doing this will invoke
Trogladite Software SendTo, which will allow you to choose a destination
directory for the files you selected in Windows Explorer.
You can then click on 'Move File(s)' to move the files to this
destination directory, deleting the originals, or 'Copy File(s)' which
will create an identical copy of the selected file(s) at your selected
location. ##################################
Program: Startup Control Panel
Version and Date: 2.7 5/21/2000
Author: Mike Lin
Web Site
http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml
License: Freeware
Rating: 6 Geezers
Startup Control Panel is a nifty control panel applet that allows you to
easily configure which programs run when your computer starts. It's
simple to use, very small and won't burden your system.
Startup Control Panel is compatible with all modern versions
of Windows, including Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT 4.0,
2000, and XP.
I rarely give 6 Geezers, but this program deserves it on all counts.
There are a whole lot of sneaky ways that programs insert themselves in
your start up process. It=92s a rare week that I don=92t fire up this
program and see what=92s going on. Without fail, it seems, there=92s =
stuff
there that needs to be purged.
The program runs as a Control Panel Applet or standalone.
I suggest the former.
##################################
Program: jv16 PowerTools
Version and Date: 1.0.0.122 1/07/2002
Author: Jouni Vuorio
Web Site
http://www.jv16.org
License: Freeware
Rating: 6 Geezers
It becomes obvious, I guess, that my likes in software run to utilities.
I was always a fan if Jouni=92s Registry Cleaner and this is its new big
brother. jv16 PowerTools is basically the Tool to control your computer.
The program contains all the tools needed for monitoring, cleaning and
controlling the registry, the file system and your Local Area Network.
Here are some of the features:
*The Registry Tool
Clean the Windows' Add/Remove software list.
Uninstall software
Scan the registry for invalid and obsolete registry entries
Remove leftover registry entries
Control which program starts automatically with the computer
Access the registry of a remote computer
*The File Tool
Search for zero-length files
Search for duplicate files
Search for Temp files
Search for Invalid shortcuts
Search from your local computer or from remote computers
*The LAN Tool
Run programs on remote computers
Send messages
Chat
Control remote computers (Shut down, reboot, log off etc.)
Remote task manager
This was written by a 19 year old member of the Finnish Army
- don=92t know why I mentioned that except I found it interesting.
The usual warning with this type of tool =96 it can IRREVOCABLY AND
TOTALLY hose your system. If you decide to use it =96 be careful!
##################################
Program: Shooting Star
Version and Date: 2.1.55 1/31/2002
Author: FooDog Software
Web Site
http://www.foodogsoftware.com/download.htm
License: Shareware ($49.95)
Rating: 5 Geezers
I was hesitant to recommend an auction management program,
but I know how much time I personally spent making a decision and
thought some of you may need a program like this. Shooting Star is
strictly for Ebay, so if you need Yahoo Auctions, etc. look elsewhere).
However, if you sell and buy on Ebay, give this a try. Make no mistake =
=96
there is a substantial time commitment involved in setting up and
learning the program.
Shooting Star uses a workflow system to effectively move
your auctions from start to finish. Tracking each stage of an auction is
tedious, at best, by hand. Shooting Star makes it simple. While the
process is mechanical, you can add the personal touch all along the way.
I have a personal prejudice against online, pay per use programs like
many of those available for Ebay. I find the one-time fee of $49.95 very
reasonable. ##################################
Program: Clipmate
Version and Date: 5.3.09 11/20/2001
Author: Thornsoft Development Inc.
Web Site
http://www.thornsoft.com/download.asp
License: Shareware ($20)
Rating: 4 Geezers
I=92ve probably looked at more clipboard managers than anyone
in the world (ok probably an overstatement, but I=92ve seen a lot). I =
copy
and paste a large amount of text, but my needs are very simple =96 just
choose a clip and paste it. The selection screen needs to stay on top
and not take up too much space. I was real happy with Clipboard Magic
until I moved to 2000 and XP. It no longer was the stable program I used
for so long and the authors don=92t seem interested in updating it. If =
you
still run 98, you should check it out here =96 works great and it=92s =
free.
http://www.cyber-matrix.com/clipmag.htm
Clipmate has been around for a long time and is probably the best known
of the genre. I do like the new spell check, since the editor in
Shooting Star does not have a spell checker. It is very configurable and
you can customize it to the way you work.
Rather than working with one piece of clipboard data at a
time, Clipmate enhances the clipboard functionality by remembering all
items (both text and graphic) that are copied to the clipboard and
storing them in "collections" for later pasting.
##################################
This Month=92s Light Recipe
Gotta eat, don=92t ya?
Shrimp, Asparagus, and Penne Pasta (from Cooking Light magazine).
(Broccoli and chicken could be substituted for the shrimp and
asparagus.)
1 c. uncooked penne (tube-shaped pasta)
1 T. olive oil
2 c. (1-inch) sliced asparagus (about =BC pound)
=BD c. chopped onion
1 tsp. bottled minced garlic
=BD lb. peeled and deveined medium shrimp (We buy the frozen shrimp =
from
Sam=92s Club. =BD tsp. dried oregano =BC tsp. crushed red pepper (If =
you
want a milder taste use 1/8 tsp.) 1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes with
basil, garlic and oregano, undrained =BC c. (1 oz.) pre-shredded fresh
Parmesan cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt
and fat, drain.
While pasta cooks, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add asparagus, onion, garlic, and shrimp, saut=E9 for 5 minutes. Add
oregano, pepper, and tomatoes, cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or
until thoroughly heated. Stir in cooked pasta; sprinkle with cheese.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1=BC cp.).
Final Thought:
Mama always told me to always say something nice,
so let=92s just say she was barely pretty.
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
Steve Mills currently does clerical work with a search engine consulting
firm and has been reviewing software in different capacities for many
years.
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(16.) HAL'S HARDWARE HAVEN
~~Hal Cardon, PC Sleuth
MOTHERBOARDS AND PROCESSORS
Hello,
Sorry I was unable to write a column last month. I was
snowed under by some emergency network problems at a
client's site. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the holidays and received a
few new geek toys as gifts.
This month's column is about matching a modern motherboard
and processor to your needs. The motherboard and processor
help determine what you can accomplish with your computer.
I am not going to be covering older technology (ancient in the computer
industry) like socket 7.
I'll be covering quite a few topics in this article, all the things I
mention need to be considered when you are choosing which processor and
motherboard you are going to use in your new PC. Your processor choice
will determine your motherboard choices, which will in turn determine
your RAM choices.
Processors
Let's start by talking about processors. Processors or CPUs (Central
Processing Unit) are the part of your computer that manipulates your
data. Right now there are 2 main brands of processors on the PC market:
AMD and Intel. Intel manufacturers CPUs under the names of Xeon,
Itanium, Pentium and Celeron. AMD makes processors under the names of
Athlon and Duron.
There are a couple of differences between Intel and AMD processors. Both
manufacturers have added some extensions to the basic x86 chip
architecture. AMD has added 3DNow and Intel has added SSE. There is more
than one version of both 3DNow and SSE. AMD has added Intel's original
SSE instructions to its latest Athlon XP+ line.
Intel
Intel's Xeon chip is designed with lots of cache for servers and
workstations. It is also designed to be used in multiprocessor systems.
The Itanium chip is a new 64 bit design for high end workstations and
servers. I have to say though that every time Intel releases a new chip
it is "designed for servers and workstations", but it doesn't take long
for the new chips to be used in desktop machines.
The Pentium 4 chip is Intel's latest entry into the desktop market.
Intel made some interesting trade offs in designing the Pentium 4 chip,
the end result of this is that a Pentium 4 is slower at standard office
tasks than a Pentium III running at the same clock speed. Until
recently, the Pentium 4 has only been available with Rambus memory; it
is now possible to use both SDRAM and DDR RAM with Pentium 4 chips. DDR
Ram seems to offer the best value for cost versus performance for a
Pentium 4 currently.
The Celeron is Intel's low end offering. Celerons are available at lower
clock speeds and with slower front side bus speeds than Pentium 4s.
Celerons do not have as much performance enhancing cache as a Pentium 4.
AMD
The Athlon on XP+ is AMD's latest offering. With the new
Athlon XP+, AMD has chosen not to sell their chips based on pure MHZ and
is instead using a speed rating system to let consumers know roughly how
their chips perform compared to Intel's Pentium 4 line. In general you
can expect an Athlon XP 2000+ (running at 1670 MHz) to perform most
tasks as fast or faster than an Intel Pentium 4 2 Ghz. Athlons are also
less expensive than the equivalent Pentium 4.
The Duron is AMD's low end offering that competes with
Intel's Celeron. Durons are available at lower clock speeds
and don't have as much cache as an Athlon.
Motherboard Features
Socket or slot type
The type of processor you choose will help determine the
type of socket or slot your mother board requires.
Current AMD chips use a 362 pin Socket called Socket A.
Both Athlons and Durons use Socket A Motherboards.
The Intel Pentium 4 can use either a 423 pin socket or the
new 478 pin Socket N. Celerons use the older 370 pin socket.
Memory slots and type
There are three types of commonly available memory today
SDRAM, DDR RAM and Rambus RAM. Rambus RAM is only
used in Intel Pentium 3 and Pentium 4 systems. In fact, to combat the
cost premium for RAMBUS memory, Intel recently released the 845 chipset
which allows the Pentium 4 to run with either DDR or SDRAM. In my
opinion the best value for RAM is DDR RAM; it is fast and relatively
inexpensive.
Available card slots ISA/PCI/AGP
Motherboards have slots which you can use to add peripherals
to your computer the basic slots are ISA, PCI and AGP. Which types of
slots you need on your motherboard is determined by the add-in cards you
wish to use.
Form factor ATX/MATX
There are currently 2 basic motherboard formats currently
in use in the computer industry. The difference between the formats is
basically size. MATX stands for Micro ATX.
The ATX is a full size mother board usually with an AGP slot and four to
six PCI slots.
MATX boards are smaller versions of ATX boards. They tend
to have more integrated peripherals and fewer PCI slots and
may not include an AGP slot. Some motherboards (both ATC
and MATX) include AMR or CNR slots for adding low end sound/modem and
networking to the motherboard, but they usually aren't worth using.
Chipset
The chipset determines how the motherboard connects with
your peripherals, processor and memory. The chipset is
integral to how your computer works, some chipset
manufacturers are Intel, AMD, VIA and SIS. The chipset determines what
kind of processor, memory and the types of expansion slots your mother
board can contain. Chipsets from various manufacturers have their own
strengths and weaknesses which vary for each chipset they produce.
Integrated peripherals
Integrated peripherals cover a lot of items that can be on
your motherboard. The things you need to pay attention to
are the number of USB ports, Parallel (printer) ports, Serial ports, and
IDE connectors. Most motherboards come with 4 USB ports, 1 Parallel
port, 2 Serial ports, 2 IDE connectors and PS2 mouse and Keyboard
connectors. Some boards may offer more USB ports, only 1 Serial port and
even an additional IDE controller that can handle setting hard drives up
in a RAID array.
In my opinion, integrated audio, video and networking aren't worth the
time or effort to set them up. I feel that using a separate video card
sound card and network interface card is a much better idea. By using
separate components you can choose which components to use, making sure
that they will perform the way you want them to. If you will be using
your computer for gaming, video editing or even digital photography, you
will be much better off avoiding integrated audio or video components.
More Information
I recommend that you spend some time reading and learning
about the components that interest you. Some good places to find
information are www.anandtech.com and www.tomshardware.com. Other good
sources of information are Usenet newsgroups and various forums like the
Yahoo's groups. You should remember though, that most people that post
in a newsgroup or a forum are having a problem, therefore take the
issues you read about with a grain of salt.
I hope you enjoyed this month's article. As always if you
have any comments or ideas for new articles, please let me
know via e-mail abcomputer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
I need to say that this is not an offer to provide free technical
support, if you need help with your computer, I recommend trying Yahoo
Groups. There are groups covering just every topic.
Some good groups are:
Vic's WinTips Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WinTips-Tricks/
and Linda's MS Office Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MicrosoftOffice/
and my WinXPHelp group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WinXPHelp/
Have fun and I'll see you next month!
***********************************************************
***********************************************************
Hal Cardona, PC Sleuth, serves as tech support and/or offsite Sys Admin
for over 200 clients around the US. He designs, builds, and
troubleshoots networks and builds custom computer systems.
http://www.pcsleuth.com
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(17.) OUTLOOK EXPRESS TIP
~~PCTechTalk's Guitar Man
HIDING EMAIL ADDRESSES USING BCC
This month, I'd like to discuss an issue that drives most of
us nuts. Chain letter emails. Now, before you start thinking that I'm
gonna spend this time telling you how bad this practice is, take heart.
I'm actually here to help by showing you how to best keep your friend's
email addresses hidden from the other folks to whom you decide to send
these messages.
One of the worse by-products of these messages is the fact
that it exposes everyone's email address to everyone else who receives a
copy of the message. This is not good for their privacy, especially if
the message you're sending contains any sort of racist or sex-related
jokes/topics (the morals of which are well beyond the scope of this
tip). It's even possible that it could get them in some sort of trouble
if word gets back to their co-workers, boss, wife, husband, kids, etc.
In order to minimize this possibility, here's how to hide ALL of the
email addresses. Open up a new message (or click on the Forward button
while viewing something you'd like to send to several people at once).
At the top of the window, click on View and then click on the All
Headers listing (only if it's not already checked). This will bring up a
new address field called Bcc: (which stands for Blind Carbon Copy). If
you click directly on the Bcc: button, you'll see a list of everyone in
your contact list (Address Book) and you can simply double click on
those whom you wish to forward the messages you send. They will
automatically be added to the list when you finally click on the OK
button at the bottom of that window. The message will be sent to
everyone listed under that field, but they will not get to see anyone
else's email address. In fact, they will not even see their own. This is
the proper way to handle sending messages to multiple recipients.
Now, while I may have directed this tip to folks who forward chain
letter emails, it also applies to anyone wishing to send any type of
message to more than one person at a time. Most people value their
online anonymity. Help them preserve it by hiding their email addresses
from others.
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
G Man runs a free, 24-hour-a-day email tech list where you
can submit any questions you have about computer hardware
& software. You can request fixes for specific problems
you're having with your computer or just sit back and learn from the
conversations of the other members. This list truly caters to newbies
and nerds alike, so you can be assured that your questions will be taken
seriously. To join, either click on this
link:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PCTechTalk
or send a blank email to PCTechTalk-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The group's motto of "The only dumb questions are the ones that are
never asked" reflects GMan's philosophy that ALL questions are important
and they he sure does treat them that way. Also, if you've ever been a
member of an email list, you'll appreciate that this list's moderators
do not allow Spamming, flaming, cursing, etc. To sign up, just send a
blank email message to PCTechTalk-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(18.) SPAMMING THE INTERNET ~
Are you the next victim?
~~Debbie Solomon
When you hear the word SPAM, what comes to your mind?
Is the term worse than the meaning? This word SPAM has
been blown out of proportion. It is causing unbelievable hysteria on the
internet.
Many businesses are spending more and more time each day getting
frustrated, yelling at the SPAMmers, and reporting the SPAMmers. -Is it
really worth it? -Is there a way OUT?
Unfortunately we will never get rid of SPAM. It is like getting rid of
the junk mail in your mailbox. It is always there. You can bank on it
almost everyday. It is the same way with SPAM. As long as you have any
kind of existence online, your email box will be littered with SPAM.
There is a way to cut a lot of it out though. Ever since I got my new
email server, I have had very little SPAM in my email box. Sure I get
one or two a day, but it is not like it used to be.
So, HOW do we get rid of so much SPAM mail?
The biggest culprit of Spam is FFA LINK pages. Now, I know
many people feel that since they agreed to receive this junk mail in
exchange for placing their link that it is not SPAM. Well, SPAM is
basically unwanted EMAIL. Do you WANT to receive all these emails?
Many business who host an FFA LINK page do it for one
reason and one reason only - FOR YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!
I am not saying ALL FFA Link pages do this, but MOST of
them do. If you submit to FFA LINK pages, you can be
guaranteed at least 100 emails a day. And then all the follow-up emails
after that, so it is never-ending. You will be automatically subscribed
to ezines and newsletters, which you never personally subscribed to. But
somewhere on the FFA page in real small writing is your agreement. In
fact, a lot of these newsletters even put on top of their publication
that you have agreed to receive this newsletter by subscribing,
corresponding with them, or placing your LINK on their FFA page.
Of course the owners of FFA Pages will not agree with me.
But, if you want complete honesty,
*you will not increase traffic to your site.
*you will not reach thousands and millions of people to view your ad.
*you will not even be able to keep your link there for more than one
day. (and that is good for FFA pages. Normally you are off within
hours).
So WHY post to FFA sites when you are off of them in hours
or a day?
So WHY post to FFA sites when your email box is flooded
with Emails?
So WHY post to FFA sites to gain exposure when all you get
is hundreds of emails selling their product?
Don't you want people to read about YOUR product?
Don't you want people to see YOUR link?
Don't you want people emailing you about YOUR product?
FFA LINK pages do you more harm than good. The time and
energy you spend at posting to these links, could be time and energy
spent on doing something productive for your business. These pages are
there only to get your email address. Many of these pages have members
who pay to get your email address and SPAM you. These are called,
"Opt-In email Lists for SALE, or for RENT". That is where many of these
companies get their addresses. Don't get me wrong, I am sure there are
legit ones out there, but they are few and far between.
People who do post to FFA LINKS will never read all the junk mail in
their in-box, they just delete it. So what is the point? It is like a
cat and mouse game that will never end. So, is that what you really
want? Because it does not stop there. Your email address is added to
SPAM databases, and posted to opt-in mailing lists (real "opt-in",
huh?). NOW, your email address is a pawn for SPAMmers. Every piece of
software for harvesting email addresses will grab yours, and now your
email address is for sale everywhere.
Do yourself a favor.... There are so many ways to do productive
advertising. Stay away from FFA LINKS. You will make NO money, and you
will be a VICTIM of constant SPAM. You will NEVER see a successful
business entrepreneur posting to FFA Sites. Ask them where to advertise;
they will tell you.
When I was a newbie, I submitted to every FFA link I could find. Gee,
submitting your link to hundreds of thousands of possible clients? And
for FREE? How could you go wrong? It was SO easy!
I would wake up the next morning with hundreds of emails in
my box. In my opinion, YES< it is SPAM! Because I DO NOT
WANT THEM! I posted to an FFA LINK page, that is all. I
HAD to agree to receive some emails, but not HUNDREDS!!!
That was the only way to get my link on the page! I was in for a rude
awakening. Not one thread of business came through and I could not
decipher what was JUNK MAIL, and what was business.
I literally had to get another email account. I do not touch FFA Pages,
and I get an average of a few SPAM mails a day. Everything else is
business. I love it! I will never totally get rid of SPAM. In fact, now
it is a pleasure, because I just reply with my AD. Anyone who does
business online is guaranteed to receive some. But if you want to get
rid of the hundreds of emails in your box, then STOP POSTING TO FFA
Pages! They are, in fact, the biggest culprit of SPAM.
Most successful businesses have learned to stay away from
FFA Pages. These practices are not part of a successful business. They
are part of a desperate ploy to make money without spending any.
Now, not everyone will agree with what I am saying, however, the facts
are in front of you. You decide whether you want to deal with all the
junk mail. I, for one, can say that it is a pleasure doing business
online, now that I do not have to wake up to hundreds of SPAMmers.
You can save yourself a lot of headaches by NOT falling
VICTIM to SPAMMERS!
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
Well, gang.....that's about it for this edition of ABC ~ All 'Bout
Computers. I sure hope you enjoyed it! If any of it was over your head
and you need some clarification from one of the Fleet, just send me an
email at ABComputers-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and I will pass it on to
them. Remember that they do this in their spare time on a voluntary
basis, so you might have to wait for an answer. To make all things work
more quickly, include as many details as you can in your email and make
your questions as specific as possible. Also, feel free to write to me
and let us know what you want the Fleet to teach you. This is YOUR
newsletter!
Happy computing, my friends!
Linda Johnson
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
ABComputers-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
**********************************************************
READ THIS CAREFULLY!
**********************************************************
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(20.) CONTACT INFORMATION
-------------------------------------
Routine Disclaimer: Although I make an effort to check out every
advertisement and link, I cannot assume responsibility for the actions
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provided at your own risk, it is always wise to back up your data before
editing.All advice given in this newsletter/ezine or at Linda's Computer
Stop is given with the best of intentions and should only be taken as a
suggestion and not a definite fix to a problem. ABC ~ All 'Bout
Computers and Linda's Computer Stop are the property of Linda F.
Johnson. The views expressed by readers or contributors are not
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right to deny inclusion of any contributions if she feels they could be
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READERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN COMPUTERS! Please help promote
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Thank you for reading "ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers".
(Copyright) 2001, 2002 - ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers, Linda F. Johnson,
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Thank you and I hope to continue to bring you a newsletter that you will
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Linda Johnson
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
ABComputers-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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