0.0 Icon Sucker: Extract Windows Icons
1.0 Quick AOL Tip: Eliminating Popups
2.0 Mail Warrior: Fast, Efficient Email Software
3.0 Want To Talk? We've Got A Forum For You!
4.0 Quick Look: Alternative Browser -- Enigma
5.0 Websites For Non-Profit Organizations
6.0 Quick Trick: Resolving Hardware Conflicts
7.0 Book: Protecting Your Privacy On The Internet
8.0 Monitor Your Favorite Websites For Changes
9.0 Humor: Signs Of The Times
10.0 Keyboard Shortcuts And Windows Accessibility
11.0 Jigsaw Puzzle: Seashell
12.0 Your Clicks Keep Us Free: Visit Our Sponsors
13.0 Subscribe/Unsubscribe/Suggest/Search/Etc.
0.0 ICON SUCKER: EXTRACT WINDOWS ICONS
Okay. Let's not have any snide comments about the name. Icon Sucker from Cropsey Strain, Inc. is the second edition of an award-winning application that extracts icons from virtually any Windows file or library.
If you're wondering "Why bother?" you should pass up this review. The fascination of icons is as longstanding as graphical user interfaces, and as self-evident as a pearl in an oyster. You extract them 'cause they're there.
That said, Icon Sucker is a poor man's tool. It neatly removes 16 and 32 bit icons from 16 square pixels to 48 square, in up to 256 colors. But larger icons with more colors escape it. Icon Sucker converts its booty to *.ICO files or Windows *.BMP files, but there's no provision for editing or transparent backgrounds. Naturally, a PRO version does more and it's only $10.
But the true treasure of iconography, and we use the term loosely, is an application called Microangelo, which extracts, edits, creates, saves, browses, and makes icon libraries. But that's for another day and another dollar. Well about $60, forsooth.
Icon Sucker
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18icons
Microangelo 5
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18angelo
HEAVY SMOKER? WANT TO QUIT? HERE'S HOW!
No cost, no gimmicks, no drugs. Just a proven behavioral method that helps the heavy smoker quit and not want to smoke again. Written by an ex-smoker and based on sound psychophysiological principles, How to Stop Smoking is a WannaLearn.com Selected Instructional Site.
1.0 QUICK AOL TIP: ELIMINATING POPUPS
We have no quarrel with advertising. Many Internet publications, websites, and services are advertiser-supported. In fact, when you use our links (in the Sponsors section below) to visit Amazon.com, eBay, Dell computer, and Storerunner.com, you help keep us FREE.
AOL POPUPS ON BY DEFAULT. America OnLine (AOL) also uses advertising, in their case to augment income from subscribers. We have no quarrel with that either. What's annoying to many are the ads that pop up at the beginning of a new session. These popup screens are turned on by default except for non-adult screennames.
DO THIS TO END POPUPS. You can turn off the popups in AOL 6.0 by selecting Settings from the top menu; in AOL 5.0, select My AOL. Next select Preferences, then Marketing. There you'll find a menu to enable/disable snail mail from AOL and affiliates, email and telephone calls from AOL, and -- here it is -- popups.
Drop in and opt out if you're among the AOLers who prefer ads in more discreet doses.
2.0 MAIL WARRIOR: FAST, EFFICIENT EMAIL SOFTWARE
We know what college student Alex Kaufman did over the holidays. He worked on Mail Warrior, his small, efficient email software, releasing version 3.61 on 1/11.
 SMALL BUT FULL-FEATURED. Mail Warrior is small -- it fits easily on a single 1.44 mB floppy disk -- and very fast. This week's Best Choice Award winner, it has many of the features you'd expect only in "pro" version software, such as filters, signatures, spell-checking, and the ability to handle multiple email accounts. The only well- behaved software with more features is Qualcomm's Eudora Pro -- the gold standard. (BTW: Eudora is now available FREE in an advertising-supported mode.)
MAIL BOMB PROTECTION. Missing from Eudora, however, is our favorite Mail Warrior feature -- mail preview. The preview window lets you see what's on the server, delete what you don't want and download the rest. Used with the filter that blocks automatic downloading of oversize emails, this feature defuses virtually all "mail bombs."
MORE AND SAFER THAN OUTLOOK. Mail Warrior has more user settings and configuration options than Microsoft's Outlook Express, but unlike Outlook, doesn't include a newsreader. (Kaufman offers Pravda, a stand-alone reader.) More importantly, since it doesn't use VB/Java script code like Outlook, Mail Warrior isn't affected by Melissa- class viruses.
IT'S ENCOURAGE-WARE. Mail Warrior is for folks with a standard POP3 email account and for Hotmail users who transfer mail via the FREE Pop3Hot Transfer Agent. Mail Warrior is FREE to use for 30 days. After that encourage Alex to continue working on his super product with a suggested registration of $25.
Kaufman Mail Warrior
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18mw361
Eudora Pro
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18eudora
Outlook Express
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18outlook
Pop3Hot eMail Transfer Agent
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18pop3hot
3.0 WANT TO TALK? WE'VE GOT A FORUM FOR YOU!
As a public service, SERVENET.COM hosts and moderates four online forums. You are welcome to participate in any or all of them.
* The PC FORUM for help with computer problems.
http://www.servenet.com/pcforum/
* The REAL ESTATE FORUM for buyers, sellers.
http://www.servenet.com/reforum/
* The OYSTER BAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY FORUM.
http://www.servenet.com/obhsforum
* The SHOP-TALK FORUM for things automotive.
http://www.servenet.com/shoptalk/
4.0 QUICK LOOK: ALTERNATIVE BROWSER -- ENIGMA
There is no lack of alternative browsers, but only a few qualify for serious consideration. (CNET has a comprehensive list with ratings and download links.) For speed, coupled with most wanted features, Opera (now in release 5.02) tops the list. For no frills speed, Enigma from Sutton Designs is worth a look.
INTERNET EXPLORER CLONE. Most alternative browsers are customized versions of the Microsoft or Netscape core browser. Opera isn't and Enigma says it's not, although it looks and feels like Microsoft's Internet Explorer. (If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, is it likely to be a lion in drag?)
Enigma is fast and, as advertised, has only essential features (forward, back, stop, refresh, home, favorites, etc.), except for two "extra" On/Off indicators. They report whether popups (JavaScript windows) and URL history are enabled. Therein lies Enigma's enigma. What for such indicators?
ENIGMA'S SHORTCOMINGS. It turns out that Enigma doesn't handle popups very well. With popups enabled, Enigma opens a new, graphically- challenged instance of itself, not the expected window. With popups disabled, it simply ignores the link. Very unfriendly!
Enigma's handling of the history of visited sites is also aberrant. With history enabled, it slowly and noisily checks the entire list whenever a URL is typed into the address field. With history disabled it opens new URLs with lightning speed.
CONTENDER, NOT CHAMP. Enigma is a fast, powerful contender for the lightweight championship, but it's a boxer with a glass jaw (popups) and cauliflower ear (history). Strangely, it wears a sign around its neck touting its handicaps!
Our take? Not yet ready for the wide world (the Internet), but a strong local favorite (Intranet), if popups and history don't matter.
CNET Browsers Website
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18cnet
Opera Browser
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18opera
Enigma Browser
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18enigma
5.0 WEBSITES FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
Ready to join the Internet explosion? Let our experts build a website for your club, church, society, community or charitable organization.
Want to see a sample of our work? Check out the site we built and maintain for the Oyster Bay Historical Society.
The WebShop at SERVENET.COM http://www.servenet.com/webshop
Call 1-212-567-3705 mailto:info@servenet.com
6.0 QUICK TRICK: RESOLVING HARDWARE CONFLICTS
Microsoft's support website houses a searchable database of articles called the Knowledge Base. Some of the articles are highly technical, some quite esoteric, but a few are truly useful gems.
Troubleshooting Hardware Conflicts with Device Manager is a gem to bookmark and have handy next time you install new hardware -- a scanner, Palm Pilot, digital camera, etc.
Troubleshooting Hardware Conflicts
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18mskb
7.0 BOOK: PROTECTING YOUR PRIVACY ON THE INTERNET
Using the Internet, like driving a car, has many benefits, but poses certain risks. Fortunately, web accidents are not likely to be fatal. But invasions of privacy from the trivial (unwanted email) to the profound (identity theft) are not uncommon.
AUTHORS ARE PRIVACY PIONEERS. Charles Jennings and Lori Fena, founders of the Internet watchdog group TRUSTe, offer some do's and don'ts of privacy on their website. They offer a full treatment (278 pages) in their new book, The Hundredth Window: Protecting Your Privacy and Security in the Age of the Internet. The third author, Esther Dyson, is known for her book, A Design for Living in the Digital Age.
Jennings and Fena, leaders in establishing Internet privacy standards, examine the daily risks of using email, browsing websites, shopping online, and using instant message and chat services. They suggest measures you can take and guidelines for evaluating a website's trustworthiness.
PRAGMATIC PRIVACY. Like looking both ways before entering an intersection, the authors' suggestions are sensible and easy to implement. Among them: using fake information when registering on websites; checking and deleting unwanted Internet cookies; using blocking software; and not volunteering information.
Their overall approach is equally pragmatic: practice privacy as a skill, like safe driving, and don't view it as an inalienable right. Their advice for website owners: build it for privacy and they will come.
The Hundredth Window -- published in June 2000 by the Free Press -- is an easy read and a must for anyone connected to the Internet. You can get a copy at your favorite bookstore or buy it here from Amazon.com for $20.80, a $5.20 (20%) saving.
TRUSTe
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18truste
The Hundredth Window
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18privacy
A Design for Living in the Digital Age
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18dyson
THE PC CLINIC AT INSTALLATIONS PLUS+
PC PROBLEMS? Help is just a mouse-click away! PC News Digest subscribers get priority treatment at the FREE personal computer clinic at Installations Plus+.
8.0 MONITOR YOUR FAVORITE WEBSITES FOR CHANGES
In a previous edition, we explained how to use Windows Active Desktop to track a website that you consult several times a day. This is a good technique for news, sports, and weather sites.
Another technique is preferable for infrequently changing sites that you might not want to view as Desktop "stickies". For example, you might want to know when a new picture was posted in your nephew's photo gallery, when your family name was mentioned on a genealogy message board, or when the latest issue of your favorite newsletter was published on the web (just a hint).
C4U, a small FREE application, checks websites on demand or at preset intervals. You can tell C4U which sites to check by importing your Internet Explorer favorites (not recommended unless your list is small), entering a URL, or asking it to add the site displayed in your browser.
You tell C4U what to check: text, images, links, email addresses, or keywords. C4U, which runs in the System Tray, flashes when a change is detected, and alerts you with highlighted hyperlinks. It works with any webpage, including those that require user identification.
WebTV users, who can't download programs, can sign up with web-based Mind-it for FREE tracking features similar to C4U's. For privacy sake, we prefer C4U when it's available.
Using Active Desktop To Track News, Weather
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18active
C4U
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18c4u
Mind-it
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18mindit
9.0 HUMOR: SIGNS OF THE TIMES
* You just tried to enter your password on the microwave.
* You haven't played solitaire with a real deck of cards in years.
* Your daughter sells Girl Scout Cookies on her website.
* You chat several times a day with an instant message pal from South Africa, but haven't spoken with your next-door neighbor in months.
* Your grandmother clogs your inbox with requests for JPEGs of your newborn so she can create a screen saver.
* Every TV commercial has a website address at the bottom of the screen.
* Your reason for not staying in touch with family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
* Your idea of being organized is multiple-colored Post-It notes.
* You hear most of your jokes via email instead of in person.
* You're reading this. Even worse, you're going to forward it to your "jokelist" buddies.
10.0 KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS AND WINDOWS ACCESSIBILITY
All Windows programs support navigation using a mouse or other pointing device. The best ones include a parallel scheme for keyboard navigation.
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS. If you have difficulty using a mouse, or if you just prefer typing to mousing, check out Microsoft's keyboard shortcuts site. It has shortcuts for Microsoft Access, Excel, Internet Explorer, Outlook, Windows, and Word.
The shortcuts site is part of a larger effort that Microsoft calls Accessibility Technology for Everyone. This site offers news, training, tips, tricks, and aids to make it easier to use Microsoft products.
ACCESSIBILITY TIPS. Some of the tips you may already know (CTRL+ESC opens the Start menu); some may be profoundly helpful (Windows 98 and later includes a magnifier that displays a magnified portion of your screen in a separate window). Others help software and website developers to produce universally usable products. Microsoft got it right when it dubbed this a site "for everyone."
Keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft programs
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18keycuts
Microsoft Accessibility Technology for Everyone
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18access
THE LOOK-UP CENTER AT INSTALLATIONS PLUS+
Scouring the web for basic information? Find what you need in one place for FREE! The Look-Up Center has telephone numbers by name, by address and reverse. Weather, stock quotes, dictionaries, quotations, package tracking, calories, currency conversion, maps, metric conversions, books, music, and more.
The FREE Look-Up Center at Installations Plus+
http://www.installationsplus.com/lookup
11.0 JIGSAW PUZZLE: SEASHELL
Rodolfo Cavalli photographed the Philippine Cornuta shell (a mollusk) featured in this week's Seashell puzzle. Cavalli's image appears on the Italian culture site, Thais.it. We used Tibo Software's Jigs@w Puzzle program to make the puzzle, which downloads in 43 seconds at 56.6 kb and plays in 12-20 minutes on Windows 95 or later PCs.
TIP. To rotate a puzzle piece 90 degrees: select, then right-click it.
P.S. You can download puzzles from earlier editions of the PC News Digest from our Puzzle Archive. You can also get a list of past puzzles with download links by sending an email to library@pcnewsdigest.com with the subject "send file puzzles" (no quotes).
Seashell Puzzle
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18seashell
Thais
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18thais
Jigs@w Puzzle
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=18tibo
12.0 YOUR CLICKS KEEP US FREE: VISIT OUR SPONSORS
13.0 SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE/SUGGEST/SEARCH/ETC.
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Copyright © 2000 Louis J. Bruno, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.
Written by Louis J. Bruno Edited by Judith Reinfeld
ICQ:101670502 AIM:LouisBruno
Produced in the WebShop at SERVENET.COM. Please report bad or changed links to the WebMaster. Last update: 1/23/2001.
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