1.0 Quick Trick: Make A Quick-Launch Toolbar
2.0 Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Read Your Email...
3.0 Virtual Drives Make Folders Easy To Use
4.0 Humor: Don't Follow These Instructions
5.0 Dotcom Failures Produce Online Bargains
6.0 iShip.Com: Your Internet Shipping Dept.
7.0 Windows Shutdown Troubleshooter
8.0 Toshiba Pentium II/266 mHz Notebook -- $795
9.0 Jigsaw Puzzle: Giant Panda
10.0 Subscribe/Unsubscribe/Suggest/Search/Etc.
EBAY -- AUCTIONING EVERYTHING IMAGINABLE!
Didn't find that vintage LP in a dozen downtown stores? Did you try eBay?
Couldn't sell that brooch at the flea market? Did you try eBay?
eBay, the world's online marketplace. Click below and try it now.
1.0 QUICK TRICK: MAKE A QUICK-LAUNCH TOOLBAR
Suppose you're reading your favorite email newsletter, and you find an article -- like this one <gr> -- you'd like to copy for reference. Can you get to your text editor or word processor quickly? You can if its icon appears in a quick- launch, auto-hide toolbar. Here's how to make one in Windows 98/ME:
DESKTOP FOLDER. Start by creating a new folder on your desktop. (Right click on an empty space and from the pop-up context menu select New then Folder.) You might name it Launch Menu.
SELECT PROGRAMS. Now fill the folder with shortcuts to your favorite programs. You can do that in several ways. The easiest is drag items from the Start Menu (while pressing the CTRL key) and drop them on the new folder. Alternatively, you can copy Start Menu shortcuts (right-click, select Copy) and paste them into the folder (right-click, select Paste). Experienced users might elect to use Create Shortcut from the new folder's context menu.
NOW FOR THE MAGIC. Drag your goodie-filled folder to the left, right, or top edge of the Desktop and drop it. Voila! A toolbar emerges.
SEASON TO TASTE. Right-click on the new toolbar and customize as desired. You can View large or small icons, Show Text titles or hide them, Show Title of the toolbar or not. To make the toolbar accessible from within a running program, select Always on Top and Auto-Hide. That sets it to pop up when you move your mouse to the edge of the Desktop.
FINAL TOUCHES. The width of the toolbar is up to you. Resize it with your mouse by dragging its inside edge. A toolbar with no text or title using small icons can neatly accommodate 40-60 shortcuts. If you decide to remove the toolbar, select Close from its context menu.
TOOLBAR VS SYSTEM TRAY. As the old-timers put it, "the beauty part" of a quick-launch toolbar is that the icons are readily at hand (one click to launch), but they use no system resources. In contrast, the icons in the System Tray (next to the clock) all use memory better allocated to running open programs. If a tray icon isn't essential, run MSCONFIG to remove it, then replace it with an icon in a new toolbar or the one next to Start.
FEATURED FORUM: THE PC FORUM (COMPUTER PROBLEMS)
The PC Forum is your place to talk about computer problems.
It's the place to share information, ask questions, and express opinions about personal computing from hardware to websites, from software to repairs.
The PC Forum is hosted by SERVENET.COM and sponsored by Installations Plus+.
The PC FORUM for help with computer problems.
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20pcforum
2.0 JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO READ YOUR EMAIL...
Until recently, most of your email arrived as plain text. No colors, no font variations, no animated images, and no sounds. And, more importantly, no silent return receipts, no email wiretapping, and no viruses.
MADISON AVE GOES FOR HTML EMAIL. All that's changed with the recent explosion of HTML mail, or email formatted with the language used to produce webpages. Colorful, lively, and interactive, HTML mail is particularly favored by email marketers.
But there's another reason, aside from getting your attention, that makes marketers like it. It can tell them when you open their email, and if you forward it, may provide your comments and the email addresses of your correspondents.
WEB BUG OR WIRETAPPING? Unlike plain text email, HTML email can include instructions written in JavaScript. Normally, JavaScript is used to generate pop-up windows, check forms, and aid in webpage navigation.
A JavaScript instruction, dubbed a Web bug, is widely used by web marketers to determine whether an email has been read. An elaboration of the Web bug could also send back your comments if you forward the email in its entirety, as many do. That's email wiretapping says the Privacy Foundation, an Internet watchdog group associated with the University of Denver.
PRIVACY FOUNDATION PUBICIZES WEB BUGS. Carl Voth, an engineer in British Columbia, discovered the potential Web bug problem and reported it to the Privacy Foundation, which publicized it this week.
The problem could affect users of Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express and Netscape Messenger 6, but not those who use Eudora, America Online's e- mail program, or Web-based email, such as Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail.
HOW TO WEED OUT WEB BUGS. Since Web bugs are written in JavaScript, you can exterminate them completely by turning it off in your email client. The Privacy Foundation details the procedure on their website. The Foundation is also calling on manufacturers to furnish email software with JavaScript turned off by default. (New copies of Outlook Express ship with JavaScript disabled.)
MUCH ADO. Although Web bugs are widely used to furnish "return receipts" -- a feature also built in to some email services, such as AOL's -- there is no evidence that they have been used yet for so-called email wiretapping. Perhaps publicizing the danger will lessen the chances of its happening; perhaps the reverse, or worse. Maybe your employer will start sending "bugged" emails to find out what you're really thinking! Or some miscreant will realize it's possible to write a virus in JavaScript. Ouch!
OUR SUGGESTION. Remember your mother's advice not to talk to strangers (or open their email), and Joseph Kennedy's not to write down anything you wouldn't like to see on the front page of the newspaper. Whenever you connect to the Internet, whether to browse a webpage, read or send email, play a game, or download music, you open yourself to two-way communication. In other words, there is NO privacy unless you stay off the Internet. Our advice: virus-check everything and don't open, read, or write anything you don't want shared. It's a jungle out there.
The Privacy Foundation
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20privacy
How to turn off JavaScript in email
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20javakill
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://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20lookup
3.0 VIRTUAL DRIVES MAKE FOLDERS EASY TO USE
Every hard drive is populated with thousands of folders -- directories and subdirectories. A few are used so often that Windows includes special ways to access them. My Documents appears as a Desktop shortcut; Favorites is available from the Start Menu.
DIRECTDRIVE FOR EASY ACCESS. Other folders cry out for easy access, but don't need to be on the Desktop or Start Menu. That's where DirectDrive from EGE Software comes in. It assigns virtual drive letters to folders on your hard drive.
Windows uses the letters of the alphabet -- A-Z -- to designate drives, and has already used A-D for physical drives (floppy, hard disk, CD-ROM, etc.) on most PCs. That leaves about twenty letters that DirectDrive can assign to folders.
LONG FOLDER NAMES BECOME LETTERS. A folder buried several levels deep, e.g., MyDocuments\Administrative\Time Sheets\PartTimers, can be designated virtual drive, T. The folder where you store downloaded software, K. Your password folder, P. The virtual driver letters will appear in Windows Explorer. They can be opened by typing the letter in the Start/Run box; easily sub-divided; separately scanned for viruses, backed-up, zipped up, etc.
DOS DEJA VU. Veterans of the days of DOS are experiencing extreme deja vu about now. Yes, old buddy, virtual drive letters were assigned in DOS using the SUBST command. In fact, that's how DirectDrive accomplishes its magic today. It just makes it easy and foolproof for the rest of us, who don't know a command line from a conga line.
DirectDrive is available FREE and needs a PC with a Pentium processor running Windows 95/98/NT/2000. It will NOT work with Windows Millennium, which doesn't include an accessible DOS substrate.
DirectDrive
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20ddrive
4.0 HUMOR: DON'T FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS
* On a blanket from Taiwan --
Not to be used as protection from a tornado.
* On shampoo from Taiwan --
Use repeatedly for severe damage.
* On the bottle-top of a flavored milk drink made in the U.K. --
After opening, keep upright.
* On insect spray from New Zealand --
This product not tested on animals.
* In the setup guide for a U.S.-made computer --
To avoid condensation, allow the boxes to warm up to room temperature before opening. (The guide was packed inside the box.)
* On the bottom of overseas Coca-Cola bottles --
Open other end.
* On a Sears hairdryer --
Do not use while sleeping.
* On a bag of Fritos --
You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside.
* On a bar of Dial soap --
Directions. Use like regular soap.
* On Marks & Spencer bread pudding --
Product will be hot after heating.
* On a Christmas lights made in China --
For indoor or outdoor use only.
* On a food processor made in Japan --
Not to be used for the other use.
* On a nuts served on American Airlines --
Instructions. Open packet, eat nuts.
WEBSITES FOR REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS
Ready to join the Internet explosion? Let our experts build a website for your real estate related business. Call or write today for a quote.
Want to see a sample of our work? Check out the site we built recently for Property Watchers, an innovative real estate company in Westchester.
Property Watchers helps sellers market their home, buyers select the right home, and owners manage their property.
Call 1-212-567-3705 mailto:info@servenet.com
5.0 DOTCOM FAILURES PRODUCE ONLINE BARGAINS
Failed and struggling dotcoms create dark and gloomy ghost sites, but also generate some great bargains for consumers.
Some sites, like eToys.com, which said this week it would close on April 6, are conducting their own store-wide clearance sales. Others, like Pets.com, Mothernature.com, Miadora.com and Gear.com turn to outsiders to liquidate their merchandise.
ONLINE LIQUIDATORS. Bargains abound at online merchants, Overstock.com and SmartBargains.com, which specialize in distressed merchandise. Overstock.com sells mostly closeouts from failed e-tailers; SmartBargains.com handles overstocks from manufacturers like Brookstone and Gardener's Eden. Both build consumer loyalty by selling brand-name merchandise, shipping cheaply, and providing superior customer service.
HUGE SAVINGS. Overstock.com reports its average price is almost 60% below retail, and 10% below wholesale. That represents a lot of savings, which brings to mind a cautionary one-liner attributed to Rodney Dangerfield. He said his wife saved him so much money the first year they were married, he nearly went bankrupt.
CHECK PRICES. Remember, it's not the size of the savings that count in the long run. It's the price. Before going on a shopping spree at Overstock.com or SmartBargains.com, check prices with mySimon.com or another price comparison website.
eToys.com
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20etoy
Overstock.com
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20ostock
SmartBargains.com
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20sbargains
mySimon.com
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20mysimon
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+.
6.0 ISHIP.COM: YOUR INTERNET SHIPPING DEPT.
Shipping that lamp to Aunt Ida, but need to research the best way to ship and the price? Need to price and track shipments for your small business? Or do you run online auctions and need an easy way to provide shipping estimates to buyers? If you answered "yes" to any or all of the above, it's time you got to know iShip.com. Despite it's name, iShip doesn't ship anything, but rather provides shipping estimates and package tracking.
PRICING SHIPMENTS. iShip has just become a part of Stamps.com, the company you know for its pioneering efforts in Internet postage. iShip makes pricing a shipment as easy as supplying the package size, weight, destination, and desired insurance. You can price Airborne Express, FedEx, UPS, and United States Postal Service shipments using several popular drop-off or pick-up options. It takes about a minute to fill in the form, and a few seconds for iShip to return a chart showing the carriers, delivery dates, and rates for your package. No hassle; no charge.
TRACKING. Once your package is on its way, you can use iShip's software to track packages shipped with the carriers above plus DHL and Yellow trucking. (Need more carriers? The FREE Look-Up Center at Installations Plus+ tracks 13.)
AUCTION ESTIMATES. To provide shipping estimates for online auctions, the seller fills out a form like the one described above. iShip returns a hyperlink that the seller pastes into the auction description. When the buyer clicks on the link and provides delivery details (zip code, insurance, tracking, etc.), iShip provides the cost estimate.
In case you're wondering, iShip makes its money selling "shipping solutions" to large corporations (Enterprise). The tools we've described are teasers to get folks coming back to their website to browse their offerings. Gather those teasers whilst thee may.
iShip.com
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20iship
Stamps.com
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20stamps
The FREE Look-Up Center at Installations Plus+
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20lookup
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.
7.0 WINDOWS SHUTDOWN TROUBLESHOOTER
Most Windows PCs have no trouble shutting down. Some get stuck at the "Windows is shutting down" screen. But a few refuse to shut down short of pulling the power plug.
ONE SOLUTION -- A WORKAROUND. Shutdown problems generally occur because of software/hardware conflicts that require skill and patience to resolve. Instead of working through them, you might want to work around them. In the past, we've recommended Active ShutDown, a small, FREE program that often shuts down the PC when Windows can't.
Dell takes this approach, shipping some of its PCs with a small program similar to Active ShutDown. The downside of the workaround is that it uses resources that might be needed to run other programs.
ANOTHER APPROACH -- TROUBLESHOOTING. For those with the time, patience, and an intermediate level of skill, there's another approach. Jim Eshelman has compiled an excellent resource, The Windows Shutdown Troubleshooter. It aims to solve the problem instead of working around it.
Jim's troubleshooting webpage is a detailed fifteen-step guide that helps you solve the solvable. (Sorry folks, some PC problems are truly intractable.) Kudos to Jim for a job well done!
Active ShutDown
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20shutdown
Windows Shutdown Troubleshooter
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20shutshoot
8.0 TOSHIBA PENTIUM II/266 MHZ NOTEBOOK -- $795
Didn't get one for the holidays? You can still get a Toshiba Tecra 550CDT notebook for yourself, now at a NEW low price. This small (11.8 X 9.1 X 1.9 in), sleek, factory-refurbished laptop has Windows 98 Second Edition installed with an original license (installation media are included).
The notebook has a Pentium II/266 mHz CPU, 512 kB pipelined Level 2 cache, and 64 Mb of RAM expandable to 144. There's a 4 Gb hard drive, a 20X CD-ROM and an external 1.44 mB floppy disk drive.
The motherboard uses PCI architecture, includes a Yamaha OPL3 sound system driving built-in stereo speakers, and supports Two Type-II or one Type-III PCMCIA slots. A built-in S3 Virge video card with 4 Mb synchronous graphics RAM drives the 12.1 inch active matrix TFT display at resolutions up to 1024 x 768 (16 million colors).
This Internet-ready notebook includes a v.90 56 kbs data/fax/voice modem with DSVD that has v.34 and v.80 support for video conferencing. USB, serial, printer, PS/2 and external monitor ports are provided.
The price for the 7-lb Tecra 550CDT laptop is $795, plus shipping, and tax where applicable. PayPal, M/C, Visa. Limited time offer. Hurry! Just a few left. U.S. orders only please. The warranty is 90 days on the notebook and on the Lithium-Ion battery, which is guaranteed to hold a charge for 30 minutes.
Call 1-212-567-3705 mailto:specials@servenet.com
9.0 JIGSAW PUZZLE: GIANT PANDA
Native to China, the giant panda delights children of all ages. Our panda was captured (on film) at the San Diego zoo, and will engage you in a puzzle of 40 rotated pieces. We used Tibo Software's Jigs@w Puzzle program to make the puzzle, which downloads in 46 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).
Panda Puzzle
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20panda
San Diego Zoo
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20zoo
Jigs@w Puzzle
http://servenet.com/go/to.cgi?l=20tibo
PUT IT IN WRITING: HOW TO WRITE A MEMO
In another life and time, I was asked to teach my company's salesmanagers to write a memo. I wrote them a memo.
"How to write a memo" applies to anyone who needs to learn to communicate in writing, not just folks who sell for a living.
It's a fun read. Give it a try.
10.0 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
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