PC NEWS DIGEST: September 26, 2000

PC computing, hardware, software, searching, closeouts, news, sites, web design, humor.

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The PC News Digest is brought to you by SERVENET.COM http://www.servenet.com
Websites -- PC Consulting -- Real Estate
1-212-567-3705 mailto:pcnews@servenet.com

0.0 SERVENET.COM Community of Forums
1.0 Translations with an Attitude!
2.0 Getting Around Error 404: Page Not Found
3.0 Fixing Screen Scratches on Laptops, Handhelds
4.0 Support Our Sponsor
5.0 Refurbished 400 MHz Compaq Presario -- $485
6.0 MS Internet Explorer 5.0 Fixes Itself
7.0 Do's and Don'ts for CD-Drives
8.0 Learning Website Design
9.0 Disabling Microsoft Office Find Fast
10.0 How Does Your Website Grow?
11.0 Administration

PC PROBLEMS?
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0.0 SERVENET.COM COMMUNITY OF FORUMS

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 on using computers. http://www.servenet.com/ipiboard/

• The REAL ESTATE FORUM for buyers, sellers. http://www.servenet.com/reforum/

• The OYSTER BAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY FORUM. http://www.servenet.com/obhistory/obhboard/

• The SHOP-TALK FORUM for things automotive. http://www.servenet.com/shoptalk/

1.0 TRANSLATIONS WITH AN ATTITUDE

The folks over at AltaVista introduced the Babel Fish, which provides rough and ready French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese translations for webpages and text. But you haven't seen anything until you've tried the Dialectizer.

This online translator, provided by RinkWorks, converts your text or webpage into Redneck, Jive, Cockney, Elmer Fudd, Swedish Chef, Moron, and Pig Latin! Like I said: "But yer 'aven't seen anyfink until yer've tried the bloomin' Dialectizer!"

AltaVista Translations
http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com/
The Dialectizer
http://www.rinkworks.com/dialect/

2.0 GETTING AROUND ERROR 404: PAGE NOT FOUND

Ever bookmark a website and revisit it several weeks later only to discover the page you marked is no longer available: Error 404 -- Page not Found? If the page has moved or been removed, you may still be able to retrieve a copy. Use the Google search engine. Enter "cache:URL" in the search box (without the quotes), where URL is the page you bookmarked. Google takes a snapshot of each page examined as it crawls the web and caches these as a back-up in case the original page is unavailable.

Google
http://www.google.com/

3.0 FIXING SCREEN SCRATCHES ON LAPTOPS, HANDHELDS

Scratches on the screen of your laptop can be annoying; on your handheld they can interfere with touchscreen input. Fortunately, a fix is as near as your local auto parts store. Apply ArmorAll liquid, or a clone, lightly; remove the excess and make sure none strays. Buff gently when dry with tissues or cotton balls. Be sure to test a small patch before applying ArmorAll to the full screen.

4.0 SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:

For websites that work -- the WebShop at SERVENET.COM

Ready to join the Internet explosion? Let our experts build a website for your business, school, club, or group. Call or write today for a quote.

Want to see a sample of our work? Check out the site we did recently for Arleen E. Goscinski, ASA, a Long Island, New York real estate appraiser.

Arleen E. Goscinski, ASA
http://www.houseappraisals.com/

The WebShop at SERVENET.COM http://www.servenet.com/webshop
Call 1-212-567-3705 mailto:info@servenet.com

5.0 REFURBISHED 400 MHZ COMPAQ PRESARIO
-- $485

Here's a Compaq PC hip enough to go to college, smart enough to work in the city, and cheap enough to justify a second computer at home.

Powered by an AMD K6-2 400 MHz processor, this refurbished desktop has 64 MB of RAM quickened by a 512 KB L2 cache. Housed in a sleek minitower case with dual USB ports, it has three drives: an Ultra DMA 12 GB hard drive, a DVD-ROM (2x DVD, 32X CD), and a 1.44 MB floppy diskette. Full motion video is supported by an ATI Rage LT Pro 4 MB AGP video card and an Aureal A3D 360-degree sound card. This Compaq Presario comes with a new mouse and keyboard and a 90-day warranty.

The price is $485 plus shipping and tax, where applicable. U.S. orders only please.

Call 1-212-567-3705 mailto:presario@servenet.com

6.0 MS INTERNET EXPLORER 5.0 FIXES ITSELF

Having problems with Internet Explorer version 5 or higher? A fix for problems resulting from faulty installation, missing, damaged or corrupt files is built right in! In Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs, then highlight the Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x entry. Now click on the Add/Remove... button. From the next dialog box, select Repair Internet Explorer and let the software fix itself (hopefully). Like any other installation, or re-installation, it's best to carry out these steps after a fresh boot or restart with all unessential programs shut down.

7.0 DO'S AND DON'TS FOR CD-DRIVES

Today, almost every PC includes a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or CD-RW (recorders or burners). These precautions will increase the life of your CD drive(s).

1. External drives should be powered off when not in use to reduce the flow of dust-carrying air through the unit.
2. For both internal and external models, turn off the computer or CD-device before dust-raising activities such as sweeping or vacuuming.
3. If you have an internal CD-drive, don't keep your computer on the floor.
4. If you have a CD-RW, play 74-minute audio CDs using random select and intro mode on a regular basis to ensure that the drive is consistently using the "full stroke" of its read/write head.
5. Don't place the PC in front of the window so that it and you can enjoy the sea breeze. More than one CD-drive has needed replacement after damage by crystallized salt!
6. Don't keep computers or CD-drives in the kitchen or other places where airborne contaminants could be drawn through the mechanism.
   
   
   

8.0 LEARNING WEBSITE DESIGN

Web page design and management is not rocket science, but there is more to it than just fancy word-processing.

If you're thinking about a personal homepage -- your photos, poems, links to favorite sites -- sign up with a major Internet Service Provider like AOL or AT&T WorldNet and use the tools (and space) that's free to subscribers.

For serious webbery, join the HTML Writers Guild (it's free) and use their comprehensive resources to teach yourself. Or sign up for fee-based online courses offered by Guild instructors.

Either way you'll want to pick up a copy of Web Design in a Nutshell: A Desktop Quick Reference by Jennifer Niederst, Richard Koman published by O'Reilly & Associates, 1998. This readable book uses the "nutshell" approach. It breaks website design into a number of small pieces and covers each simply but comprehensively.

HTML Writers Guild
http://www.hwg.org/

Web Design in a Nutshell
http://www.servenet.com/09262000.html

9.0 DISABLING MICROSOFT OFFICE FIND FAST

When you perform the typical Microsoft Office installation, a shortcut is added to the Startup group which runs Find Fast each time you start Windows. Find Fast indexes all the files on your hard drive and updates the index continuously as you work. Unfortunately, Find Fast not only reduces operating speed but also interferes with ScanDisk and the Disk Defragmenter.

Simply removing the Find Fast icon from the Startup group disables the indexing, but doesn't tell Microsoft Office to stop using the existing index, which quickly becomes outdated. To remove Find Fast properly, use the instructions in Microsoft's Knowledge Base bulletin.

Microsoft Knowledge Base Bulletin #Q158705 http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q158/7/05.asp

10.0 HOW DOES YOUR WEBSITE GROW?

If you have a website, your email is full of offers to promote the website in search engines, directories, and free-for-all pages. But is that really what you need? A recent check of server statistics looked at the source of visitor referrals. Surprise!

Before you shell out for a service that promises to get you good ratings in all the major search engines --

1. invest a few minutes yourself in promoting reciprocal links with websites and directories related to your website, and
2. change your business cards, stationery, newspaper and yellow book ads to include your URL.
   
   
   

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11.0 ADMINISTRATION

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