PC NEWS DIGEST: November 07, 2000 PC computing, hardware, software, searching, closeouts, news, sites, web design, humor. The
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SERVENET.COM PLEASE NOTE: NIP THE NAPSTER OR NOT?Most artists want complete control over the publication and reproduction of their work. But that would virtually preclude distribution by radio, TV, the Internet, museums, and even public libraries. In the real world, artists retain some rights and give up others under copyright laws that spell out when it's OK to make a copy without permission. Most observers agree that Napster and its users violate existing copyright law. Napster software distributes MP3 music files -- and no others --and most of the MP3s it distributes are not licensed to the end users. This is the basis of the lawsuit brought against Napster by the BMG music division of Bertelsmann, Sony Music, the Warner Music Group, Universal Music and the EMI Group. But copyright laws are not fixed or immutable. In the past, they've been adjusted to reflect advances in technology and patterns of usage -- think copy machines. Today the reality is that everyone under 30 with a multimedia PC and an Internet connection boasts a working copy of Napster and a humongous stash of pirated MP3s. And music CDs sell as well now as before Napster. Last week, Bertelsmann recognized reality by striking an agreement with Napster to drop its lawsuit after the two begin an Internet-based membership music service. Isn't it also time to adjust the copyright laws to reflect reality? We think so. Write and let us know what you think. mailto: pcnews@servenet.com Napster 0.0 Windows Marathon: From Start Select "Run" 0.0 WINDOWS MARATHON: FROM START SELECT "RUN"Pressing the Windows Start button pops up a menu of options, including Programs, Settings, Find, Help, and Run. Most of us know what to do with Find, Help, and Programs, but what exactly is Run about? The Run dialog box is the Windows equivalent of the DOS command line. Windows will attempt to execute (run) whatever program, folder, document, or Internet resource you type in the Run field or find by using the Browse button. Many handy programs live in the Windows folder (or its System or Command sub folders) and can be run without specifying their location. Typing WRITE or WORDPAD will open the stripped-down version of MS Word that ships with Windows. Type NOTEPAD to open a quick, very simple document editor. To open Windows Explorer, type EXPLORER. (We're using capitals, but all lowercase or mixed case commands are fine too.) Need to open a DOS box? Type COMMAND and get back to basics. Ugh! Can't get over Windows 3.x? Microsoft thought you might have separation anxiety. Type WINFILE to use File Manager instead of Windows Explorer. Type PROGMAN to set up your Windows 95/98/NT computer to use Program Manager instead of the Windows Desktop. But to modify the Windows Desktop by working in Windows Explorer, type DESKTOP or just a dot (.). One dot good, two dots (..) better. Typing two dots in the Run field opens the Windows folder. Actually, typing the name of any Windows sub folder opens it in Windows Explorer. Try FONTS, FAVORITES, COOKIES and MEDIA while you're exploring. Looking to take charge? Type CONTROL to open Windows Control Panel. Need a little disk maintenance? DEFRAG will run the disk defragmenter; SCANDISK will check your hard drive for errors. SYSEDIT opens your system files -- Autoexec.bat, Config.sys, Win.ini, System.ini, etc. -- for editing. MSCONFIG makes these files and the System Registry available for configuration. (SYSEDIT and MSCONFIG should be used with caution and aforethought.) We
haven't exhausted the tricks you can play using
the Run field. We'll discuss some Internet and
Network tricks in another newsletter. But if you
have a comment or suggestion, type
MAILTO:PCNEWS@SERVENET.COM in the Run field. That
should open your default mail program with a pre-
addressed email waiting for your input. Or to
read the PC News Digest, type
HTTP://WWW.SERVENET.COM/PCNEWS, which will open 1.0 THESE CABS TAKE YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO GOHard drive damage, a malicious virus, or just a mistaken deletion can send you hunting for a fresh copy of an essential Windows file. Fortunately, the file you need is probably close at hand, either on your Windows installation disk, or tucked away on your hard drive. All of the files comprising Windows 95 and 98 are archived in compressed form on the installation disk in CAB or cabinet files located in the \Win95, or \Win98 folder. Often a copy of these files can be found on the hard drive in the Windows\Options\CABs folder. The Windows ME CAB files are always on the hard drive in the \Windows\Options\Install folder. If Windows is working, you can open a CAB file by double-clicking on it in Windows Explorer. The CAB will open in a separate window listing its contents. When you find the system file you need, double-click on it to extract it to your hard drive. Finding the file is the hard part. You'll have to explore the CABs one-by-one until rewarded by the gods. (Windows 95 users will need to download and install the CABView Power Toy which was built into later editions.) If Windows isn't working, it's still possible to find and extract files from the installation disk or hard drive, but you'll need to do it by booting to a Command Prompt (DOS). Microsoft's Bulletin Q129605, How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files, contains a full description of the procedure. The DOS-challenged are advised to suck up to a geek and bribe liberally with snack food. Windows
95 Power Toys Set Microsoft
Bulletin Q129605 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+. The
FREE PC Clinic at Installations Plus+ 2.0 CARTOON-0-MATIC MAKES FACES ON DEMANDNeed a cartoon face to liven up a handbill or a webpage? Don't ask me. I can't draw. In the past, I asked a colleague or resigned myself to an often fruitless clip-art search. No more. Now I fire up Cartoon-O-Matic and create my own. Some folks think Cartoon-O-Matic is just for kids. It's certainly easy enough for kids as young as four or five. You start with a basic face and adjust easy-to-use sliders to shape the head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and expression. Too tough? Then just click on the face and it'll change to another configuration. Trust me. The results are quite professional! Cartoon-O-Matic Classic, Freaky and Santa were created by Steve Librande, Teri Schoech, Russell Belfer, and Tim Strawn at NFX Interactive, a California company that we hear is now part of the Mouse Kingdom (Disney). It's THAT good! Although NFX no longer maintains a website, you can still download Cartoon-O-Matic from secondary sources. Don't delay. These face-makers may not be around for FREE much longer. Cartoon-O-Matic
Classic Cartoon-O-Matic
Freaky Cartoon-O-Matic
Santa 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, metric conversions, books, music, and more. The
FREE Look-Up Center at Installations Plus+ 3.0 QUICK TWEAK: UPGRADING YOUR LT MODEMModems that use hardware controllers (silicon chips) to carry out error correction and data compression usually outperform modems that use software by a wide margin. A clear exception are the controllerless Windows modems designed by Lucent Technologies. Lucent doesn't make modems, but sells their chipset to manufacturers, including computer makers IBM, HP, Dell, Gateway, Compaq and Toshiba. Lucent also writes the drivers which make these modems uniquely successful. Unlike modems upgraded by replacement, chip changes, or reprogramming (flashing) the chipset, the LT or Lucent modems are upgraded by downloading and installing a new set of drivers. To keep pace with the ever-changing Internet technology, Lucent rewrites the LT drivers frequently, making their modems among the most efficient available at any price. You can tell if you have a Lucent modem by going offline and performing Windows' built-in diagnostics. From Control Panel open the Modems icon. If it says LT Modem or Lucent Win Modem, you've completed identification. If not, select the Diagnostics tab, then select your modem, and press More Info. If the line beginning ATI3 includes LT, you have a Lucent modem. You'll find the version of your drivers in that line too. You can obtain the current driver, version 5.87, installation instructions, and more information about the Lucent and other modems from Richard Gamberg's LT Win Modem Page. LT
Win Modem Page 4.0 DRIVERS? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' DRIVERS!Actually, you do. Drivers are the small software programs that tell the operating system how to communicate with its hardware. There are video, sound, modem, scanner, CD-ROM, and printer drivers, to name the most common. Drivers are typically specific to the make and model of the hardware, and to the operating system and its version. The right driver enhances performance. The wrong one can literally destroy the hardware. "Nice to know," you say, "but how does this concern me?" GLITCHES. Hardware and software makers rush their products to market and then later offer updates and patches to resolve unanticipated "issues". So if your mouse seems sticky with your new word processing software, a mouse driver update could get it gliding smoothly again. UPGRADES. Some Windows 98 drivers work just fine with Windows Millennium, but some don't. Who needs an upgraded PC that won't start? Before upgrading your operating system, get the latest drivers for all your hardware. NEW HARDWARE. Hard to believe, but a lot of the brand new hardware on your retailer's shelves is packed with old drivers, wrong drivers, or no drivers suitable for your system. Before installing your new CD burner, make sure you get the latest driver. PERFORMANCE. Like your car, your PC should be treated to a tune-up on a regular basis. Updating drivers every six to eight months makes your PC perform better and extends its useful life. "Okay, I'm convinced. Now where do I get all those damn drivers?" Norton Web Services, the site we mentioned last week, maintains a list of driver updates. It's organized by recency and frequency of download. A better bet, if your PC comes from a major player like Dell, IBM, Toshiba, or Compaq is the maker's website. These companies provide drivers organized by model number and operating system and will notifiy you of updates by email. The downside is that PC makers are very conservative, only listing updated drivers deemed absolutely essential. More convenient than Norton and more comprehensive than the PC makers is Help Drivers, where you can search in English, French, Spanish, and German by hardware type and then by maker. The search result provides hyperlinks to the manufacturer's home, support, and driver pages as well as email and FTP site links. Help Drivers also lists new drivers, provides a driver support Forum, and provides installation instructions. And then there's DriverGuide.com, the grandpappy of driver sites. Organization is not DriverGuide's strong suite, but it includes a database of hard-to-find drivers as well as links to driver tutorials and manufacturer's websites. This is the place to go when you need a driver for a used modem (or whatever), but can't figure out the make or model. By law, every PC component is stamped with an FCC ID number. DriverGuide's FCC ID Search will return the name of the manufacturer and usually the model number. You'll need to register with the DriverGuide site to use it. Norton
Web Services Help
Drivers DriverGuide.com 5.0 PORTABLE USB 4x4x20 CD-RW (BURNER): $345The once-exotic CD-RW (burner) is now affordable and portable. Here's the drive you need to mix your favorite tunes, back up the data on your hard drive, or archive your photo collection for the next millennium. This 4x4x20 slim external unit looks like a portable CD player and is just as easy to use. Small and light enough to take on the road, it's fast and reliable enough to handle your home and office needs, too. It connects in seconds to the USB port on any PC running Windows 98/ME/NT. The retail pack for this brand new unit includes a USB cable, AC adaptor, installation disk, carrying pouch, two blank recordable CDs, and instruction manual. The price for the CD-RW is $345, plus shipping, and tax where applicable. PayPal, X.com, M/C, Visa. Limited time offer. U.S. orders only please. One year warranty. Call 1-212-567-3705 mailto:specials@servenet.com 6.0 MEMTURBO: GET THAT JUST BOOTED FEELINGYour system has two primary memory resources, the hard drive, which has the greater capacity, and the Random Access Memory (RAM), which is the faster resource. Dave Plummer at Silicon Prairie Software realized Windows would run faster if it made more use of RAM and less of the hard drive. Dave's award-winning application, MemTurbo, increases system performance by defragmenting RAM, and making more of it available to your applications. It frees up RAM by swapping unused programs and libraries to the hard drive. MemTurbo recovers and compacts RAM at your command or automatically when free RAM falls below a preset level. The program also matches the way Windows swaps files to the hard drive to the way you use Windows -- for word processing, games, graphics, etc. The shareware program -- FREE to try; $20 to buy -- works with all current versions of Windows and is "non-invasive." It does not replace or modify system files and it installs no drivers, virtual or real. MemTurbo 7.0 WEBSHOP 103: TRIMMING GRAPHICS FOR SPEEDGraphics -- patterned backgrounds, photographs, buttons, styled headings, logos, etc. -- can make or break a website. Nothing dresses up a webpage like graphics, but nothing except for audio, slows it down more. Over a standard 56.6 kbs dial-up connection, a full-screen photo takes several minutes to download, while a full screen of text downloads in just seconds. Since nobody likes to wait, the goal is to design pages that are both fast (download in under 30 seconds over an average connection) and attractive. Imagiware, a Wisconsin-based web- hosting and design firm, provides a FREE online tool -- Doctor HTML -- that makes it easy to optimize both the graphics and the HTML code that make up a webpage. Doctor HTML checks images for syntax and download time, and code for a variety of errors, including spelling and bad hyperlinks. While it's best to design pages that are long on content and short on graphics, that's not always possible. To shrink must-have graphics without shrinking their area, NetMechanic's FREE GIFBot (image optimizer) reduces JPEGs and GIFs by up to 90% with little or no reduction in quality. A similar service from Gif Wizard costs 15 cents an image and handles BMPs and animated GIFs. GIF Wizard also provides a FREE one-time analysis of all the pages on your website; they hope you'll buy an annual site monitoring contract. Imagiware's
Doctor HTML Netmechanic's
GIFBot GIF
Wizard 8.0 WANT A WEBSITE OF YOUR OWN? LOOK HERE!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 build for our associated repair shop, Doc Audio-Video. A simple, inexpensive site, this is the WWW equivalent of a Yellow Pages ad. Doc
Audio-Video The
WebShop at SERVENET.COM 9.0 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. •
The REAL ESTATE FORUM for buyers, sellers. •
The OYSTER BAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY FORUM. •
The SHOP-TALK FORUM for things automotive. 10.0 HUMOR: TOP REASONS DOGS DON'T USE COMPUTERS
11.0 SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE/SUGGEST/ETC.PAST ISSUES. 09/19/2000 09/26/2000 10/03/2000 10/10/2000 10/17/2000 10/24/2000 10/31/2000 SUGGESTIONS. Your thoughts about our newsletter and our website are always welcome. Tell us. We're listening! RECOMMEND US. Tell a friend about our website and newsletter. LINK TO
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