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Dave's Diggins 1-27-00
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Just a few "Golden Nuggets" of info that I've mined from the internet.
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This newsletter is sponsored by the 37211 PC Users Group. All comments,
suggestions or submissions should be sent to david.donoho@pcusers.org. DO NOT reply directly to this newsletter at the davesdiggins address
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Free software and services:
http://www.baxbex.com/openexpert.html
http://pcusers.org/pcfree.html
Ever had the problem that you frequently use a file type with more than one
application, while you can only associate one application with that file
type ? OpenExpert is the answer to this problem! Right click on a file and
an "Open with" item shows in the drop down menu. You can then select from
many different applications to associate that file type with.
http://home.worldonline.dk/~andersa/download/
http://pcusers.org/pctechy.html
Winsolo. Sometimes you want to run a Windows program all by itself without
it being interrupted by some background application. Particularly if you are
into burning CD's or playing DVD Movies using software dvd players. WinSolo solves this very problem by killing off all currently running Windows
applications including those that you cannot even see with Ctrl-Alt-Del. The
desktop then disappears and your chosen application is then run in a clean
Windows environment all by itself.
http://www.paypal.com/
http://pcusers.org/pcfree.html
PayPal allows you to send money securely online to anyone else with an
e-mail address just by using your credit card.
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Web development:
http://www.domainwatch.com/
http://pcusers.org/webhead.html
Domain Watch has a free online "Domain Search' service that gives a
graphical and extended "whois" on any web site server.
http://browsers.evolt.org/
http://pcusers.org/webhead.html
Need to test a Web page or site with an old, obscure, or special browser or
perhaps restore an older version of a browser on an older computer? This
archive has a slew of browsers and their documentaion.
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Articles:
http://pcsupport.about.com/library/weekly/aa012400a.htm
http://pcusers.org/pcwebhead.html
This article "Troubleshooting 101" is a keeper for both newbies and experts.
Print it out and put it with your other PC documents. Set up a journal as it
suggests. Next time you have a PC problem pull it out, review the article
and apply its principals.
http://www.winmag.com/millennium/1222c.htm System file protection in the forthcoming Windows "Millenium" OS.
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Tip #1
Print documents without opening them by adding your printer to the Win9x SendTo menu (accessed when you highlight and right-click on any file in a Windows Explorer or My Computer window). Open C:\WINDOWS\SENDTO and create a shortcut there for your printer. Your printer will now appear the next time you access the SendTo menu.
Tip #2
If you add a lot of shortcuts and folders--say, more than seven--to your Start menu, an arrow appears at the top so you can scroll up to the entries that don't fit on screen. To avoid all that cumbersome scrolling, make your entire Start menu smaller. Right-click a blank area of the Taskbar, select Properties, select Show Small Icons On Start Menu, then click OK.
Tip #3
You can prevent e-mail recipients from seeing the addresses of other recipients. This is called a blind carbon copy. Compose your message, put your own e-mail address in the To field, and press Enter. Click Bcc (Blind Carbon Copy). Put all the recipients' e-mail addresses in this field, separated by commas. Now your e-mail recipients won't have a lengthy list of e-mail addresses at the top of the message.
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Hardware technology:
http://216.51.18.233/index_e.html
This page gives information on fuel cells. They are getting smaller and
eventually will end up in laptops, cellphones etc. and provide 20+ hours of
running time before being refueled with methanol.
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Articles:
http://pcsupport.about.com/compute/pcsupport/library/weekly/mcurrent.htm
http://pcusers.org/pcwebhead.html
This article "Troubleshooting 101" is a keeper for both newbies and experts.
Print it out and put it with your other PC documents. Set up a journal as it
suggests. Next time you have a PC problem pull it out, review the article
and apply its principals.
http://www.winmag.com/millennium/1222c.htm
System file protection in the forthcoming Windows "Millenium" OS.
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Jack's Soapbox mailto:jackwalleigh@home.com
I was having problems the other weekend with a listserver that kept sending me the same piece of e-mail repeatedly all weekend long. This was being sent by a 3rd party listserver provider. This kind of repeat loop has occured before but generally only a few repetitions occur before it gets caught. There are three things I tried:
1. I emailed the origanator of the e-mail. That got kicked back.
2. I e-mailed the listserver . I got a return message saying that their
mailbox was full.
3. Finally I set the filter in my browser (Netscape) so that any e-mail with
that subject went into my trash. I then just emptied the trash folder
periodically. This kept my browser from giving me an alert every few minutes
that I had new email in my inbox. It finally stopped on monday.
My fairly expensive Altec Lansing Model 300.1 PC speakers simply quit working the other day. They just wouldn't turn on. I remembered to check the fuse in the sub-woofer and it was blown. I must digress here for a moment and admit to using one of those "mulit-button/Master Button" surge protector control panels units (the kind that fit under your monitor) to turn off and on several small, minor, multimedia devices at the same time. NOT my PC and Monitor however, those are protected by my APC 650 Pro UPS unit. The "All At Once" off and on of the devices proved to be the culprit in the temporary speaker failure.
After checking the fuse in the sub-woofer for type and capacity I traveled to my local Radio Shack and asked for some 250 Volt / 1 AMP, short length fuses. ($1.99 for four). I replaced the fuse, turned on the speakers and all seemed well....for a few hours. When I turned off the speakers with the control panel again, the fuse must have blown again. When I turned them on the next day the would come on again. I replaced the fuse again and this time it blew immediately, likewise one more time also. I then got the contact number for Altec Lansing form their web site and actually got to speak to a very nice multi-media division support lady. This courteous person promptly informed me they DO NOT repair speakers, only replace them under warranty. She did however ask me what symptom I was experiencing with my 300.1's. I explained the fuse situation and she asked me if I was using "Fast-Acting" fuses or "Slo-Blo" fuses. After saying "Da", I looked on the fuse box and said "Fast-Acting". That's your problem she said. The 300.1's REQUIRE a "250 Volt / 1 AMP..."Slo-Blow" Fuse.
After calling around a few places I located a different Radio Shack that had the proper fuses in stock, replaced the "Fast Acting" one in my sub-woofer with the "Slo-Blow" and my 300'1's have singing away ever since. I am also following the recommendation of the Customer Service lady and turning them off with the proper On & Off switch instead of the Control Panel switch from now on. Yes I have learned to practice what I preach......with ALL PC components, it's best to turn them ON and OFF in the PROPER way and in the proper order.
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Humor?
http://cobrand.1stup.com/simpsons/start.html
The Simpson's free internet access.
http://www.dotcomguy.com/howsurvives.html
Dotcomguy (his legal name) has moved into an empty house with only a laptop, an internet connection and 26 webcams. He will live for a year using only items ordered over the internet to live on.
http://www.funphone.com/technology.html
Free internet phone calls using your PC monitor.
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This newsletter provided as a service by the 37211 PC Users Group http://www.pcusers.org
Any comments, suggestions or items of interest can be sent to me at david.donoho@pcusers.org