Daves Diggins Newsletter 7-27-00 (ISSN 1529-1103)

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Dave's Diggins 7-27-00

ISSN 1529-1103

Just a few "Golden Nuggets" of info that I've mined from the internet

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1) Free software and services
2) Articles
3) Search Engines
4) E-biz
5) Hardware

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1) Free software and services:

http://www.qcheck.net/
http://pcusers.org/pcfree.html

Qcheck, the network troubleshooting utility from NetIQ! Qcheck slices, dices, and checks network response time, throughput, and streaming performance. It even runs anywhere-to-anywhere traceroute! Based on the parameters you select, the Qcheck console will instruct any two endpoints (internet, home network,etc.) to run a test and return the results to you at the Qcheck console.

http://www.iconico.com/caliper/
http://pcusers.org/pcfree.html
Screen Calipers. Pixel perfect, every time. It's really easy to use; you can drag it around the screen, measuring inside and outside objects just like a real set of calipers. You can change the colours, flip and nudge it around from the keyboard. The readout gives the absolute pixel distance that you are measuring. It runs on Windows NT/98/95/2000, and there's no setup, just unzip it, it's only 136K.

http://www.mantadb.com/
http://pcusers.org/pcfree.html The MantaDB Utilities are a free collection of useful tools that make the Web easier to use. Once installed, MantaDB becomes part of Internet Explorer and everything it does is available as a set of Toolbar Buttons in your browser. The individual tools are Web Page Indexer, Link Checker, Page DeFramer, Page AutoRefresher, Font Sizer, Sensible Colors, Personal Sidebar, Random Web Page

http://www.simmtester.com/PAGE/products/doc/docinfo.asp
http://pcusers.org/pcfree.html
DocMemory, an advanced self-bootable PC Memory Diagnostic Software. It is a user friendly software designed to capture all possible memory failures in a PC. A rigorous test pattern excerises both the PC Base and Extended Memory to locate defective memory, all carried out without the need for user to disassemble memory from the PC. For Limited Time only - DocMemory diagnostic software, a $100 value is available free-of-charge

http://www.winmesweeps.com/
A Microsoft promotion:
"Even though Windows Me is not launching until September 14, 2000, we're starting the party early with the "Win Me Sweepstakes." You now have a chance to win and receive your copy of Windows Me *before it's available in stores*. Each day of the contest, we're giving away 50 limited-edition copies of Microsoft Windows Me--autographed by Bill Gates! You could be the first one on your street to have a copy. The Win Me Sweepstakes ends August 30, 2000. Visit the sweepstakes site today to register and get the full contest rules. Don't forget to check back daily to see if you're a winner!"

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2) Articles:

Roger's review of the Windows Media Player 7:

"I just installed Windows Media Player 7 (WMP7) which came out of beta a couple of days ago, and it blows away RealPlayer. I think I'll eventually uninstall RealAudio RealPlayer and RealJukebox, as WMP7 does all this, plus it has a fully-developed infrastructure, including a special broadband access area with high bandwidth multimedia features. And, goodbye Apple QuickTime!

Some users are complaining that WMP7 doesn't carry all the codecs to support every MOV and QT format, but, as far as I'm concerned, it's all outdated technology now. WMP7 offers an add-in beta Encoder 7, which uses a new WMF encoding format that compresses digital quality audio down to one-third the size of comparable MP3s. The new ASF format also will probably overtake the old AVI and MPG video formats too. I think these are an outgrowth of the new wavelet technology we've been hearing about.

WMP7 now has a jukebox with playlist features, as well as a list of online services that feed other options. And it now carries Visualization, like Sonique, too. I downloaded three of four sets currently offered."

http://www.cnet.com/internet/0-3814-7-2284125.html
CNET's review of the Windows Media Player 7.0

http://www.pcnineoneone.com/dcforum/computer/4220.html
The PC911 forum site discusses "Norton Internet Security or Zone Alarm"

http://www.byte.com/column/expo/BYT20000707S0002
The Byte.com Editor's Choice Awards For PC Expo 2000

http://computers.cnet.com/hardware/0-1017-7-2181729.html
http://pcusers.org/pcreference.html#resources
Connections Primer: Making the Right Connections This article helps you make sense of the gaggle of connectors. Parallel, serial, USB, FireWire, infrared--as well as peculiar ports for keyboards and mice--that dot the landscape of the dark side of your PC

http://home.cnet.com/internet/0-3821-7-2259973.html

CNET's Ultimate Guide to Group Shopping. Learn how to join forces with other shoppers at group buying Web sites--online retailers where you pool your resources with other people's in order to buy items in bulk at cheaper prices--and you can receive discounts usually reserved for volume purchases in the offline world

http://www.gamecenter.com/Hardware/Doit/Upgradevid/?dd.gc.txt.0714.06
http://pcusers.org/pcreference.html#resources
How to Upgrade Your Video Card.

http://www.cnet.com/internet/0-3814-7-2284125.html
http://pcusers.org/pcreference.html#article
Vast and Fast. Today's high-volume, high-performance hard drives may be the most cost-effective upgrade you can make.

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3) Search Engines:

http://fossick.com/index.htm
http://pcusers.org/pcreference.html#search
Fossick.com - the WebSearch Alliance Directory, is a selective collection of over 3,000 specialist search engines and topical guides ----------------------------------------------------------------

4) E-biz:

http://thecomputerconsultant.com/
The ComputerConsultant.com
http://rentageek.com/
RentaGeek.com
http://pcusers.org/pcebiz.html#sites
For those of you who are in the freelance computer consulting business, Jack recommends these two sites that will give you a free page to promote yourself. Both have geographic search engines on their site.

http://cyberatlas.internet.com/big_picture/hardware/article/0,1323,5921_4100 61,00.html
http://pcusers.org/pcebiz.html#articles
Viruses and Hackers Costing Businesses Big Bucks. Viruses and computer hackers will cost businesses around the world more than $1.5 trillion in the year 2000.

http://www.cpulse.com/index.asp?ref=CA12
http://pcusers.org/pcebiz.html#services
The cPulse Satisfaction Network, the only ongoing site visitor satisfaction monitor providing continuous information in a simple, useable form. Serving your Internet businesses, whether it's commerce, content or community. And it's free.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/437764.asp
http://pcusers.org/pcebiz.html#sites
The federal government announced a new Web portal that will allow Americans to do everything from applying for passports to paying off student loans. Deputy Treasury Secretary Stuart E. Eizenstat at a news conference Tuesday said the planned site — Pay.gov — is meant to act as a government-wide payment and collection site, handling 80 million transactions totaling some $125 billion each year.

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5) Hardware

http://www.aceshardware.com/Spades/read.php?article_id=5000175
Recipe For Revival: K6-2+. Hold on to your Socket-7/SS7 motherboards and get ready for the final installment of AMD's long line of Socket-7 Processors. AMD's K6-2+ promises to breath new life into that aging Socket-7/SS7 system. The K6-2+ speed grades include 450MHz, 475MHz, 500MHz, and 550MHz.

http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/q22000/gee2000725001958.htm
LEP vs. LCD display technology.

http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/usb1.html
http://pcusers.org/pcreference.html#resources
The Basics of USB. A complete tutorial on the Universal Serial Bus (USB) showing you the advantages, disadvantages, and how to troubleshoot USB problems.

http://arstechnica.com/paedia/r/ram_guide/ram_guide.part1-1.html
http://arstechnica.com/paedia/r/ram_guide/ram_guide.part2-1.html
http://pcusers.org/pcreference.html#resources
RAM Guide: Part I DRAM and SRAM Basics
RAM Guide: Part II: Asynchronous and Synchronous DRAM

http://www.thetechzone.com/reviews/cooler/thecardcooler/index.shtml
The Card Cooler XT Review. The new Card Cooler XT moves an amazing 138 cubic feet per minute of air to cool not just your video card but your entire computer.

http://www.techextreme.com/hardware/peripherals/frontx/
Front X Review . This piece of harware allows you to connect your microphone, joystick, etc. to the front of your computer where it is more accessable.

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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. Guidelines for submission of articles are at http://pcusers.org/articlesubmit.html .

The Dave's Diggins newsletter subscription list is not publicly accessible nor is it provided or sold to anyone for any other purpose.

Disclaimer: The tips and other information provided in the Dave's Diggins' newsletter are believed to be accurate, but we cannot and do not guarantee that all the information listed within or linked from, this publication will work on all systems, for all users, at all times. All information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind. Neither the 37211 PC Users Group, nor its officers and contributors are responsible for any loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from application of any information presented here.