PCWize Vol 4, Issue 21 - Better late than never May 21, 2000 ______________________________________________________________________ You could win $10,000 and a Sony DVD player just by recommending PCWize to a friend! ------ Hooowaahhh! This has been a busy two weeks! I haven't been on the computer/Internet for more than about one hour since the 14th. Rest assured though, I'll weed through the almost 4,000 messages and get responses out to those who e-mailed in. My family is here in Japan visiting us and we've been putting a serious dent in the Japanese economy with all the knickknacks and out-to-eats going on. I think we maxed out the mileage on a couple of rental vans as well. The good news is that we're done with the big drives-- like the eight hours to Tokyo one way, and we're just down to relaxing and drinking copious amounts of Sake (Japanese rice wine). The first family meeting between the Gregorys and the Shindos went extremely well. They got along great and much Sake was imbibed. :-) My soon to be brother-in-law Brian, has had a really great time, as this is his first trip outside of the Continental United States. He's learning to eat strange things like eel, octopus, sea urchin, sashimi (utterly raw seafood), and sushi (raw seafood on top of rice, wrapped in seaweed.) My dad and sister each own an Olympus D-950 Zoom digital camera. It uses wafer thin flash memory cartridges in various MB sizes, and a single 16MB cart will hold 247 standard quality pictures. The cool thing is that they are stored on the cart in .JPG format, so there are no conversions necessary to view them on your PC. The carts even slide into a little floppy disk which you can read in any floppy drive as long as the software drivers are installed. Even the standard quality images are really amazing. Digital cameras have come a long way since when I first played with them a couple of years ago. Now here comes the WOW! part. Since my family arrived on the 14th, they have taken a grand total of 1,267 pictures totalling 72.5MB. Next week, I'll post some of the trip pictures to the web site, and you all can take a look at just how good the quality is. They'll be leaving in a couple of days, and I think everyone is looking forward to getting back to a normal life. Trips are great, but nothing beats coming back home! ------ In the last issue, I mentioned that some ISPs were blocking/filtering mail. It seems I wasn't the only publisher with this problem. :-( Speaking of blocking, my parents-- my number one fans of course! --are using AOL. For some odd reason, they've recently stopped receiving the newsletter, but have no problems getting direct mail from me. I believe that their AOL service is blocking the PCWize newsletter because the message isn't explicitly addressed to them, and is therefore considered SPAM. If you are an AOL user, and you have no problems getting PCWize, I'd appreciate it if you dropped me a note saying so, and even more helpful, if you could tell me which city/area AOL you are using. On the flipside, if you are an AOL user, and you also are not receiving PCWize anymore, please let me know that as well! ------ I've gotten some really good submissions for the PCWize gremlins. The original deadline was May 25th, but I'm going to extend it until June 2nd because some people are still working on something. It's still an open contest, so send me your conjured up PCWize gremlin mascot to enter. You could win a free registered copy of Ulead's Cool3D software. ______________________________________________________________________ TOC 1. Voting Booth and Other PCWize Stuff 2. Software Review 3. Cool Sites 4. Tips, Tricks, Do's and Don't Do's 5. That's the news! 6. Security Issues, Hoaxes, Viruses and Other Urban Legends 7. PCWize Contests and winner announcement If the columns in the below articles appear misaligned, it's because you are using a non-fixed width font. If you would like to see them nice and straight, change your e-mail font to Courier New. ______________________________________________________________________ ** A word from our sponsors ** ------ Ulead Systems is where you can find and download cutting-edge photo editing, video and Internet software. Ulead is the developer of award-winning software like Ulead PhotoImpact, Ulead MediaStudio, Ulead Photo Express, Ulead WebRazor, Ulead COOL 3D, Ulead GIF Animator, Ulead SmartSaver and more. You'll most likely have to cut and paste everything between the <> into your browser. ------ http://www.creditcardanalyzer.com - find out how much your credit cards are costing you and see how much money you could save by transferring the balance to a lower interest card ------ Want to see your advertisement here? For more information, go here: ______________________________________________________________________ 1. HackTech by The NMI Getting rid of the fluff... By now, most all of you have heard of Microsoft's argument that Internet Explorer is REQUIRED to make Windows 98 run. We all know this is a bunch of BS of course, but once in a while, something comes along to raise the BS flag in a way that's hard to ignore. I'm talking about 98Lite. This is one slick program, and I'll tell ya why: you can REMOVE IE from your 98 install, and watch your system speed up! I know some users might be perfectly happy with the way their system works, and by all means, don't change a thing on my account. But if you are like me, tired of a bloated browser that is chock full o' security holes, you may want to check this out. The program works by monitoring an "over the top" install of Win98. When you do an install like this, your previous data is not erased, so you don't lose anything (Of course, it's always wise to back up your important data before doing changes to the system). 98lite gives you simple directions on the whole procedure, as well as great options. You can choose from several different "styles" of install: Overweight - Win98, active desktop, IE, everything that comes "standard" with 98. Chubby - This is Win98 explorer without the web integration. Sleek - A version of the 95 Explorer running on your 98 install (the 95 Explorer is faster.) 98Micro - This is a bare web-less install with all the speed-ups that entail. The program can be tried for free, from the web site itself. The trial version simply has a few less features (no 98Micro) but still lets you see just how great this can make your install. The 98Lite Professional version, at only $25 US, includes all features, and to me, is well worth the small price! Check out the site at With all the "extras" in Win98 that I never use, I am really impressed with the utility of this program. Unfortunately, there seems to be more "bloatware" out there weighing down great products with "feature creep"... Now if only someone will make something like 98lite for Netscape and ICQ... Send your comments, gripes and compliments to The NMI ______________________________________________________________________ 2. Voting Booth and Other PCWize Stuff ------ Click here to vote for PCWize as one of the best newsletters in the "E-zines Top Ten Poll"! It's just a click, no need to fill anything out. ------ Come visit the PCWize forum and live chat. You may discuss anything computer related and it's a good place to get help with any computer questions you may have. ______________________________________________________________________ 2. Software Review ------ Rather than a single review of one piece of software this week, here's a great place to get those classic DOS games we all used to love and play. You won't find any cutesy Windows games, just the old command line goodies that helped while away the time. ______________________________________________________________________ 3. Cool Sites ------ Urban Legends Research Centre Here's another good place to get the lowdown on those hyper-forwarded e-mails you get. Be in the know before you join the ranks of the clueless by forwarding a hoax. ------ Stephan's Guide to Logical Fallacies A pretty neat-o guide to just how fallible we humans really are. Did I just say "neat-o"?!? Geez, I've been hanging around my parents too long! ______________________________________________________________________ 4. Tips, Tricks, Do's and Don't Do's ------ Here's some great places for tips and tricks: ZDNet's overall categories ------ Cool place to learn how the real plumbers, electricians, woodworkers, and other trades that require low hanging pants with a partial vertical smile showing do it. ______________________________________________________________________ 5. That's the news! ------ Cisco to enter the software market. If Cisco does as well here as it has been doing in the network hardware market, there are going to be some very happy investors. ------ Tying the bow with Instant Messengers. With all of the various flavors and developers of Instant Messengers, we really need some standardization and inter-operability now. They're just becoming too popular to ignore. ------ Britain's Labor government says that Musical Chairs is too violent! What's next? Duck, Duck, Goose? ______________________________________________________________________ 6. Security Issues, Hoaxes, Viruses and Other Urban Legends ------ Please visit http://www.pcwize.com/tech/computer/secdef.shtml if you would like to know the definitions for hoaxes, viruses, worms and urban legends. Clippy, the Microsoft Assistant paperclip may not be your best friend after all! See below for full details on the latest security hole and what to do about it. ------ The latest hoax floating around concerns a virus being sent by snailmail in blue envelopes. A Different Type of Virus This is an alert about a virus in the original sense of the word....one that affects your body, not your hard drive. There have been 23 confirmed cases of people attacked by the Klingerman Virus, a virus that arrives in your real mail box, not your in-box. Someone has been mailing large blue envelopes, seemingly at random to people inside the US. On the front of the envelope in bold black letters is printed, "A gift for you from the Klingerman Foundation." When the envelopes are opened, there is a small sponge sealed in plastic. This sponge carries what has come to be known as the Klingerman Virus, as public health officials state this is a strain of virus they have not previously encountered. When asked for comment, Florida police Sargeant Stetson said, "We are working with the CDC and the USPS, but have so far been unable to track down the origins of these letters. The return addresses have all been different, and we are certain a remailing service is being used, making our jobs that much more difficult." Those who have come in contact with the Klingerman Virus have been hospitalized with severe dysentry. So far seven of the twenty-three victims have died. There is no legitimate Klingerman Foundation mailing unsolicited gifts. If you receive an oversized blue envelope in the mail marked, "A gift from the Klingerman foundation," DO NOT open it. Place the envelope in a strong plastic bag or container, and call the police immediately. The "gift" inside is one you definitely do not want. PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU CARE ABOUT Go here for more information CDC's denial of the Kingerman virus ______________________________________________________________________ 7. PCWize Contests and Winner Announcement ------ Each week PCWize holds a random drawing contest and gives away free stuff (usually software) to its subscribers. We will continue to do this as long as there are advertisers who are willing to provide the prizes. If you are such an individual/company, then please contact me at editor@pcwize.com so that we can work a deal. ------ This week's sponsor is Ulead Systems, where you can find and download cutting-edge photo editing, video and Internet software. Ulead is the developer of award-winning software like Ulead PhotoImpact, Ulead MediaStudio, Ulead Photo Express, Ulead WebRazor, Ulead COOL 3D, Ulead GIF Animator, Ulead SmartSaver and more. Please visit their web site to get the lowdown on all the great products they have, and to help keep the PCWize newsletter FREE! You'll most likely have to cut and paste everything between the <> into your browser. ------ The winner of this weeks random drawing contest is: Hilda ______________________________________________________________________ Well, that's it for this issue! Have a good week and I'll see you in seven days. Leif Gregory Copyright © 1997-00 by Leif Gregory. All rights reserved. You may share this copy of the PCWize newsletter with others as long as it is reprinted in it's entirety to include the copyright notice and subscription directions. If you've received this edition of the PCWize newsletter from a friend or colleague and wish to start receiving your own copy, then click the below link and send the generated e-mail message. I have made every attempt to ensure that all information contained in this newsletter is accurate to the best of my ability. Due to the myriad of possible configurations in the PC platform, information and software discussed here may not always work with your particular configuration. That being said, Leif Gregory and the PCWize newsletter can not be held liable for any damages you may incur either directly or indirectly from the use of anything contained in this newsletter. PCWize does not endorse any of the products or services provided by advertisers in this newsletter. As with anything in life, please check the credibility of the advertiser as well as to use common sense. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. PCWize Editor PCWize Homepage Unsubscribe