RANDOM
JOTTINGS
Ken
Meadows
The
editor of the Micro 80 newsletter bemoaned the fact that contributions
were so low that he had to virtually write the newsletter himself. In
these types of newsletters it is not the editor's task to write the
articles, but for the members to contribute articles, usually
concerning their experiences. My experiences you would probably not
want to know about. However, his plea so moved me that I decided to
help him out.
You will get some of my experiences, but mainly items that I have
noticed which may be of interest. As my operating system is Windows XP,
most items will probably relate to Win XP. My memory not being what I
would like, the editor will do his job by seeing that my article makes
sense and that it is technically correct. That puts you on the spot, Ed!
As I was writing this, the latest edition of Sixteen Bits, the product
of the PCUG was published. It was so professional and euphuistic (go
on, look it up – I did) that I cringed and regretted my decision to
write articles. On reflection, though, I decided to carry on, as most
of the readers would be at my level.
A CLEAN
DESKTOP
I like a clean
desktop. While most users have shortcuts for programs frequently used,
these finish up on the desktop that will soon be full if, like me, you
have shortcuts to most of your programs. To avoid this I have a folder
labelled “Utilities” and my shortcuts have been cut and pasted to that
folder. Further, like utilities such as printer utilities are cut and
pasted to a printer folder within the utilities folder.
FASTER BROWSING
The March, 2004, issue of the English magazine PCPlus, had a short note
that various programs seem to set communications switches to the worst
possible performance. I checked my settings and found that they were
set (worst setting) as described in the article. I followed the
instructions in the article and it promised that the speed of future
downloads would almost double. What I should have done would be to note
the download speeds before and after I made the changes. I did not, so
hoped an increase in speed would be obvious.
To check and reset if necessary, do the following. In Internet
Explorer, pull down the Tools menu, choose Internet Options and select
the Connections tab. Towards the bottom of the dialog, choose LAN
Settings. This will bring up a dialog box. The first check box option
is Automatically Detect Settings. If this is checked, uncheck it and
click OK. If it had been checked, you may now find that the speed of
future downloads almost double.
I am connected to Transact by cable and am happy with the download
speeds, but any gain would still be appreciated. After using my
computer for some months after making the changes, I do think the speed
has increased. Why didn’t I check my speed before making the changes so
I could document the change for you? Try it anyway, you have nothing to
lose and all to gain. Do a System Restore first.
SEEN ON THE INTERNET
Going skiing this winter? Want to take your mobile with you but are
worried about losing it? Motorola has the answer. The company plans to
unveil a ski jacket with a mobile phone built in to it. The device will
be very James Bond with controls on the sleeve for both the phone and
the built in MP3 player that's also part of the device. The jacket will
be made by Burton (note: upmarket English firm) but pricing has yet to
be announced.
SYSTEM RESTORE
Those of you who use Windows XP will have seen something about System
Restore. Some of you may not know what it does or how to use it.
Believe me, it is one of the most useful items that XP gives us. It has
saved my bacon many times.
System Restore takes your system back to an earlier time. Each day a
Restore Point is set by the system. It is most useful when you install
a new program. Before installing the program, set a Restore Point and,
should something go wrong, or most likely should you dislike the new
program and wish to remove it, you can use System Restore to delete it
and have your system as it was before the program was installed.
To set a Restore Point, go to Start, All Programs, Accessories, System
Tools, System Restore. Click on System Restore and you have the choice
of ‘Restore my computer to an earlier time’, ‘Create a restore point’
or ‘Undo my last restoration’.
If setting a Restore Point, you can insert the description, and the
current date and time are automatically added. At this point you can
‘go back’, ‘create’ or ‘cancel’.
SEEN ONLINE
Just when you thought you'd heard it all; a Romanian couple who met
online have named their baby Yahoo. The couple, who met face-to-face
after having a 3-month 'online relationship', said that the Internet
had been a major guiding element in their life.
WHAT IS DSO EXPLOIT?
If you use Spybot Search and Destroy or another spyware removal tool,
it may find an item called DSO Exploit. This exploit is a bug in
Internet Explorer that under certain circumstances would allow
untrusted software to run on the computer. In other words, it’s a hole
in Internet Explorer that hackers could use to gain access to your
system. However, if you are running the latest version of Internet
Explorer and have all your Windows Updates installed, the bug has been
patched and is not a threat to your computer system. Even though Spybot
may still show it as a threat.
If you have the latest Internet Explorer version and all your Windows
Updates, you can safely ignore the DSO Exploit as a potential problem
when Spybot Search and Destroy or other spyware removal tools discover
it. However if you would rather fix the exploit so it does not show up
again, it can be done in Windows registry. I shall not describe how, as
if something goes wrong in fiddling with the registry, it can cause
windows to fail to start.
And here is one for the books. At the time of writing, Spybot Search
and Destroy issued a version intended to delete DSO Exploit which,
instead of deleting DSO Exploit, puts in an incorrect registry value
which still leaves it operative. An updated version is expected.
NOSE FOR TECHNOLOGY
From MS Windows XP magazine, December 2004.
Good news for idle hands – your nose can do their work instead. A
Russian researcher at a university in Canada has developed a new
webcam-powered interface that tracks the movement of the tip of your
nose. You then use it to write text or move around the screen, while
rapid blinking acts as left and right-click functions. The Nouse, as
it’s been termed, was developed by Dmitry Gorodnichy as a hands free
interface. Thankfully for your neck muscles, it isn’t intended to
replace the traditional mouse altogether. He sees it as more of an
extra remote control than a straight replacement.
Pinocchio would have been in his element.
FROM MAXPC NEWSLETTER
Students in South London thought it was an offer too good to be missed,
so paid £200 for a powerful top-quality laptop. The only downside
was that when they handed over the cash, the high-tech PC was swapped
for a laptop bag full of potatoes. Police are a' peeling for anyone
with information.
A Chinese man has been sued by his wife for bigamy, after he took part
in a virtual internet marriage. After becoming suspicious of the
increased amount of time spent online, she found that her husband had
'married' someone else, and even had a virtual child. The wife lost her
case for emotional damage, but was granted a divorce.
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