Ken Meadows
SPAM
None of us likes spam but we all get it
if we use the
Internet and e-mail. I have two e-mail
clients, Forte Agent and Incredimail, both of which attract spam. One of the magazines to which I subscribe
included a program, Spamihilator, which purported to remove spam, so I
tried
it. It removes what it thinks is spam,
the removals are listed and you are able to view them if you wish and
restore
them if you believe the item not to be spam.
Here are some of its spam items, probability
as spam
given as 100%:
- Lockergnome – no reason given.
- Langalist – reason, 27 users
received this mail.
There were two others of which I did not
keep a
record.
I was not impressed.
If this program is running, for safety you should view and
decide
on each item anyway, so it is just as easy for you to remove the spam
from your
e-mail yourself.
Spamihilator is now removed from my computer.
MS INTERNET EXPLORER
Most of you would use MS Internet
Explorer. Like most of you, I use the
plain vanilla
Microsoft version. One day, though, in
a moment of stupidity I installed the NineMSN version and did not like
it. My dislike was the way the page was
split in
two and what I considered a horrible address bar. So
I decided to reinstall the MS plain vanilla version.
Easier said than done.
Now I know MS IE can be removed if you
know how – I
think Microsoft was compelled by a Court decision to allow this but the
method
is not common knowledge. If I tried to
install the latest version downloaded from Microsoft’s web site I got
the
message that the version I had installed was a later version and it
would not
install. It surprises me that the
latest version from Bill could be older than Nine’s version. So I emailed Microsoft in Sydney for advice
on how to replace the NineMSN version.
After getting all my details the Techo
detailed to
help me told me – do a System Restore.
Why didn’t I think of that?
Probably because I thought I would have had to go so far back it
would
have got me into more trouble than I was now.
I now have
the plain vanilla Internet Explorer, the only down side being I was
told to
re-install one program. Guess which
one? – Spamihilator, which has even been expelled from the recycle bin.
INK TANKS
I don’t like replacing ink tanks in my
printers. Name brand cartridges are
expensive so I have mine refilled by the Cartridge Factory of Dundas
Court,
Phillip. They will only refill genuine
name brand cartridges, in my case, Canon.
One reason I like Canon is because the colours are separate and
each one
can be replaced when empty. Not like some makes where the colours are
all in
one package and all have to be replaced even though only half or less
used.
In my printer the print heads are part
of the
printer, not part of the cartridge.
This is good, I think, because replacement cartridges are
cheaper. It did cause me a problem,
though; a problem
that I think was of my own making.
My printer was chugging along fine until
I ran out
of black ink. Not to worry, I had a
refilled replacement cartridge sitting on the shelf just for such an
occasion. So I replaced it.
Then my real problems started. The
black print head clogged.
Accessed from the Control Panel is
printer maintenance,
that includes Cleaning and Deep Cleaning of the print heads. Each colour can be separately cleaned. So all I had to do was to clean the black
print head. The trouble was, it would
not clean properly.
Part of the process used black ink from
the cartridge
and while it seemed to clean, it would then clog again.
My guess is that the cause was the
replacement cartridge that had sat on that shelf for goodness knows how
long. Can old ink cause problems? Mr Canon, in the instructions on the packet
of ink, which I have just bought, says ‘Use up all ink within six
months after
opening to ensure optimum print quality.’
My printer, when ink is getting low,
pops up a
little diagram showing each cartridge with the amount of ink still
left, thus
giving you the chance to buy a replacement cartridge (or refill if that
is your
wish), ready for the day when it gives up the ghost.
My printer is now printing, as it should. From now on I shan't take a chance with old
ink but shall only buy ink, straight from the package or refilled, when
Mr
Canon tells me the ink is getting low.
FROM LANGALIST 17/03/05
Washing--- Yes, *Washing*--- Your PC's
Guts In
"Rust Never Sleeps” (http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?
articleID=159401313) we discuss "How to Deal With Moisture and
Corrosion in Your PC;" a topic that especially pertains to PCs in
non-air-conditioned spaces--- you'd be surprised how many times a
mysterious
gremlin in a PC turns out to be a connection erratically going bad due
to an
almost invisible layer of corrosion!
In that article we look at a number of
anti-corrosion liquids, pastes, and sprays; and some cleaning measures
which
range from the basic to, well, check this out:
Hi, Fred: When I worked for Tektronix,
we washed
oscilloscopes when they came in for R&R (repair &
recalibration). There
were some parts we had to avoid getting direct spray on, such as [power
supply]
transformers with open windings and assemblies where water might get
trapped....
I think that a really dirty computer
could be
cleaned the same way. The time it takes might be worth having a clean
machine.
The procedure would go like this:
1. Inspect the motherboard for water
sensitive
components. Decide if the procedure can be done without damage. For
instance,
the clock battery should be removed to avoid trapping [water] in its
holder.
2. Remove all the cards and
sub-assemblies....
3. Rinse well and let dry (you could
even put it in
an oven at 125 degrees to "bake out").
---Bill Roberts
Indeed, you can wash many electronic
parts in pure
water to remove surface contaminants (including salt, dust, dirt, dried
liquids
and the like). We've written about it several times before, including
here http://langa.com/newsletters/2001/2001-11-01.htm#3.
Byte's Jerry
Pournelle also once memorably described taking his favorite keyboard
into the
shower to revive it after he spilled a sticky drink on the keys. And
other
readers in IT departments and computer repair shops report that they've
loaded
dishwashers with floppy drives, printer parts, and so on:
Basically, any solid or flat-surfaced
part that
water can get to, and dry from (e.g. a circuit board), is a theoretical
candidate for washing. Enclosed devices (including enclosed
sub-assemblies, like
power supplies) are not.
Of course, a water wash is an extreme
step, and
should not be undertaken lightly; it's really sort of a last resort,
and should
only be attempted with parts that are facing some serious problem
caused by
surface contamination.
And that's where the rest of the article
comes in;
offering more detail on water-washing, and also talking about the
less-drastic
measures you can take to clean a PC that's having corrosion problems;
or better
still, to prevent such problems in the first place!
My comment?
Don’t blame me if you have a shower with your laptop and it
blows up in
your face!
SHOULD BIG BLUE NOW BE BIG RED?
From PCPlus, Feb 2005, is a news article that IBM has sold
its PC division to number one Chinese PC manufacturer, Lenovo (formerly
known
as Legend), for the sum of $1.75 billion US.
Combined with Lenovo’s existing business, the new operation will
become
the third largest PC Company in the world.
Remember Thomas J. Watson’s alleged famous statement that
“there is a world market for about five computers.”
While Thomas J. Watson did not found IBM he made it the great
company that it became.
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