Don't
use the CD drive to hold your coffee cup. (ar-ar)
Clear
your temporary files at least once a day to speed-up your web surfing.
Get at least 64 Mg RAM & 56K bps modem.
Indulge yourself and get a 19" monitor.
Keep your printer off when you're not using it: your printer is another way
hackers can get into your hard drive.
Get Macintosh if you're very serious about creating your own sophisticated graphics.
Odd FACT: "The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing."
Frustrated by frequently being logged off? Go to Edit in Netscape browser
menu, click Preferences, expand Mail Server, have mail brought in on 5 minute intervals. Any automatic logoff instructions
will be overridden by that nifty change.
The improved Disk Defragmenter in Windows 98 gathers the program files that you use most often and moves them to
faster parts of the hard disk.
To run Disk Defragmenter:
1 - Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter.
2 - Click Settings, and make sure that the Rearrange program files so my programs start faster option is selected.
3 - Click OK two times to start the process.
You can schedule Disk Defragmenter as part of your regularly scheduled tasks in the Windows Maintenance Wizard.
These computers need programs run regularly (weekly or less, unless you are running low on free hard drive
space: daily if you are fighting to get free hard drive space).
1. First Aid
2. ScanDisk
3. Disk Defrag
Here's the step by step on doing this:
1 - Make sure that you have not just crashed out of any programs. If you have crashed out (locked up, had to do
a CTL-ALT-DEL, or anything unusual) ... reboot the computer, run the program that crashed or acted squirrelly.
Then exit back out of the program normally.
2 - Reboot the computer
3 - Double click and run the First Aid program.
_in the Tools drop down menu at the top, select CLEAN UNNECESSARY FILES.
_Just follow the instructions all the way through which includes selecting CLEAN button.
Exit the First Aid programs.
4 - Reboot the computer
5 - Look at the task bar, below the desktop area, and right click on all the icons sitting on the task bar. If
the menu that comes up has the option of CLOSE, select that. Do not select DISABLE. Select Close.
_ If one of those icons is the TASK SCHEDULER, PAUSE that thing. That is right click that icon, and on the menu
select PAUSE. (As a matter of fact during all new software installs, PAUSE that thing.)
_Note: Your icons will come back after your next reboot. But very often all of that crap running keeps the Disk
Defrag from being able to function correctly.
_Do a "Control-Alt-Delete" and "End Task" anything that looks like "Schedule ap".
6 - Once all icons that CAN be closed are closed, then run the Scan Disk program
_Start>Run>Programs>System Tools>ScanDisk
_Just use the regular scan, NOT the thorough.
7 - For most of the times you will be able to go ahead and do the Disk Defragmenter. (If the disk defrag program
hangs up and doesn't seem to be making progress, allow for even 4 times it self-restarts, then try Rebooting before
running the Disk Defrag)
_If the Disk Defrag does not seem to be making progress (allow it 5 minutes at least), then STOP the program with
it's STOP button. Exit out and Reboot the computer and try again starting at STEP 4.
That's it. But you ABSOLUTELY have to do this or you will find that your software programs (Netscape, AOL, WordPerfect,
etc.) will be doing really odd, odd, weird errors and responses. It is not uncommon to experience this if you have
not done the Disk Defrag in two weeks. If you never do this ... you may probably hard crash the computer system
after about 6 or 7 months.
Either way, in 6 or 7 months of no Disk Defrag... you will be able to go to the Fair n Square supermarket while
you wait for the computer to give you responses... i.e., the computer realllllly gets very, very, slow
Disk Defrag is a pretty powerful program. It takes about 1/2 hour on this new computer.
NEVER run the Disk Defrag without running the ScanDisk first (including if/when a stupid Technician tells you that
"it's okay." It's not okay.)
You have to run the Scan Disk first and immediately before running the Disk Defrag. So, if something interrupts
you after you have run the Scan Disk and you go and run another software program, like checking your email real
quick, then reboot the computer, run the Scan Disk again, and then immediately next run the Disk Defragmenter.
Some stupid technicians will tell you that it's okay to run Disk Defragmenter at any time. Ask them if they do
that on their own computer? Ask them if they even have a home computer? Ask them if they have noticed that they
need to have their office computer's Windows program reloaded a lot more than his/her fellow co-technicians? This
technician is just plain wrong, and they probably don't even have a home computer. The procedure is REBOOT ...
CLOSE MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAMS ... immediately next SCAN DISK ... DISK DEFRAG immediately next, period.
Stop Being Timed Off of
Your Internet Provider (email from U S WEST Internet Services Technical Support)
There are two places that you can check on your computer to see if you have a timeout feature
set. First, go to My Computer > Dial up Networking. Right click on your US WEST icon, and choose Properties.
In your General tab, click the Configure button, then Connection tab, then Call Preferences. If the box that reads
something similar to "disconnect if idle for more than X minutes" is checked, either set this to an acceptable
time or uncheck it to disable it entirely. Click okay to return to the desktop.
Secondly, your Internet Settings in the Control Panel may be causing this disruption. Go to Start > Settings
> Control Panel, and double click on the Internet icon. Choose the connections tab, then select the U S WEST
dialer icon, choose Settings and the Advanced button.
Again, if the box that reads something similar to "disconnect if idle for more than X minutes" is checked,
either set this to an acceptable time or uncheck it to disable it entirely. Click okay to return to the desktop
and try your connection again.
If this does not solve your issue, please respond to this email with the make and model information on your modem.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF E-MAIL
1) Thou shalt include a clear and specific subject line.
2) Thou shalt edit any quoted text down to the minimum thou needest.
3) Thou shalt read thine own message thrice before thou sendest it.
4) Thou shalt ponder how thy recipient might react to thy message.
5) Thou shalt check thy spelling and thy grammar.
6) Thou shalt not curse, flame, spam or USE ALL CAPS.
7) Thou shalt not forward any chain letter.
8) Thou shalt not use e-mail for any illegal or unethical purpose.
9) Thou shalt not rely on the privacy of e-mail, especially from work.
10) When in doubt, save thy message overnight and reread it in the light of the dawn.
And, here's the "Golden Rule" of E-Mail:
That which thou findest hateful to receive, sendest thou not unto others.
AUSTIN, Texas- Dell Computer Corp. is giving another boost to the upstart Linux operating system by announcing plans
to install it on a line of high-end computer servers.
Dell also said Monday that Linux software packager Red Hat Inc. will provide customer service and technical support
for the line.
Linux is considered by some as a major alternative to Microsoft's Windows operating systems. Supporters say Linux
is flexible and rarely crashes, a complaint they have about Microsoft's Windows NT.
Linux is available for free download on the Internet. But the necessity to memorize and type commands and the lack
of compatible software applications has made the system daunting to everyday users. Red Hat is one of a number
of companies that sell commercial versions that include support and technical manuals.
While Linux-based systems are responsible for a small percentage of Dell's $18.2 billion in revenue, the popularity
of the system is growing, said Dell spokesman Bruce Anderson. Dell has doubled its orders of Linux systems since
August, he added.
On Monday, Dell said it would begin installing the Linux systems on its entire line of PowerEdge servers, a high-end
system that offers power, speed and plenty of storage space. PowerEdge customers range from small businesses to
large Internet service providers who spend anywhere from $5,000 to upward of $12,000 for the systems, said Anderson.
With this move, Dell becomes the first major manufacturer to do so for an entire computer line, analysts said.
"It's pretty significant that they are doing a factory install of Linux right from Dell's service factory,
and it's across the whole Intel server line they have," said Barry Jaruzelski, an analyst with Booz-Allen
& Hamilton in New York. "This displays a much higher commitment."
Dell, one the nation's top makers of personal computers, also offers Red Hat Linux for certain desktop PCs and
workstations.
Gateway, IBM, Compaq and Hewlett-Packard have all agreed to similar arrangements with Red Hat to help support their
use of Linux.
Red Hat is the fastest growing seller of Linux software, but two competitors go public this week: Acton, Mass.-based
Andover.net and Sunnyvale, Calif.-based VA Linux.
Just when it looked as if computers could not get cheaper, Intel Corp. hopes to usher in an age of minimal-cost
PCs -- perhaps as low as $400 -- next year. And the systems would not only benefit consumers. The chip maker says the new personal
computers will help PC manufacturers, whose margins have been squeezed by the sub-$1,000 PC phenomena, to make
money at the low end of the price range.
With average retail PC selling prices heading below $850 in September, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is targeting an emerging sub-segment of the under-$1,000, or "value market," with extremely
low-cost chips resulting in models that will straddle the PC/appliance line.
These minimal-cost PCs, likely costing $600 or less and perhaps as low as $399, will be driven by a forthcoming
inexpensive integrated Intel processor, code-named Timna. Intel says such PCs should benefit customers by allowing
PC makers to create a range of newcheap PCs, full-function
PCs or appliance devices that cost even less, based on the relatively inexpensive Timna.
Profits for everyone With the exception of eMachines Inc., most PC makers don't offer
Windows-based models costing much below $599. While some have offered PCs under $500, they have generally been
with outdated, end-of-life technologies such as slower processors and CD-ROM drives.
The reason is clear: There is little if any profit at the low end of the PC market, analysts
agree.
With Timna, Intel is attempting to make it easier for vendors to hit lower price points. For
PC buyers, this means brand new technologies with decent performance for lower prices.
"What you'll see next year is the sub-segmenting of the value space," said Pat Gelsinger, an Intel vice
president and general manager of its Desktop Products Group. "Everybody has priced (PCs) to compete in the
(value) space, but nobody's making money."
Timna boasts integration To that end, the company will offer Timna, which is based on
Intel's new 0.18-micron manufacturing process, in the second half of next year.
Timna will combine a Pentium processor core developed specifically for this low-costmarket with a graphics engine and memory controller. By combining these three functions
into a single chip, Intel says it will lower PC makers' overall component costs and reduce
the size of the motherboard needed for Timna-based a system, another cost-saving measure.
Cost savings allow PC makers to charge less for a given system. But for end users,
the chip promises even lower entry-level pricing. Such PCs can be viewed as the equivalent of
entry-level automobiles, which are relatively inexpensive, but meet all of the basic needs of the customer. Their
low cost may also encourage those buyers who have not yet purchased PCs to jump on the bandwagon.
Analysts agree there is an emerging sub-segment of ultra-low-cost PCs in the sub-$1,000 PC market. Just follow
the market trends, they say. September market research numbers show that average retail desktop PC sold for about
$828. The price decline seen in September was 23 percent, according to market research firm NPD Intellect LCC.
While PCs priced between $600 and $1,000 accounted for a majority of sales in September, 43 percent -- or roughly
one-third of the PCs sold in the retail market -- were priced below $600, according to NPD.
Prices to keep declining "I think we're going to consistently see prices decline. I think ASPs
(average selling prices) are going to drop into the $600 to $700 range next year," said Matt Sargent, principle
of Sargent Consulting a San Diego-based market research firm. "I think we're going to see a lot of systems,
that are limited systems, in the $400 to $500 price range. The question is what is a PC and what isn't?"
Intel says that those definitions don't matter. The Timna chip will support PCs that run
Windows as well as appliance devices that run Linux.
"It's an Intel Architecture product and it runs Windows, so it's a PC," Gelsinger said. If a
PC maker or device maker were to use Timna in a device with limited function and an operating system like Linux,
he said, "now you call it an appliance."
Sargent agreed, but it's not a given that PC makers will adopt Timna because it has Intel
inside.
"I think that makes sense. I think Intel learned in the retail market in 1997 and 1998 that it can't ignore
the low end and just play in the high end," Sargent said. "(However), you're seeing the move already
with VIA (Technologies Inc.) They'll come out with a continued focus (on low end)."
Via to take bite out of Timna? VIA, which purchased National Semiconductor Inc.'s Cyrix processor business and
IDT's WinChip business late in the summer, has made public its
plans to continue to produce Cyrix MII chips, at least through its 433MHz equivalent.
It will follow with two new processors for Socket 370, a 370 pin socket for low-cost PCs developed by Intel for
its Celeron chip. The two chips include an MII-based follow-on running at 433MHz to 566MHz equivalents and a later
chip, based on Centaur Winchip technology at speeds of 500Mhz and greater in late 2000, according to published
reports.
It is likely that low-cost PC makers will at least evaluate the new chips, possibly pitting them against Timna.
The company has made veiled references to an internal effort to develop its own integrated
platforms, and has said publicly it will offer low-cost versions of its Athlon chip, which
utilize a lower-cost socket, called Socket A.
AMD, in addition, will debut in the first half of next year new versions of its K6-2 and K6-III chips, called K6-2+
and K6-III+, using the 0.18-micron manufacturing process. The K6-2+ chip will offer 128KB of integrated cache,
which should help boost performance over the current iteration of the chip.
The $399 PC Although Timna will address the low end of the market for Intel, the company has no plans to abandon
its Celeron chip, which serves the $600 to $1,200 PC market.
Intel will continue to improve Celeron by moving it to the 0.18-micron manufacturing
process, which will bring with it faster clock speeds, in the first half of 2000. Users should
expect to see this version of the chip debut at speeds of about 550MHz. It should scale to
600MHz and faster in the second half of the year.
But just how low will PC prices go when the next wave of low-cost chips hit?
"It's hard to see (PC prices) going much below $399, given the current pricing structure,"
said Stephen Baker, director of analysis at market research firm PC Data Inc. in Reston,
VA.
However, he said, "there may be some opportunity between all those things (Timna,
combined with the removal of legacy components, such as PS/2 ports or ISA buses from PC) for some decent savings."
