Links for Sunday August 5, 2001

Here are the links from the show on August 5, 2001

Winning at Spider:

http://www.semicolon.com/Solitaire/Articles/Spider.htm

Wireless Internet company to shut down network, sell assets:

http://www.dallasnews.com/technology/434921_ricochet_.html

Metricom to halt Richochet service

http://siliconvalley.internet.com/news/article/0,2198,3531_859701,00.html

Top 20 Virus Report:

http://securityportal.com/research/virus/virustop20.html

Privacy chief picked at Justice:

http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2001/0723/web-doj-07-25-01.asp

Privacy advocates take aim at Windows XP:

http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6676181.html?tag=mn_hd

'Code Red' worm minimized -- for now:

http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/internet/08/02/code.red.worm/index.html

There are several versions of the Windows operating system. There were two versions of Windows 95, the original and an upgrade that was offered as what Microsoft calls a "service pack". Windows 98 came in two versions, 98 and 98 Second Edition (SE). Window NT came in several versions for both network servers and individual work stations. The latest version is Windows 2000. The latest version is Windows Millennium (ME) Edition. Microsoft will release still another version of Windows in October, called Windows XP. Having said all that, how on earth can we determine what hardware is compatible with what version of Windows? Microsoft has taken care of that issue by creating a special page on the Microsoft web site. Take a look at www.microsoft.com/hcl/default.asp. This page lists hardware devices like USB hubs, printers, motherboards, modems and just about any other hardware device that works with Windows. When you select a device and click on the Search button, Microsoft displays lists of available hardware (the type you selected) and places an icon in any of the four Windows operating systems listed: Windows 98, ME, NT 4.0 and Windows 2000. These pages list the product type, the name of the company that manufactures the product and the product name. For example, under Modem/ Analog, the hardware list page displays Modem/ Analog under Type, 3Com Corporation under Company and then the product name, including a part number and a description. Always check for "minimum requirements" printed on the box or in the manual for that hardware device. If Windows 95 isn't listed, it may not work with your Windows 95 computer.

Windows has never been able to give us an accurate picture of the CPU (Central Processing Unit). Bring up the System Properties by clicking on Start, Settings and on Control Panel. Double-click on the System icon and look at the information available in the Computer: section of the General tab. Alternatively, If your keyboard has a "Windows key" (located between the Ctrl and Alt keys in the bottom-left corner of your keyboard) press and hold it down while your press the Pause/Break key (it's located at the right side of the top row of keys). The CPU in your computer will be described as either a "GenuineIntel" or "AuthenticAMD" processor. The rest of the description doesn't really give you much useful information. There's a better way if you have a fairly new computer. If your computer uses an Intel processor, on the net open "http://support.intel.com/SUPPORT/processors/tools/frequencyid" (don't use the quotes). Click on "Download Utility",then click on "Download Windows version of the utility". Note that you can also download a bootable version of this software product and save it to a bootable floppy disk. In that case the utility will run every time you boot the computer from that bootable floppy disk. Select the English version of the file and then click on "fidenu13.exe". Click on the North America download location. In the File Download box. With "Save this program to disk" selected, click on OK. The "Save As" windows will open and Windows will want to save the file to your Desktop. Click OK. Click on the new icon on your desktop to install the ID utility. Follow the prompts to complete the install. When you run the utility it, will display both the expected and the reported Processor and System Bus speeds. Click on the CPUID Data tab for more information, including the amount of Level 2 and Level 1 cache memory available. If your computer is powered by an AMD processor, go to the Web and open http://www.amd.com/products/cpg/bin/. Download the file AMD CPUID by clicking on Web Only, the first entry in the second column (titles File). Once the file is downloaded, run it from the Desktop and it will display a single window containing information on the CPU speed, level 1 and 2 Cache, the presence of MMX, extended MMX, 3DNOW and extended 3DNOW. The processor's family, model and step rate will be listed as single digit numbers.

PC computer keyboards do not have keys for symbols like those used to show cents, degrees and registered (as in Trademark). These symbols, and many more, are available and in this lesson I'll show you how to find and use them. Windows has a feature called the Character Map. You can use the Character Map to insert symbols that aren't used in the English language. You can click on Start, Programs, Accessories and then on System Tools. Click on Character Map and, when it opens, you can find a wealth of symbols. Click on the down arrow next to Fonts to display symbols available in any of the fonts listed. To copy a symbol, click once to highlight that symbol, click on Select, then on Copy. Now you can go back to the program you were working in, place your cursor on the space where the symbol is to be copied, click on Edit and click Paste. You can keep the Character Map open while you work a program. If you don't have the Character Map installed, double- click on My Computer, Control Panel, and click Add/ Remove Programs. Click on the Windows Setup tab. Scroll down and highlight System Tools. Click on the Details button and place a checkmark in the box that appears to the left of Character Map in the Components: window. Click OK twice and the Character Map will be installed. You may be prompted to insert your Windows CD-ROM disk or direct it to your Windows install files. In Microsoft Word, you can insert special characters and symbols by clicking on Insert and then on Symbol. Click on the down arrow in the Font: window and select the font you'll be working with. Now you can use the Symbols or the Special Characters tab to find symbols and special characters. Highlight your selection and the Character Map will display any shortcut key strokes you can use to insert that character or symbol from the keyboard. You can also change the default key stokes, and there is an Insert button that lets you insert the highlighted symbol or special character directly into your document.

From time to time we make changes in our Windows 95 or 95 program that require us to insert the Windows CD-ROM disk. Here's how to keep those files on your hard drive so they are always available when you need them. Hold down the Shift key and insert the Windows CD-ROM disk into the CD-ROM drive. Holding down the shift key keeps your CD-ROM from starting the CD-ROM disk. Double-click on My Computer and note the drive letter assigned to your CD-ROM drive. Close the My Computer window by clicking on the X in the upper right-hand corner of that windows. Now click on Start. Click on Programs and select the MS-DOS Prompt icon. If you are using Windows 95, from the DOS window type MD C:\WIN95 and press Enter. If you are using Windows 98 type MD C:\WIN98 and press Enter. You are now ready to copy the CAB or driver files from your Windows 98 CD-ROM disk to your hard drive. Again for Windows 95 Type XCOPY32 E:\WIN95 C:\WIN95 /S (where E: represents your CD-ROM drive letter. Use whatever letter you found when you opened My Computer. If you are using Windows 98 substitute 98 for 95. When the copy process is finished and you are back at a DOS prompt just type EXIT and press the Enter key to return to Windows. Whenever Windows asks for the Windows CD-ROM disk, just type in the path C:\WIN95 or C:\WIN98 and the files Windows looks for will be located on your hard drive. No need to go looking for the Windows CD-ROM disk. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?