<$BlogRSDUrl$>

Saturday, December 20, 2003

Taking a Chrismas Vaction till Monday Jan. 5, will do my best to kept up but can't say if computers will be there for me. Check in and like I said, I'll do my best". See how much of a type A I can be.
D, Advising at Keen

Friday, December 19, 2003

9 Things to Do With Old PCs By Warren Ernst

If you've been using PCs for a while, you're bound to have an old one you don't use much, if at all. With 2-GHz computers available for well under $1,000, what good is an old 300-MHz Pentium II system? The answer depends on your willingness to experiment, have fun, learn, and prevent pollution. Here are ten things you can do with that old PC, starting with tasks for relatively "better" old PCs, and working our way down to the real junkers.
Learn networking. With two computers on hand, you can take a stab at making a LAN. All versions of Windows since Windows 95 have networking features built-in, so you won't need additional software. On the hardware side, you'll need an Ethernet card for your old machine (around $15, and your new PC probably already has Ethernet built-in) and either a network cable (from $2 to $30, depending on its length) or a hub or switch (about $40) with standard CAT5 networking cables.

The Windows Help files aren't too helpful, but there are dozens of excellent Web sites that walk you through the process. One of our favorites is World of Windows Networking (www.wown.com), though it can be a little overwhelming at first. A simpler page for Windows 95/98-only networking can be found at TunisiaDaily (www.tunisiadaily.com/answers/
networking.html.) You can also check out our extensive coverage of home networking at www.pcmag.com/networking and our issue of April 8.

It pays to learn the basics of networking first, because some of the other suggestions below are greatly enhanced when your old machine is networked to your newer one.

Make a multimedia player. Most computers have sound cards, and any system later than a Pentium 200 can run Winamp skip-free. Try installing your favorite digital-music software on the old machine. (MusicMatch Jukebox is the PC Magazine Editors' Choice in our issue of November 11.) If you want your MP3 or WMA collection to play on your living-room stereo instead of your computer, you've got a digital jukebox ready to go.

For basic music playback, you can connect your sound card's 1/8-inch stereo plug to a pair of RCA female plugs—labeled AUX input on the back of most stereos—with a commonly available Y cable, such as Radio Shack part 42-2551 ($7 list).

To integrate your PC with your home theater setup more completely, you may want a few more items. Buy a wireless keyboard/mouse combo for about $50 and you can control the show from your couch. A video card with a Video Out connector will let you hook your PC to your television, eliminating the need for a monitor. If you've networked your PCs, you can play music files directly from your main PC through the stereo.

Try multiplayer games. When your family members complain that you spend too much time playing PC games, you could simply cut down, or you can convince them to join you. Once your home network is set up, you can have mini-LAN parties any time you want.

The real trick is finding games that work well with your oldest computer. Perhaps the best choice is DOOM 95, which works fairly well even on a 486DX/66 system and runs smoothly on a Pentium/200 computer. As the name suggests, the game works within Windows 95 and later, and it supports several different types of networks. Free demos are available at Id Software's FTP site (ftp://ftp.idsoftware.com/idstuff/doom/
win95/doom95.zip), but a Google search for DOOM 95 1.9 download reveals many more reliable sites. You can find the full version, along with dozens of expansion packs, on eBay.

Install Linux. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about Linux, the free, Unix-like operating system for PCs. If you have ever considered trying it but were afraid of what it might do to your existing Windows setup, why not try it on a different computer?

Linux supports a surprisingly wide range of older hardware. In fact, sometimes the older the hardware, the better Linux supports it. There are versions, called distributions, that are suitable for very old computers, too. Debian Linux (www.debian.org) is well suited to slower machines, and it is also friendly and well documented enough for beginners. If you have a PC faster than 300 MHz or so, you may want to try Mandrake Linux (www.mandrakelinux.com,) which is considered the most friendly and comprehensive Linux distribution out there. It can feel a little slow on a Pentium/166, however.

If you have a broadband connection, you can download CD-ROM images of Linux and burn your own installation discs for free. Alternatively, you can purchase Linux for a small fee (ranging from $5 to $80) or buy a Linux book that comes with Linux discs. Check out PC Magazine's "Get Started with Linux" at www.pcmag.com/linux.

Make a printer/file/Web server. If your old computer is in good shape but just too slow for your needs, it may make a fine server.

If you have a few printers connected to a few computers, consider connecting all the printers to your old computer and setting up a network to your newer machines. This way, you leave one computer on all the time, which saves energy, and you'll be able to print from any networked machine to any of the printers.

Similarly, consolidate files if you and the users of your other networked computers are always trying to locate the same data. Finding MP3s and shared documents becomes a snap when there's only one household My Documents and My Music location. And you'll have only one directory to back up.

If you have broadband and a household router, your service provider may let you host a Web (or other) server, but be sure to check your terms of service. Even Windows 98 can host a personal Web page and hundreds of files for the occasional visitor to your site. Just make sure that you have updated your OS with the latest fixes and have a solid antivirus program and firewall in place. Apache is a free, high-quality server software package (www.apache.org).

Donate your unwanted PC to a local school. If you really have no use for an old machine or two, call your local school or school district. Many districts have minimum donation standards, such as accepting nothing older than a 486-based system, so be sure to ask. Some PC makers have their own donation programs. Dell, for example, works with a foundation that provides computers to disabled children (www.dell.com/recycling). Gateway buyers can request a recycle/donation form, which, when validated by a recycling center or charity group, entitles them to discounts on future purchases. (More on recycling below.)

Take it apart. Did you ever wonder how a CPU is connected to a motherboard? Are you not sure how to remove a hard drive? Do you want to practice inserting and removing RAM modules? An older computer is an excellent practice PC for maintenance and upgrades. You might want to keep it around just to perform trial runs before taking a screwdriver to your new $2,000 PC.

Strip it and sell the parts. Somewhere in the world, some small business or volunteer organization is getting by with old computers that work just fine. But when those machines break, getting replacement parts can be very difficult. Your old motherboard, video card, hard drive, network card, or other component could be invaluable to someone out there on eBay.

When posting your items for sale, try to include the full name of the component, including any part numbers, serial numbers, and FCC ID numbers printed on the part, because that's what a potential buyer will search for. Also, don't expect to make more than a few dollars on any item. The point here is to help someone else out, not make a killing.

Recycle it. If none of these ideas tickle your fancy, don't just throw your computer away. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (www.svtc.org) estimates that consumer electronics constitute 40 percent of the lead found in landfills, and other toxic materials, such as cadmium, barium, and mercury, are all found in PC components. Because of this, many municipal refuse and recycling companies don't offer curbside pickup of computer equipment.

Fortunately, computer-recycling companies meet this challenge. PC recycling is sometimes free; otherwise there may be a modest fee ($5 to $15). Call your city, town, or village hall to find out whether your area has a computer-recycling program. You can also search Google for computer recycling in your area, or check the Yellow Pages. Some computer vendors, like Dell and HP, accept PCs for recycling and reward you with gift certificates or discounts on future purchases.

Warren Ernst is a computer consultant, author, and journalist. You can visit his Web site at www.warrenernst.com.
GOT QUESTIONS? YOU KNOW WHERE I AM. KEEN.COM


Thursday, December 18, 2003

Taking a Chrismas Vaction till Monday Jan. 5, will do my best to kept up but can't say if computers will be there for me. Check in and like I said, I'll do my best". See how much of a type A I can be.

***MONEY MATTERS
AT THE CLOSE DIA 102.65 0.79; QQQ 35.48 0.57; SPY 109.50 1.00; Delayed Reuters
**********************END

D, Advising at Keen

***Money MATTERS
AT THE CLOSE AT THE NYSE - DIA 102.65 0.79; QQQ 35.48 0.57; SPY 109.50 1.00; Delayed Reuters
******************************END
***Tech Stuff on "The Fed." and Spam, look out
Microsoft and Mr. Spitzer each have been acting against spam in recent months, but now the world's biggest software company and the nation's best-known state attorney general are working together," The Wall Street Journal reported. Link to full story
********************************END
***MONEY MATTERS
Do this one thing for yourself for next year and the rest of your life. Go to www.findaplanner.org. Just because you use a financial advisor doesn't mean their any good. Find out. And remember this as well, "The Person" you hired, maybe as little as a year ago, doesn't mean that that person is the same (Good) as they were when you hired them. People change, you may have to change people because of it. And it could be you that's changed.
**********************************END
*** TECH STUFF
Don't be a Victim, a recent Harris Poll showed that 90% of Americans are concerned about threats to their private inforation.
For more information on protecting against indentity theft go to http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/
And shred anything that has your name and address on it that your going to put in your trash.
**************************END
***MONEY MATTERS
Do you know who is doing your tax returns?
U.S. tax preparers exporting work to India
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/12/17/BUG163OIH51.DTL
**********************************END
Taking a Chrismas Vaction till Monday Jan. 5, will do my best to kept up but can't say if computers will be there for me. Check in and like I said, I'll do my best". See how much of a type A I can be.
D, Advising at Keen

Wednesday, December 17, 2003

***MONEY MATTERS
AT THE CLOSE DIA 101.63 0.13; QQQ 34.85 0.00; SPY 108.30 0.14; Delayed Reuters
***********************************END

**** TECH REMINDER
It's Wednesday, check to see if there are updates for Windows
Remember, Microsoft DOESN'T EMAIL UPDATE. Just click on the "tools" hotspot in your "Tool Bar", then go to "Windows Update" and click there. Do sometime after 4 PM in Washington state time.
**********************************END
Taking a Chrismas vacation till Monday Jan. 5, will do my best to kept up but can't say if computers will be there for me. Check in and like I said, I'll do my best". See how much of a type A I can be.

Happy 100 th to the Wright brothers. Some would say that "TECH" really started then.


Tuesday, December 16, 2003

Taking a Chrismas Vaction till Monday Jan. 5, will do my best to kept up but can't say if computers will be there for me. Check in and like I said, I'll do my best". See how much of a type A I can be.
D, Advising at Keen

***MONEY MATTERS
Close on Dec. 16 th. DIA 101.56 1.11; QQQ 34.98 0.20; SPY 108.27 0.67; Delayed Reuters
*******************end
*********MONEY MATTERS***
Ok, Boeing Aircraft, today said it's is now booking orders for it's new 7E7 Dream liner link to the story
Now, the last time they did this I bought stock in them. Symbol is BA. Now that doesn't mean a thing today. So do your own due diligence. I have yet to do mine. But at lease the is time to the news and it's news that moves the market. Today BA closed at $39.93 up .73 which is 1.86%. But you got time, if BA pulls back to $34. and change that would be a good thing. $32 is as good as I'd need. That would be it's early "early Aug. 2003" mark. Just so you know BA was at $70 in late 2000 and around April of 01. The Plane itself will not be delivered till 2006, or matbe 2008. IF thing go as before, and BA has done this right 8 times before, the price in 2006, 2 yrs from should and could be back to $70.
And of course Lucent (LU) is the "Day Traders" soup of the day.
****END
D, Advising at Keen

***Almost a new item, new posting on the new Spam law just signed by our not so tech president...
Contributor; ries-knight.net

Groan, now to prepare for 10x the spam we got before. This time from
"legit" mailers.

Forget spam ... Let's focus on the TERM UCE... and create a pariah status
for such stuff.

We need to get ISP's on board to clarify the term "Unsolicited Commercial
Email" and include it in TOS statements. If ISP's and Domain Registrars
will tighten up on the sending of UCE and the UCE promotions and support of
domains they Register and host, we might get a handle on this. A company's
TOS defines what one is allowed to do using the ISP's resources and
services, and that trumps legal under the law, as long as it is made clear
to the users of those services. It may be legal to post hate messages, but
if a service provider says it is not allowed, and they enumerate what they
mean, a site can be blocked by the service provider for posting or sending
hate messages.

If there is a Legal standing that opposes this approach, please suggest the
WWWWWH of that standing.

Just imagine if a BlueChip Fortune 100 company found that it's ad campaigns
for services and products by UCE got nothing but bad responses by the
public... how long will they continue using UCE after Peter Jennings, Ted
Koppell, Neil Cavuto and Tom Brokaw reported the negativity?


My views on UCE, vindicated by a new law in California.
http://www.ries-knight.net/UCE/index.html
.
Sending UCE is like screwing in church during the sermon.
If you are noticed you are shunned for the rest of your days.
***END


***First Item of the Day
It's Tuesday check Norton for updates. And remember it's going to be "THAT" time of the year again when new to computers people are going to be coming on the net for the first time as they got their first or new computers. Which means that the spammers and hacker and new viruses are going to start running on their new year high level of activity.
***Brake

***Another Item
President Signs Anti-Spam Law contributor "Bill" of yourcomputers.org
***brake
***Another Item
Sun Microsystems Funds New Generation of SETI@home Based on the BOINC Platform Link
***brake

D, Advising at Keen

Monday, December 15, 2003

Today's e-mail messages and IM sessions are full of indecipherable acronyms and abbreviations.

Some Common Emoticons and Acronyms
http://www.pb.org/emoticon.html

Seize the Day,
D

Sunday, December 14, 2003

"We Got him!" now I can call San Francisco " Badhdad by the bay" again.

And on the "spam" side of things, We may have a couple of them now too. WE have trails in this part of the world to find out for sure.


"Virginia indicts two on spam felony charges" Link to the full story.

D, Advising at Keen

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?