From lockergnome2_452FC4980AFE609254C1025DEEC78C9D@reply.whatcounts.com Fri Jun 25 04:18:21 2004 Return-Path: Received: from mxfs.nettally.com (mxfs.nettally.com [199.44.114.227]) by nexus.polaris.net (8.12.11/8.12.11) with ESMTP id i5P8IInk017715 for ; Fri, 25 Jun 2004 04:18:19 -0400 (EDT) Received: from gateway3.nettally.com [199.44.114.226] by mxfs.nettally.com with ESMTP (SMTPD32-8.03) id AFC833AF00CC; Fri, 25 Jun 2004 04:18:16 -0400 Received: from lockergnome.wc09.net (63.214.0.205) by gateway3.nettally.com (Alligate(TM) SMTP Gateway v1.4.612.2) with ESMPT id <9E9B41DAFA2D2A2B.A34318F1F2AB391B@gateway3.nettally.com> for ; Fri, 25 Jun 2004 04:18:10 -0500 Received: from monch (192.168.0.37) by lockergnome.wc09.net (PowerMTA(TM) v2.0r1) id hrfevc054e4j; Fri, 25 Jun 2004 00:29:22 -0700 (envelope-from ) From: "Lockergnome" To: kermit@polaris.net Subject: Lockergnome's Windows Fanatics ~ Foolproof And Incapable Of Error Date: 25 Jun 2004 00:37:14 PDT Reply-To: "Lockergnome" X-Habeas-SWE-1: winter into spring X-Habeas-SWE-2: brightly anticipated X-Habeas-SWE-3: like Habeas SWE (tm) X-Habeas-SWE-4: Copyright 2002 Habeas (tm) X-Habeas-SWE-5: Sender Warranted Email (SWE) (tm). The sender of this X-Habeas-SWE-6: email in exchange for a license for this Habeas X-Habeas-SWE-7: warrant mark warrants that this is a Habeas Compliant X-Habeas-SWE-8: Message (HCM) and not spam. Please report use of this X-Habeas-SWE-9: mark in spam to . MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/html X-Mailer: WhatCounts X-Alligate: Not subscribed Message-Id: <200406250418111.SM00408@gateway3.nettally.com> X-Declude-Status: Waiting for activation code Status: O Lockergnome's Windows Fanatics ~ June 24, 2004
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Lockergnome's Windows Fanatics ~ June 24, 2004   

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GNOMEREPORT: Foolproof And Incapable Of Error
DOWNLOAD: Just Navbars
DOWNLOAD: Binary Clock
FAVORITE: GUIdebook
BABBLE: Trade Show Exhibit
GNEWBIE GNOOK: What's This About A Registry?
TIP: Say Goodbye To The "Go" Button
TCB: Recruiting Software
SPECIAL: AOL Engineer Sold 92m Names To Spammers
NEWS: As Reported By ActiveWin.com

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PentaSuite

GNOMEREPORT: Foolproof And Incapable Of Error

FILEhand Search is a fast Google-like desktop search engine for your PC!

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Instantly search your PDF, Word, WordPerfect, PowerPoint, Excel, HTML/MHT, and MP3 files by content. Results sorted by relevance. Scrollable extracts. Search by word, phrase, and booleans." Dirt-simple user interface." Once you start using it, you'll wonder how you managed without it." But don't take our word for it, read this review.

Gnomies: Take 15% off (coupon code GNOMIE). Download the 30-day eval. (Requires Windows XP or 2000, and .NET)

How many products are available for sale on the Web? I tried to count 'em all, and I came up with a big, big number somewhere between 'about a zillion' and 'way too many.' Without the cold logic of a HAL 9000 supercomputer to guide you through the thousands upon thousands of books, CDs, DVDs, electronics, sporting goods, gizmos, gadgets, and whatnots available online (and kill you when you're taking a casual spacewalk), two new Lockergnome sites can help you weed through the chaff to find the treasure (hargh!) ye seek, matey.

Lockergnome Books is a complete Internet bookstore, featuring just about every category craved by Earthlings - photography, computers, fiction, classics, e-Books, sci-fi, technical, home and garden, and more. View the bestsellers in any category and check out online availability and pricing. On a quest for used, hard-to-find, out-of-print, or collectible books? End the hunt early and look here first!

What do I hear bid for this vintage, one-of-a-kind Pet Rock? Find out at Lockergnome Auctions, a central location for the most current auctions now online. Before buying that amazing cell phone that picks up a signal from four planets away and mixes a stiff martini in under thirty seconds, compare prices and see if you can get a better deal through us. Need a copy of Windows 3.0 to boot up that old 286? Odds are you'll find it here. Oh, you'll also find art, comic books, travel clubs, watches, beanie babies, clothing, instruments (for the musician or the engineer), and many other items. You might even secure 10 acres for that dream home! Going once, going twice...

Yours digitally,
Chris Pirillo

^TOP^

DOWNLOAD: Just Navbars [2260K] Win98/2k/XP Shareware

Click here to enlarge!

http://go.lockergnome.com/423

You can completely customize your navbar from the colors, shape and fill style so that your navbar will look just how you expected it to be. You can build navbars now by using your favorite images. Or custom fill your navbar with a tiled image or use a gradient fill! Using existing images you can create horizontal navbars as well. New Tube Wizard allows you to quickly create a color matched tube effect for your nav bars.

[Free Trial | Buy Directly]

^TOP^

DOWNLOAD: Binary Clock [212K] Win9x/2k/XP FREE

Click here to enlarge!

http://go.lockergnome.com/430

Reading binary is a skill that some elite geeks possess. If you ever want to get freaked out, watch someone who can translate it into our human words. That's right - people who can read binary are cyborgs. According to "My Little Book of Irrational Beliefs," there's a lot of evidence to back up that claim. Well, maybe not, but I'm still convinced. If you'd like to get started counting in binary, check out the Binary Clock.

The clock is a fun thing to have on your desktop if you're trying to brush up on your binary, and really, who isn't? Even though it's just a clock, there is still some nice customization available here. You can get rid of the window border, change the size, have it always stay on top, and even change the display to something like hex or Roman numerals. However, it would be nice if you could customize the color and font of the clock a little more. If you want to customize the program yourself, download the source code from the Web site. For your information, the help file is also a separate download on the site. [Brandon]

^TOP^

FAVORITE: GUIdebook

Click here to enlarge!

http://go.lockergnome.com/431

One of the most underappreciated things about computing today is the GUI (Graphical User Interface). Without a nice interface, your computing experience would be garbage. I'm sure we have all seen some hits and some misses when it comes to this type of design. A really bad interface can make a piece of software unusable, no matter how full-featured it is. A site called GUIdebook offers a gallery of GUIs that have been developed over the years.

It's rather amazing how in-depth the site goes with documenting these interfaces. Large amounts of screenshots are available so you can see how the look has developed with time. Even the evolution of the various icons is displayed in an impressive timeline chart. We're not just talking about the Windows side of things, either. You'll find a whole range of operating systems, including some that you have probably never even heard of. Believe it or not, you'll also hear how the system sounds have changed since their inception! GUIdebook is an interesting ride through the retro and recent world of graphical user interfaces. What's your favorite GUI? [Brandon]

^TOP^

BABBLE: Trade Show Exhibit

Need help creating a trade show exhibit?

^TOP^

GNEWBIE GNOOK: What's This About A Registry?

Four Magazines for the price of one! Choose the publication you want delivered to your door each month, but you will still receive online access to all 4! There's Smart Computing, Simple, sensible explanations in plain English; PC Today, for all users of Windows and other Microsoft software; Computer Power User, for Advanced power users or those who'd like to be; and CE Tips, for casual electronics users to hardcore gadget hounds. Improve your productivity and stay up-to-date on new developments with these fantastic periodicals. Start reading today!

Brandon Watts

By Brandon Watts

Q: I know very little about the registry. All I hear is that it's dangerous to mess around with. What exactly does the registry do, and how can I take care of it?

A: The registry is a very essential building block of Windows. It's a database that primarily keeps track of all of your software and hardware configuration settings. You usually don't have to mess around with the registry because its normal tasks are taken care of behind the scenes. Tweaking it in the wrong way can cause big problems, and because of this, uninformed users are advised to stay away from this beast.

If you'd like to see what the Registry Editor looks like, go to your Start menu and click on Run. Type regedit in the dialog box and then click on OK. Once the Registry Editor pops up, you'll see why it's such a daunting thing - it's by no means intuitive. However, you can do some fun tweaks in here that will change the appearance and functionality of some key elements in Windows. Sites such as the Windows Registry Guide will give you a little more specific information on the subject. Once again, only make changes to the registry if you know what you're doing, and if you have a backup.

Your registry can get polluted with old information and settings that were not properly removed. This can cause your system to crash or considerably slow down in some cases. Because of this, it's good to have a registry cleaner on hand. I really like a free cleaning program called RegSeeker. Besides cleaning the registry, it can also help you make tweaks, view your startup entries, etc.

Fooling around with the registry can be fun, but be sure to take the proper precautions. If you just jump right in and rub it the wrong way, pain and misery are sure follow.

Have a question or subject that you would like to see covered? Drop Brandon a line and maybe he can include it in a future edition of the Gnewbie Gnook! Also, don't forget our forums (or, if you're a Latin freak, "fora") where Gnomies from all around the world congregate to help, be helped, and discuss issues that may or may not have anything to do with technology!

^TOP^

TIP: Say Goodbye To The "Go" Button

Diana Huggins

By Diana Huggins

When you want to open a Web page, you can type the address for the Web site in the address bar within Internet Explorer. You'll notice directly beside the address bar there is a button labeled as "Go." So once you type in the address you are supposed to press this button and the Web site will open.

I don't think I've ever used this button. Personally, once I have the address typed in, all I do is press Enter on the keyboard. So if you don't use the "go" button, why not get rid of it? It's a piece of cake to do! Within Internet Explorer, right click the "go" button, and from the drop down menu that appears, remove the check beside the Go Button option.

^TOP^

TCB: Recruiting Software

Daniel Gray

By Daniel Gray

With today's crop of recruiting software, the memories of filling out those tedious job applications by hand are but a thing of the past. Once a job prospect fills out an application online, the recruiting software kicks into high gear. The best recruiting software allows for pre-qualification based on job-specific questions. With the right software, companies screen and rank job applicants before the proverbial stack of applicants reaches the recruiter's desk.

Solid candidate, requisition, and interview management functions are some of the key pieces to consider. Recruiters should have access to the complete database of candidates and must be able to easily manage each job opening. It's essential to keep the applicants and requesters in the loop with regard to interview scheduling. Kind and competent recruiters don't want to leave anyone hanging...

[Recruiting Software, continued]

^TOP^

SPECIAL: AOL Engineer Sold 92m Names To Spammers

Gee, why doesn't this sort of thing surprise us, anymore?

From The Guardian:

A software engineer working for America Online was last night charged with stealing the Internet service provider's entire subscriber list and selling it to spammers, the senders of unsolicited junk e-mails. Jason Smathers, 24, was arrested on conspiracy charges at his home in West Virginia, close to AOL's headquarters, where he had worked since 1999. Sean Dunaway, 21, who bought the list of 92m screen names, was arrested in Las Vegas.

[AOL Engineer Sold 92m Names To Spammers, continued]

^TOP^

NEWS: As Reported By ActiveWin.com

^TOP^

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From lockergnome2_452FC4980AFE60928AD80CE36C4F73CF@reply.whatcounts.com Fri Jun 25 04:18:28 2004 Return-Path: Received: from mxfs.nettally.com (mxfs.nettally.com [199.44.114.227]) by nexus.polaris.net (8.12.11/8.12.11) with ESMTP id i5P8IRhc017727 for ; Fri, 25 Jun 2004 04:18:27 -0400 (EDT) Received: from gateway3.nettally.com [199.44.114.226] by mxfs.nettally.com with ESMTP (SMTPD32-8.03) id AFD260A200EC; Fri, 25 Jun 2004 04:18:26 -0400 Received: from lockergnome.wc09.net (63.214.0.205) by gateway3.nettally.com (Alligate(TM) SMTP Gateway v1.4.612.2) with ESMPT id <98B2B351A7C2CFE0.B24B291A495CB8F6@gateway3.nettally.com> for ; Fri, 25 Jun 2004 04:18:20 -0500 Received: from monch (192.168.0.37) by lockergnome.wc09.net (PowerMTA(TM) v2.0r1) id hrfevi054e4d; Fri, 25 Jun 2004 00:55:15 -0700 (envelope-from ) From: "Lockergnome" To: kermit@polaris.net Subject: Lockergnome's IT Professionals ~ No Harps, No Angels Date: 25 Jun 2004 01:03:07 PDT Reply-To: "Lockergnome" X-Habeas-SWE-1: winter into spring X-Habeas-SWE-2: brightly anticipated X-Habeas-SWE-3: like Habeas SWE (tm) X-Habeas-SWE-4: Copyright 2002 Habeas (tm) X-Habeas-SWE-5: Sender Warranted Email (SWE) (tm). The sender of this X-Habeas-SWE-6: email in exchange for a license for this Habeas X-Habeas-SWE-7: warrant mark warrants that this is a Habeas Compliant X-Habeas-SWE-8: Message (HCM) and not spam. Please report use of this X-Habeas-SWE-9: mark in spam to . MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/html X-Mailer: WhatCounts X-Alligate: Not subscribed Message-Id: <200406250418674.SM00408@gateway3.nettally.com> X-Declude-Status: Waiting for activation code Status: O Lockergnome's IT Professionals ~ June 24, 2004
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Lockergnome's IT Professionals ~ June 24, 2004   

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GNOMEREPORT: No Harps, No Angels
JUST ASK MATT!: Horsing Around With Trojan Removal
CONTEST: VS.NET Add-In/Macro Contest - Deadline Approaches
TROUBLESHOOTING: Common Gaming Issues
TALK: Don't Read This Article!
DOWNLOAD: Registry Mechanic v3.0

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PentaSuite

GNOMEREPORT: No Harps, No Angels

Secure Online Data Transfer with SSL! Get thawte?s new introductory guide to SSL security which covers the basics of how it operates. A discussion of the various applications of SSL certificates and their appropriate deployment is also included along with details of how to test SSL on your web server.

Recently I decided that I needed to get a laptop. I have resisted this urge for some time since I was convinced that it would mean that I would be online nearly 24/7, wandering around in a daze. Anyway, I had done some research and decided that I would buy one based solely on price. I figured that since having a high performance laptop held very little importance to me, there was no reason I could not save a few bucks and get a low cost unit. Well, while I did save a little money on my purchase, I paid for it in wasted time. The laptop that I bought was a low-end Dell Notebook. While I really do not hold Dell support in the highest light, I figured that I would most likely not need to deal with them since I am able to handle my own computer related issues.

So the day arrived when my new laptop arrived. I quickly signed for it and shoved that tablet thing that the UPS drivers have back in his face without a second thought. After I booted it up, I immediately began to uninstall all of the junk that I did not really want on my new laptop. After I finished with all of my tweaking, I took a moment to really look at it. "This thing is HUGE!," I thought to myself. I mean I could have used this puppy as a desktop replacement if I had wanted to. It had something like a 2.2 GHz Celeron (I normally HATE Celeron, but the laptop was a great buy), 256MB of DDR RAM (Figured I would add more later), CDRW/DVD (This is a must nowadays), onboard LAN, and a 56k modem. All in all, it was "ok," I guess. I really don't know what I was expecting, really. I suppose that I had delusions of harps playing and angels singing every time I went to start Windows, but come on now. How often does that really happen?

Well, things went fine with the laptop for the rest of the day. I turned it off and went to bed feeling relativity content with the performance I had seen that first day of really using it. I woke up the following morning and went to turn it on in order to check my e-mail. Then "it" happened... The lights came on and immediately I noticed that the display was a no go. After examining and triple checking every setting known to man, I made the call to Dell support. After playing phone button tag for roughly 10 minutes solid, I finally got someone from the Dell support department. After asking me about 50 unnecessary questions that were quite frankly none of his business, he promptly told me that my notebook model was unable to get support over the phone. Now folks, keep in mind that I had made sure to buy an extended service contract with this system. So I figure that he must just not be aware of this and I go on to explain this fact to him. As it turns out, he opted for ignoring me and kept droning on about not offering support over the phone for this particular model. OK, fine then. If they want be that way, I will take my business elsewhere.

After wrapping up this time wasting phone call to their "support" department, I ended up calling their regular customer service department. I was quickly greeted by a pleasant young woman who not only listened to what I was saying, but also worked to make sure that we could resolve this to my satisfaction. Unfortunately for Dell, this was too little too late and I decided to simply return my laptop back to them. The Dell representative made this process easy and relatively convenient for me. After all of the details had been attended to, we said our goodbyes and I was able to come away from the experience a little bit wiser.

Folks, I came away with two very important lessons learned from this event:

  1. You get what you pay for. If you buy cheap, you will receive a product that accurately reflects this mindset.
  2. Don't always judge a company based on a first impression. While the gentleman in the support department was a joke, his counterpart in the customer support department was a pleasure to deal with and deserves recognition for this kind of customer service.

Well. after all was said and done, I got the credit back on the credit card and came away with a much better laptop that I bought from another retailer. It was a little more expensive, but it has double the memory, all of the features the Dell had, plus onboard 802.11G Wi-Fi (I use a PC card for my 802.11B access). It is only an inch thick and weighs just under four pounds with a three-hour battery life. I am very happy with my new laptop and will make sure that I watch what I purchase in the future - this you can count on. ;o)

Let's get digital,
Matt Hartley

^TOP^

JUST ASK MATT!: Horsing Around With Trojan Removal

Matt Hartley

By Matt Hartley

Welcome to "Just Ask Matt!" - The IT industry's answer to the help column, only slightly more medicated. Today, John writes:

I have heard that anti-virus programs don't do a very good job of detecting trojans and that you need dedicated anti-trojan software. If this is true, can you suggest some good ones?

Well, yes and no. If you have a decent anti-virus like PC-cillin, McAfee (Hate the UI, but it is a good AV program), or even the free avast! antivirus, you should be okay as long as you keep them updated. Anti-viruses that I have seen do poorly with some trojans are AVG, Norton AntiVirus, and AntiVir. There are also types of trojans that are classified as spyware, in which your anti-virus may not be of any help. In these cases, having programs like Spybot-S&D and Ad-aware available on your system and up to date will be of great benefit when trying to detect and remove these pesky little critters. There are "trojan removers" out there. I personally have never found a need for them as I keep my system protected with both a good, strong anti-virus and a firewall as well. Hope this helps. :o)

Do you have an IT-related question? Perhaps you are just burnt out on writing on the walls with crayons? Whatever the comments may be, drop me a line and you, too, can "Just Ask Matt!"

^TOP^

CONTEST: VS.NET Add-In/Macro Contest - Deadline Approaches

Greg Hughes

By Greg Hughes

Sounds like Roy Osherove's a little bit disappointed he has not received more entries to the Most Useful VS.NET Add-in/Macro Coding Contest, for which there are some pretty nice prizes.

Since I'm not nearly talented enough to even think about doing this, and since I know a number of people who are, I figured I should post this reminder. Submissions will be accepted only through the end of June, so hurry up! Only new (not re-used) code need apply.

Go here and read the details. I mean, just look what you could win:

1st prize: 2nd prize: 3rd prize: Bonus: the most crazy and innovative add-in (not necessarily useful!) will get a special prize from me:

^TOP^

TROUBLESHOOTING: Common Gaming Issues

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Matt Hartley

By Matt Hartley

Some of my best (and most frequent) clients are gamers. As most of you know, gamers are a breed of PC user that expect maximum performance for their gaming rigs. They tweak and polish their computer settings in order to squeeze out every extra possible frame rate they can muster from their big, blinking boxes. Generally speaking, the client will buy a new game, install it, and then proceed with very little problem. However, every once in a while you will have a gaming enthusiast that simply cannot get their beloved gaming machine to run properly. These sorts of issues can come from a variety of areas ranging from hardware to software. In this article, we will explore some of these issues and what can be done to correct them as quickly and easily as possible.

Driving you mad, like a splinter in your brain.
It has been my experience that when you buy a new video card, it is a very good idea to make sure that you have the latest drivers. Now before you start installing that new video driver onto your client's computer, there are a couple of things you ought to be aware of. While you may be able to simply install new NVIDIA drivers over the top of old ones without any issues, doing so with ATI can be problematic at best. To be on the safe side, I like to completely uninstall the current video driver before making any driver upgrades for my clients. You may feel this is an unnecessary step, but keep in mind that I have never had an issue with upgrading video drivers while using this technique. It simply works, people - why risk it?

Can you hear me now?
One of the most commonly overlooked gaming related fixes is to upgrade the sound card drivers. I have had a number of power users come to me completely flustered because they could simply not figure out why they could not get any of their games to work right. Unlike installing video drivers, I have never felt the need to uninstall the old sound drivers before updating them to the latest version.

When in doubt, look for a patch.
Most PC games issue patches as new issues are discovered and resolutions have been figured out by the game manufacturer. I would advise going to the game manufacturer's Web site upon the installation of any new game on a client's PC. 9 times out of 10, there is at least 1 patch that has been issued since the game's initial release.

An ode to dxdiag.
I have found that the Windows dxdiag is invaluable when troubleshooting video and sound related issues. To access this utility, go to the run box from the start menu and type dxdiag. There are instructions there that will show you how to use it. When using this utility, you will be able to figure out exactly where and why your video card or sound card is having issues. While the solutions may not be apparent, the origin of the issue will.

Other troubleshooting ideas.
If you are able to get into the game, but the sound freezes once you actually start playing, you may need to make adjustments from within the game itself. Look at your sound settings and your video settings. With the sound, try disabling things like EAX sound. As for the video card, try throttling your settings back a bit and then check to see if there are any positive changes. If you are having issues with latency when playing online with other players, check first to see what the ping time is to that gaming server. If your ping times look good, then check the connection settings from within the game's settings. Are you set at dialup speeds when you should be set at LAN / Cable / DSL? Back at your Windows desktop, double check the 3D settings for your video card. Are they set too high for the video card that you are using? A good example I would be an ATI Radeon 7000 set with the 3D acceleration all the way up while trying to play GTA Vice City. Folks, that is just not going to happen. You will barely get this game to be playable on a card this weak. This brings me to another point. Make sure that the game that your client wants to play meets with the recommended hardware setup, NOT the minimum setup. Running a game with the minimum hardware is a waste of your time. It may turn on, but it will look like crap and play just as well. You would be surprised how many people take that minimum requirement mumbo-jumbo with total confidence.

There are a variety of areas that you can work with to get your client's gaming rig running to its true potential. As a matter of fact, I wrote an article a while back that takes game tweaking to a whole new level. The name of the article was Gaming On The Cheap. Just remember, any time you make drastic changes to a system, back up your registry first. Happy gaming!

^TOP^

TALK: Don't Read This Article!

Joe Vitale

By Joe Vitale

I'm sick of it. All the so-called communication experts keep declaring that your mind cannot process a negative command. They say "don't spill the milk" means you'll spill the milk. They say your mind doesn't respond to "don't" and in fact skips over it. As a result, you end up seeing the rest of the statement as a command. You then spill the milk.

Bull. The very first words most people hear growing up is "NO" and "Don't." We learn right away not to poop in our pants, or eat the dirt, or swing the cat by the tail, or spill our milk. The only reason we might still spill our milk is sheer awkwardness or clumsiness, not because of a communication issue.

This is one of the things wrong with NLP and other communication modalities that claim to know how our brains work. They make wild claims and act as if they are universal truths. After all, no one really knows how the brain works. We're still learning. To say we don't process negative commands is an arrogant statement. It assumes god-like powers. And it's wrong.

Look at the title of this article. I inserted the word "don't." Why? Because the word actually helps make the title more interesting. It increases persuasion. Had I said, "Read This Article," you might not read it simply because it seemed uninteresting. But add the word "don't" and suddenly you're curious. "Why doesn't Joe want me to read this?" You wonder. The word "don't" is seen and registered by your mind. You didn't miss it, did you?

Again, communication is more than assumptions about how our minds process information. You learned what many negative words meant at three years old. Your unconscious mind is well aware of what they mean today.

Don't tell others about this article. Don't pass this article to friends and family. Don't go buy all my books and tapes. Don't send me money.

You see the word "don't" and you'll do what you please. If you want to pass this article to friends, you will. If you don't, you won't. My trying to trick you with a negative command is ridiculous. You're smarter than that. Aren't you?

Kevin Hogan, author of "The Psychology of Persuasion," says, "Negative command words in general indicate the person will remember or code in deeper whatever was discussed. This doesn't mean they will act one way or the other. It simply makes the command / idea / request more likely to be remembered."

Exactly. My adding "don't" to the title of this article simply made it more memorable. It didn't *make* you read this article at all.

The only time the "don't trick" works is to get someone to *think* something. In order words, if I say, "Don't think of Sophia Loren," you can't help but think of the famous actress. But thinking is different than action.

Yes, thinking can lead to action. But what we're focusing on here is communication. If I say, "Don't think of buying my books," you *will* think of buying them, at least for a second. But if I say, "Don't buy my books," it does not mean you will run out and buy them. You are not a robot.

Let's wake up. Let's realize that we are smarter than generalized rules of language. Let's stop pretending we are all trained monkeys.

^TOP^

DOWNLOAD: Registry Mechanic v3.0 [2.29M] Win9x/2k/XP Shareware

Click here to enlarge!

http://go.lockergnome.com/432

Registry Mechanic - Registry Cleaner for Windows with improved Deep Scan goes further than ever before with new categories. You can safely clean and repair Windows registry problems with a few simple mouse clicks! Fix problems with the Windows registry that are a common cause of Windows crashes and error messages. With a few easy steps, Registry Mechanic will scan your entire registry for any invalid entries and provide a list of the errors found; you can then choose to selectively clean each item or automatically repair them all. For your convenience and protection, Registry Mechanic can also make a backup of any repairs made so that you can easily recover any changes if required. [Wugnet]

^TOP^

Four Magazines for the price of one! Choose the publication you want delivered to your door each month, but you will still receive online access to all 4! There's Smart Computing, Simple, sensible explanations in plain English; PC Today, for all users of Windows and other Microsoft software; Computer Power User, for Advanced power users or those who'd like to be; and CE Tips, for casual electronics users to hardcore gadget hounds. Improve your productivity and stay up-to-date on new developments with these fantastic periodicals. Start reading today!

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From lockergnome2_452FC4980AFE6092B0001BFC1ABC163A@reply.whatcounts.com Fri Jun 25 20:39:24 2004 Return-Path: Received: from mxfs.nettally.com (mxfs.nettally.com [199.44.114.227]) by nexus.polaris.net (8.12.11/8.12.11) with ESMTP id i5Q0dNQt014634 for ; Fri, 25 Jun 2004 20:39:23 -0400 (EDT) Received: from gateway3.nettally.com [199.44.114.226] by mxfs.nettally.com with ESMTP (SMTPD32-8.03) id A5B93A5700A0; Fri, 25 Jun 2004 20:39:21 -0400 Received: from lockergnome.wc09.net (63.214.0.205) by gateway3.nettally.com (Alligate(TM) SMTP Gateway v1.4.612.2) with ESMPT id for ; Fri, 25 Jun 2004 20:39:15 -0500 Received: from monch (192.168.0.37) by lockergnome.wc09.net (PowerMTA(TM) v2.0r1) id hrj1u8054e45; Fri, 25 Jun 2004 16:58:17 -0700 (envelope-from ) From: "Lockergnome" To: kermit@polaris.net Subject: Lockergnome's Windows Fanatics ~ Supporting The Troops Date: 25 Jun 2004 17:06:06 PDT Reply-To: "Lockergnome" X-Habeas-SWE-1: winter into spring X-Habeas-SWE-2: brightly anticipated X-Habeas-SWE-3: like Habeas SWE (tm) X-Habeas-SWE-4: Copyright 2002 Habeas (tm) X-Habeas-SWE-5: Sender Warranted Email (SWE) (tm). The sender of this X-Habeas-SWE-6: email in exchange for a license for this Habeas X-Habeas-SWE-7: warrant mark warrants that this is a Habeas Compliant X-Habeas-SWE-8: Message (HCM) and not spam. Please report use of this X-Habeas-SWE-9: mark in spam to . MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/html X-Mailer: WhatCounts X-Alligate: Not subscribed Message-Id: <200406252039484.SM00408@gateway3.nettally.com> X-Declude-Status: Waiting for activation code Status: O Lockergnome's Windows Fanatics ~ June 25, 2004
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Lockergnome's Windows Fanatics ~ June 25, 2004   

Gnomedex 4.0! ~ September 30 - October 3 ~ Lake Tahoe, NV

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GNOMEREPORT: Supporting The Troops
DOWNLOAD: Just Relaxing + Mask/Skin Pack
DOWNLOAD: A43
FAVORITE: Howtoons
VIDEO TIP: Logging Security Events
BABBLE: Large Format Scanning
GNEWBIE GNOOK: Shop The Laptop
TIP: Placing The CPU Meter In The System Tray
TCB: AOL Instant Messenging, Without Wires!
FAMILY FIRST: Mr. William Shakespeare And The Internet
NEWS: As Reported By ActiveWin.com

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GNOMEREPORT: Supporting The Troops

Four Magazines for the price of one! Choose the publication you want delivered to your door each month, but you will still receive online access to all 4! There's Smart Computing, Simple, sensible explanations in plain English; PC Today, for all users of Windows and other Microsoft software; Computer Power User, for Advanced power users or those who'd like to be; and CE Tips, for casual electronics users to hardcore gadget hounds. Improve your productivity and stay up-to-date on new developments with these fantastic periodicals. Start reading today!

Lately I have been receiving request after request for Gmail account invites. Heck, I even held a few contests in which the first responder would win an account from my invite list. Well, this is all well and good, but what good does this really do for anyone? Sure, it is nice to make someone's day, I suppose, but it just does not feel like a life changing event to me. So I began to explore some different ways that offering Gmail invites could improve circumstances for those folks that are away from their families for long periods of time. And with the current climate in the middle east, I did not have to look very far.

Our soldiers in Iraq. Regardless of what you or I think of them being over there, you can not escape these small components of a very harsh and quite frankly, undeniable reality:

  • These men and women are away from their families for months and months at a time with limited contact.
  • For many of these soldiers, their primary contact with family and loved ones takes place mostly through Web based e-mail.
  • Most of these folks are receiving tons of e-mailed pictures and are finding their accounts filling up way too quickly. They should not be expected to simply delete photos of loved ones when their inboxes fill up!

You know what, folks? This is not acceptable to me. These people need to be as close to their families as possible. Up 'til recently, I had felt quite limited in what I could do to help our troops. Thanks to the new Gmail invites that are spreading like wildfire, I can help them with their data storage crisis. Sure, it does even not compare with a letter stating that they can finally come back home to their loved ones, but it is still a darned nice gesture. Up until recently, getting something like this to work would have been a real pain to get off the ground. But thanks to folks like Wil Wheaton for his influence and support for this cause, there are sites like Gmail4Troops that will match up G.I. Families and G.I.s with badly needed Gmail accounts.

Some of you may be thinking that this is not really making that big of a difference. After all, it is just a free e-mail account, right? Well, let's try thinking of it this way. Offering hard to come by Gmail invites is a warm, generous gesture that shows our soldiers that the tech community honors them in a non-political, non-special interest sort of way. Think of it as saying, "Hey, we have not forgotten what you are going through over there. We miss each and every one of you. Most important, all of us are anxiously awaiting your safe return."

Wondering what the G.I.s and their families think about all of this? Just read some of the responses from our soldiers loved ones and those that support our G.I.s. As you read letters like the ones listed at this link, you quickly begin to understand why this is so important and why each of us needs to act. It is important to remember that war is an ugly, unfortunate reality in this crazy world of ours. But instead of spending exaustive amounts of energy fighting over who is right or who is wrong about this conflict, we should be looking for opportunities to create a positive situation for those soldiers who are stuck in the middle of this argument. Who knows, we may even bring all political parties to the table by doing something that will make life for our troops just a little more pleasant. I honestly believe everybody wants to see that regardless of our political beliefs.

So next time you find yourself with extra Gmail invites that have appeared in your account, consider giving them to those who have been away from their families for so very long. After all, they are asked to sacrifice so much - I think it is the least we can do to support our nation's young people serving overseas regardless of our own petty political beliefs. Think about it.

Links to support our troops:

Gmail for our soldiers: Gmail4Troops.com
Send a care package to soldiers in harm's way: Anysoldier.us

Let's get digital,
Matt Hartley

^TOP^

DOWNLOAD: Just Relaxing + Mask/Skin Pack [4.3M] Win9x/2k/XP Shareware

Click here to enlarge!

http://go.lockergnome.com/424

Do you sit at your computer and stare out the window and wish you were relaxing on the other side? Well now you can bring nature indoors, directly to your computer! Just Relaxing is great therapy and adds that extra "white noise" that helps cheer up your day in the office and drown out the other noises that can be bothersome. This handy tray program sits in your tray and randomly generates sounds belonging to a selected theme. You adjust the frequency of these randomly generated enhancement sounds so you can either have a very quiet forest or a very active one! Along with the audio portion of the program you can use Just Relaxing to change the wallpaper on your desktop to ones that have been assigned to a given theme. Overlay calendars on your wallpaper as well! Create and build your own themes! Submit them so that you can share them with others too!

[Free Trial | Buy Directly]

^TOP^

DOWNLOAD: A43 [704K] Win2k/XP FREE

Click here to enlarge!

http://www.shawneelink.net/~bgmiller/

There's at least one thing that all of our computers have in common - tons of files. If you just browse through your system folders, you'll see an overload of questionable files that have important functions. While you don't want to mess with these vital files, the documents that you have created and downloaded since you bought your computer are likely getting out of hand. So many different file formats are out there, and this makes managing the files a little more difficult. A43 is a simple file management utility that will help you to regain some control over your documents.

A lot of functionality is built into this application. It resembles Windows Explorer, making it easy to find the files you desire. All of the normal copy, deletion, and find tools are built right in. Integrated zip/unzip features are available for those of you that would like to manage a group of your files in this way. In addition to this, a very nice text editor is included, along with a hex and image viewer. A quick launch tool gives you immediate access to the programs and files that you use the most. It's nice to have all of these functions within one program. Give A43 a try if you've been looking for a program to assist you with your file management needs.

While this has been tried with much success on Win2k and XP, it should work on older operating systems, as well. [Brandon]

^TOP^

FAVORITE: Howtoons

Click here to enlarge!

http://www.howtoons.net/

Anyone who has experience with kids will tell you that they are just naturally curious creatures. They always want to know how things happen, and why they happen. They're learning all they can, and they turn to you for answers to life's perplexing questions, like, where does Barney live? In hindsight, telling them that all of the dinosaurs are extinct now was probably not a good idea. Because children's minds are always buzzing with creativity, it makes sense that they would enjoy working on a few fun projects. A great site called Howtoons will probably become one of your child's favorite sites because of its selection of fun stuff to do.

The site is primarily based off of a one-page cartoon. The twist is that these cartoons tell you how to do inventive things. The cartoon format makes the whole experience much easier to jump into for the kids. You can learn how to build an air canon, or even how to count in binary on your fingers. Yeah... that'll impress all of your fellow geek friends. Videos are also posted so you can actually see some of these creations in action. If you would like to suggest a project to the site, feel free to do so. While this site is great fun for the kids out there, the young at heart will also enjoy examining the various creations. It's a swell way to do something creative with your kids on a rainy afternoon. [Brandon]

^TOP^

VIDEO TIP: Logging Security Events

By Leo A. Notenboom

Wanna know what's been happening on your computer? This week's tip shows how to use the Event Viewer to keep a record of login attempts, programs that have been run, and more.

Click to watch our Video Tip of the Week

^TOP^

BABBLE: Large Format Scanning

How do you scan really big stuff?

^TOP^

GNEWBIE GNOOK: Shop The Laptop

Get insight that helps you optimize your website. Urchin, the industry leading web analytics software, is used on sites worldwide, by large corporations, government institutions, and small and medium sized companies. Urchin software analyzes your website log files and delivers fast, interactive reports and graphics on every aspect of your website's traffic and visitors. Urchin is easy to install and allows you to view reports in seven languages, with clear explanations of what you are viewing on each report. Download a copy today!

Brandon Watts

By Brandon Watts

Q: I'm about to buy a laptop, and was wondering what I should be primarily looking at when I go to the store. Any suggestions?

A: Purchasing a laptop can be a tricky thing if you don't know what you're doing. If you just buy one that has the specs that you like, you may end up with a computer that fails to satisfy your needs. Here are a few things that you should look into before purchasing that sweet mobile rig.

What are your needs? - It's very important to establish what you need in a laptop before you even go to the store. If you don't, you could be swayed into buying a powerhouse that you will never really utilize. If all you're looking for is a simple computer for Internet usage and other basic tasks, prepare yourself to find a machine that fits into that category.

Price - Don't get stuck in a position where you have to sell your children to be able to pay for the laptop. Once you establish your needs, work at finding the best deal out there. Laptops can be found at much cheaper prices than you may imagine. It's not unusual to find a brand new "little engine that could" laptop for under US$900.

Rebates - Many of the cheap deals that you find will be associated with rebates. People have sometimes had problems getting their money from rebates, so it's good to be cautious and prepared for these things. It often takes several weeks before you even see the money, so plan on that. Before you buy, make sure that you understand the terms of the rebate completely.

Pentium or Celeron? - Pentium processors are much faster - period. The extra money is worth it if you crave the performance. Celeron processors are not bad for simple use, but don't plan on playing the latest graphics intensive games. Celerons are cheaper for a reason. By the way, don't forget to try the AMD processors. They make great stuff.

Screen - You're going to be staring at that screen a lot, so check to see if it looks crisp enough for you. Is it visible from a lot of different angles?

Keyboard - This is another big area. The keyboards in laptops range from great to cardboard. Some of them just do not feel good to type on. Check to see if your fingers feel comfortable using the keys.

Pointing Device - How does the pointing device/trackpad on the laptop feel? Also, are the buttons appropriate for you?

Battery - Do your research to find out what kind of battery life you can expect from the computer. There's nothing more annoying than a laptop battery that drains out too quickly.

Size - How big is the computer? Is it too bulky and heavy? You definitely don't want to have to wear a back brace while you lug around your "mobile" computer.

Warranty - Since laptops are meant to be taken out of the house, you never know what could happen. If something dire happens, will you be able to get it fixed under a warranty arrangement? You can usually purchase extended warranties along with the laptop. Even though it's more money out of your pocket, it could be worth it if you're on the move all of the time.

With this information in hand, you should be able to walk into that store with your head held high. Well, at least until you find out how much your total bill is.

Have a question or subject that you would like to see covered? Drop Brandon a line and maybe he can include it in a future edition of the Gnewbie Gnook! Also, don't forget our forums (or, if you're a Latin freak, "fora") where Gnomies from all around the world congregate to help, be helped, and discuss issues that may or may not have anything to do with technology!

^TOP^

TIP: Placing The CPU Meter In The System Tray

Diana Huggins

By Diana Huggins

Windows Task Manager has a built in CPU Meter. It gives you a quick way of monitoring the CPU usage on your computer. Normally you would have to open Task Manager manually to see it. However, here is a trick you can use to place an icon for the CPU meter in your system tray every time you reboot regardless of which user is currently logged on to the computer.

  1. Perform a search on your computer and locate TASKMAN.exe.
  2. Right click the application, point to Send To, and click Desktop (create shortcut).
  3. Right click the shortcut on your desktop. From the Shortcut tab, change the Run: option to Minimized (see screenshot).
  4. Click OK.
  5. Right click the shortcut and click Cut.
  6. Right click the Start Menu and click Open All Users. Open the Programs \ Startup folder and paste the shortcut.
  7. Right click the Taskbar and click Task Manager.
  8. From the Options menu, place a check beside Minimize on use and Hide when minimized.
  9. Minimize the Windows Task Manager dialog box.
  10. An icon in your system tray will now appear for the CPU Meter.

^TOP^

TCB: AOL Instant Messenging, Without Wires!

Daniel Gray

By Daniel Gray

Instant Messaging has taken over our house. Okay, so maybe not the house... but at least one of the computers. My twelve-year-old daughter, like so many kids, has become addicted to AOL Instant Messenger. The problem is, we're a bit short on Internet-connected computers at the moment. So the kid's instant messaging addiction has caused a bit of a computer squeeze.

Motorola wants to ride to our rescue. Their IMfree Wireless Instant Messenger promises to "free up the family computer without putting a stop to the fun of instant messaging." Motorola boasts that the "portable, convenient IMfree device goes where your kids want to go - from their bedroom to the backyard - without wires or additional monthly fees." Well, that all sounds great, I guess...

[AOL Instant Messenging, Without Wires!, continued]

^TOP^

FAMILY FIRST: Mr. William Shakespeare And The Internet

Family First

From Family First

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players..."

So goes one of the most famous lines from one of the most famous plays by one of the most famous playwrights of all time. I thought it would be great to spend some time with him, since he recently celebrated a birthday.

The site is called Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet. This is an online resource for someone who is considered to be one of the greatest playwrights to have ever lived. He was born, according to most records, on April 23rd, 1564. He lived for 52 years and wrote many plays that most of us grew up reading, such as "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet," among others. Here you can read about the details of his life from many areas and points of views, as well as travel to other sites to expand on that reading. He was and is a very fascinating man, both from a theatrical point of view and as one of the standouts during a very interesting time in English history.

[Mr. William Shakespeare And The Internet, continued]

^TOP^

NEWS: As Reported By ActiveWin.com

^TOP^

INSERT YOUR NAME HERE! We've instituted a new system for Lockergnome sponsorship. Through this mechanism, you can keep an eye on statistics in real-time! Now you can track views, clicks, and overall rates (broken down by time-of-day). We can now deliver based on a specified number of clicks and/or impressions. Plus, we can filter through a combination of the following parameters: Weekday, Time, Date, Client IP, Domain, Language, Browser, OS, Useragent, Referring page, or Source (specific pages or channels). Give us a chance to deliver your message to our audience today!

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Printer Paper
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Speakers
CDR / CD-RW


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