http://wauc.naspa.net/isigminutes-7-15-04.html

The WAUC Internet SIG met July 15th, 2004, a fine summer evening, at the usual conference room of the local Speedway Station. A fine resource was provided in many of our learned WAUC members, including Doris, Terry, and Tom for questions and answers that we all found quite interesting and helpful.

One member felt her operating system had low resources (50%) when first booting-up. It was suggested that she perhaps had too many programs running in the background, upon booting. A procedure was outlined to determine this, and remove some, as follows:

1.) CLICK "start"

2.) CLICK on "Run"

3.) In the resulting dialog box, TYPE "msconfig" and CLICK the "O K" button

4.) CLICK the "Startup" tab at the top of the resulting "System Configuration Utility" window

5.) In the "Startup Item" column at the left, UN-CHECK some of the programs listed which you recognize that do not need to be running all the time. This will not delete the programs from your system, but will prevent them from starting at every boot-up, running in the background, and using resources un-necessarily.

6.) Once you've completed your un-checks, don't forget to CLICK the "Apply" button at the bottom, and CLOSE the window. Now, when you boot your computer, those un-checked programs will not be using valuable resources. Of course, you'll NOT want to un-check your anti-virus programs, or any other applications you use regularly.

NOTE for Windows 98 users: If you're using Windows 98, don't un-check either instance of 'LoadPowerProfile,' which appears twice. Also, don't un-check 'ScanRegistry' or 'System Tray' either.

Remember, you can always return later, and replace any check marks you removed with this procedure.

To check your resources on a Windows 98 system, simply HOLD DOWN the "Windows" key (in the bottom row on your keyboard) while PRESSING the Pause (Break) key (in the upper right-hand corner.) Then, CLICK the "Performance" tab in "System Properties". You'll see it listed, there. Mine reads "87%."

Then we spent some time "researching" a new Laptop or Notebook computer for the Club. In Google , enter "Toshiba +A75S206" and you'll see what we found: "Toshiba Satellite Notebook PC with Intel Pentium 4 Processor - 2.8GHz Brand/Model: TOS A75S206, with 512MB PC2700 333MHz DDR SDRAM (1 DIMM and room for another,) and a 60GB 4200RPM enhanced-IDE (ATA-6) hard drive."

It's $1249.99 after a $150.00 mail-in rebate at Circuit City, but, some thought the club might do better at Office Depot. This computer seems to have it all, but member's opinions count on this expenditure, so it was said that members may voice their input to the officers of WAUC. The computer contains a DVD-ROM/CD-RW, but the External USB floppy disk drive is sold separately. It has 3 USB Ports and a 15-inch wide-screen XGA 1280x800 display, an S-video port, and one parallel data port.

Software consists of: Windows® XP Home, Microsoft® Works®, Office® OneNote™ 2003, Software Decoder: InterVideo® (Win-DVD™ 5) -w/SRS TruSurround XT® Technology, Sonic® Solutions Drive Letter Access, RecordNow!™ Basic, ArcSoft ShowBiz® DVD Ver. 1.3, Quicken® New User Ed. 2004, and Additional: Norton® AntiVirus™ 2004 (3-mo. subscription), AOL® (3-mo. offer), Acrobat Reader, AT&T® Worldnet® (1 mo. free), QuickTime™, RealOne™ Player 8 Basic, Internet Explorer, Napster®, Speech System, ConfigFree™, Custom Utilities.

It comes with built-in wireless LAN capability (Intel Centrino Mobile Technology© - Wi-Fi - Integrated Atheros© (802.11g)) so you can network, share files and surf the Web anywhere in your home or office. While enjoying your wireless freedom, you'll also be able to burn custom CDs, watch your favorite DVDs and play your favorite PC games. All of your applications will look and sound amazing with ATI Mobility Radeon™ 9000 IGP graphics and stereo sound.

We then visited C-net for product reviews (www.cnet.com). One could spend days on this website. The U.S.A. now has over 21,000 Wi-Fi Hot Spots, many in S.E. Wisconsin. We also visited www.Pricewatch.com and the Toshiba website (toshiba.com).

We then visited Leo's ISP web mail account and noticed a new mail program in place of the old. Then it was off to mail2web.com at Ham's suggestion. Only Marie and Leo could read their mail from this website. All activities are private and none are recorded. mail2web.com is not a service but an application that is used anonymously. No registration is required to access this application. They do not capture or store any user information, unless a user decides to customize the application by registering.

We then viewed a Power-Point Presentation by Patrick Douglas Crispen on Google Tips ( Google 201: Advanced Googology (3.51 Mb ZIP FILE),) which proved to be very advanced. NOTE: To view this Presentation, you need to have the Microsoft Power-Point Presentation Viewer installed on your computer.

His website (at netsquirrel.com) is very interesting. It's a FREE collection of "How-To" Guides:

His "How to Use MSCONFIG" shows you, step-by-step, how to use the free Microsoft System Configuration Utility in Windows 98, 98SE, ME, and XP to help your computer boot faster and crash less.

The Weekly "Fab Five" shows you the five things you should do each week to keep your PC running in tip-top shape.

Even with the best antivirus program and firewall, you may not be completely safe from attack unless you also know "About Social Engineering and Phishing."

Want more? A complete archive of "Patrick Crispen's How-To Guides" is now available.

We also visited member Bob's FIREWORKS.

           ...submitted by Bruce Schneider
(Visit Bruce's website at wauc.naspa.net to just CLICK on all the above URL's.)























© seecurb