Technologies For Which I'm Thankful

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Vol. 9, #98 - Nov 24, 2009 - Issue #406  Technologies For Which I'm Thankful Editor's Corner Technologies For Which I'm Thankful Follow-up: Fighting or switching Black Friday specials Quotes of the Week Definition of the Day Cool Tools Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without News, Hints, Tips and Tricks Office 2010: It's Out There Meanwhile, private testing begins for Office "Starter" What's coming in IE 9? Will it Run on XP? Windows 8: Coming in 2012? Microsoft and NASA sponsor web site to help with Mars research How To: Using XP Features How to defrag all hard drives XP Security News Older versions of IE are vulnerable to attack XP Question Corner What's a good program for taking pictures of myself with a web cam? XP Configuration and Troubleshooting "Work offline" option is unexpected enabled Troubleshooting hibernation and standby problems Fav Links This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff Kiss Your Antivirus Bloatware Goodbye We asked users of antivirus products what they didn't like about their AV software. They told us they are resource hogs and slowed their computer down. They told us that scan times took way too long, and that the AV software nagged them. In short, old-style AV software takes too much Memory and CPU. Time to switch to VIPRE! It gives you malware protection that combines antivirus, antispyware, anti-rootkit and other technologies into a seamless, tightly-integrated product. Even if you run "free" antivirus software, it hijacks 20% of your PC, so it's really not free at all! Get VIPRE now and see how fast your PC can really be: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-VIPRE  Editor's Corner Own a Single-user VIPRE? Upgrade Now To Home Site License For Just $19.95 You run VIPRE and love it. But what about the other PC's at the house? We have a special, limited time upgrade offer. You can upgrade now and just pay the difference (20 bucks) between the Single License and the Unlimited Home Site License (UHSL). But wait, it gets better. Your UHSL starts fresh and you get a new 12 month subscription! Do the math. Wait and pay 30 bucks later, or buy the upgrade now and get a whole year for 20 bucks. A no-brainer! Remember this is for a limited time only, get that upgrade now! Click here to learn more and order: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-UHSL-Upgrade *Offer not valid in the UK  Cool Tools Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without ADVERTISEMENT PC Matic: Performance, Speed, Stability & Security The World's Most Comprehensive PC Tune Up Scan is Free http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-PCMatic Moving to Windows7 from XP? Did you know that scenario is NOT supported by MS? Keep your apps without reinstalling: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-PCmover Search for a driver and you get a ton of Driver Software offers instead. But how do you know which one is good? Try Driver Genius 9.0. Free scan. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Driver-Genius Backups? Why back up when you can sync? Simply replicate every piece of data to another drive in real-time. Set it and forget it. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-GoodSync Spotmau PowerSuite Professional 2008: Fantastic! All the tools necessary to fix most common computer problems. Clone and backup too! http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-PowerSuite PC Tune-Up: 4 Easy Steps That Eliminate Frustrating Slow Computer Problems: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-PC-Tune-Up Improve your English writing skills with WhiteSmoke a smarter solution for high quality writing. Download the free trial version here. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-WhiteSmoke  News, Hints, Tips and Tricks Office 2010: It's Out There If you're one of those who likes to be on the cutting edge and try out new software before it hits the shelves, here's another opportunity. Microsoft has released a public beta of Office 2010, the next version of its productivity suite. The beta was released first to MSDN and TechNet, and a few days later to the general public. It includes Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, OneNote, InfoPath, SharePoint Workspace and Office Communicator. Beta versions of Visio 2010 and Project 2010 are also available separately. Find out more and get your copy here. http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Office-2010-Beta Meanwhile, private testing begins for Office "Starter" In other Office news, private previews were distributed last week for the "Starter" edition of Office 2010, which will be a free suite that will be supported by advertising (a small ad space in the lower right corner of the application window). Starter only includes Word and Excel, and they don't have all the sophisticated features that the full fledged versions have, but the apps will provide a viable option to other free word processors and spreadsheets such as Google Apps, and for many users will do everything they need and more. Read more about it here: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Office-2010 What's coming in IE 9? Will it Run on XP? At this year's annual Professional Developers' Conference (PDC) last week, Microsoft officially unveiled the next version of Internet Explorer, IE 9. The stated goals are better standards compliance and faster performance (accomplished in part by taking advantage of the graphics processing unit or GPU for page rendering): http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-IE9 But what new features will come with the new browser? Will it run on XP? Even though Microsoft has finally started talking about it, there are still plenty of questions to be answered. Stay tuned; as many details about the new browser become available, we'll let you know. Windows 8: Coming in 2012? If you're still using Windows XP, you might be considered two generations behind when it comes to operating systems, but well before extended support for XP ends, you'll probably be able to make that three. Microsoft's current plans have Windows 8 coming out in 2012, according to a product roadmap that was shown at the PDC last week. For those who think that's rushing things, it would actually put the next OS on the same timetable Microsoft used in following Vista with Windows 7, but of course release dates are never set in stone, especially this far in advance. This article opines that the direction Microsoft decides to go with Windows 8 may be influenced by whether or not Windows XP continues to hold on to market share. Read it here: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Windows-8 Microsoft and NASA sponsor web site to help with Mars research If you always wanted to be involved in the space program, here's your chance. NASA and Microsoft have partnered to create a web site where visitors are asked to count craters in photos of Mars or match locations in photos. You even get points and can earn rewards for your work. The site is based on Windows Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing platform and is hosted at Microsoft data centers. You can read more about the program here: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Research-Mars  How To: Using XP Features How to defrag all hard drives The XP defragmenter will only allow you to defrag one hard drive at a time. You have to wait for one to finish and then manually do another one. Wouldn't it be nice if you could start the process (for example, at bedtime) and wake up to find all of your hard drives have been defragged? Well, you can - by creating a batch file. In notepad, create a file with a line for each partition you want to defrag. For example, if you want to defrag drives c, d and e, your file would look like this: defrag c: -f defrag d: -f defrag e: -f Save the file in the \windows directory with the name defragall.bat To run the file, you can type its name at the command line, or navigate to it in the file system and double click it. This will defrag the partitions, one after the other. The -f switch forces a defrag even if space is low.  XP Security News Older versions of IE are vulnerable to attack Many of those who use XP are still using the older version of Internet Explorer that came with the OS (IE 6) or its immediate successor (IE 7) and haven't upgraded to the latest version of the browser. If you're in that category, be aware that a new exploit has been posted by a hacker that can be used to install unauthorized software on computers running the older versions of IE. Even if you have the latest service pack (SP3), this attack can still work. You can protect against it by disabling JavaScript. Read more here: http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Internet-Explorer-Attack  XP Question Corner What's a good program for taking pictures of myself with a web cam? QUESTION: I have a web cam and want to know a good program (free would be best but if not, under $40) I can use to make videos. The camera has a built in microphone so I want to be able to get the audio too, to send videos of myself talking to my grandkids. Can you help? - Susan G. ANSWER: I use a Logitech Pro 9000 web cam and have tried several different programs. I don't like the software that came with the camera, but I've had a great experience with Debut. You can make videos (with audio) with your web cam, take still snapshots, or use it to capture your computer screen (for example, if you want to record the steps you perform to use a program and send it to someone else to show them how to do it). There is a free version and also a "Plus" version that currently costs $34.20 on their web site (the usual price is $60). Note that I do not work for the company that makes it (NCH) nor have they ever given me anything to endorse their product; it's just a program that I stumbled across a year or so ago and really like because of its low cost, stability, and simplicity. I like to use it to capture the desktop, because you record the entire desktop or you can specify a rectangular area to capture. I also use it take snapshots of myself (for instance, to use as a Facebook profile) and to record short video presentations. Check it out at http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Debut  XP Configuration and Troubleshooting "Work offline" option is unexpected enabled Windows XP gives you the option to work with files and programs offline when you aren't connected to the network. This is handy, but sometimes you might find the "work offline" option is enabled when you do have a network connection and don't want to work offline. If that happens to you, you may need to make some simple configuration changes. You can get the step by step instructions in KB article 913620 at http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Work-Offline-Issues Troubleshooting hibernation and standby problems Windows XP supports power-saving technologies that can save on battery life and/or your electric bill, but sometimes when you put the computer into a hibernated or standby state, you might encounter problems. Or the computer may go into the low power state without a hitch, but have problems when you try to resume working. For some ideas on troubleshooting these hibernation and standby problems, see KB article 907477 at http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Hibernation-Issues  Fav Links This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff Disclaimer: WXPNews does not assume and cannot be responsible for any liability related to you clicking any of these linked Web sites. Turkey Trivia: How much do you know about Thanksgiving and the "big bird"? http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Trivia Pop some Bloons http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Bloons If the earth had rings like Saturn (makes you wish it did) http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Earth-Rings Cat vs. Cop: The world's most patient police officer http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Cat-VS-Cop Astronomy picture of the day: Light Echoes http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Picture-of-the-Day Bears playing hockey: real or Memorex? http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Hockey-Bears Sign spinning samurai http://www.wxpnews.com/3UDXV2/091124-Sign-Samurai  About WXPnews What Our Lawyers Make Us Say These documents are provided for informational purposes only. The information contained in this document represents the current view of Sunbelt Software on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Sunbelt must respond to changes in market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Sunbelt and Sunbelt cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT. This newsletter and website and may contain links to other websites with whom we have a business relationship. Sunbelt Software does not review or screen these sites, and we are not responsible or liable for their privacy or data security practices, or the content of these sites. Additionally, if you register with any of these sites, any information that you provide in the process of registration, such as your email address, credit card number or other personally identifiable information, will be transferred to these sites. For these reasons, you should be careful to review any privacy and data security policies posted on any of these sites before providing information to them. The user assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and the use of this document. This document may be copied and distributed subject to the following conditions: 1) All text must be copied without modification and all pages must be included; 2) All copies must contain Sunbelt's copyright notice and any other notices provided therein; and 3) This document may not be distributed for profit. All trademarks acknowledged. Copyright Sunbelt Software, Inc. 1996-2009. WXPnews Archives Looking for a past issue? Missing an issue? Accidently deleted an issue? Trying to find that article that pointed you to that cool site? All our newsletters are archived and are searchable: http://www.wxpnews.com/archives.cfm If you have feedback or wish to write to the editor, write to us at feedback@wxpnews.com Sunbelt Software 33 North Garden Avenue Clearwater, Florida USA 33755

Maximum PC Load Letter #33: Wacky Game Controllers, Chrome OS, Win a Core i7 PC!

Issue 033 Ready for the Holiday season to begin? We sure are! There's a ton of new hardware that we've just reviewed in case you're thinking about building a new PC for 2010. ATI has announced their epic 5970 dual-GPU videocard, which we've benchmarked here. But not everyone can afford a $600 videocard, so we've also reviewed 8 hot new videocards from ATI's RV870 GPU line. Continuing our series of essential tips features, we've posted guides for making the most out of BitTorrent and Ubuntu . And we've also written up a really nostalgic retrospective of our 50 most memorable PC mice, keyboards, and game controllers. Definitely check that out! Finally, we've also just announced a big contest, partnering up with Ballistic Gaming PC to give away a sweet Core i7 gaming rig. Just click the image on the right to find out how to enter to win. As always, shoot me an email if you have any comments! Please Digg our stories, and be sure to become a fan of our Facebook group to quality for the Ballistic Gaming PC contest and other giveaways! We've also just launched a TechMart , where you can buy special issues of Maximum PC. Norman Chan Online Editor, Maximum PC Trackballs to Brainwaves: The 50 Most Notable PC Peripherals -- In many PC publications, it's the CPUs, video cards and other internal hardware that gets all the attention, with input devices relegated to a few pages here or there in the reviews section. But why should that be the case? Input devices are, after all, your point of connection to your machine. As keyboards, mice and game controllers have evolved over the years, so has the way we control and interact with our computers. That's why we've chosen to give them the respect they deserve-by compiling a list of 50 of the most important, memorable, or just downright wacky input devices from the past, present and future of computing. If you like this story, please help us by Digging it! 8 Things You Need to Know about Chrome OS -- Google pulled the wraps off of Chrome OS today, and while there isn't a general availability announcement today, they spoke briefly about the Chrome browser (Linux and Mac versions due this year, along with support for extensions) before diving into the nascent OS. You can expect to see Chrome ship in about a year, and showed the first glimpses of the new OS, details about the architecture, the hardware it will run on, and gave us the first hints about what the Google Cloud OS will really look like. Here's why Chrome OS won't be replacing Windows anytime soon.  ATI Radeon HD 5970: The Undisputed Performance Champ -- You can forgive AMD for stealing a line from Nvidia's playbook. From the name and marketing materials, it's not obvious that this card is a dual GPU card. One AMD chart even refers to the card as the "ATI Radeon HD 5970 GPU," much like Nvidia's 295 GTX is a dual GPU card that's sold as if it were a normal graphics card. We first take a quick look at the speeds and feeds of the new card, and then discuss additional features. We'll compare them to the Radeon HD 5870 single GPU card; there are differences in core and memory clock speeds. Then, we jump into the benchmarks, comparing the Radeon HD 5970 to four other videocards in high-resolution gaming. And if those numbers don't impress you, wait until you see how this beast performs in Crossfire for a total of four GPUs.  20 Essential Tricks and Skills Every BitTorrent User Should Know -- BitTorrent, as you're probably already aware, is a decentralized peer-to-peer file sharing protocol ideal for transferring large files (and if you didn't know that, don't worry, we also include some lightweight tips to get you started). In a nutshell, the way it works is when you're downloading a massive file -- like a Linux distribution, for example --bits and pieces of the file will be uploaded at the same time. Typically BitTorrent allows for a more efficient and faster transfer method than traditional, Direct Connect P2P software. On the following pages, we'll not only show you how to get the most out of uTorrent, but out of BitTorrent in general. We'll cover both basic and advanced tips, and then toss in some of our favorite third-party add-ons for good measure. Whether you're new to BitTorrent or a seasoned vet, there's something in this guide for you. $1500 Gaming PC Buyer's Guide -- November 2009 -- It's that time again! This month, we've priced out an amazing $1500 gaming PC. If you recall from our Dream Machine feature, the $1500 "Budget Surplus" of mid-2009 was powered by a Core i7-920 and Radeon 4870 X2. Today -- a few months later -- we're able to make a few adjustments to upgrade to a Radeon 5870-based machine. The introduction of Intel's Lynnfield processor, increasing RAM prices, and the final retail release of Windows 7 also forced us to reevaluate our spending priorities, but we're very pleased with the outcome. As gamers, this is a system we'd be proud to build ourselves, and will play any game released in the foreseeable future.  Scythe Mugen 2 Cooler GammaTech Durabook D14RM Falcon Northwest Talon Asus G51Vx-RX05 Toshiba NB205 Left 4 Dead 2 HIS Radeon HD 5770 Videocard Gigabyte 260 GTX Super OC Videocard Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 Videocard Diamond Radeon HD 5850 Videocard Asus EAH5850 Videocard Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 Videocard Gigabyte GA-P55-UD6 Motherboard Freeware Files: Widescreen Mania! Make the Most of your Monitor's Real Estate! Widescreen monitors are, in a word, awesome, and not just because they offer some kind of enhanced quality over their four-by-three ratio brethren. Depending on what you're using them for, like movie-watching, you'll simply see more of a given scene than you otherwise would on a standard display. The increased screen real estate (on the horizontal plane) also allows you to make more effective use of your desktop... provided you have the right software tools to create this enhanced productivity. In fact, one of the biggest complaints surrounding the use of widescreen monitors is just that--the elongated desktop space is just too hard to navigate, and applications frequently don't make the best use of this additional room. I can't promise that everything out-of-the-box (or out-of-the-browser window) will look great on your widescreen display. However, what I can do is offer you a suite of tools designed to make your 16-by-9 or 16-by-10 experience as great as it can be. No BS Podcast #125: Did You Hear About the Apple Tablet, Made by Apple? Google's Chrome OS press conference gave us plenty to discuss on this week's No BS Podcast. We give you a recap of what juicy nuggets were revealed, and explain why Windows won't be replaced by Chrome any time soon. We also talk about benchmarking a dual-Radeon 5970 system, comparing it to a tri-SLI GTX 285 machine that we reviewed a few months ago. Finally, we answer some listener questions and Gordon breaks not one, but four NDAs to tell us about a super secret product. IBM's Next Cell Processor is Dead in the Water Talk of the technology behind the PlayStation 3 console always turns to the Cell processor, an innovative chip architecture which, in the PS3, contains essentially 9 processors on single chip (one PowerPC chip and eight Synergistic Processing Elements, or SPEs). And up until now, there was no reason to believe Sony wouldn't once again go with a Cell processor in its PlayStation 4 console, but there now lingers some doubt if the chip truly is "dead in the water, as David Turek, IBM's VP of Deep Computing, supposedly said. New Drobos Add Drive Bay, Higher Price Data Robotics is refreshing its excellent line of Drobo automated external hard drive enclosures. The Silicon Valley startup is launching the Drobo S and DroboElite. The Drobo S is similar to the standard Drobo but offers a fifth drive bay, allowing up to two drives to fail with no data loss. The new 'S' version also packs a faster ARM chip and an eSATA port to go along with the FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 ports. Users can enable dual drive redundancy via the software control panel. Google Says It Doesn't Want to Be Utility Google has made it clear recently that it does not intend to compete with utilities. The Mountain View tech company felt the need to do so after its recent push to get the PowerMeter service up and running. Some have worried that Google might intend to take over the relationship with customers from the electric companies. PowerMeter is a service that pulls data from special "smart" home electricity meters and feeds it into a web interface where users can track their use. Google's Program Manager for Advanced Products, Ed Lu, explained that Google only wants to help consumers understand their energy usage better. He went on saying, "This is where we think we can help utilities with this particular problem." Another Day, Another Promising New Battery Technology It seems like we're constantly hearing about promising battery technologies that could ultimately lead to longer battery life, more power, and smaller units, but as of yet, that big breakthrough hasn't occurred. Maybe nanotechnology, which is the current hot topic in the battery innovations field, will prove to be different. Right at this moment, a ton of research is being put into carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for a bunch of uses, including electronics and batteries. Researchers are drawn to CNTs because, according to them, carbon nanotubes are near perfect. That has paved the way for a professor and a UC San Diego graduate student to discover a breakthrough that involves introducing purposeful defects into CNT structures. By doing so, the 'defective' CNTs actually work better for the development of super capacitors, DailyTech reports. "While batteries have large storage capacity, they take a long time to charge; while electrostatic capacitors can charge quickly but typically have limited capacity. However, super capacitors electrochemical capacitors incorporate the advantages of both," Professor Prabhakar Bandaru said.

[11/23] Rumor: Windows 8 Due in 2012 | Apple Won't Fix Smokers' Macs

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Infopackets Email Newsletter: Monday, Nov 23, 2009

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Welcome to the next edition of the Infopackets Newsletter, featuring: MS
Windows and technology news, software reviews, tech tips, weekly desktop
games, plus 2 freeware goodies daily -- now that's a mouthful! ;-)

To ensure future delivery of this email newsletter to your inbox, please
take a moment and add newsletter@mailer.infopackets.com to your address
book. Details:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091123-00

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> Is your PC Optimized?

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If your computer is slow, prone to freezing up at the worst times, or loses
data for no apparent reason, the answer is probably NO.

So what are you going to do about it?

Just keep letting it happen? The answer to that is definitely NO.

You're going to pick up Ashampoo's WinOptimizer 6, which gives your machine
a total tune-up at the click of a button.

Read our full review and get up to 60% off your own copy by following this
link:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091123-01

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> Is Maintaining Your Computer Hardware Driving YoU CrAzY?

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Here's a question for you:

How dedicated are you to keeping your computer in tip-top shape?

Because if you want to do this you need to maintain your drivers -- the
files which make sure your hardware works properly with Windows.

There are two options for updating your drivers.

Option 1):

(a) Make a list of every device plugged in to your computer.

(b) Next, track down the manufacturer of each piece of hardware.

(c) Now, find and visit the website of the manufacturer and hunt for the driver
update page.

(d) Check if the latest driver update is newer than the one you have.

(e) If so, download and install it -- but make sure it's the right one,
otherwise you may disable your hardware by mistake.

(f) Move on to the next component and repeat the process.

We're not going to pretend option 1 is complicated: it's a pretty simple
process ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But, boy-oh-boy, does it take a long time!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

... So much so that you'd probably hire an IT expert to do it if only you
could afford their steep wages.

Thank goodness there's an Option 2!

Read on to find what it is:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091123-02

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> How to View This Newsletter

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This newsletter contains a synopsis of what's new at Infopackets.

There are two ways you can view our articles:

1) Use this email newsletter as your guide. Simply scroll down and click
the corresponding link to read the rest of the story online.

2) Use our main page. Note that older stories are replaced by newer stories
as our page is updated daily. If you missed an email newsletter or two, use
method #1 above ;-)

Click to visit main page now:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091123-03 (main page)

... or continue reading below!

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> In This Issue: At a Glance

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>>> Today's Headlines

--> Apple Refuses To Fix Smokers' Computers

--> Rumor: Microsoft's Windows 8 Due in 2012

--> On this Day in History: for Monday, Nov 23, 2009

--> Windows Game of the Week: Department 42: The Mystery of the Nine

--> Freeware Picks of the Day: 'Default Programs Editor', and 'Windows
Easy Transfer'

>>> Incase You Missed It -- Last Friday's Top Stories

--> Microsoft Office 2010 Public Beta Underway Now

--> Report: Google Readying 7-Second PC Start-Up Software

>>> Further Down ...

--> Got a Tech Question? Ask Dennis!

--> More Detail: Today's News + Synopsis and Link

--> Recommended Software: Please Support Our Site

>>> At the Very Bottom: Subscription Management

--> Link to: Archive Pages

--> Link to: Remove / Unsubscribe

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> Please Support Our Newsletter

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Infopackets.com and this email newsletter are made possible by Readers
who support our efforts through Discounted Software purchases.

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How You Can Help

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Helping to support Infopackets.com is easy.

1. Look for discounted, Recommended (retail) Software listed in this
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Proceeds from your purchase go directly to support Infopackets.com and
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Thanks for your support,

Dennis Faas
CEO | Chief Editor
www.infopackets.com

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> Got a Tech Question? Ask Dennis!

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Got a tech question? Email us using the link below and we'll feature the
best Questions and Answers in upcoming newsletters.

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091123-04

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> Today's Headlines: With Synopsis (plus link to story)

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>>> Apple Refuses To Fix Smokers' Computers

If you run over your computer with a monster truck, stick dynamite in
the USB slot or attach it to a Slinky and roll it down the stairway,
you can reasonably expect to lose any warranty or cover care ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091123-05

>>> Rumor: Microsoft's Windows 8 Due in 2012

Is Microsoft already looking beyond Windows 7 to Windows 8? Well, it
can't hurt to be prepared. In a recent presentation at the Los Angeles
Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft's Steven ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091123-06

>>> Microsoft Office 2010 Public Beta Underway Now (20091120)

Although the next version of Microsoft's very popular Office software
isn't set to ship until the new year, the Redmond-based firm recently
unveiled a public beta allowing interested users to try new ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091123-07

>>> Report: Google Readying 7-Second PC Start-Up Software (20091120)

Google appears on the verge of releasing software capable of starting
up a PC as fast as a television set. The speedy start up software is
said to be linked with the Google Chrome operating system ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091123-08

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> On This Day in History: Monday, Nov 23, 2009

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On this Day in History -- November 23

Famous people born on this day:

--> 1804, Franklin Pierce, 14th President from (1853 - 1857).

--> 1887, Boris Karloff, boogey-man.

Events on this day in history:

--> 1852, Just past midnight, a sharp jolt causes Lake Merced to drop 30
feet.

--> 1863, patent granted for a process of making color photographs.

--> 1889, The first jukebox is installed, at a saloon in San Francisco.

--> 1986, Vincent Paxton, sets a new world record, by playing his guitar
for 300 consecutive hours.

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> Windows Game of the Week: Department 42: The Mystery of the Nine

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Join Department 42, a secret organization devoted to protecting the world
from black magic. As your first assignment, you have to track down nine
malevolent artifacts that disappeared during a mysterious fire at Grimstone
Mansion! Explore strange locations and solve clever puzzles to protect
mankind from a new nightmare and restore order before the sun rises on a
dark new age! Key Features Recover Stolen Artifacts! Cure Werewolves! 20
Challenging Puzzles! Protect The World From Black Magic! Requirements OS:
Windows XP, Vista Memory: 512 MB Microsoft DirectX (free): 9.0c CPU: P ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091123-09

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> Freeware Picks of the Day: 'Default Programs Editor', and 'Windows Easy
Transfer'

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Default Programs Editor

Default Programs Editor is a powerful but simple file association utility
for Windows. It is a context menu editor, an autoplay editor, and default
programs association editor, essentially, it gives you the ability to edit
the settings in the Default Programs Control Panel page. It's a replacement
for the File Types dialog in Windows XP, and brings some key features of
TweakUI to Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Windows Easy Transfer

Use Windows Easy Transfer to copy your files, photos, music, e-mail, ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091123-10

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> Subscription Management

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To view our archive:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091123-11

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[12/03] Black Screen of Death Fix Available | 'Spear-Phishing' Peddlers Urge Online Privacy

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Infopackets Email Newsletter: Thursday, Dec 03, 2009

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Welcome to the next edition of the Infopackets Newsletter, featuring: MS
Windows and technology news, software reviews, tech tips, weekly desktop
games, plus 2 freeware goodies daily -- now that's a mouthful! ;-)

To ensure future delivery of this email newsletter to your inbox, please
take a moment and add newsletter@mailer.infopackets.com to your address
book. Details:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-00

 

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> Is Maintaining Your Computer Hardware Driving YoU CrAzY?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's a question for you:

How dedicated are you to keeping your computer in tip-top shape?

Because if you want to do this you need to maintain your drivers -- the
files which make sure your hardware works properly with Windows.

There are two options for updating your drivers.

Option 1):

(a) Make a list of every device plugged in to your computer.

(b) Next, track down the manufacturer of each piece of hardware.

(c) Now, find and visit the website of the manufacturer and hunt for the driver
update page.

(d) Check if the latest driver update is newer than the one you have.

(e) If so, download and install it -- but make sure it's the right one,
otherwise you may disable your hardware by mistake.

(f) Move on to the next component and repeat the process.

We're not going to pretend option 1 is complicated: it's a pretty simple
process ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But, boy-oh-boy, does it take a long time!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

... So much so that you'd probably hire an IT expert to do it if only you
could afford their steep wages.

Thank goodness there's an Option 2!

Read on to find what it is:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-01

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> How to View This Newsletter

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

This newsletter contains a synopsis of what's new at Infopackets.

There are two ways you can view our articles:

1) Use this email newsletter as your guide. Simply scroll down and click
the corresponding link to read the rest of the story online.

2) Use our main page. Note that older stories are replaced by newer stories
as our page is updated daily. If you missed an email newsletter or two, use
method #1 above ;-)

Click to visit main page now:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-02 (main page)

... or continue reading below!

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> In This Issue: At a Glance

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

>>> Today's Headlines

--> Black Screen of Death Fix Available; Debate Rages On

--> Nintendo Thanksgiving Sales Drop; Developer Cites Software

--> 'Spear-Phishing' Peddlers Urge Importance of Online Privacy

--> On this Day in History: for Thursday, Dec 03, 2009

--> Windows Game of the Week: Super Collapse! Puzzle Gallery 2

--> Freeware Picks of the Day: 'Wake Up On Standby', and 'Toff'

>>> Incase You Missed It -- Yesterday's Top Stories

--> Change Cursor Direction in MS Excel 2007

--> MS Black Screen of Death Causes Stir, Issue Unresolved

>>> Further Down ...

--> Got a Tech Question? Ask Dennis!

--> More Detail: Today's News + Synopsis and Link

--> Recommended Software: Please Support Our Site

>>> At the Very Bottom: Subscription Management

--> Link to: Archive Pages

--> Link to: Remove / Unsubscribe

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Got a Tech Question? Ask Dennis!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Got a tech question? Email us using the link below and we'll feature the
best Questions and Answers in upcoming newsletters.

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-03

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> " It not only cleans up the mess AFTER you've been infected ... "

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

... It also prevents your computer from being infected *in the first place!*

HoW's ThAt PoSsIbLe?

Answer:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-04

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Today's Headlines: With Synopsis (plus link to story)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

>>> Black Screen of Death Fix Available; Debate Rages On

As Microsoft and independent firms alike try to find out more about the
"black screen of death" issue plaguing some users of Windows 7, the
firm which first reported the problem has earned its fair ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-05

>>> Nintendo Thanksgiving Sales Drop; Developer Cites Software

Thanksgiving weekend proved a huge success for many retailers,
particularly those with web sites -- Amazon.com and Wal-Mart.com
cleaned up on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as techies proved ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-06

>>> 'Spear-Phishing' Peddlers Urge Importance of Online Privacy

As hundreds of thousands of children write their letters to Santa this
holiday season, Infopackets.com weighs in on two possible phish-
friendly tools that would top the wish list of any hacker. These ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-07

>>> Change Cursor Direction in MS Excel 2007 (20091202)

One of our readers recently wrote in: Thank you for instruction on
changing the cursor direction after enter for previous Excel
spreadsheet. Can you please tell me how to do it in Windows 7? I have
...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-08

>>> MS Black Screen of Death Causes Stir, Issue Unresolved (20091202)

Since its November 10 security update, reports suggest Microsoft has
received more complaints about the Black Screen of Death, than ever
before. One security firm is claiming that the update has ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-09

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> On This Day in History: Thursday, Dec 03, 2009

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

On this Day in History -- December 03

Famous people born on this day:

--> 1729, Antonio Soler, famed late 18th century Spanish composer.

--> 1930, Andy Williams

--> 1930, Jean-Luc Godard

--> 1960, Daryl Hannah, actress.

--> 1962, Tammy Jackson forward, Houston Comets, #23.

--> 1968, Brendan Fraser, actor, "George of the Jungle".

Events on this day in history:

--> 1586, Sir Thomas Herriot introduces potatoes to England, from
Colombia.

--> 1621, Galileo invents the telescope.

--> 1829, Worlds largest bar opens.

--> 1952, First television broadcast in Hawaii.

--> 1954, Joseph McCarthy goes too far in his attacks and is condemned by
the U.S. Senate.

--> 1967, First human heart transplant performed, in Capetown, South
Africa.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Windows Game of the Week: Super Collapse! Puzzle Gallery 2

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tackle 300 all-new puzzle challenges in this sequel to the hit brain-
bender! Can you remove all the blocks from the screen in the fewest
possible moves? The hint power-up is still on hand to help, but only those
with strategic sense and careful clicks will be labeled a Puzzle Genius!
Inspired by one of the most popular puzzlers of all time, the original game
of colored blocks and fast clicks is now the ultimate break for your brain.
Exercise your mental muscle today! Key Features 300 All-New Puzzles!
Classic Collapse Power-Ups! Special Hint Feature! Interesting And Clever
Puzzle .....

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-10

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Freeware Picks of the Day: 'Wake Up On Standby', and 'Toff'

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wake Up On Standby

WakeupOnStandBy will wake up your PC from stand-by or hibernation mode
programmatically. Once activated, it resides in the system and wakes it up
at a pre-defined time. It can be programmed to run a file on wake, and if
necessary sends it into stand-by mode, hibernates it or shuts it down. It
can also be used to run scheduled operations every day, or on specific
days.

Toff

This utility will be handy for people who like to leave their computer
unattended for some time before automatically turning it off (...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-11

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Subscription Management

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

To view our archive:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-12

---

To remove yourself from our mailing list, visit:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091203-13

You are subscribed as: charles260.computerdoc@blogger.com

[12/08] Migrating to Win7: Mount Your XP Drive Image | Win7 Hidden Bonus

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Infopackets Email Newsletter: Tuesday, Dec 08, 2009

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to the next edition of the Infopackets Newsletter, featuring: MS
Windows and technology news, software reviews, tech tips, weekly desktop
games, plus 2 freeware goodies daily -- now that's a mouthful! ;-)

To ensure future delivery of this email newsletter to your inbox, please
take a moment and add newsletter@mailer.infopackets.com to your address
book. Details:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-00

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Before you Take the Windows 7 Plunge ...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Know this:

1. If you're moving from Windows XP to Windows 7, you will need to do a
"Fresh Install" of Windows. This means that ALL your programs will need to
be reinstalled and re-setup AGAIN. If each program is configured a certain
way (example: contacts from your address book via your email program),
you will most definitely want to re-inject this data back into Windows 7
rather than re-enter it manually.

2. Using Acronis True Image 2010 can help you re-inject this data by
allowing you to search for and extract specific configuration files (example:
bookmarks, email contacts, etc) from your backup. This will SIGNIFICANTLY
reduce the time it takes to migrate from XP to Windows 7.

3. Unless you're 110% sure where all your user configuration files are
stored (in random places) on your C Drive, you *really* should backup your
entire C drive before before Windows 7 is installed. Acronis True Image
is by far the best tool to use to do this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Save 25% Off True Image 2010 Today

Proceeds will Support Our Website

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Full details:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-01

Direct Access to 25% Off Link:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-02

--> Use Coupon Code: infopatih

True Image 2010 *Upgrade Only* (Discounted) Link:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-03

Use Coupon Code: infopatihupg

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> How to View This Newsletter

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

This newsletter contains a synopsis of what's new at Infopackets.

There are two ways you can view our articles:

1) Use this email newsletter as your guide. Simply scroll down and click
the corresponding link to read the rest of the story online.

2) Use our main page. Note that older stories are replaced by newer stories
as our page is updated daily. If you missed an email newsletter or two, use
method #1 above ;-)

Click to visit main page now:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-04 (main page)

... or continue reading below!

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> In This Issue: At a Glance

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

>>> Today's Headlines

--> Migrating to Win7: How to Mount Your XP Drive Image

--> Windows 7 Hidden Bonus: Ad-Hoc Networking

--> On this Day in History: for Tuesday, Dec 08, 2009

--> Windows Game of the Week: Warblade

--> Freeware Picks of the Day: 'Seadragon', and 'Win7 Security Compliance
Toolkit'

>>> Incase You Missed It -- Yesterday's Top Stories

--> Microsoft Zero Day IE8 Flaw: Patch Coming Tuesday

--> Upgrading XP to Win7: How to Make the Transition Easy

>>> Further Down ...

--> Got a Tech Question? Ask Dennis!

--> More Detail: Today's News + Synopsis and Link

--> Recommended Software: Please Support Our Site

>>> At the Very Bottom: Subscription Management

--> Link to: Archive Pages

--> Link to: Remove / Unsubscribe

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Got a Tech Question? Ask Dennis!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Got a tech question? Email us using the link below and we'll feature the
best Questions and Answers in upcoming newsletters.

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-05

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Today's Headlines: With Synopsis (plus link to story)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

>>> Migrating to Win7: How to Mount Your XP Drive Image

I've decided to put together step-by-step instructions on how to use
Acronis True Image 2010 to migrate from Windows XP to Windows 7. I'm
doing this for two reasons: 1. We currently have a sale on ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-06

>>> Windows 7 Hidden Bonus: Ad-Hoc Networking

A Windows blogger has discovered that a feature supposedly removed from
the starter edition of Windows 7 is in fact simply hidden. Thus, users
of the new operating system (OS) can easily access the ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-07

>>> Microsoft Zero Day IE8 Flaw: Patch Coming Tuesday (20091204)

Microsoft's next Patch Tuesday fix will solve a reported twelve
security flaws, none more important than an Internet Explorer 8
vulnerability that the software company itself has marked "critical",
...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-08

>>> Upgrading XP to Win7: How to Make the Transition Easy (20091207)

Update 12:45PM EST: Note that at the very bottom of the article is the
link for the 25% discount. Sale ends December 21st. Read the full
review now or click here to get discount now. Enjoy! Acronis ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-09

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> On This Day in History: Tuesday, Dec 08, 2009

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

On this Day in History -- December 08

Famous people born on this day:

--> 1861, William Durant, founded General Motors Corp.

--> 1865, Jean Sibelius, major Scandinavian composer.

--> 1894, James Thurber, humorist.

--> 1925, Sammy Davis Jr. entertainer.

--> 1933, Flip Wilson

--> 1953, Kim Basinger, actress.

--> 1964, Terri Hatcher, actres, "Superman" tv series.

--> 1968, Brent Price, Basketball guard, Houston Rockets, #20.

--> 1981, Brittany Spears, singer.

Events on this day in history:

--> 1886, American Federation of Labor is organized in Columbus, Ohio.

--> 1987, President Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev sign a
treaty eliminating medium range nuclear missiles.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Windows Game of the Week: Warblade

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Warning ! Extremely addictive. Time to say goodbye to your sparetime. Blast
aliens across 100 heart pumping levels uncovering the secrets and bonus
games along the way. Power up your profile for more bonuses and use
strategy to get to the higher ranks. Master the Time Trial and Meteor
Storms and see if you can become the next Warblade champion. Voted one of
the best online games of 2004! Key Features Classic Arcade Action 100
Levels Of Alien Blasting Uncover Secrets And Bonus Games Can You Become The
Next Warblade Champion? Requirements OS: Windows 98/Me, 2000, XP Memory:
64MB ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-10

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> It's BETTER than Microsoft Office!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you're like 95% of people using a PC, you use MS Office. And if you're like
95% of those MS Office users, you wish there were something better.

Well now there is.

Introducing Ashampoo Office Suite --

Key Features:

--> 100% Compatible with MS Office

--> Smaller, Faster, More Efficient than MS Office!

--> WOW! ~ Uses Only 64MB disk space: only 5% the size of MS Office

--> Smaller Footprint translates to FASTER load times

--> Completely Portable: can be stored, used on USB drive: no install req'd!

--> Create Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) natively, 100% compatible, no plugin needed!

--> Full 30 Day Guarantee

Full details / review:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-11

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Freeware Picks of the Day: 'Seadragon', and 'Win7 Security Compliance
Toolkit'

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seadragon

Seadragon a nifty online viewer designed for very large images.
Seadragon.com (from Microsoft Labs) is a free web service designed to view,
zoom, pan-into, and share large images on the internet without degrading
them or otherwise making them smaller.

Win7 Security Compliance Toolkit

From Microsoft: The Windows 7 Security Compliance Management Toolkit
provides an end-to-end solution to help you plan, deploy, and monitor the
security baselines of computers running Windows 7 and BitLocker Drive
Encryption in your ...

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-12

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Subscription Management

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

To view our archive:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-13

---

To remove yourself from our mailing list, visit:

http://go.infopackets.com/e20091208-14

You are subscribed as: charles260.computerdoc@blogger.com

Top 10 Tech #8: Browser Shootout: Firefox 3, Ie 7, And Chrome Compared

BROWSER SHOOTOUT: FIREFOX 3, IE 7, AND CHROME COMPARED

by Dennis Faas
Infopackets.com Senior Editor
http://www.infopackets.com

--

About Infopackets and our Top 10 Tech Reports

Our Top 10 Tech Reports highlight The Best of The Best Q&A (questions
and answers) from our newsletter readers -- with no frills, Simple
English, and straight to the point instruction -- while featuring the
coolest and best free resources on the web.

If you find this report useful, please be sure to pass it on to a few
friends!

--

No doubt, the most commonly used software program is the web browser
-- but which one is best? We compare and contrast key differences with
Mozilla's Firefox 3, Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7, and Google's new
Chrome web browser, while highlighting future features.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Statistics: Who's Using What?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Microsoft's Internet Explorer ("IE") is the world's leading web
browser with about 50.6% market share as of August 2008, second to
Mozilla Firefox ("Firefox") with 43.7%. The remaining shares are
divided between lesser-known web browsers, such as Mozilla, Opera, and
Safari. (Source: w3schools.org)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mozilla Firefox

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Initially released on November 9, 2004, Mozilla Firefox is a free and
open source web browser, managed by the Mozilla Corporation.

Firefox includes tabbed web browsing, a spell checker, incremental
find, live bookmarking, a download manager, and an integrated search
system that uses the user's desired search engine.

Firefox runs on various versions of Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X,
Linux, and many other Unix-like operating systems. (Source:
wikipedia.org)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Firefox 3 Versus Internet Explorer 7

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While there is plenty of debate on the Internet concerning this issue,
most folks agree that:

1. Firefox is faster than IE 7: it starts faster and loads pages
faster.

2. Addons: There are loads of add-ons available for Firefox for a
variety of features, including ad blockers, themes, and more.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

3. Firefox user interface is better: Firefox 3 is totally
customizeable, which means you can make it look like the old Internet
Explorer, or even the old Firefox 2.

4. Firefox has a good track record of effectively blocking popup
advertisements compared to Internet Explorer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Firefox: The Future

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mozilla's Firefox version 3.1 is expected before the end of 2008. It
doesn't look like there will be any major new features, but the
updates are expected to fix some bugs from version 3; there are also
rumours the browser will be faster. (Source: mozilla.org)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Internet Explorer 7

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Windows Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) is a web browser released by
Microsoft in October 2006 and is the default web browser used in
Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

New features include tabbed browsing, page zooming, an integrated
search box, a feed reader, and improved support for web standards.
Security enhancements include a phishing filter, stronger encryption
on Windows Vista, and a "Delete browsing history" button to easily
clear private data. (Source: Wikipedia.org)

Compared to Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer 7 is a closed-source
web browser, which means that it is solely developed by Microsoft.
Internet Explorer 7 is not multi-platform and can only run on
Microsoft Windows XP (Service Pack 2+), Microsoft Windows XP x64
Edition, or Vista.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Internet Explorer 6 versus Internet Explorer 7

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When it first launched, there was -- and still is -- quite a bit of
negative buzz surrounding Windows Vista because of its software and
hardware incompatibility issues, hence most users who own Windows XP
are reluctant to upgrade. Since IE6 is the stock web browser of XP, it
is still widely used amongst Internet users; in fact, it is estimated
that 1/4 of all Internet users are still using Internet Explorer 6
(24.5%) -- almost neck-in-neck with Internet Explorer 7 (26.0%).
(Source: w3schools.com, as of September 2008)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Key differences in IE 7 versus IE 6

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Menu Bar (File, Edit, View, etc) has been removed by default.

The Go To and Refresh Button have merged with the Address Bar.

Tabbed browsing -- finally!

Much Needed Security Enhancements

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Internet Explorer 8: The Future

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Internet Explorer 8, the latest edition of Microsoft's browser, is
currently in its second test edition at the time of this writing, with
the final version expected later this year. New features include
improved security scanning, smarter search suggestions and a built-in
function for viewing pages designed for earlier browsers that aren't
displaying properly.

There's also a feature for browsing without leaving any trace on your
machine, which Microsoft suggests could be used for buying gifts
online without spoiling the surprise. (That certainly makes for a more
PR-friendly explanation than kids wanting to look at nudies
undetected).

Verdict: Internet Explorer will likely be the market leader for years
to come, simply because of Microsoft's dominance. Some of the new
features in IE version 8 sound intriguing, but only time will tell if
they turn out to be effective, or useful, in day-to-day surfing. It's
also worth bearing in mind that Internet Explorer's dominance will
always make it a target for hackers, so you may need to be extra-
conscious about security.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Google Chrome: Recently Released

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Google has entered the browser market with Chrome. While it's got some
neat user features, the downsides are that some security bugs have
already been discovered, along with compatibility issues for some
websites, and some people have already raised privacy concerns.

It's tough to predict whether Google's strong reputation for simple
and effective products will be enough to make Chrome a success. It's
worth checking out, but double-check your security measures first as
hackers will no doubt be keen to earn a major scalp by attacking a
giant like Google.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Google Chrome: Key Differences

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chrome is built on the basis of Apple's Safari browser.

Speed and Security: Chrome uses multi-processing to handle user
requests, giving each element of a page own memory and process,
instead of the single-threading architecture used by today's browsers.
Multi-threading should therefore make Chrome faster and more secure.

Chrome Task Manager functions like Windows Task Manager, and allow you
to find and processes (even plug-ins) that are hogging resources or
crashing.

This one is on par with IE8 and the newest version of Firefox: a
privacy mode, where you can browse without anything from the session
being written to your computer -- no cache, no history, no cookies,
nothing. (Dubbed "porn mode" by most blogs, but with serious
applications, such as public browsing, as well.)

Extra secure: the browser includes Google's ever-growing list of
spyware and malware sites, and every tab is "sandboxed," which means
whatever happens in the tabs can't affect your computer.

PopUp Control: Every pop-up is contained in the tab in starts in,
collected as a small link on the bottom of the page.

=========================================================

If you find this report useful, please forward it to friends!

--

Get more great tips -- just like this one -- by subscribing to our
daily email newsletter. Established in 2001 and read by over 250,000
users world-wide, infopackets features the latest in headline news
based on technology, trends and the Internet.

Best of all, it's absolutely FREE!

http://www.infopackets.com/subscribe.htm

=========================================================

Copyright (c) Infopackets, Inc.

No part of this article may be copied without the express written
consent of the publisher.