FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  211 (11/05/00)

SOFT WICKET

In response to your readers request for a cricket averages program (F!F!F! April 27th) I have two suggestions. The first is an Excel spreadsheet which I have created that makes uses of the database functions to lookup scores etc. from separate sheets. There are a few simple macros, which I have set to operate from keyboard shortcuts. This could be quite easily improved to provide a much more efficient solution. If anyone would like a copy, or can improve upon my idea please contact me by email. The second solution is a program called 'Cricket Organiser 2.0.0'. I obtained a demo package through our local cricket league. I have found this to be a great piece of software well worth the investment; unfortunately I have been unable to convince my cricket club’s committee of its immense value. Details can be found at:www.fbss.co.uk

Andrew Barker (Hockley Cricket Club)

I have made up an Excel Spreadsheet for my own use. It has one small flaw in as much as my home club includes an annual award for the largest number of "ducks" in the season and I haven't yet managed to differentiate between 0's and 0 not out's.

R. P. Truscott

Excel is a non-starter, unless one is prepared to mess around trying to add .3 and .5 to make 1.2 in bowling averages. I have seen several programs over the last eight years but only one which is any good, and that is Cricket Statistics for Windows, which is truly outstanding, with a range of facilities for recording data and producing reports over one or more teams, competitions, seasons and clubs that is virtually limitless. A trial (or full) version can be obtained from the author’s web site at, http://www.ggiddings.freeserve.co.uk or telephone (020) 8570 3439

Chris Fookes

A useful series of links can be found at: http://www.acumenbooks.co.uk

/linmain.htm#software the host site specialises in items for cricket umpires and scorers and has a variety of other links for cricket enthusiasts.

Colin Pearson

Try www.cricketstatz.com for suitable software - the samples on the website look good.

John Tiplady

Another tremendous response, thanks to everyone, and whilst we’re on the subject of sporting software…

Could anybody help a relative technophobe? I am looking for a program that works out averages for Crown Green Bowling. 

Don Graham

COOKIES JAR

Would you resolve and ease my concern about Cookies, in simple terms. I have been told that they are small programs that sit on your hard drive and transmit information about your computer and your travels on the Internet to some unknown recipient, for a set or indefinite period. This sounds sinister to me? Some pages seem full of them! So I disabled them, but now I cannot view certain pages or bank on-line unless I enable them. I assume page owners are paid to have cookies on their page, so the information must be valuable? With such a large number of them, it must take up a significant amount of hard drive? I hope you can understand my dilemma and concern, and are able to set my mind at rest.

Gordon Halfpenney

Cookies, otherwise known as ‘Client Side Persistent Information’ are tiny text files or calling cards left by Internet web sites, usually in the Temporary Internet Files folder in Windows. You can see what is inside a cookie by double clicking on them in Windows Explorer. Cookies cannot harm your PC; they cannot carry viruses or executable programs and in theory can only be read by the site that sent them in the first place. Cookies are meant to be helpful, they tell the site that you’ve visited before and help to identify you, so that if you’ve previously entered any preferences or registration details, you won’t have to do it all over again. They cannot give your email address to a site or divulge any details about you or your PC, unless you have already provided that information. Most cookies are less than a kilobyte or so in size, so they don’t take up much room, unless there are a lot of them, so every now and again it’s a good idea to have a ‘cull’ but keep any from sites that you want to have your registration details. The only ‘sinister’ thing about cookies is that they can provide others with access to your PC a very detailed record of your Internet activities.

TIME OF RECKONING

I find it infuriating that once disconnected from the Internet, there is no way of knowing how long I have spent on-line. Is there any way I can keep a record of the time spent on-line, if for no other reason than to be able to apportion costs when the phone bill comes in!  It's very easy to lose track of time spent connected to the net, especially in a busy household with Internet hungry teenagers who tend to wait until there is no-one around, and then spend hours downloading huge files onto the computer.

Hilary Clare

You will find a wide selection of shareware and freeware Internet timers on the Tucows web site (www.tucows.com). Have a look at ‘TimeUp’, ‘ReallyGood Internet Timer’, TariffCalc’ and ‘Internet Timer’.

DRIVE OFF

I have a Dell Windows 98 PC with DVD-ROM and Zip drives. The drives are available to me in Windows but not in DOS.  I would like to be able to access the DVD drive from DOS when playing some of my older games on CD-ROM but it says that there is no DVD drive when I try. 

Thomas Cullen

DVD-ROM and Zip drives will only work if the relevant DOS driver software has been installed. The driver discs should have been supplied with your PC if not you should contact the supplier, installation instructions are normally contained in a ‘readme’ text file. Driver software can also be downloaded from the Internet, but you will need to know the make and model number of your DVD –ROM.

SHORTCUT SHORTCUT

I'm sure this is something you must have covered before but if so I've missed it. Can you please tell me how I can create a desktop shortcut for a program that is in the Start menu?  Some programs seem to do it automatically but Microsoft Publisher doesn't! I have a Pentium PC running Windows 98.
Sarah Holdsworth

Right click on the program icon, from the menu that appears choose Send To, then the item ‘Desktop (Create Shortcut)’.

TAPE TIP
I have a number of MP3 and RealPlayer music files on my hard disk that I have down loaded from the Web. As I don't have the equipment to put them onto a blank CD, can I record them from my computer onto an audio tape?   My computer is a Gateway G6-233 with Windows 95, circa 1998.

Peter W. White

You need to connect the line output socket (usually the one that goes to the PC speakers) to the ‘aux’ line input socket on your cassette tape recorder. In most cases you will need a 3.5mm stereo minijack-to-minijack cable. You may have to experiment with the levels, so before you begin set the PC volume level low and make some test recordings.

CHANGING TIMES

My Word programme uses Times New Roman, but I would prefer Tahoma.  I have tried to find how to make this change, as a default setting, rather than change each sheet, but can't find how to do it. 

Ann Clare

In most versions of Word the procedure is to open a new ‘Normal’ document template then go to Font on the Format drop-down menu, select the Font tab and select your preferred font, style and size, then click the Default button. You will be advised that this will change the Normal template, click Yes and the changes will be made.