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FAQS! FACTS!
FAX! 399 (27/01/04)
Q
As an OAP I am very annoyed at the change BT is
making to what has been until now a free service. I cannot understand how they
can put a block on Outlook Express when using the so-called ‘Basic’ service.
Bryon Evans, via email
A
BT hasn't blocked Outlook Express as such but
Talk21 is changing to a two-tiered service with the free ‘Basic’ option
becoming a webmail-based system, like Hotmail and Yahoo Mail. This means that
email messages can only be received and sent using your Internet
browser. Email programs like Outlook Express cannot be configured to access
webmail (though OE does work with Hotmail, for the simple reason that
both are provided by Microsoft). Needless to say it is cheaper and easier
for BT to provide this kind of service, it clearly hopes to persuade users
to migrate to the subscription-based Talk21 Premium service (which uses the
standard POP3 protocol), and it can respond to complaints by pointing out that
it continues to be free.
If you are a light email user then it may not
be too much of a problem but webmail lacks the flexibility
of conventional email, it’s also harder to read and compose
messages offline and there's no facility to store large numbers of messages
on your PC. Unfortunately this change is going to inconvenience a lot of users
but it is the way things are going and the days of free, no-strings email
are rapidly coming to an end.
Q
I have had broadband for a couple of years and most of the time
it has
worked very well. Just recently I have found that after booting up the
computer I can't log on to the Internet without first unplugging my
Speedtouch modem from the USB and then plugging it back in. The modem looks
okay with both green lights showing. Could it be I have some sort of conflict
with another device that uses the USB ports? Any suggestions gratefully
received.
Stephen Graham, via email
A
There’s a fair chance that it is just a corrupt modem
driver. You should visit Alcatel’s support pages (http://www.speedtouchdsl.com/support.htm
Download the latest driver for your particular model then,
making sure you have your configuration settings to hand, uninstall and
reinstall the modem software.
Q
When I am using Word 2000, I sometimes get a condition when
the top title bar and the background to the name on the task bar start to
flash. Also the cursor becomes inoperative. Nothing seems to work, and it
is driving me crazy!
R.S.M.Kilby, Knutsford, Cheshire.
A
This sounds like a classic case of the Norton AntiVirus MS
Office plug-in bug. You’ll find more
information and details of a workaround in Microsoft Knowledgebase article
812075. The quickest way to get to it is to type the KB number into Google’s
search window.
Q
Using Windows 2000 Professional and Microsoft Word
2000 I have no difficulty in sending a document to a floppy disc for
backup. However when I try to send the same document to a CD-RW I am
unsuccessful and receive the message: “Cannot copy ‘Name of File.’ Files on
this CD-ROM drive are read-only. You cannot copy or move files over to this
CD-ROM drive.” Is it possible to overcome this
barrier and how can it be solved?
Alan Townsend, via email
A
It is definitely possible, however, it helps to know a
little about how recordable CD works so have a look at Boot Camps 251 and 252. The
idea is to use Universal Data Format (UDF) or Packet Writing, which effectively
turns a CD-R/RW into a big fat floppy disc, so you can read and write files
directly to the disc from Windows Explorer and applications like Word. The only
minor inconvenience is that the disc can't be read in another PC without packet
writing software or until it has been finalised, after which it behaves like a
normal CD-ROM. Packet writing depends on the type of software that you are
using, you may already have it. If you are using Adaptec Easy CD the packet
writing utility is called ‘Direct CD’, in Nero Burning it’s ‘InCD’.
Q
Whenever I try and open either audio or video files on my PC
they automatically launch the Canon Bubble Jet Printer Driver. On looking at
the file’s Properties these are set to InfanView. I have been unable to find a
solution in Windows Help.
R. E. Macpherson, Santiago. Chile
A
File Association is how Windows knows which program to open
when you double click on a file in Windows Explorer or My Computer. It pays to
be on your guard when installing new programs as they can sometimes hijack file
associations without much, or indeed any warning at all. The particular changes
made to your system are a bit of a mystery but you can put things back to the
way they were, or how you want them to be, by opening Windows Explorer, select
Folder Options on the Tools menu then the File Types tab. You
can Edit a file association by selecting it on the Registered File
Type list, or search for the program a particular type of file is currently
associated with by clicking the New Type button,
type the three-letter file extension in the Associated Extension
field and click OK.
Q
In your answer to Julian Treluggan (F!F!F! January 20th),
regarding holding each chapter of a large Word document in a separate file, you
did not mention the Word function for just this purpose: Master Documents. Each
sub-document (chapter) is linked into a Master Document and the numbering
happens "automagically". Just type Master into the Word help or take
a look at:
http://www.meredith.edu/techserv/helpdocs/
word_97-2000_master_documents.htm
Paul Lautman, Southsea, Hants
A
Thanks to Paul and the many, many other readers who wrote in
reminding me about the Master Document feature. I stand corrected!
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