|
FAQS!
FACTS! FAX! 145 (21/01/99)
TEN
MINUTE RULE…
As
a parent of three highly PC literate children, I used to spend a great deal of
time controlling and limiting their computer usage. Since installing a new home
system I have overcome this problem -- and seen the last of a lot of arguments
-- by the use of a reasonably cost-effective shareware package. This allows me
to control the time an individual spends on the system, the hours of the day
they can use it and several other useful bells and whistles.
However,
the new PC has heralded the arrival of the Internet into the Halperin household
which brings another set of problems. There is a plethora of software to
control the content that they can view from the net, but as yet I have not
found anything which controls the length of time a user spends on the internet
so that I can, for instance, limit them to perhaps 10 minutes each a day. Our
ISP is Freeserve, which doesn't appear to give this functionality. Have you any
suggestions?
Jon
Halperin
A
Only
ten minutes, that's a bit mean… The answer to your question is yes; there are
several web utilities that can be programmed to monitor the time spent on-line,
sound an alarm when time has expired and even automatically disconnect the
line, if required. Clockwise and WebNik are almost certainly what you are
looking for and they can be downloaded from the excellent Tucows website, along
with details of more than a dozen other shareware web timers.
http://tucows.cableinet.net/time95.html
UNFRIENDLY
WORDS?
My
local PC dealer offers two software packages with his machines. Pack Acontains
Windows 98 and Lotus SmartSuite while Pack B contains Windows 98
and Microsoft Office 97 (Small Business Edition). I need to handle documents
in both Lotus and Microsoft formats, so I enquired as to the possibility
of purchasing both suites, but only one copy of Windows 98. I was told that it
is not possible to install both together. Is this correct?
Phil
Ford
A
Piffle!
Office and SmartSuite can coexist on the same PC, though you may not need to
bother as MS Word can read Word Pro document files and vice-versa.
THE
LACK OF THE NEW
I've
recently noticed that I do not have the 'New' option on my File menu on Windows
Explorer. This means that I have to run Winfile each time I wish to create
a new folder and use Create Directory. How do I fix it? I tried to remove
Explorer using Add/Remove Programmes in Control Panel but it does not include
the option.
Simon
Dennis
A
Judging
by the number of letters that we have received on this topic this is a fairly
common problem. It is usually caused by a missing or corrupt Registry entry.
Normally we advise against tinkering with the Registry but the actual procedure
is quite simple and provided you take all necessary precautions all should be
well. However, upon your own head be it, we can take no responsibility for it.
The first thing to do is make a backup. Got to Run on the Start menu, type in
'Regedit' then highlight the file HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. Now go to the Registry
drop-down menu and click Export Registry File, open or create a folder to put
it in, type in a name, something like 'regbak' and click Save. If you make a
mistake or anything goes wrong just click on regbak.reg, and it will automatically
restore itself.
Now
go back to Regedit and click on the '+' sign next to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and
scroll down the tree to 'Directory' (it's about halfway down), then open the
following folders by clicking on the adjacent plus signs: Background/shellex/ContextMenuHandlers
and finally New. Double click New and in the right hand window there will be an
item called Default. This should be followed by a code string, though in your
case it might not be there. Click on Default and a window appears, enter the
following sequence precisely in the Value Data field:
{D969A300-E7FF-11d0-A93B-00A0C90F2719}
Make
sure to use curly brackets, observe upper and lower cases and be aware that
there are no spaces between any of the characters or hyphens. Click OK, re-boot
and hopefully New will have returned.
TREE
TROUBLES
With
reference to the Boot Camp of 31st December -- you mention a 'freeware' family
tree program named Generation. I have tried to find this on the Internet
without much luck and would be grateful for some help.
Bill
Crabb
A
Try
the following site, this contains a description of the program and a direct
link to a download for Generations:
http://www.danmorin.com/generations/
SPEED
DEMON
I
enjoyed the Boot Camp article on hard disc partitioning and formatting and it
answered a number of questions that have been puzzling me but it raised
another, regarding upgrading the CPU in my PC. I currently have an Intel
Pentium 133MHz chip and I am considering upgrading this to a 200MHz Pentium,
the fastest the motherboard supports. The only problem is the setting of a
couple of jumper connections but I am confident I can do this as I have the
motherboard details. Do you think that I will also have to go through the
trauma of formatting the hard disc as well, or will the computer readily accept
the new chip?
John
Battersby, Darwen, Lancashire
A
It
shouldn't be necessary to format the hard disc after a CPU upgrade. The changes
are handled by the BIOS (basic input output system) program, which resides in a
read only memory (ROM) chip on the motherboard. However, you probably won't see
much improvement in performance as the difference in speed between 133 and
200MHz is relatively small and hardly worth the effort or expense. Why not
replace both the motherboard and CPU together? This would allow you to opt for
a much more worthwhile speed increase of 300MHz or even faster.
PHONE
CONNECTION
I
have heard that there is software that will allow me to call a standard
telephone using my PC via the Internet i.e. world-wide calls at local rates. I
know several people who've heard of it but no one knows where I can buy or
download the program. Any ideas?
Darrell
Locke
A
The
best-known Internet PC-to-phone utility is Net2Phone but it may not be quite as
cheap as you imagine. Calls from your PC are routed through the Net2Phone
website and then on to local servers that make the connection to the telephone
network in the country you are calling. In addition to normal on-line charges
(the cost of a local call in your case) there is an additional subscription
payment and variable call rate, depending on the country. You can get more
details and download free-trial access software from: http://www.net2phone.com
| 
