|
|
|
|
|
|
|
KC News by Kahl Consultants.
|
|
Subscribe
Free!
Latest KC News |
KC News by Kahl Consultants.
Visit http://www.kahl.net
TABLE OF CONTENTS
-----------------------------
FASTER DOMAIN NAMES
EMERGENCY SUPPLY KIT
MOZILLA IS ALIVE
MEGACONVERTER
BACK UP BUDDY!
WINDOWS XP UPDATE
AOL
FREE ONLINE VIRUS SCANNER
AOL BLUES
TECHNOLOGY BEHIND GOOGLE
1) type ONLY the domain name (for example just type "yahoo" instead
of "http://www.yahoo.com")
2) hit Ctrl+Enter
Voila! The http, www and .com parts are automatically added for you!
Bookmark the entire WINDOWS TIP list:
http://www.kahl.net/tools/wintips.html
HOW TO SAVE ON LONG DISTANCE
---------------------------------------------
Get great LONG DISTANCE RATES with GLOBALCOM prepaid calling services.
Look at these sample RATES from ANY PHONE in the USA:
* 5.5¢ per minute USA, Canada, UK, Hong Kong
* 6¢ per minute Belgium, China, Germany
* 14.5¢ per minute Philippines and much more!
* Works worldwide (via web enabled CALLBACK)
* No Monthly Fees! No Hidden Fees!
Go ahead, just try it out...we know you'll love Click4Prepaid from GLOBALCOM:
http://www.kahl.net/global/
During a disaster normal supplies may not be accessible. So it's good to have emergency supply kits in your home, your office and your vehicle.
Here in California we prepare for things like earthquakes, floods, fires and even power outages. But whatever the emergency may be, please pack an old bag or backpack with a few basic necessities. Then stash it somewhere where may be most accessible in an emergency.
What goes in your supply kit? Learn that and much more about emergency preparedness at the KC Emergency Action website.
Be ready when disaster strikes!
KC EMERGENCY ACTION
http://www.kahl.net/action
This is the first major-version public release of the Mozilla software. A full-fledged browser suite based on the latest Internet standards as well as a cross-platform toolkit, Mozilla 1.0 is targeted at the developer community and enables the creation of Internet-based applications.
Mozilla 1.0 was developed in an open source environment and built by harnessing the creative power of thousands of programmers and tens of thousands of testers on the Internet, incorporating their best enhancements.
Built on the Gecko layout engine, Mozilla 1.0 is cross-platform and integrates a core set of applications that allow users to access the capabilities of the Web, including a web browser, an email reader and a chat client.
"The release of Mozilla 1.0 represents a huge milestone for the free software community. From browser technology to software development tools, the Mozilla project has had an enormous impact on open source development," said Nat Friedman, Vice President of Product Development at Ximian Inc. "Most importantly, Mozilla 1.0 is a key part of an industrial-strength open source desktop."
Mozilla 1.0 is available for free download at:
http://www.mozilla.org.
KC TECHSHOP
-----------------
Go shopping at the KC TechShop!
* MONEY-SAVING RANKINGS
Best sites for comparison shopping and reviews.
* "SWEET SPOT" SHOPPING LISTS
DESKTOPs and LAPTOPs. Best price-to-quality!
* GREEN PC Section
Helps you save energy.
Hardware or software, deals on technology:
http://www.kahl.net/shopping
You name the conversion, this website does it! It's got conversion forms for everything under the sun, from Angles to Wire Resistance, from Chemistry to Shoe Size!
MegaConverter:
http://www.megaconverter.com/
This time we want to make it easy for all you BACKUP BEGINNERS. Here are the tools you will need...
HARDWARE
-------------
Backup to CD-RW
- recommended for small businesses with no IT staffer and no network of computers.
Backup to Hard Drive (external or internal)
- recommended for medium size business, with staff with some IT knowledge, networked
computers
SOFTWARE
--------------
Software for CD Burner Backup:
Take Two
- comes with Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4 (but not with newer Roxio Easy CD Creator
5)
- only for Windows 95 - 98, NOT Windows XP
- 3 step backup very easy
Drive Image 2002
- easy to use
- disaster recovery, backups and system upgrades
- create a copy of entire hard drive or partition onto a Zip, Jaz, CD-R/W, or
another partition
- http://www.powerquest.com/driveimage/
Software for Hard Drive Backup:
Norton Ghost
- comes with Norton System Works 2002 Pro
- only recommended for advanced users
Drive Image 2002
- easy to use
- disaster recovery, backups and system upgrades
- create a copy of entire hard drive or partition onto a Zip, Jaz, CD-R/W, or
another partition
- http://www.powerquest.com/driveimage/
FIRST THE GOOD
Microsoft has put together an operating system that combines the best of worlds,
the security and reliability that the Windows NT and Windows 2000 product lines
have always had, along with the robustness and compatibility of its older siblings
Windows 98 and Windows Millennium.
Stability and Recovery
Stability, something every user wants, recovery something we surely hope we
never have to use. However, the world is not perfect; we do have to use those
features sometimes.
Microsoft has put an enormous amount of time into improving both of those areas in all versions of Windows XP. The blue screen of death as everyone used to call it, is really no longer present in XP. The operating system seems very intelligent in capturing those errors allowing you to return to a safe working environment without data loss.
Compatibility
XP has new compatibility features to run your old applications. Got that software
you’ve been using for years that’s just perfect? Afraid it won’t
run on Windows XP?
Microsoft doesn’t guarantee this but they have a feature allowing you to emulate older Microsoft operating environments. As far back as a Windows 95 platform.
Which Version?
Windows XP comes in two flavors: Home and Professional.
They’re few differences other than price. Professional contains a few things Home doesn’t, such as IIS version 6 and remote assistance capabilities. Most folks will be perfectly happy with the Home version unless they need those feature enhancements.
NOW THE BAD
Microsoft Media Player gives up your box. It allows remote attackers onto your
hard drive. Yes folks, that's right. Any of those bad guys out there just waiting
to run arbitrary code on your priceless Windoze machine now have another point
of entry.
Patch! you scream at Mr. Gates. OK, Bill hears ya. His website has a patch.
But it's a patch with a catch. Read the fine print. The End User's License Agreement
or EULA. It's that thing you usually gloss over whenever you install something
on your computer.
Well the license that comes with this new Microsoft security patch gives Microsoft
ADMINISTRATIVE PRIVILEGES on your computer.
Microsoft is asking you for the right to enter your computer and install code of its choosing. You will not be warned; you will not be offered an opportunity to examine the download or refuse it. The "Evil Empire" will simply connect remotely and install what it will, or install it secretly when you contact them. And now they have your authorization to do so.
Bookmark our FAQ Tips site!
WinTips, WebTips, ImageTips, Shopping Tips and more:
http://www.kahl.net/tools/tips.html
Here’s the case against AOL:
COST
At $23.90/month AOL is more expensive than other dial up services.
CONTENT
AOL uses a pitiful excuse for a browser. AOL subscribers are missing out on
a lot of the media rich content the internet has to offer. There are countless
web sites dedicated to addressing AOL browser-specific issues.
See below for a link to a chart that shows what AOL users are missing out on. Particularly annoying is the AOL browser’s insistence on not using all of the available screen space. And AOL compresses graphics which often makes images blurry or distorted (note that you can turn this "feature" off)!
EMAIL
AOL uses a proprietary email format and once again AOL users can’t enjoy
a lot of the content available to others.
SPAM
Spam is a problem for everyone, but AOL subscribers are at the top of the list
for spammers! AOL members are particularly-heavily targeted for two reasons.
First, the community aspects of AOL have a serious side effect: it's very easy to harvest lots of AOL email addresses. When you chat, you're announcing your email address to the world. When you post to a message board or newsgroup, you're doing the same. AOL's system makes it easier for unscrupulous people to find out your address. And there isn't much AOL can do to stop this.
Second, many AOL members do business with bulk email marketers because they don't know any better. They assume it is an ethical way to do business, and buy the merchandise or services offered. A marketer will always prey more heavily on those more likely to do business with them.
SPEED
AOL is usually slower than other dial up services because there is more traffic
on their network.
SECURITY
“It’s so easy no wonder it’s number one” – the number
one target for hackers that is! The vast expanse of the AOL herd and the utter
lack of computer savvy of many of its members make AOL members prime targets.
ADVERTISING
AOL users are drowned in a deluge of ads by AOL every time they sign on. Thankfully
these can be turned off.
PROPRIETARY INTERFACE
This is the crummy software AOL uses to connect you to their network (and the
internet). Other ISPs use either dial-up networking and/or TCP/IP, both of which
are part of the (Windows) operating system. Not AOL!
Using the operating system’s networking components is the fastest, most stable way to connect to the internet. You connect directly to the net. AOL users are actually only connecting to AOL’s network from which the internet may be accessed. AOL’s software is crash prone.
The fewer programs you have running while online the more stable to computer
will be (less stuff to go wrong). ALL you need for DIAL UP NETWORKING is the
ISP phone number, your user name and password and you’re all set!
AOL is expensive, slow, buggy and media deficient. AOL USERS: do yourself a
favor and find another (real) Internet Service Provider.
Find out at webmonkey:
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/reference/browser_chart/
Handy Acronym Links (or HAL):
BABEL : A Glossary of Computer Oriented Abbreviations and Acronyms
http://online.dossnet.com/babel.htm
Acronym Finder: Look up 119,400+ acronyms/abbreviations & their meanings
http://www.AcronymFinder.com
Are you worried that your computer is infected with a virus? Not sure if you have the latest ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE installed?
Visit Trend Micro's free online virus scanner:
http://housecall.antivirus.com/
Remember kids, play it safe on the net. Don't trust internet fairy tales. Scan
for virii and verify your emails here:
http://www.kahl.net/hoax
Hi All,
I've been screwed by AOL and here's the story:
A year ago I bought a laptop and with it came a year's worth of FREE AOL
service. After a few months, we got broadband so I canceled the service.
Three months AFTER I canceled, AOL started charging me $23.90 a month
directly to my VISA account. We didn't notice it until 10 months later. I
called AOL and, get this:
1) they confirmed that I canceled the service in May 2001.
2) they confirmed they had been billing me in error in July 2001.
3) they will only credit me for 3 months worth because it's THEIR policy
that if you don't say anything after 60 days, you're out of luck.
After talking to VISA, they also said that AOL was notorious in their
charging practices. Apparently this happens quite a bit.
I referred this to the Washington State Attorney General's Office of
Consumer Protection and there's nothing they can do, VISA can't do anything
and AOL won't do anything either.
They claim I was "given to chance to reconsider my cancellation"
and
declined the cancellation. Nothing like that ever happened.
So, if I can save at least one person from AOL's clutches and evil
practices, I will at least feel this experience may have done some good.
Please, if you have any feelings whatsoever about big businesses (especially
AOL) beating up on the little guy (us, the consumers), pass this message
around. Stand up and tell them you no longer want AOL. Subscribe to
something else but hang AOL by their thumbs !!!!
And that's about it. Now turn off your computer. Go SWIMMING!
Cheers,
Alex
Kahl Consultants
http://www.kahl.net
Technology. Use it appropriately. Put it in our hands.
THE PLUG
========
Is your small business or organization performing?
Have enough clients? Want to enhance your net presence?
Our latest clients include:
Bee Market - Fine Imported French Furniture and Accessories
http://www.beemarket.com
If you got this far you obviously enjoyed KC News. Pass it on!
Please forward it to a handful of your friends.
Remember, the best things in life are free.
Have a look:
http://www.google.com/technology/pigeonrank.html
 |
|
 |
|
||||
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
|
|
||||
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |