KC News 7/99 4th of July Special

Vol.1, No.7

KC News is a free service of Kahl Consultants.
Technology. Use it appropriately. Put it in our hands. Visit us at http://www.kahl.net

To continue receiving; do nothing, you are on our list.
To add someone or to stop receiving; send email.
 

Y2K

Solar activity has an 11-year cycle. It is expected to peak - you guessed it - early next year. The solar menace comes at the same time as the Year 2000 (Y2K) bug. So some solar physicists have called the effects from the Sun "the other Y2K problem".

The results? A coronal mass ejection (CME) can spark spectacular aurora at polar latitudes. But more worryingly it could induce POWER BLACKOUTS, BLOCK RADIO COMMUNICATIONS and trigger phantom commands to SEND SATELLITES SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL. CELL PHONES, GPS and ASTRONAUTS are at risk.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observer (SOHO) satellite will play a key role in early detection of solar storms, which is important for issuing warnings. So stay tuned.

Oh, and if you happen to be in Europe this August you might catch the last total solar eclipse of the millenium!! Read about it in AstroNews:
http://www.kahl.net/astro
 
 
 

TIP OF THE MONTH

CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS!
Dump your dirty habits. Switch to the best green energy deal for your home. No gimmicks, no hassles. This is the best deal, and eveybody wins here! Get cheap clean electricity online:
http://www.kahl.net/energy

Or just CALL toll-free 1-877-GO-CLEEN (462-5336) or 1-888-425-3361
Mention Alex Kahl as your agent and I get a referral buck.
Come clean, Go green! 
 
 

SITES FOR SORE EYES

No need for further details, just go there and BOOKMARK IT:
http://www.kahl.net/tools
 

PRIVATE LIFE; FREE EMAIL
-----------------------------------
Everyone has several email accounts nowadays. Forget HotMail and Yahoo. Here are a few other companies offering better free email accounts.

Did you know an email is about as private as a post card? Unless you encrypt it!

Intimate letters? Try one of these web based encrypted email services:

YNN:           http://www.ynnmail.com
POP3 Now:       http://www.pop3now.com
HushMail:          http://www.hushmail.com
ZipLip:          http://www.ziplip.com

You can always use PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) software to encrypt your stuff,
http://www.pgp.com

Finally some other freeware to protect your privacy:
http://www.thefreesite.com/anonymous.htm
 
 
 

AMAZON.COM

KC TIP

WHAT A TURN OFF
-------------------------
Contrary to popular belief, turning your computer OFF when not in use can PROLONG its life by cutting down on heat generation and mechanical stress, the two leading causes of PC failure!!
 

ATTENTION SHOPPERS
------------------------------
Shopping for a PC? Get the best BANG FOR YOUR BUCK! Go shopping online with the Kahl Consultants Shopping website. You will be amazed how easy it is to compare prices and learn about the latest deals on hardware and software.

To make your life even easier we have a complete SHOPPING LIST you can print out. It contains all the details you need to buy the best PC on the market. Go to:
http://www.kahl.net/shopping
 
 
 

WinTips

The new stuff includes: Internet Explorer 5, NetMeeting 3, a Service Pack (bug fixes. security patches and driver updates). Is it worth it? If you have the necessary power and space (min. 64 MB RAM, 100 MB free space), probably. It's all free online. But with a modem it can take several hours. Do it after hours or during a long lunch break.

For IE5 and NetMeeting 3 go here:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

For the service pack click START - SETTINGS - WINDOWS UPDATE.

If you were thinking of upgrading to Windows 98 but held off until now - this is a good time to get it. It's always wise to wait for bug fixes before buying new software!
 
 
 

Keyboard Shortcut Du Jour

WHAT'S A WINDOWS LOGO KEY FOR?

Newer PC keyboards come with several new keys, the most important one being the Windows Logo Key. There are two of them, one on each side of the space bar. Might be worth buying a new keyboard just to use them! Here are some amazing Windows Key tricks you can try:

Windows Key            - Opens Start Menu (ooops! you knew that!)

Windows Key  + E     - Opens Windows Explorer

Windows Key  + F     - Find a file or folder

Windows Key  + M     - Minimizes all dialog boxes ("windows") with minimize buttons

Windows Key  + SHIFT + M     - Maximizes all dialog boxes ("windows") that were minimized

Windows Key + Pause/Break  - Open System Properties (experts only!)

Now tell your mouse to go back to Disneyland. Using your keyboard is much faster. Learn your shortcuts!!

More Windows Tips
 
 

!!Hoax & Virus Alert!!

This one is for real. Worm.ExplorerZip is a new virus being sent as an email attachment. DO NOT RUN AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT CALLED ZIPPED_FILES.EXE.  It will delete many files on your machine, send the virus to others, and destroy windows explorer. Ugh!

Find the latest on internet and email warnings and hoaxes (real & fake) here:
http://www.kahl.net/hoax
 
 
 

Save on Calls with Calling Cards

NetTips

Go to AltaVista.com and type link: (in lower case) into the search field, followed by the URL of ANY web page. You get back a listing of pages AltaVista shows being linked to THAT page. 
syntax:
link:URL

example:
link:www.kahl.net

It shows you who is pointing to your page!  VERY useful information.  You can use it to identify pages which still point to an old address (just type link: and the old URL)  Then send notes to the page owners asking them to update their old links!

Wait, there's more!!  Try these:

anchor:text  Finds pages that contain the specified word or phrase in the text of a hyperlink. anchor:"Click here to visit Kahl Consultants" would find pages with "Click here to visit Kahl Consultants" as a link.

domain:domainname  Finds pages within the specified domain. Use domain:de to find pages from Germany, or use domain:org to find pages from organizations.

host:name  Finds pages on a specific computer. The search
host:altavista.digital.com would find pages on the AltaVista computer, and
host:dilbert.unitedmedia.com would find pages on the computer called dilbert
at unitedmedia.com.

text:text  Finds pages that contain the specified text in any part of the page other than an image tag, link, or URL. The search text:Y2K would find all pages with the term Y2K in them.

title:text  Finds pages that contain the specified word or phrase in the page title (which appears in the title bar of most browsers). The search title:Kahl Consultants would find pages with Kahl Consultants in the title.

url:text  Finds pages with a specific word or phrase in the URL. Use
url:Kahl to find all pages on all servers that have the word Kahl
in the host name, path, or filename--the complete URL, in other words
 
 

Thanks to all who wrote in their comments. Send us your questions for the 8/99 edition of KC News.

Cheers,

Alex
Kahl Consultants
http://www.kahl.net
 
 

THE PLUG

Country Homes Campers - camping enthusiasts go here to buy and sell preowned vanagons and aerostars
http://www.kahl.net/campers

Project Thursday's Child - sailing to save the whales and dolphins
http://www.tchild.org
 

*
Technology. Use it appropriately. Put it in our hands. Kahl Consultants are always at your service at http://www.kahl.net

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.
 
 

THE PUNCH LINE

The Fine Print

* CTRL: Control Key (there are 2 of these on your pretty little keyboard)
* ESC: Escape key (top left of your keyboard)
* Home & End Keys: found next to the Page Up and Page Down keys, to the
right of the alphanumeric portion of your keyboard (even on laptops)
* Keyboard combinations: hold down the first key, then press second key shortly

MORE TIPS????
OK, if you insist, go here:
http://www.kahl.net/tools/tips.html