Neat Net Tricks Issue #106
July 15, 2001

http://www.NeatNetTricks.com
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IN THIS ISSUE:

01.  AM-Deadlink
02.  Tale of the mouse pointer
03.  IE address navigation
04.  Ameristat
05.  Open Netscape's Address Book
06.  I Trace You
07.  Message Cleaner
08.  Not So Nifty Award
09.  Zap the urban legends
10.  Spell checkers
11.  Bandwidth Meter
12.  Neat Net Nifty

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01. AM-DEADLINK.  A handy little application, just 391 kb and 
free for the download, is AM-Deadlink at 
http://aignes.com/software/index.htm .  It quickly checks for 
dead links and duplicate entries in your browser Bookmarks and 
Favorites and works with MS Internet Explorer, Opera, 
and Netscape Communicator.

02.  TALE OF THE MOUSE POINTER.  You don't have to remember 
whether you are moving a file, copying it to another location, 
or creating a shortcut.  Just note the white blocks attached to 
the pointer as you are performing the operation.  A plus sign 
(+) denotes you are about to copy the file, a shortcut arrow 
shows you are about to make a shortcut, and nothing attached to 
the mouse pointer, means you are about to move the file.

03.  IE ADDRESS NAVIGATION.  Internet Explorer 5 allows easy 
maneuvering of the URL of addresses displayed in the Address 
window.  With your cursor anywhere in the window, hold down the 
CTRL key and use the left and right arrows to advance from each 
point in the address.

04.  AMERISTAT.  With apologies to the 19% NNT readers outside 
the U.S., the remainder may find Ameristat at 
http://www.ameristat.org/ a very useful reference site.  Get 
charts, graphs, and extensive d emographic data in several 
categories, download files, and discover how our population has 
evolved and what may be in store for us.

05.  OPEN NETSCAPE'S ADDRESS BOOK.  If you'd like to access the 
Address Book without first opening your browser, create a 
command line switch. Right click anywhere on your desktop, 
select New|Shortcut.  Browse to locate Netscape.exe.  At the 
end of the command line (beyond the quotation marks) include as 
a switch "-address" without the quotes. Make certain you include
the dash (hyphen), name the new shortcut, and select Finish.  
Access the Address Book with a double click on this 
shortcut icon.

06.  I TRACE YOU.  Use the service at http://www.itraceyou.com 
with compatible email programs, and you will know when your 
addressee has read the message you sent.

07.  MESSAGE CLEANER.  This utility is very useful in cleaning 
up your email and newsgroup messages by stripping those ">", 
rewrapping text, and in general making your correspondence much 
more readable.  Download it at 
http://www.RoundhillSoftware.com/MessageCleaner?GyloGG0sY .  
It's free for 30 days and costs as little as $7.50 
to register it.

08.  NOT SO NIFTY AWARD.  Just when you think you've heard it 
all, along comes another innovation that boggles the mind.  
Such is what Aesop Marketing Corporation calls "favorware" in 
its Ezine Assistant at http://www.ezineassistant.com/ .  The 
idea is, you download the "free" Ezine Assistant to help in 
managing content of newsletters, keeping track of issues, and 
formatting text with hard line breaks.  But before you can use 
- or even examine - the software, you must agree to publish 
lots of free ads for them in your ezine, as favors, of course. 
There seems little doubt as to who is getting the real "favor" 
from the "favorware".

09.  ZAP THE URBAN LEGENDS.  The tales of stolen kidneys, 
HIV-infected pay phones, and ad nauseum will no doubt persist, 
but we have to applaud the efforts of sites such as 
http://www.snopes2.com .  Wouldn't it be nice if everyone would 
check out these stories without being so quick to pass them on?
Nice, yes, but also unlikely.

10.  SPELL CHECKERS.  With the speed and convenience of email, 
we're all prone to dash off a message with no thought as to 
correct spelling.  Most word processors and email programs 
provide features for spell checking and should be used before 
the "send" button is pushed.  You might also give a look at the 
All Purpose Spell Checker for Windows 95/98/NT at 
http://www.palware.com/apsc/ .  It claims to check the spelling 
of almost any text area of Windows.  Also, The International 
Spelling Corrector at http://www.spellonline.com is Web-based 
and does it's job in five languages.

11.  BANDWIDTH METER.  We've mentioned these before, but if 
you'd like to try still another, 2Wire's Bandwidth Meter at 
http://www.2wire.com/services/bandwidth.asp will determine 
your maximum throughput to their Web site, proving once again 
that your speed is likely slower than you think.

12.  NEAT NET NIFTY. If you want to learn more about Paint Shop 
Pro, at http://dizz.com you'll find some of the best tutorials 
and examples.  This site is also an excellent resource for those
who design their own Web pages or who would simply like to know 
more about what goes into a good site.  Check out her skinz, 
tubes, icons, wallpapers and brushes. Dizzie describes herself 
as "a novice at computers but I am learning".  A visit to her 
site should convince you that she is learning well.

Neat Net Tricks pauses on occasion to recommend a site for your 
exploration and enjoyment.  Such sites are predominantly 
non-commercial in focus and identified as "nifty" when their 
all-around content, originality, interest, variety, and 
graphical presentation earn the award.  To nominate a nifty 
site, email the URL to jteems@neatnettricks.com and tell why 
you think the site deserves the recognition.

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Copyright 2001 by Jack Teems.  All rights reserved. Neat Net 
Tricks is registered with the U.S. Library of Congress ISSN: 
1533-4619.
