Neat Net Tricks Issue # 71
February 1, 2000
Reply-To: NNT@silver.lyris.net

IN THIS ISSUE:

01.  A-Searching we will go
02.  Idioms made easier
03.  A good time was had by all
04.  Cleaning up the loose ends
05.  Cyberoffice
06.  MP3 is music to the ears
07.  Boot Log Analyzer
08.  Shortcut to shortcut
09.  A quick change
10.  Where's the teller?
11.  Easy upgrade
12.  Crow flight calculator

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01.  A-SEARCHING WE WILL GO.  Illumix Software offers an interesting
combo at http://www.illumix.com.  Webspector tracks Web pages for
content changes - very useful if you have favorite sites to keep tabs
on or want to keep up with what a competitor may be doing.  Changes
are highlighted to speed your research.  Its companion, Selfseek!, is
a good supplement to your search engine.  It runs queries against
downloaded pages, builds a graphical site map and database for added
queries, highlights matched queries in a built-in graphics-free Web
browser, and see for yourself the other options.  Download the trial
versions at the Illumix site; and if you like them, Illumix is allowing
readers of NNT a big discount for the registered versions.  Only until
February 29, you can buy the Webspector Standard for $39, the Selfseek!
Professional for $31, or save even more with both for just $63.  To get
this special price you must order by Visa or Mastercard at NNT's
secure site, http://www.ourshowcase.com/nnt/

02.  IDIOMS MADE EASIER.  From time to time weve mentioned
translator programs with the caveat that no translation ever
seems to be truly accurate.  Thats because of the idioms and
colloquialisms inherent in every language.  Give
http://eurodic.echo.lu/cgi-bin/edicbin/EuroDicWWW.pl and its
EuroDicAutom a try. It does a fair job in 11 languages.

03.  A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL.  The Global Metric Time Service at
http://www.globalmetric.com/time/ allows selecting the local time for
1500 cities, 177 time, zones, and 237 countries, adjusted for
Daylight Savings Time.

04.  CLEANING UP THE LOOSE ENDS.  Have you ever noticed that
sometimes, when you uninstall a program, evidence of it still
remains in your Windows Add|Remove list?  These are often
referred to as orphan files, and they can be a pain in the
anatomy if you like a meticulous folder.  Give the free utility
Add/Remove Plus: at
http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,6477,00.html 
a try in your housecleaning efforts.

05.  CYBEROFFICE.  In your own meeting room you can invite
participants, show and annotate slide presentations and documents,
edit and create documents among your attendess, and navigate the
web interactively with everyone in your meeting.  WebEx may
require some Netscape plug-ins, but it's all part of the free
download at http://www.webex.com .

06.  MP3 IS MUSIC TO THE EARS.  The audio buffs are clamoring over
the sound of the decade, the MP3.  That's a way of compressing audio
files to omit the sounds the human ear can't hear anyway.  That
makes music files much smaller and easier to transmit over the Internet.

The downside is that you can't just play these MP3 on a stereo at home,
you need a computer device to decompress them when played.  Now, before
you rush out and pay big bucks for your MP3 player, try any of these
shareware versions:  Music Match at http://www.musicmatch.com ,
Nullsoft WinAmp at http://www.winamp.com , or RealJukeBox at
http://www.real.com .  Although these are sizable downloads, your ears
will thank you for the effort.

07.  BOOT LOG ANALYZER.  If your computer is booting slowly, this
little freeware utility at http://www.vision4.dial.pipex.com may
identify the source of the delay.  The Boot Log Analyzer reports the
delay with loading each DLL {Dynamic Link Library} and identifies
problems some of the DLL may be having with properly loading.  The BLA
won't fix your problems, but you might be better informed so you can
either ditch the offending software or go looking for a fix.

08.  SHORTCUT TO SHORTCUT.  If you have several Windows open and can't
quickly locate a shortcut on your desktop, click on START in the lower
left corner of your screen, then RUN, and simply type a period in the
space and click OK.  A display of all your desktop icons is displayed.

09.  A QUICK CHANGE.  Without so much as moving your hand from the
mouse, you can change the size of an open application with a double
click anywhere on the title bar.  A second double-click in the same
location toggles the screen back to its orginal size.

10.  WHERE'S THE TELLER?  Bookmark this site on your laptop and never
guess again where the nearest ATM might be.  You'll be equipped with
maps, addresses, and everything you need but the Internet connection
and the approved credit line at http://visa.com/pd/atm/main.html .

11.  EASY UPGRADE.  If Netscape is your browser of choice,
http://cgi.Netscape.com/cgi-bin/upgrade.cgi tells you what version
you're using and what's available to you.  It then allows an upgrade on
the spot with just a couple of clicks.  You can, of course, upgrade in
Netscape 4.x by clicking on "help" and "Software Upgrade." But this
requires more clicking and, for those masochists among our readership,
you can even fill out lots of forms to register for the update.  Not
neat.

12.  CROW FLIGHT CALCULATOR at http://www.indo.com/cgi-bin/dist
calculates distances from their latitude and longitude, then displays
the distance as the crow flies. Unfortunately, few of us fly on crows,
so results may not be totally reliable when planning a trip.

WHAT'S THIS NONSENSE? Those lovable scamps, Linky & Dinky, find the
DARNdest Web Links, and compile them for us in a highly disorganized,
scattershot manner... from the brainy, to the bizarre, to the obtuse,
Linky & Dinky rule! Always a FUN stop. Don't miss the Magic Trick,
it's a DOOZY! http://www.linkydinky.com
<P><A HREF="http://www.linkydinky.com">Linky & Dinky</A></P>

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