Neat Net Tricks Issue # 74
March 15, 2000
http://www.NeatNetTricks.com
Reply-To: NNT@silver.lyris.net

IN THIS ISSUE:

01.  What's up, Doc?
02.  QuicKeys for Windows - and a deal
03.  NNT survey
04.  They Don't Always Work Department
05.  Speaking Clock
06.  Modem volume
07.  Password predicament
08.  You could write a book
09.  Readers write
10.  Software updates
11.  Bookmark synchronization
12.  Saved keystrokes

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01.  WHAT'S UP, DOC?  Who says doctors no longer make house calls?
You can find a Board Certified Physician 24 hours a day, 7 days per 
week, at http://www.americasdoctor.com .  This private chat is not 
for emergencies; but I got in to see the doctor in about four 
minutes  without an appointment, he charged me nothing, he answered my 
questions, he asked if he could be of further help, and he didn't even 
suggest I lose weight.  Now what part of that doctor's visit is not 
to like?

02. QUICKEYS FOR WINDOWS -- AND A DEAL.  Several issues ago, we pointed
out that lots of macro programs provide hot-key access to various 
functions, but Quickeys goes beyond that.  A user-friendly setup wizard
guides you, and with a keystroke or two, you'll be able to launch your 
favorite Web sites, applications, and files; or, paste your selected 
text.  Tou can even automate an entire sequence of events or build 
customized toolbars.   Download QuicKeys for Windows for a free trial 
at http://www.cesoft.com/demo.html. If you want a whiz of a deal after 
trying this neat package, ignore the price of $39.95.  Go to 
http://www.ourshowcase.com/nnt/ and charge just $19.95 to your Visa or 
MasterCard.  The reduced price is only for NNT readers, only when 
ordered through the NNT safe-and-secure site, and only until April 14.
After that, you'll have to pay $20 more and wonder why you waited.

03.  NNT SURVEY.  Thanks to all of you - nearly 2,000 of you - who took
the time to complete the first ever Neat Net Tricks Survey.  Your 
answers will help make future issues of NNT tailored to your interests.
If you want to see what everyone had to say, go to 
http://www.NetNetTricks.com and click on the "Audience" link.

04.  THEY DON'T ALWAYS WORK DEPARTMENT.  Some ideas come along that you 
really hope will work.  Such is one I could have put to good use while
on the road.  With CoolMail at http://www.planetarymotion.com/ a free 
account is supposed to allow you to check all your email accounts with
a toll-free telephone call, where each message is read back to you, and
where you can reply by voice mail or dictated message.  That's the 
general idea; but I could never get it to access email accounts other 
than the one CoolMail sets up.  This has limited value if you already 
have another active email account.  It wasn't that the support folks at
CoolMail didn't try.  They were very responsive, but couldn't pull it 
off.  Your results (as they always seem to) may vary.

05.  SPEAKING CLOCK.  Announcing the time in your choice of about 24 
languages, the Speaking Clock Deluxe at 
http://www.abc.se/~m8501/spclock provides alarm functions, time 
synchronization, and other features all wrapped up in a very nice 
interface.  Try free, buy for $12.

06.  MODEM VOLUME.  If you don't like the screech of your dial-up modem
as it connects, you may be able to change it with Start|Settings|Control
Panel|System and click the Device Manager tab, select your modem from 
the Modems branch, click Properties, select the Modem tab, then adjust 
the slider for speaker volume.  Think twice about silencing it 
completely - it's reassuring to hear the dial-up, particularly when 
your ISP isn't operating at peak efficiency at times.

07.  PASSWORD PREDICAMENT.  If you assigned a password to access 
Windows and then you suffer a memory lapse, not to worry.  Bypass 
Windows with F8 during startup and choose the Command Prompt Only 
option.  At the prompt, go to the Windows directory with "cd\windows"
(without the quotes))  Delete .pwl files with "del *.pwl" (again, 
without the quotes) and no password will be required on the next boot.
A new password can be set if you wish at the Start|Settings|Control 
Panel|Passwords and click on Change Windows Password.

08.  YOU COULD WRITE A BOOK.  A Keebook, that is, at 
http://www.keeboo.com .  Place your Web pages , texts, images, movies,
or spreadhseets in it with a drag and drop.  Add comments and highlight
important sections, as KeeBook automatically creates chapters, a table
of contents, and an index. EMail your book to anyone and they can read
it with their Web browser. It's enough to make you quit your day job
and become a librarian.

09.  READERS WRITE.  Remember the recent item suggesting that a ping to 
your IP address would tell you how your mail server is doing?  Several
wrote to confirm that I didn't know what I was writing about and John 
Beck said it most succinctly.  John pointed out that the ping as I 
suggested will not check the status of your email server, but rather 
your individual computer, something of doubtful value.  And, says John,
an IP number isn't needed  because a positive ping response will return 
the IP number if it can do a domain lookup, as in "ping neatnettricks.
com".  A positive ping response doesn't say much except that 
the computer's TCP/IP interface is responding to the ping query and 
even then the email service could still be down.  And, reminds John,  
the response times for ping don`t necessarily mean much, either . A 
negative response ("request timed out") may mean that the server is 
down, but it also might mean that the server is denying access to ping,
as for www.microsoft.com . You might also get an "unknown host" 
response meaning the DNS server could not identify the domain name, 
caused by mistyping it or a network connection's failure to access  
core DNS servers. There, I feel better. I've been pinged, for sure.
And I'm glad to set the record straight.

Mark Vorenkamp said I could have been a little more accurate in a
recent item offering distance measurements "as the crow flies."  Mark
says crows tend to take indirect routes wherever they go, whereas bees
go directly from point A to point B.  So a more accurate term, Mark
suggests, would be "as the bee flies."  Well, that was a honey of a
tidbit, Mark.

Jim Ericson responded to the item suggesting a fast way to your desktop
(Start|Run, entering a period in the space and clicking OK). He
suggested instead a right click on the task bar and selecting "minimize
all windows."  Well, that works, Jim, but it minimizes all the way down
to the desktop view itself, and the other way retains your working 
applications and displays the desktop icons in a separate window.  Use 
whichever method you prefer or any one of the dozen others no doubt 
available.

10.  SOFTWARE UPDATES.  You can get free notifications by email when
your favorite software is updated.  Register for the service at
http://www.versions.com .

11.  BOOKMARK SYNCHRONIZATION.  If you have ever lost your bookmarks
(IE calls them "favorites"), or if you have been on a computer from a
remote site and wish you could access your home bookmarks, I don't
have to sell you on BookmarkSync.  It's a free service that allows, 
with a very short download, access to your bookmarks from anywhere with
your password.  They are stored on a server for safekeeping and kept
updated as you make changes.  You can publish your bookmarks for others 
if you want to impress them with your Net savvy. And, get updated
news headlines from major sources, all at http://www.bookmarksync.com .

12.  SAVED KEYSTROKES.  The AutoCorrect feature in Word 97 is intended 
to automatically replace misspelled words with the correct spelling, 
but it has another handy feature that will save you time.  If you often
type a particular phrase, substitute a shortcut in this manner:  Go to
Tools|AutoCorrect and the AutoCorrect tab.  In the Replace window, 
enter a short abbreviation, followed by "`" or "[" or "]" (without the 
quotes.)  In the "with" window, enter the complete phrase as you wish 
it to appear.  Click on Add and back out.  Anytime you enter the 
abbreviation with one of those hot key symbols, the phrase is 
substituted, saving a lot of wear and tear on your fingers and the 
keyboard.

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