Worth A Mention
By Cate Eales
Appeared Mar 9, 2006 on castanet.net
There are several interesting items to pass along to you
this week. None of them seems to merit a whole column, but each is worth a
mention.
More gadgets
Last week I wrote about gadgets, including a free program from Microsoft
called USB Flash Drive Manager. (Get it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=94991901-bfc4-485e-bcae-c9df0accdaae&displaylang=en)
Astute and intrepid readers noticed that I should have said (1) This
gadget works on XP systems with Service Pack 2 only, and (2) this gadget
requires .NET Framework 1.1 or better. Thanks for pointing that out!
Reader Art K. sent along a link to a cool gadget. He wrote, "If anyone
needs a time converter, this one covers the whole world and simple to
use."
http://www.worldtimeserver.com/atomic-clock/.
Their page says:
Our freeware Atomic Clock Sync utility can help you
keep your local computer up-to-date with the exact current time.
This program will reference an atomic clock server to get the current
time with the greatest accuracy available and update your PC's
information. It can even be set to automatically check the time once a
day to keep your PC's time accurate forever. Best of all, you can
download and use this utility at no cost to you!
No spyware! No ad banners! No cost! No questions asked! So why do we do
give Atomic Clock Sync away as freeware? Simply to encourage you to use
and return to World Time Server.com for the current time in places other
than where you live!
Thanks, Art!
Laptop temperature
If you're going to be spending any time in other time zones, especially in
tropical ones, here's a tip from one of my clients: Keep your laptop cool!
His laptop kept shutting off unexpectedly. While talking with the
manufacturer's technical support, he couldn't get the laptop to fail.
However, 20 minutes after hanging up the phone, the problem was back
again. (Don't you hate it when that happens?)
Later, he wrote:
" … As I went to pick the laptop up, my hands touched
the bottom of the computer....it was extremely hot. I then realized that
I had been using the computer on either a glass top table sitting in the
Hawaiian sun or had moved out of the sun into our room, but on my knees
with the laptop or the bed.
I guess in both those areas, the laptop's venting fan was unable to keep
the laptop to desired temperature. So from then on, I kept the laptop on
a desk with lots of ventilation circulating underneath; and all has been
fine since. So I just pass this on FYI if you run into this from someone
else. One has to keep their laptops vented; not using them on a bed in
hotel rooms."
Well, my primary computer now is a laptop, and that
scared the heck out of me. So I went back through my LangaList archives
and came up with this article in which Fred Langa explains that it's a
good idea and very easy to clean your laptop and keep it from overheating.
It's a very straightforward article and includes photos.
If you enjoy learning about computers and sharing what you know with
others, you might enjoy the LangaList which is an email newsletter. I
subscribed to the free edition for years and recently subscribed to the
Plus edition for a small fee. You can have a look at the newsletter and
get a free subscription here:
http://langa.com/index.html.
Apple security flaws patched
If you know any Apple users, you might want to alert them to
this article by Brian Krebs on the WashingtonPost.com website. Krebs
reports:
Apple has issued an update that patches several security flaws in its Mac
OS X operating system, including a hole that a security researcher last
week showed could be used by attackers to install malware on affected
systems through Safari, the default Web browser on Macs.
The update fixes at least 13 OS X security vulnerabilities, including four
distinct Safari flaws that a malicious Web site or RSS feed could use to
install programs on a visiting machine. Among the other problems addressed
in this update is an issue with the default OS X e-mail program, which
Apple said in some cases can fail to warn users about which e-mail
attachment file types are potentially unsafe to open.
And this in a week when Microsoft apparently released NO patches in
Windows
Update! Oh well, maybe next week.
Thanks to everyone who wrote with questions, comments, suggestions and
corrections. I really enjoy hearing from you. Please
keep the email coming.
Links
Microsoft called USB Flash Drive Manager
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=94991901-bfc4-485e-bcae-c9df0accdaae&displaylang=en
Atomic Clock Sync
http://www.worldtimeserver.com/atomic-clock/
Clean Your Laptop Computer
http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60300177&pgno=1
Subscribe to the LangaList
http://langa.com/index.html
Apple patches security flaws
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2006/03/apple_update_fixes_13_security.html
Windows Update
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
Subscribe by email
http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=20618
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Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible
and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric,
and her dog, Sandy
Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions, helping individuals and
small businesses with virus, spyware and malware eradication; personal
computer training and management; digital image management; music
transfer; and website design, hosting and management. Email Cate at
cate@rlis.com with your comments,
suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real
Life Internet Solutions website at
www.rlis.com.
©
Cate Eales 2005 – All Rights Reserved
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